Managing Human Resources, Fourth Edition - Hardcover

Gomez-Mejia, Luis R.; Balkin, David B.; Cardy, Robert L.

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9780131009431: Managing Human Resources, Fourth Edition

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0131009435 ISBN 13: 9780131009431

Publisher: Pearson College Div, 2003

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This book centers on business decision-making and managerial problem-solving, consistent with today's best practices' Human Resource Management Practice and Research. Real-life cases and a global focus will hold readers' interest as this book imparts valuable information about the dynamic field of human resources. Expanded coverage of international human resource issues governs this edition of the popular book; it also covers the management of work flows, job analysis, equal opportunity and the legal environment, diversity, recruitment and selection of employees, downsizing and outplacement, performance management and appraisal, workforce training, career development, compensation management, rewards and performance, employee benefits, employee relations, employee rights and discipline, organized labor, and workplace safety and health. The reference resource for human resource directors, managers, and small business owners, as well as others in leadership positions.

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About the Author:

Luis R. Gomez-Mejia holds the Horace Steel chair in the W P Carey College of Business at Arizona State University. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in industrial relations from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in economics from the University of Minnesota. Prior to entering academia, Professor Gomez-Mejia worked for eight years in human resources for the City of Minneapolis and Control Data Corporation. He has served as consultant to numerous organizations since then. Prior to joining ASU, he taught at the University of Colorado and the University of Florida. He has served two terms on the editorial board of the Academy of Management Journal and is editor and cofounder of the Journal of High Technology Management Research. He has published over 120 articles appearing in the most prestigious management journals including the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Strategic Management Journal, Industrial Relations, and Personnel Psychology. He has also written and edited a dozen management books published by Prentice Hall, Southwestern Press, JAI Press, and Grid. He was ranked one of the top nine in research productivity based on the number of publications in the Academy of Management Journal. He has received numerous awards including "best article" in the Academy of Management journal (1992) and Council of 100 Distinguished Scholars at Arizona State University (1994). Professor Gomez-Mejia's research focuses on macro HR issues, international HR practices, and compensation.

David B. Balkin is Professor of Management in the College of Business Administration at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He received his Ph.D. in industrial relations from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the University of Colorado, he served on the faculties of Louisiana State University and Northeastern University. He has published over 35 articles appearing in such journals as the Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Industrial Relations, Personnel Psychology Journal of Labor Research, and Academy of Management Executive. One of his publications (coauthored with Luis R. Gomez-Mejia) was selected as the best article published in 1992 in the Academy of Management Journal. Professor Balkin has written or edited three books on HRM topics. He has consulted for a number of organizations, including U.S. West, Baxter Healthcare, Hydro Quebec, and The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Professor Balkin's research focuses on the interaction between business strategy and HR policies, and the design and implementation of reward systems.

Robert L. Cardy is Professor of Management in the W P Carey College of Business at Arizona State University. He received his Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from Virginia Tech in 1982. He is an ad hoc reviewer for a variety of journals, including the Academy of Management Journal and the Academy of Management Review. He is editor and cofounder of the journal of Quality Management. Professor Cardy has been recognized for his research, teaching, and service. He was ranked in the top 20 in research productivity for the decade 1980-89 based on the number of publications in the journal of Applied Psychology. He was doctoral coordinator in ASU's management department for five years and received a University Mentor Award in 1993 for his work with doctoral students. He authors a regular column on current issues in HRM and received an Academy of Management certificate for outstanding service as a columnist for the HR division newsletter. Professor Cardy was a 1992 recipient of a certificate for significant contributions to the quality of life for students at ASU. His research focuses on performance appraisal and effective HRM practices in a quality-oriented organizational environment.

The Plan of the Fourth Edition

How do businesses succeed in today's competitive environment? The factor that can set an organization apart is its people. The quality of the organization's employees, their enthusiasm and satisfaction with their jobs, their experience, and their sense of fair treatment all affect the firm's productivity, customer service, reputation, and survival. In short, people make the difference.

Although relatively few students in human resource management (HRM) courses will become HR specialists, virtually all will have to work with other people. Dealing with other people is a fact of organizational life, regardless of whether you are in accounting, finance, operations management, or some other area. Because we believe that every manager is a human resource manager, we've written our book for students who plan to manage others at some time in their career.

The idea that all future managers need to understand HRM issues is at the heart of Managing Human Resources. We cover all the core HRM topics, but our managerial perspective makes the topics meaningful to students in any area of business. Our emphasis is on how to manage human resources and how to successfully implement HRM programs. Because managers in all departments and functions confront HR issues daily, we believe this approach is better than one that looks at FIRM primarily from the perspective of the HR department.

Since the first edition of Managing Human Resources was published, the general management perspective has become much more prevalent among practicing managers. Recent environmental and organizational forces have contributed greatly to this trend. Organizations are becoming flatter. Technology such as the Internet fosters communication between all levels of personnel, and managers are expected to be generalists with a broad set of skills, including HRM skills. At the same time, fewer firms have a highly centralized, powerful HR department that acts as monitor, decision maker, and controller of HR practices throughout the organization.

Organizations need to be more flexible than ever before to deal with a rapidly changing competitive landscape where global forces play a key role. Many traditional HR programs designed for a stable, predictable context (for instance, carefully defined jobs, which were often used as the basis for setting pay and selecting workers) may actually become a hindrance in contemporary volatile business environments. Discretion in decision making has become critical (witness the recent scandals at Andersen Consulting, WorldCom, Enron, and others), not only at the top executive ranks but also at all levels within the organization.

Information technology also encourages a managerial approach to human resources. Why? The technology has permeated most traditional HR functions, decentralizing decisions and increasing the participation of managers and employees in all aspects of HR practice. Managers and employees have greater access to human resource information, both inside and outside the company through both formal (Web pages) and informal (chat rooms and e-mail messages) means. An effect of the Internet, then, has been to democratize the turf of the traditional HR department.

The growing importance of a general management perspective to HRM has not lessened the importance of HR specialists, however. Many tools and techniques for selection, training, compensation, performance appraisal, and other traditional HR functions can greatly enhance the duality of hires, the skills of the workforce, job satisfaction, and employee motivation. But HR specialists' focus has shifted from one of control to one of advice and support to line managers. The forces reinforcing this trend include downsizing, outsourcing of the HR function, information technology, and the inclusion of HR courses in undergraduate, graduate, and executive education programs designed for the general manager (rather than the HR specialist).

Our goal for the fourth edition of Managing Human Resources is to emphasize a general management approach even more than we did in the three previous editions. Because of our increased emphasis on managing people, rather than on the designed HRM tools and techniques or the activities of the HRM department, this book should be relevant to every business student. We believe that no matter what area of management students aspire to, they will have to work with the most important resource—people. For instance, whom should we hire? How much should we pay the new hire? How do we handle conflict between people of different backgrounds? How do we decide who should be laid off in the case of downsizing? How do we provide performance feedback to capitalize on employees' strengths? How can ethical decisions be made when the interests of the organization (reducing cost), the manager (having a harmoniously working team), and the employee (keeping a job) may not coincide under difficult economic conditions? What should the supervisor do when a long-standing employee is accused of sexual harassment? How students manage these and other similar HR issues in the future will be a critical determinant of their effectiveness as managers and the effectiveness of their organization. Although students taking a "survey" HRM course should learn how to use HR tools or techniques that may help in addressing HR concerns, they will seldom be involved in the actual design of those tools and techniques.

Each chapter of this text takes the managerial perspective and examines issues relevant to today's managers. HRM from the managerial perspective is the overriding key to engaging the students and promoting their appreciation and learning the effective management of people. This fourth edition offers an updated and more applied content with an even clearer emphasis on the managerial perspective.

New chapter vignettes based on recent events are used to illustrate why the chapter content is relevant to managers.
Most chapters include at least one new feature titled "Manager's Notebook: Emerging Trends," which addresses the management of contemporary HR issues that have become salient since the previous edition of the text.
Most chapters include at least one new feature title "Manager's Notebook: Customer-Driven HR." Consistent with the general management perspective of the text, this feature provides an example of how line managers and employees act as customers that utilize HR programs to become more effective in their jobs. Furthermore, the customer-driven perspective views employees as customers of the organization's management practices. This perspective encourages students to consider the impact of management decisions on outcomes such as employee loyalty and retention. This new feature reinforces the theme that "every manager is an HR manager."
Based on feedback received from instructors and students using the text, we have extended the cases at the back of each chapter. At least half of the cases have been replaced in this new edition. They all include a team exercise in addition to discussion questions.
Two new end-of-chapter features have been added that present managerial situations that parallel the "emerging trends" and "customer-driven HR" themes discussed in the body of the text. These new features conclude with analytical questions and issues, experiential exercise, and group projects such as role-plays and debates.
We have greatly expanded coverage of international HR issues, which are now covered in most chapters. For instance, the management of diversity has become a major issue in western Europe where foreign workers (mostly from northern Africa and eastern Europe) now represent 10 to 20 percent of the population.
Over 600 new references have been added to summarize and integrate the most recent HR research.

The text is organized as follows:

Chapter 1, "Meeting Present and Emerging Strategic Human Resource Challenges," has been substantially revised, focusing on emerging environmental and organizational trends affecting HR practices. Some of the themes receiving special attention in the new edition include employment and compensation risk, coping with information overflow, globalization, corporate corruption, security issues, and the need to establish work/life balance to help attract and retain employees.
Chapter 2, "Managing Work Flows and Conducting Job Analysis," examines use of teams, including virtual teams, and problem-solving teams. The chapter has expanded coverage of outsourcing human resource management activities and examines both its costs and benefits.
Chapter 3, "Understanding Equal Opportunity and the Legal Environment," contains new court decisions in several areas including racial, gender, and disability forms of employment discrimination. Expanded text content is provided on pregnancy discrimination and information on how to handle a sexual harassment investigation.
Chapter 4, "Managing Diversity," provides numerous new examples of how firms deal with diversity issues at work. It also provides new coverage of employees with mixed identities, the special concerns of various employee groups, and how the management of diversity has become an international phenomenon as many countries around the world face unprecedented immigration and women enter the workforce in large numbers.
Chapter 5, "Recruiting and Selecting Employees," includes expanded coverage of the use of technology in recruitment and selection. A customer-driven focus is presented by considering job candidates as customers of the organization's selection process and by considering customers of the organization's products or services as potential employees. Background checks and security issues are given heightened consideration.
Chapter 6, "Managing Employee Separations, Downsizing, and Outplacement," includes expanded consideratio...