Human Resources Management: Perspectives, Context, Functions, and Outcomes - Softcover

Fedor, Donald B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130608548 ISBN 13: 9780130608543

Publisher: Pearson College Div, 2002

Synopsis

This collection of 60 current readings explores the important contemporary perspectives and issues in the field of human resources management—from a decidedly applied, rather than scholarly, orientation. The readings include a mix of recently published articles from journals in the field, along with many articles written specifically for the book. It addresses such issues as corporate culture, values, employee rights and responsibilities, ethics, the nature of the changing employment relationship, mergers and acquisitions, and employee cynicism, and how such factors influence the practice of HRM. Overview of Human Resources Management. Perspectives on Human Resources Management. The Contemporary Legal Environment. The Labor Market and the Changing Workforce. Human Resources Planning and Staffing. Performance Evaluation and Management. Compensation and Reward Systems. Human Resources Development. Labor Relations in Contemporary Work Environments. Rights, Responsibilities, Values, and Ethics. Organization Culture and Change. Work Environment Stressors, Support, Safety, and Health. Employee Attitudes. Organizational Exit. Performance and Effectiveness. For Personnel and Human Resources Managers.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Taking an applied approach toward today's HRM issues.

In its Fourth Edition, Human Resources Management addresses the needs of graduate and undergraduate courses of HRM with its traditional mission of capturing the key topics in the field. Through the use of current readings and journal articles, the authors successfully conceptualize, identify, and articulate the contemporary issues and perspectives in HRM with a decidedly applied, rather than scientific, orientation.

Features

• New! A total of 47 new and updated articles, most of which have been especially prepared for this edition. These articles provide views that are. not only from the contemporary human resources press, but also from top scholars in the field of HRM.
• New! New chapters reflecting contemporary issues such as corporate culture, values, employee rights and responsibilities, ethics, and many others, which expose both students and instructors to human resources management today and what to expect in the future.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Twenty-one years ago, we published the first edition of this book of readings in human resources management (HRM), then called Current Issues in Personnel Management (edited by Rowland, London, Ferris, and Sherman). The field was considerably different then, and beginning to undergo major change in status, importance, and perspective, and we tried our best to capture the key issues of importance in the field in the articles we selected for the book.

In many respects, our mission and objectives have not changed as we present our newest edition of this book, Human Resources Management: Perspectives, Context, Functions, and Outcomes, Fourth Edition. We continue to address the needs of undergraduate, professional, and graduate courses in HRM. We have retained the same structure used in the third edition of this book, which attempts to conceptualize, identify, and articulate what we consider to be the important contemporary perspectives and issues in the field today, and then to assemble a set of current readings that best address these perspectives and issues with a decidedly applied, rather than overly scientific, orientation. Once again, we have included a mix of recently published articles reprinted by permission from journals in the field, along with many articles written specifically for the book.

The fourth edition of Human Resources Management contains 47 articles, of which 35 were prepared especially for this volume. One of the goals we have had for this book, since the publication of the first edition, has been to increase the number of original articles written for the book in an effort to provide a more tailored fit of readings to our structure and perspectives for the book. The 35 original articles in this volume represent a 27 percent increase over the third edition in the number of specially prepared articles.

Whereas the fundamental structure we introduced in the third edition has been largely retained, this edition has been modified somewhat in both organization and content to reflect some new and different issues facing HRM in recent years. New chapters have been added to this edition that address such issues as corporate culture, values, employee rights and responsibilities, ethics, the nature of the changing employment relationship, mergers and acquisitions, and employee cynicism, and how such factors influence the practice of HRM. Following is an overview of the fourth edition's structure and contents.

Part I, The Field of Human Resources Management, offers an introduction to and overview of the field; the material is organized into two chapters. The first, Overview of Human Resources Management, provides a historical view of the field and its evolution, as well as a discussion of the meaning of this evolution for the development of future human resources professionals. Chapter 2, Perspectives on Human Resources Management, treats three important perspectives on the field (i.e., strategic, political, and international) and demonstrates both the opportunities and challenges that these perspectives pose for human resources management.

Part II, The External Context of Human Resources Management, identifies certain features of the external environment or context that have impact on human resources activities. Chapter 3, The Contemporary Legal Environment, representatively reflects the strong influence of key aspects of federal legislation and case law on human resources issues in organizations. Chapter 4, The Labor Market and the Changing Workforce, deals with some important labor market characteristics and challenges and examines what diversity in the workforce means for organizations today.

Part III, Functions of Human Resources Management, provides thorough coverage of the various activities and functions of human resources management, although reorganized a bit since the previous edition of this book. Chapter 5, Human Resources Planning and Staffing, includes all of the material that is traditionally found in separate chapters devoted to human resources planning, recruitment and selection, career planning and development, and promotion and succession processes. The grouping of these various issues into a single chapter is intended to reflect their natural relatedness and the need to view them in an integrated way in organizations. Chapter 6, Performance Evaluation and Management, addresses the performance appraisal process, outlining some of the problems encountered and suggesting possible solutions. The articles in Chapter 7, Compensation and Reward Systems, are concerned with the importance of the compensation' function in organizations; they include examinations of compensation strategy and executive pay. Chapter 8, Human Resources Development, addresses a number of issues related to the building of workforce skills at various levels and the need to link training and development efforts with business strategy.

Part IV, The Internal Context of Human Resources Management, examines features of the internal organizational environment or context that have impact on HRM. Chapter 9, Labor Relations in Contemporary Work Environments, discusses the critical issues surrounding unions and their future in organizations today, with reference to alternative forms of workforce governance, and alternative strategies and postures unions might take in efforts to be more influential in how organizations are run. Chapter 10, Rights, Responsibilities, and Ethics, is a new chapter in this edition and it examines issues including accountability, the new psychological contract and changing nature of the employment relationship, ethical issues in HRM, and the nature of empowerment and participation. Chapter 11, Organizational Culture and Change, is also a new chapter in this edition; it focuses on the influential and reciprocal role of organization culture in the formulation and implementation of HRM policies and practices. The chapter also examines the nature of change in organizations, including how culture and HRM are key components of such change processes. Furthermore, the chapter investigates some issues related to the relatively new topic of spirituality in the workplace, and its role in both organization culture and HRM. A number of issues are examined in Chapter 12, Work Environment Stressors, Support, Safety, and Health. Articles here investigate important stressors in the work environment including both work and family considerations, sexual harassment, and anger and violence at work. Other articles focus on stress-coping mechanisms or support systems like employee assistance programs, which can enhance health and well-being in the workplace.

The book concludes with Part V, Outcomes of Human Resources Management, which comprises three chapters. Chapter 13, Employee Attitudes, emphasizes the importance of the way employees view their work, management, and the organization; it stresses the potential dysfunctional consequences of negative attitudes, as well as the functional consequences of positive attitudes. Chapter 14, Organizational Exit, reflects the broad range of processes through which employees can depart from organizations. Retirement, downsizing, and other issues are examined in this chapter. Finally, Chapter 15, Performance and Effectiveness, treats what may well be the ultimate criteria for HRM. Topics examined include the influence and effectiveness of the human resources department, as well as performance management issues and how they impact on organizational performance. Also addressed are self-management issues, the increasing importance of customer service orientation and how it relates to HRM, and the implications of HRM for organizational reputation and image.

Thus, the fourth edition of Human Resources Management: Perspectives, Context, Functions, and Outcomes reflects some updating, expansion, and considerable coverage of the multitude of issues confronting human resources management today and in the future. With its organization and comprehensive coverage, this edition can serve as a stand-alone text for a course in HRM, or as an effective supplement to a conventional textbook that will allow the student to transcend the boundaries established by traditional treatments of the subject matter and explore some new issues.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pearson College Div
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0130608548
• ISBN 13: 9780130608543
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 644
• Editor: Ferris Gerald R., Buckley M. Ronald, Fedor Donald B.