Coming soon · Book Profile
Human Resource Management
A comprehensive and practical guide for all managers on the essential concepts and techniques of modern human resource management to drive organizational performance, productivity, and profitability.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
Human Resource Management, 16th Edition, is the definitive guide for students and practicing managers seeking to master the 'people' side of their jobs. In today's business landscape, HR is no longer just for the HR department; it's a critical responsibility for every manager. This book provides a complete, practical, and highly readable introduction to all aspects of modern HRM, from strategic planning and employment law to recruitment, training, compensation, and employee engagement. It emphasizes a strategic approach, showing managers how to align their HR activities with company goals to produce the specific employee behaviors and skills needed for success. Packed with real-world examples, practical tools, and insights into current trends like the gig economy and data analytics, this book equips managers with the skills to avoid common personnel mistakes, build a motivated and engaged workforce, and measurably improve performance and profitability.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- The reader is a current or aspiring manager, small business owner, or HR professional who wants to effectively manage people to achieve organizational goals and build a successful career.
- The problem
- Managers struggle with the complex and time-consuming tasks of recruiting, selecting, training, motivating, and retaining employees, often making costly personnel mistakes that lead to underperformance, high turnover, and legal liabilities. This makes them feel frustrated, overwhelmed, and unequipped to handle the critical 'people problems' that determine their team's success, leading to a lack of confidence in their management abilities.
- The plan
- Understand the strategic and legal context of modern human resource management.
- Master the core talent management process, from job analysis and recruiting to selecting and interviewing.
- Learn and apply effective techniques for employee training, performance management, career development, and retention.
- Develop and implement strategic compensation plans, including pay, incentives, and benefits.
- Build a positive and ethical work environment by managing employee relations, safety, and labor law compliance.
- The payoff
- Becoming a confident and effective manager who avoids costly personnel mistakes. · Building a high-performing, engaged, and motivated team that consistently achieves its goals. · Achieving organizational success by strategically aligning people practices with business objectives.
See our guide
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- Recruiter / Talent Acquisition →
- Recruiter / Talent Acquisition →
- Recruiter / Talent Acquisition →
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Additional reading
- Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock Potential in Yourself and Your Organization · Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
This is the authors' previous book, which provides a deep dive into the ITC framework that is presented as a key tool in Chapter 6 and used by the fledgling DDOs in Chapter 7.
- In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life · Robert Kegan
This book lays out the foundational theory of adult development and mental complexity that underpins the entire DDO concept, explaining the 'adaptive gap' that DDOs are designed to address.
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success · Carol Dweck
The book explicitly references Dweck's work, contrasting the 'fixed mindset' (prevalent in ordinary organizations) with the 'growth mindset' that is fundamental to a DDO's culture.
- Organizational Culture and Leadership · Edgar H. Schein
Mentioned in the book, Schein's work provides a foundational understanding of organizational culture, which is the primary medium through which DDOs operate.
- The Functions of the Executive · Chester Barnard (1938)
Chapter 10 identifies this book as providing the seminal concept of 'willingness to contribute to the cooperative system,' which forms the theoretical foundation for the modern construct of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB).
- The Psychology of Careers · Donald E. Super (1957)
Chapter 3 cites this as a foundational work that established the concept of career stages, a model that has profoundly influenced career development theory and research for decades.
- Decision-making in the employment interview · E. C. Webster (1964)
Chapter 6 highlights this as the key report from the influential McGill University studies, which revealed the cognitive biases inherent in unstructured interviews and shifted the focus of research toward understanding the interviewer's decision process.
- Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures · Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
Multiple chapters (e.g., 13, 15) refer to this document and the related AERA/APA/NCME 'Standards' as the authoritative professional guidelines that define best practices and core concepts, like the modern unitarian view of validity, for the entire field of personnel selection.
- Managing Human Assets · Beer, M. et al. (1984)
This is a seminal book that introduced the 'Harvard framework' of HRM, emphasizing a multi-stakeholder approach that considers the interests of employees, not just shareholders. It provides a foundational 'soft' HRM perspective.
- Strategic Human Resource Management · Fombrun, C. J., Tichy, N. M. and Devanna, M. A. (1984)
This book introduced the 'Michigan framework,' which advocated for a 'hard' HRM approach focused on tightly matching HR strategy to the business strategy (vertical fit). It is a foundational text for the strategic alignment concept.