Business Partners, Internal Consultants or Client Relationship Managers, the job titles vary but the fundamental requirements are the same. Business focused, value-driven HR is the future for the profession. Yet many, even within HR, doubt that many HR teams will be able to perform as business partners without acquiring new skills. In a recent survey, 80 per cent of HR directors said that they believed that their team needed to develop new skills to meet the needs of their organisation. The top five skills gaps they identified were: influencing and political skills; strategic thinking; the ability to deliver results to achieve a target; leadership ability; and business knowledge. But having the skills is not enough - applying them in the chaotic and frantic world of work while still delivering the transactional duties of HR is the real challenge. This toolkit helps you to first identify those skills gaps and develop your team's capability and then to apply those skills to become genuine business partners. The detailed diagnostic self assessments and development activities in "The HR Business Partnering Toolkit" help you and your team develop and improve the skills you need. The implementation models, process maps and case studies show you how to apply those skills to the real challenges facing your organisation. This toolkit shows you how to enable your HR team to deliver demonstrable value to your organisation.

This volume looks at how multinational companies manage their workforces across borders. Its focus is on the shaping of multinationals' employment practices through the interplay of structural forces: divergent national business systems, evolving supranational institutions, and the dynamics of global competition. But it also scrutinises the multinational as an arena in which contending actors pursue their own active interests and strategies within the constraints of these broader forces. Its combination of innovative empirical and theoretical material will appeal to postgraduate students and researchers in the fields of international business and comparative employment relations.

"Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management" published monograph length conceptual papers designed to promote theory and research on important substantive and methodological topics in the field of human resources management and acts as a primary resource to both individuals and libraries.

Title VII of the 1963 Civil Rights Act specifically prohibits gender-based discrimination, and over the past 40 years women have made astounding progress in breaking down barriers in the workplace. Nevertheless, discrimination is still widely practiced in both overt and subtle ways, denying women access and opportunity, particularly in blue-collar occupations that have long been dominated by men. In Blue-Collar Women at Work with Men, Jeanie Ahearn Greene brings the experiences of blue-collar women vividly to life through interviews and analysis that expose the challenges they face on a daily basis. From Peg the police officer to Angela the trade union president, these women describe the negative situations they encounter in every facet of their work lives-from the hiring process to socializing with co-workers to relationships with supervisors-and discuss the coping mechanisms they have developed for navigating in an often-hostile environment. Greene then takes the discussion to the next level, exploring the social, political, and economic implications of enduring gender discrimation. She concludes with a series of recommendations for employers, policymakers, social workers, lawyers and other advocates, human resource professionals, and women themselves, designed to promote workplace equality in both spirit and practice. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act specifically prohibits gender-based discrimination, and over the past 40 years women have made astounding progress in breaking down barriers in the workplace-from the shop floor to the corner office. Nevertheless, discrimination is still widely practiced, in both overt and subtle ways, denying women access and opportunity, particularly in blue-collar occupations that have long been dominated by men. In Blue-Collar Women at Work with Men, Jeanie Ahearn Greene brings the experiences of blue-collar women vividly to life through interviews and analysis that expose the challenges they face on a daily basis. From Peg the police officer to Gretchen the carpenter, Mary the auto assembly line worker and Angela the trade union president, these women describe the negative situations they encounter in every facet of their work lives-from the hiring process to socializing with co-workers to relationships with supervisors-and discuss the coping mechanisms they have developed for navigating in an often hostile environment. Surprisingly, they do not see themselves as pioneers, mavericks, or martyrs, but more simply as people with bills to pay, families to raise, and modest career aspirations to fulfil. After telling these women's stories, Greene takes the discussion to the next level, exploring the social, political, and economic implications of enduring gender discrimination. She argues that despite formal protections under the law, women are still routinely harassed and discriminated against, to the detriment not only of individual growth and development, but of workplace productivity and social welfare. She concludes with a series of recommendations for employers, policymakers, social workers, lawyers and other advocates, human resource professionals, and women themselves. Ultimately, she contends that in order to have equal employment opportunity, employment policies and practices must exceed the standing protections provided by equal rights legislation and policy.

This book addresses the gap between the espoused importance of organizational human capital and how it is actually reported and assessed. It also discusses the current and potential uses of human capital measurement and a way for HR to position itself among other business functions such as finance, accounting, and operations. Readers will finish with an understanding of approaches for the valuation of a firm's human capital, practical applications for the economic analysis of human capital, and gaps that are ripe for research and practice to address.

This non-conventional book provides a human resource perspective to sales force management. It describes sales forces as complex systems of human interactions and shows how a decision in one area is likely to have direct, but also more or less desirable and lasting effects, on other aspects of the sales force. Managing human resources is no simple task, and in a sales force context, the difficulty is compounded by the fact that managers often have limited control and knowledge of what salespeople do once in the field.

The book addresses most sales force human resource decisions by contrasting prevalent industry practices with relevant research findings that could bear on sales force management and by showing how a simple managerially oriented tool can capture much of the sales force systeM's complexity. Special attention is devoted to such questions as how to identify top sales producers; how to generate candidates from the best sources of salespeople; how to select and hire the best sales producers; how to enhance and maintain sales effectiveness over time; how to set up effective compensation and sales quota plans; and how to manage sales force turnover. This book will help sales managers and supervisors to take a more integrated view to sales management. It can also help salespeople to be more effective in their tasks and to prepare them for a career in management.

An unpleasant side effect of a robust economy is the struggle to find, hire, and retain entry-level employees. Companies must reevaluate and dramatically upgrade their entry-level recruiting and hiring pracices, and develop retention strategies. McTague and his consulting partner, Batrus Hollweg Inc., draw upon their long experience with top drawer clients to give corporate decision and policy makers and their staffs the tools they need to find and keep the right people. Their book is an innovative, complete resource for organizations of any size in all industries.

Among the topics that McTague discusses are the best practices in staffing entry-level employees, such as the proper methodology for creating and conducting interviews, how to research and implement employment tests, and what the legal requirements are for recruiting and hiring. McTague shows how the book's advice is good for a wide spectrum of industries--financial, food service, hospitality, manufacturing, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. Of special importance is its guidance on legal matters; how staffing impacts productivity, customer service, and teamwork; and how a successful hiring policy will affects the organization's bottom line, or on other ways it may be evaluated. The book is an innovative, complete resource for organizations of any size in all industries. In it you'll find the cutting-edge methods and systems essential to getting good entry-level people and keeping them.

Strategic Stress Management shows how companies can boost performance by adopting integrated organizational strategies to identify and reduce stress in their employees. Including practical advice on how to conduct a stress audit and how to target stress 'hot spots' within an organization, Strategic Stress Management provides a fresh strategic model for the manager concerned with the negative effects stress can have both on company performance and the quality of life of individuals at work.

"Communicating for Survival" is a complete sourcebook to managing the necessary organizational changes in order to adapt to the new demographics and resulting labor crisis of the next decade. Designed for both practitioners and students, this practical text offers in-depth analyses of such problems as attracting and retaining employees, achieving employee trust and confidence, revising intrinsic and extrinsic reward mechanisms, and improving human resource management and communications systems.

Why do some organizations learn at faster rates than others? Why do organizations "forget"? Could productivity gains acquired in one part of an organization be transferred to another? These are among the questions addressed in Organizational Learning: Creating, Retaining and Transferring Knowledge. Since its original publication in 1999, this book has set the standard for research and analysis in the field. This fully updated and expanded edition showcases the most current research and insights, featuring a new chapter that provides a theoretical framework for analyzing organizational learning and presents evidence about how the organizational context affects learning processes and outcomes. Drawing from a wide array of studies across the spectrum of management, economics, sociology, and psychology, Organizational Learning explores the dynamics of learning curves in organizations, with particular emphasis on how individuals and groups generate, share, reinforce, and sometimes forget knowledge. With an increased emphasis on service organizations, including healthcare, Linda Argote demonstrates that organizations vary dramatically in the rates at which they learn-with profound implications for productivity, performance, and managerial and strategic decision making.

This book focuses on managing diversity in regions and times of political tensions. Using Israel as an example, the author investigates diversity management in the socio-political context of a protracted national conflict - an area that remains largely unexplored. Featuring the voices of different protagonists, as well as case studies, the book draws on an intersection between social psychological perspectives and critical sociological theories. This integrative conceptual approach mirrors the professional development of the author, who throughout her career has sought to unravel the enigma of complex human interpersonal and intergroup relations using a multifocal and interdisciplinary lens. This book underlines the need for interdisciplinary work, flexible approaches in dealing with the complexities of human relations and social structures, and an interface between research and practice.

Motivation, ability, and potential for development are crucial for performance and the achievement of objectives. The author, from his extensive management experience at Unilever, the leading multinational corporation, demonstrates the importance of the link between motivation, assessment of performance, and potential, and reward and incentive strategies. It is only by getting this relationship right that the company can achieve business success.

There are many complicated theories and ideas about the structure and style of organisations. Human Resource Management and Development looks at how they apply in practice and what they mean for the people who work with them. Divided into four sections and amply illustrated with case studies, topics such as Organisation Theory, Recruitment and Selection, Leadership and Counselling are explained, concluding with chapters on 'Organisation Change' and 'Empowerment'. Written in an accessible and lively manner, this book will be of interest to both students and professionals involved in Human Resource Management.

Labour market, work and economic development policy visions in many developed countries have been dominated in recent years by a fixation on skills. However, skill and skill development alone is not enough to harmonise societies, transform economies, galvanise organizations, and fulfil individuals. This book discusses the impact of government policy, other institutional arrangements, organizational practices, collective and individual behaviour, on things of importance to many of us: work, employment, pay, work environments, learning, participation and voice. It is a unique volume of insights from leading researchers and research centres in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

To be an effective manager in today's library, you must know and comply with numerous federal and state laws and regulations. This handbook offers how to information on academic library management and provides a single, up-to-date source for laws, regulations, executive orders, guidelines, and court decisions on employee and employer rights and responsibilities. It includes information on laws relating to recruitment and selection of personnel; the employment relationship; wages and hours; employee benefits; health, safety, and privacy; and income replacement (e.g., disability, workers' compensation). In addition, potential management problems (e.g., discipline and discharge) are discussed and case studies are presented with suggestions for problem resolution. This material will keep administrators and human resources staff apprised of the actions of such organizations as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Office of Federal Cont

This book focuses on workplace innovation, which is a key element in ensuring that organizations and the people within them can adapt to and engage in healthy, sustainable change. It features a collection of multi-level, multi-disciplinary contributions that combine theory, research and practical perspectives. In addition, the book presents new perspectives from a number of nations on policies with novel theoretical approaches to workplace innovation, as well as international case studies on the subject. These cases highlight the role of leadership, the relation between workplace innovation and well-being, as well as the do's and don'ts of workplace innovation implementation. Whether you are an experienced workplace practitioner, manager, a policy-maker, unionist, or a student of workplace innovation, this book contains a range of tips, tools and international case studies to help the reader understand and implement workplace innovation.

Human resource management (HRM) systems are an under-researched area in family business studies even though they arguably play an important role. To exploit their entrepreneurial orientation and achieve their goals, family firms must be willing to adopt a specific configuration of the organizational variables to succeed in the competitive environment of today. Designing and Implementing HR Management Systems in Family Businesses is a pivotal reference source that focuses on HRM in family businesses aiming at clarifying what HRM topics are relevant in family firms given their distinctive features, what the role of HR choices in family firms is, and how they differ in these organizations. While highlighting topics such as quality of work, generational workforce, and leadership management, this publication explores the relationship between HRM systems and the organization as well as why certain theories would be more dominant for family firms. This book is ideally designed for family businesses, managers, executives, entrepreneurs, business professionals, academicians, students, and researchers.

This book explores diversity in boardrooms to highlight the link between the heterogeneous dimensions of board diversity and their impact on the firms. The book provides a brief definition of corporate governance and focuses on the role and functions of the board of directors. The work contributes to the literature enriching the empirical findings about board diversity. After a deep review of the literature within several theoretical frameworks, such as agency, stakeholder, stewardship, resource dependence, and the institutional theory, the focus moves on the impact on financial performance. The board diversity effects are tested through an empirical analysis conducted on a sample of European listed companies, performing both a single and a joint diversity index analysis. Practitioners and academics will find this book particularly timely and useful as it combines both a review of the literature and robust empirical investigation. It will be an excellent reading for academics and practitioners interested in firm performance, corporate governance and stakeholder theory.

Emotional Intelligence (EI), the ability to perceive, understand, manage, monitor, and use both one's own and others' feeling and emotions to guide future thinking and action is one of the most important, and overlooked, qualities in determining success on the job, and in life. People with above high EI tend to be above average both in their verbal and non-verbal communication skills and in their ability to cope with stress. These are essential abilities for trainers, leaders, and others who must generate and maintain enthusiasm, confidence, and cooperation in the workplace.

Here, Caldwell and Gravett present a balanced look at how and why to use EI to move your team forward, including tips and best practices from training experts and information about tools such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and a method to meaningfully measure learning. They also examine how EI can help move the individual manager or trainer forward in their career. This is essential reading for any teachers, mangers, trainers, and leaders who want to learn how to break through to their students, and move forward to success.

The number of Western expatriates in China has grown exponentially over the past three decades, and their ability to manage cross-cultural relations has become increasingly crucial: to date, China ranks second amongst the international destinations for expatriation, occupying the top position in terms of challenges faced by expatriates and failure of assignments.
"Expatriates in China, "aimed at both scholars and business professionals, draws from academic literature and explores the world of Western expatriates in the Chinese business context through the author's first-hand experience as an expatriate in conjunction with testimonials from interviewees. This study analyses numerous factors that can affect Western expatriates and their performance in China from the selection stage until after repatriation: pre-arrival linguistic and cultural training, expatriate recruitment and selection, culture shock, matters of international human resources management, expatriate identity issues, work practices, understanding 'the Chinese way' and the effective management of expatriate repatriation.

The main objective of this book is to provide students, scholars, and practitioners a detailed background on the human resource management (HRM) practices in Mexico. This book provides ten distinguishing chapters focusing on the core functions of HRM in Mexico. The writing and researching for this book took almost a year (June 2010 to May 2011). Scholarly databases of ABI Global Inform, Business Source Complete, Google Scholar among several others were diligently searched for relevant articles for each chapter. A comprehensive bibliography is provided at the end of the book. Each chapter has its learning goals, discussion questions, and team activities to engage students in active learning. Each chapter also provides an implication section for multinational practitioners. The chapter on ""best practices"" includes qualitative interviews with the HRM leaders of the ""best companies."" This book has 15 tables and two appendices that provide important information on the main concepts from the various chapters. There is paucity in the literature in obtaining consolidated information on Mexican HRM practices. This book addresses this dearth in the international literature by providing individual chapters on the different HRM practices adopted in Mexico. The information in this book provided will be beneficial for both scholars and practitioners.

Business Principles for Landscape Contracting, fully revised and updated in its third edition, is an introduction to the application of business principles of financial management involved in setting up your own landscape contracting business and beginning your professional career. Appealing to students and professionals alike, it will build your knowledge of financial management tools and enable you to relate their applications to real-life business scenarios. Focusing on the importance of proactive financial management, the book serves as a primer for students in landscape architecture, contracting, and management courses and entrepreneurs within the landscape industry preparing to use business principles in practice. Topics covered include: Financial management and accountability Budget development Profitable pricing and estimating Project management Creating a lean culture Personnel management and employee productivity Professional development Economic sustainability.

This pioneering book on food study pursues an interdisciplinary approach to service science and the service engineering field. Further, it highlights a range of experiments conducted at actual business sites to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodologies and theories. In modern society, food study has become more complex, as it involves multiple fields of science. For instance, a long-lived society entails a number of problems for human beings. A balanced intake of nutrients is important for a healthy life, but in many cases, healthy food is not the most enjoyable. As such, it is important for the food industry to provide foods that are both tasty and wholesome, based on the sciences of gastronomy and nutrition. Conventional food study proceeds along the lines of a specific field such as nutrition, agriculture, or gastronomy, though it should be conducted in an interdisciplinary manner. This book covers multifaceted research on food study to respond to today's societal demands, based mainly on the natural and social sciences. It addresses a wide range of topics, including: food production management using mathematical modeling, operations research, and production engineering; evaluation of food products based on big data analysis; psychological experiments and ethnography; food products based on consumer behavior; organoleptic assessment and health improvement; design of physical dining environments using virtual reality, pedestrian debt recognition (human indoor position measuring), and observation of behavior. Reporting on and assessing many studies conducted at actual business locations, the book offers a unique and highly practical resource.