The rapidly transforming environment that we live in has made human resource development (HRD) all the more necessary for the success of today's organizations. HRD initiatives help their organizations by developing employees who assist their organizations in not only surviving, but thriving in our increasingly global world. Today's best practice or benchmarked organizations and their HRD professionals continue to recognize the importance of employee learning, knowledge, skills and motivation to organizational success. This recognition increasingly opens many doors as organizational leaders accept the fact that HRD initiatives can be used to ensure that organization members have what it takes to successfully meet the demands that confront them and their organizations. This book takes the position that HRD can demonstrate how their initiatives help to develop a superior workforce so that the organization and its individual employees can accomplish their strategic and operational goals in service to their clients or customers. This book is written with the belief that HRD professionals have many opportunities to learn, change and find ways both in and outside of the workplace to contribute to the development of learning organizations as we move further into the 21st century. A major point of this book is that HRD will continue to become more and more important to organizational success when one considers the increased responsibilities HRD professionals have taken on during and post- the COVID pandemic. The primary audience for this book is practicing HRM and HRD professionals, and other organizational leaders. The book provides proven ideas important to demonstrating the value of HRD. From a practical viewpoint, it is based on actual experience, a strong research base, and accepted practices presented in an easy to read form. A second target audience is students of HRD and HRM who are preparing for careers in this important field. This book will help them develop a solid foundation to the study of HRD practices or initiatives that are key to HRD success regardless of the type of organization. A third target audience is managers or leaders at all levels of an organization who are expected to take on a number of HRD responsibilities (e.g., as trainers, coaches, mentors, change agents, and so on) while regularly partnering with HRD professionals. It offers these individuals a firsthand look at what they should expect of their HRD functions or areas and how they can effectively work with HRD professionals in their organizations to achieve the organizations strategic goals by getting the most out of its human people.

A Contemporary Look at Business Ethics provides a `present day' look at business ethics to include the challenges, opportunities and increased need for ethical leadership in today's and tomorrow's organizations. The book discusses current and future business ethics challenges, issues and opportunities which provides the context leaders and their organizations must navigate. The book includes an in?depth look at lessons learned about the causes of unethical behavior by examining a number of real?world examples of ethical scandals from around the world that have taken place over the past few decades. The analysis of the various ethical scandals focuses on concepts like ethical versus unethical leadership, received wisdom, the bottom?line mentality, groupthink and moral muteness, all of which contribute to the kind of organizational culture and ethical behavior one finds in an organization. The book discusses ethical decision making in general and the increased role of religion and spirituality, in confronting unethical behavior in contemporary organizations. The book also takes an in?depth look at the impact ethical scandals have on employees and more specifically the psychological contract and person?organization ethical fit with the goal of identifying, along with other things, what leaders can do to restore relationships with employees and rebuild the organization's reputation in the eyes of various stakeholders.

In 2010 IAP released Change (Transformation) in Government Organizations, edited by Ronald R. Sims. This well-received volume described how organizational change methods can be used effectively to make government organizations more effective and efficient and better equipped to serve a demanding citizenry. The 2010 book brought together contributions by managers, practitioners, academics, and consultants in the study of international, federal, state, and local government efforts to respond to increased calls for change (transformation) in public sector organizations. Since the release of the 2010 volume, calls for government transformation have continued and intensified, and a number of fresh ideas and examples have been generated from the field. The time is now ripe for a follow-up volume laying out innovative, successful ideas for transforming government. Transforming Government Organizations: Fresh Ideas and Examples from the Field is that follow-up volume. A collection of fresh contributions such as those included in this book will add to the growing knowledge base of what does-and what does not-work when transformation efforts are attempted in government organizations. The contributors to this new volume are experts with extensive experience as change agents in government and other organizations. They provide analyses and discussions of specific cases and issues as well as practical tools, ideas, and lessons learned intended to guide those responsible for similar efforts in the years to come. The audience for the book are government managers, scholars, and others interested in undertaking or learning about such efforts.

This book is written with the belief that HRD professionals will continue to learn, change and find ways to reinvent themselves and the profession individually and collectively as we move further into the 21st century. A major point of this book is that HRD will continue to become more and more important to organizational success. And, that in as calls for accountability and bottom line impact continue to rise, HRD professionals will be proactive in demonstrating their value to the organization. The primary audience for this book is practicing HRM and HRD professionals, and other organizational leaders. The book provides tested and proven ideas important to demonstrating the value of HRD. From a practical viewpoint, it is based on actual experience, a strong research base, and accepted practices presented in an easy to read form. A second target audience is students of HRD and HRM who are preparing for careers in this important field. This book will help them develop a solid foundation to the study of HRD practices that are key to HRD success regardless of the type of organization. A third target audience is managers or leaders at all levels of an organization who are increasingly expected to take on HRD responsibilities while also partnering with HRD professionals. It offers these individuals a firsthand look at what they should expect of their HRD functions or areas and how they can encourage HRD professionals in their organizations to be accountable' strategic partners in helping the organization achieve its success by getting the most out of its human capital.

A volume in Contemporary Human Resource Management: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities Series Editor Ronald R. Sims, College of William and Mary The primary purpose of this book is to stimulate dialogue and discussion about the most effective ways of teaching ethics. Contributors to the book focus on approaches and methodologies and lessons learned that are having an impact in leading students to confront with accountability and understanding the bases of their ethical thinking, the responsibilities they have to an enlarged base of stakeholders (whose needs and interests often are conflicting), and their stewardship to use their talents responsibility not only in fulfilling an enterprise's economic goals but also to recognize the impact of their actions on both individuals and larger society. The primary audiences for the book are those individuals responsible for teaching management, especially those with responsibilities for teaching business ethics. But the book is also designed for practicing managers, for these managers have among their most important responsibilities the development of people in their organizations who have the integrity, values, and competences to be effective managers of economic resources while at the same time to recognize the roles of their enterprise in shaping society.

When a New Leader takes Over: Toward Ethical Turnarounds takes a detailed look at the experiences of new leaders who are charged with turning an organization around following an ethical scandal. The challenges confronting new leaders who are tasked with restoring trust, rebuilding reputation, and turning around an organization following an ethical scandal are discussed along with specific actions taken by these leaders during the turnaround process. A main focus of the book is to offer insight into the difficult situations confronting new leaders at the beginning, during and after their turnaround experiences which means turning an unethical organizational culture into an ethical one. A number of examples of turnaround efforts that have taken place over the past two decades are included to provide the most comprehensive documentation of the ethical turnaround process. The book includes an in-depth look at what led to the unethical behavior by examining a number of real-world examples of ethical scandals from around the world. The book will provide an analysis of the various ethical scandals by focusing on concepts like unethical leadership, received wisdom, groupthink and moral silence, all of which contribute to the kind of organizational culture and unethical behavior one finds in organizations that experience ethical scandals. The book also discusses proactive leadership and its importance in implementing ethical turnarounds based on values-based leadership, employee involvement and ethics education. A main premise of this book is that new leaders can successfully create an organization environment to rebuild and institutionalize ethical behavior as part of the turnaround process and sustain ethical behavior beyond the turnaround. The book will be of interest to employees at all levels of an organization, business professionals and other practitioners and others who have an interest in organization change, transformation and ethical turnarounds.

Human Resources Management Issues, Challenges and Trends: "Now and Around the Corner" explores and provides an updated look at some of the challenges, trends and issues HRM professionals will need to focus on now and around the corner. Like other departments in the broader organization HRM professionals will need to increasingly demonstrate how they add value and contribute to the organization's success. While the trends, challenges and issues impacting organizations and HRM professionals will continue to change over the years, the bottom-line of organization success is the clear reality that employees are their best assets and the need for effective HRM. The book is intended to help to better understand the ongoing transformation of HRM given the issues, challenges and opportunities offered by the contributors to this book. This means the book discusses the ever evolving role of HRM professionals to include discussion of how the profession must continue to become more adaptive, resilient, quick to change direction and customer-centered in its efforts to help meet the human resource needs of contemporary organizations and their employees. The book contributes to the ongoing dialogue and insights offered by HRM experts on what HRM professionals and their organizations can do in the face of such challenges, trends and issues in their efforts to win the talent wars.

This work looks at managing school system change. It covers such topics as: challenges to leading and managing school and school system change; key roles and competencies for administrators; stakeholder theory analysis; understanding school culture change; and more.

The purpose of this book is to explore the talents, work styles, attitudes, and issues that members of the Millennial generation are bringing with them as they enter the workforce. The Millennial generation is a roughly 20-year cohort of young people whose 'leading edge' members were born in 1982 and graduated high school in 2000. These are the young adults who began entering college, the military, and the workplace during the present decade, and who will continue to do so for perhaps another decade more. The Millennial generation has been exposed during their formative years to a unique variety of historical, cultural, economic, and technological changes that have shaped their particular attitudes and values, preferred social interaction styles, beliefs about what is proper in the workplace, and personal concerns and desires. Millennials are bringing their unique perspectives into their places of employment, where at times they clash with those of the older generations who are already established there.

This 2nd edition of Executive Ethics provides a variety of contemporary and timely readings squarely focused on the ethical dilemmas and challenges faced by today's C?suite executives. In addition to identifying these dilemmas and challenges, the contributors provide both knowledge and insight on how C?suite executives can proactively address such ethics issues. The contributors provide unique value propositions for the C?suite regarding the most critical ethical issues facing organizations today while also highlighting useful information for senior executives interested in integrating ethics into the leadership and management practices of their organizations. In the end, the book empowers C?suite executives to build a long?term, strategic, and enterprise?wide approach to ethics.

This edited book is intended to address the need for an updated look at the HRM legal and regulatory environment. Contrary to existing books which address legal issues in HRM from a narrower focus or specific issue (like sexual harassment, performance appraisal or employment termination), this book will provide a comprehensive and in-depth look at legal issues, regulations and laws which govern all aspects of human resource management - recruitment, selection, placement, performance management (i.e., employee training and development), benefits and compensation - and specific issues such as job analysis, sexual harassment, and the like. The contributors to this book offer their insight derived from their own research and practical experience with the HRM legal and regulatory environment/world of work. More specifically, the contributors examine, analyze and discuss challenges, issues and opportunities related to HRM legal and regulatory issues and the implications for employees and their organizations while emphasizing the importance of navigating such laws and regulations to the employment cycle and toward sustainable competitive advantage intoday's and tomorrow's organizations.

Today's businesses have an obligation to conduct themselves in an ethical and responsible manner at all times. Fortunately, many businesses have historically embraced the idea that they can operate in an ethically & responsible manner. However, there are way too many companies that are willing to cut corners and do whatever it takes to make a profit, thus contributing to the vortex of mistrust, distrust, misinformation, disinformation and less than full disclosures as a result of their unethical misconduct. This book takes the position that 'enough is enough' and argues that all businesses can and must be ethically responsible no matter its size or whether it operates locally or globally. The book describes the features of an ethically responsible (e.g., ethical and socially responsible) organization that is committed to always "doing the right things" which means they are committed to building, institutionalizing and sustaining an ethically oriented organizational culture. Ethical responsibility means maintaining —even improving— your bottom line, while setting a high bar for high ethical standards AND making a positive contribution to society. The book argues that organizations must be attentive to ensuring that the culture has as its core accountability, responsibility, and learning which means it invests in developing and expecting all of its employees to be fully engaged in making ethical decisions and being ethical leaders. The book also discusses what it means to be an ethically responsible global business, leader, middle manager, and lower level employee. The Ethically Responsible Organization provides a detailed look at the importance of organizations doing preventive work to avoid ethical falls or scandals and takes the position that if such a fall or scandal occurs then the company should seize the moment and learn from the experience by becoming a learning organization. The book also takes the position that an ethically responsible organization is already a learning organization where continuous inquiry, diagnosis, reflection, learning and self-correction is the keystone of the way it operates. Finally, the book offers some ideas on how organizations can reinforce and sustain themselves as ethically responsible businesses today and in the future by taking a strategic approach to ethics that includes constant and consistent ethics training and education for all its employees and partners. In the end, the purpose of the book is to continue to increase our understanding of why organizations stray from "doing the right things" and how a focus on being ethically responsible can position companies to avoid or quickly respond to any potential ethical misconduct or find themselves in the list of the years' top ethical scandals. This book is written for all those who also take the stance that 'enough is enough' when it comes to the headlines of another failure because the organization's leaders would not commit to being ethically responsible and find themselves in the throes of an ethical scandal and unable to recover from it – and like "Humpty Dumpty, all the kings horses and all the kings men the company can't recover from what was a preventable ethical fall.

"Change (Transformation) in Government Organizations" discusses recent efforts to bring about change in government organizations. The book brings together contributions by a number of managers, practitioners, academics and consultants in the study of international, federal, state, and local government efforts to respond to increased calls for change (transformation) in public sector organizations. Each contributor describes their work in this area using as a backdrop the fact that public sector organizations continue to be under new and substantial pressures to change and transform themselves. Hence a collection of current contributions such as those in this book are intended to add to the ongoing debates and rewriting of the success and failures of change in public sector organizations. The ultimate purpose of this book is to further our knowledge about the related issues and current efforts to bring about change or transformation in public sector organizations. The contributors, all experts with extensive experience as change agents in both public and private sector organizations not only support their analyses and discussions of specific cases and change (transformation) management issues but also provide practical tools, ideas and lessons learned, intended to be generalizable to other public sector agencies and helpful to those responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating similar efforts in the years to come. The audience for the book will be government managers, scholars and others interested in undertaking or learning about such efforts.

The contributors in this book identify and clearly discuss contemporary and critical issues, challenges and opportunities in HRM. The book attempts to achieve the delicate balance between basic HRM functions, and the new world of HRM. Moreover, in a dynamic field like HRM, a complete look at contemporary HRM issues, challenges, and opportunities is a must for today's and tomorrow's students and future manages and leaders. After all, it is important for any book to undertake a current state of the field while also bridging the gap of traditional HRM activities (i.e., issues, challenges and opportunities) and the possible future state of the HRM field. An organizing principle for this book is the need to for an integrated HRM system, comprised of multiple activities, designed to influence organizational and employee behaviors. The books contributors include some basic theories and models that simultaneously consider how HRM activities like recruitment, selection, reward practices, and development activities among others are being impacted by contemporary issues, challenges and opportunities for the field of HRM, particularly HRM functions and professional as they are increasingly expected to play a role in enabling organizational managers and other employees to achieve desired organizational results. Thus, the essence of the book is that the collective chapters reflect both a functional orientation built on theory and models but also provide insights into how to translate theory into practice via the establishment of the increasingly critical role HRM procedures, practices, and processes play in accomplishing the goals and objectives in contemporary organizations.

Decision making is the critical key to survival in the future. It is the contention of this book that we must increase our understanding of organizational decision making in general and ethical decision making in particular. Ethics underlies much of what happens in modern organizations. Organizations, which institutionalize ethics, develop a culture based on ethical values and consistently display them in all their activities. They derive a number of positive benefits: improved top management control, increased productivity, avoidance of litigation and an enhanced image that attracts talent and the public's good will.

The major aim of this book is to provide a better understanding and integration of the variables that are important to institutionalizing ethics within any organization. It pays particular attention to decision making, organizational culture, the role of management, and groupthink. Clear lessons from real firms' experiences are drawn: firms can counteract and turnaround unethical behavior by learning to cope with inevitable conflicts, by introducing disagreement as part of the decision making process, by installing an effective training program and by changing employee-employer contracts. The author takes corporate CEOs, human resource managers and scholars from understanding the problem, to what it takes to establish, institutionalize and maintain ethics in organizations.

Succeeding as a Frontline Manager in Today's Organizations highlights the fact that as the world of work continues to change in response to a variety of trends, issues and opportunities, manages on the frontline will still be expected to see that their organizations operate both effectively and efficiently to not only survive but to thrive. To do this, frontline managers (FLMs) must continue to learn and develop their skills to get the organization's work done through its people. This book examines both the traditional and contemporary skills todays frontline managers must have at a minimum and those they must successfully learn to implement to fulfill their critical roles and responsibilities. The book argues that FLMs will continue to play a critical role in helping their organizations pursue and achieve their strategic, tactical and operational goas efficiently and effectively. By focusing on the skills a good FLM needs, this book offers specificity on what the FLM and their organizations must do to increase the potential for the success of FLMs in having a positive influence on the organization overall by focusing both on results and the well-being of employees. The book examines not only looks at the essentials of effective management but discusses the importance of how one becomes and makes a smooth transition to the role of a FLM. In addition, the book examines the essential elements of management-planning, organizing, controlling, and leading-while also offering an in-depth look at the important role FLMs can and should play as it relates to ethics, building and leading effective teams, and safety and health. Each chapter offers insights into what FLMs can do to be effective in their work, particularly for those FLMs who want to continue to develop themselves as they play the different roles and exercise different skills in doing their jobs. In the end, this book is written for, those who are interested in increasing their understanding of the FLMs role, responsibilities and skills needed to be effective while also getting those who work for them to accomplish their work effectively, efficiently and productively on their own or as a member of a group or team.

Why with hundreds and hundreds of books on leadership to choose from, why another one?" The answer is simple. Given the importance of leadership and leaders in organizations there will always be efforts to try to improve our understanding on how we can improve the leadership process. Leadership, Leaders and Leading focuses on the age old reality that successful organizations will continue to need effective leaders at all levels. The book is based on the premise that effective leaders need to be able to establish a shared vision and accompanying strategy that other members of the organization strongly believe in and are willing to help execute. The book argues that we can continue to learn from traditional and contemporary theories and myths about effective leadership & leaders and how they can successfully lead an increasingly diverse and demanding workforce, consumers and the broader society. The book discusses foundational leadership skills like motivation, communication, building leader-follower relationships, groups and teams, developing others, conflict, negotiation and organizational politics along with highlighting the important role leaders should play in the areas of human resource management, ethics, crisis and reputation management, sustainability/sustainable development, and cybersecurity. Each chapter offers the opportunity for the reader to increase their understanding of leadership, leaders and leading in an increasingly dynamic world of work. This book is written for those who are interested in the continued effort and dialogue on what effective leadership, leaders and leading should entail in the coming years.

Change is relentless, disruptive, and unavoidable. To manage organizations today, executives need new ways to look at the world, their companies, their jobs and, most importantly, the people who report to them. Sims sees these as the prime requisites for success in management today: an ability to feel comfortable with ambiguity, with constant and increasingly demanding change, with a new, unique commitment to teams and teamwork, and with a willingness to stay customer-oriented. Marshalling his evidence from academic research and practical experience, Sims shows how researchers are continuing to redefine the roles and responsbilities of executives and their reports. One crucial finding: the emphasis is now and must remain on people. The executive today has to be a facilitator, team member, teacher, advocate, sponsor, and coach--and it is all of these tasks, requirements, outlooks, responsibilities, and accountabilities that Sims explores here. Offering a new way to look at work, at organizations, and at oneself, Sims provides not only the reasons why the new organization is what it is, but how to cope with it and to succeed in it. A must-read for supervisors, managers, executives, and recent graduates who are ready to take their own places in the new world of business.

Sims sees people as the key to the successful performance of any organization. He provides a balance between theory and practice, nuts-and-bolts prescriptives, and interesting anecdotes. Detailed, wide-ranging, and readable, his book offers up-to-date, relevant, and engaging discussions of the individual foundations of behavior--perception, attitudes, personality--plus various theories of motivation and the most useful tools derived from them to use in managing people. He also covers such issues as communication, groups, and teams, and the decision-making challenges that leaders, managers, and employees must actively address. Sims highlights the increasing importance of conflict and negotiation within and between individuals, groups, and organizations, as well as the special personal demands placed upon people as they strive to acquire flexibility, to become adaptive and more responsive to new organizational designs and structures. With its coverage of traditional topics as well, Sims' book offers a balanced, rounded, forward-looking view of what it means to work in today's changing organizations, and how to help one's own organization not just to survive but to prosper.

Human Resources Management and Ethics: Responsibilities, Actions, Issues, and Experiences, explores and provides an in-depth look at the responsibilities, actions, issues and experiences related to HRM and ethics for individual employees, organizations and the broader society. Like other departments in the broader organization HRM professionals will need to increasingly demonstrate how they contribute to an organization's ethical orientation and overall performance or success. While the ethical challenges, trends, and issues impacting employees, organizations and HRM professionals will continue to change over the years (consider the recent ethical challenges related cybersecurity and data breaches) the bottom-line of organization success is the clear reality that doing the right thing or institutionalizing an ethical culture or character is just as important to various stakeholders. The chapters in this book provide an updated, current and future look at the relationship between HRM and ethics and across various sectors or organizations (i.e. public, private, not-for-profit, academic, etc.). That is, this book discusses the ever evolving role of HRM professionals to include discussion of how the profession continues to take on more responsibility for developing and institutionalizing an ethical culture in their organizations, industries and the broader society. The book also contributes to the need for ongoing dialogue, discussion or insights offered by HRM experts on what HRM professionals and their organizations can do in the face of ethical expectations, challenges and scandals. In the end, the book is intended to increase our understanding of the ethical responsibilities, actions, issues and experiences that arise both within HRM and in HRM's interactions with individuals and organizations.

A new set of major changes is reshaping the economy and creating challenges that are testing the mettle and talents of organizations and their employees. Unless organizations and their employees develop the requisite skills they need to cope with these challenges, many will become casualties of their own deficiencies. "Keys to Employee Success in Coming Decades" seeks to prepare employees for future success in an increasingly demanding and competitive global environment. Sims, Veres, and their contributors are careful to focus on what employees at different levels in the organization will need to do to be successful in the twenty-first century.

Mastery of the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors discussed by the contributors in this book will lead to enhanced employee performance as the new decade approaches. The requirements for new employees or the redesigned employees is quickly changing. The organizations of tomorrow will expect employees who understand the importance of success; who welcome change and accept it, master it, and deliberately cause it. They are also employees who are proactive innovators, who confront constraints and the limitations on actions that they impose, who take risks and who continue to develop themselves professionally, technically, and personally. Written clearly, concisely, and with a minimum of academic jargon, the book will be important reading for specialists in human resource management, training and development, and others with critical responsibilities throughout the organization.

The key to teaching business ethics successfully, says Sims, is to start with clear goals and a sensible expectation of outcomes, and with a true knowledge and appreciation of how people actually learn. Seems obvious enough, he says, but the surprise is that so few understand this. Thus, the teaching of business ethics is often an unproductive, frustrating exercise in futility. Sims hopes to change that. Proceeding with the conviction that open communications between teacher and student before, during, and after the teaching experience is vital, Sims identifies key teaching processes, gives practical advice on designing and planning the curriculum, and offers guidance on how to develop a climate conducive to effective learning. He highlights the importance of creating a classroom climate that encourages open dialogue, good moral conversation, and conversational learning. And throughout he emphasizes that learning styles and experiential learning theory are cornerstones of teaching business ethics, thus taking an approach unlike any in the literature. An important guide for those who are new to teaching this essential subject, Sims' book will also be helpful for more experienced teachers who are wondering why their own methods do not always work, or do not work as well as they believe they should. Sims identifies important processes that must be managed if business ethics is to be taught and learned successfully--processes such as creating stakeholder commitment to the goals, purposes, and outcomes of the teaching effort, and curriculum design and planning that are attuned to individual differences in learning styles, motivation, and values. Also included in Sims' processes are thedevelopment of individual school outcomes, and expectations, and the assessment procedures that can measure them. He discusses the importance of incorporating debriefing into an experiential learning exercise or discussion, and goes on to give an in-depth discussion of the pedagogical approaches that allow teachers to teach the practical and theoretical components of the subject simultaneously. Well illustrated with examples, such as an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and a way to institutionalize outcomes assessment by means of total quality management, Sims' book returns constantly to his major theme: that to teach business ethics effectively the teacher must first create a climate of trust and sharing within and between students, and between students and teacher, and that the teacher must have a concrete way to measure the impact of the teaching effort's results.

Among the most significant features of Sims and Dennehy's book are a focus beyond valuing and managing cultural diversity, and a demonstration of the interdependency that exists between a number of important individual differences (i.e., alienation, receptivity, style, power). They discuss some personal yet theoretical insights on answers and questions that are important in increasing our recognition, understanding, and appreciation of diversity and differences in general. In eleven original essays contributors examine a wide assortment of behaviors, issues, and individual differences while offering their reflections on answers and future questions that are key to leveraging diversity and difference in organizations.

Recent literature has emphasized the projected changes in organizational demographics and the fact that globalization also is changing the face of organizational landscapes. Taken together these trends are serving to increase the need to understand and appreciate cultural diversity in virtually all organizations. Many books already exist that attempt to address this topic. Each one attempts to provide a guide to dealing with a variety of racial, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds. The intent of Sims and Dennehy's book is to go beyond offering ideas or to serve simply as a guide to improve the management of diversity. Thus, a major goal of this book is to have its readers reflect on their personal diversity and difference experiences and to create a forum for answers and questions on the value of diversity and differences for all. The main thread that ties everything together in this book is the strategy of creating value through repeated emphasis on our need to look beyond valuing and managing diversity to the interdependency of a variety of individual variables that shape our lives.

The book begins by offering a bridge-building model as a tool that colleges and universities can use to decrease the alienation experienced by minority students on predominantly white campuses and to increase the social consciousness of all institutional constituents. The next chapter suggests that diversity is essential to learning, and good conversation is a powerful way to learn from diversity. The book then introduces a model that seeks to place the issue of diversity management as one part of an overall development change process. The notion that the success of some organizations in enhancing diversity is dependent upon the vision and strength of management is emphasized in the next chapter, which, by taking a different perspective, presents the argument that current corporate infrastructures do not promote diversity. Unless a company builds new internal support systems that encourage diversity of thought and action, employees hired to make the company more diverse will merely be homogenized into the prevailing culture. In the following chapter the role of training in U.S. organizations is discussed as a major component in increasing the recognition, understanding, and appreciation of diversity and difference. The concept of difference-based approach to advocacy and its relation to issues of gender are introduced as cornerstones of creating work environments that are supportive of employees' needs to balance work and family. The next chapter provides data for analysis of the expatriate's learning experience and applies the learning from expatriate experiences to those issues faced by minorities in a domestic setting. A need to create new intellectual diversity that focuses on foreign language skills applicable to the needs of economic, scientific, and technological markets is emphasized in the next chapter. Next, a comparison is made of the decision-making processes and practices of Japanese and American managers at a Japanese company in the United States. The author's pioneering findings can be generalized to understand decision-making in different cultures and organizations. The role of diversity educator is then discussed and the author persuasively argues that active learner participation, self-disclosure, and a trusting supportive environment are prerequisites to understanding and appreciating diversity. The book concludes with a review of the important points discussed by the contributors to this book, offers questions in need of answers, and identifies future issues on diversity and differences.

Not only are performance and human resources management (HRM) bound tightly together, but Sims even goes so far as to say that the way people are managed in coming decades will be the most important determinant of organizational success. He shows how success is determined by a firM's skill in attracting, developing, and retaining its human capital; how a firM's people are what give it a measurable advantage over the competition; and how an organization's commitment to developing its people's abilities and skills is an obligation at all levels. Sims focuses on practical, real-world human resources problems and activities emphasize the need for managers to prove themselves excellent people managers as well, and covers the traditional HRM tasks and responsibilities in ways that will give them new meaning and urgency. By focusing on current challenges, emerging issues, and HRM innovations now on the horizon, Sims' book is essential for managers and executives throughout the organization, and indeed throughout all sectors of the economy.

Sims provides a firsthand understanding of the importance of HRM and lays out the tools to help managers do it well. He emphasizes repeatedly how important it is for organizations to understand that their success depends on their ability to attract and keep talented employees. With its persuasive discussion of the trends and emerging issues in the development of proactive human resources policies and practices, the book shows how to anticipate and work towards the development and retention of the right people. It emphasizes the importance of taking a strategic approach to all of the various human resources activities, and proves throughout that for an organization to prosper and earn a profit, goals must be set and initiatives taken in all areas of HRM and by all people, whatever their levels of responsibility may be.

The training and development function has made important contributions to the success of American corporations, but is it time now for an overhaul? Sims thinks it is. Not only does his book delineate the ways in which T&D has lost touch with the times, but it also identifies the ways in which it can--and must--be restructured and, indeed, reinvented. It must be more responsive to customer demands and interests, it must participate in and contribute directly to competitive corporate strategies. And it must find ways to measure concretely its performance and its contribution to the corporate bottom line. Sims' book is thus the first to take a corporate strategy approach to understanding and developing the T&D function. In doing so, it dissects T&D, chapter-by-chapter, and in each chapter provides practical guidance on how trainers can improve their performance and thus contribute clearly to the success of their organizations. Not only training and development people, but management in other areas will find this book thoughtful, provocative, and challenging.

To accomplish this task of becoming a more active strategic partner, this book calls for the reinvention of training. Reinvention means that training professionals and their training functions must take a strategic, customer, performance improvement and accountability orientation to add more value to their organizations. After discussing the importance of reinventing training, the book turns to a discussion of the importance of ensuring that, given the organization's strategic agenda, a needs analysis of training goals and employee development needs are derived from a comprehensive analysis of the organization's T&D needs. The book stresses the importance of aligning the organization's strategic agenda and the T&D programs developed by the training function to support the organization's objectives. The book next turns to a discussion on the developing and designing of training programs that will result in employee and organization learning necessary for achieving key business results. Sims offers a detailed discussion of training's need to improve its measurement of the contribution of training. The book concludes with a discussion of issues driving the need for training to continuously learn and work to improve its partnering with customers, delivery of just-in-time customized training, and take on a more proactive role in consulting with the organization on both training and nontraining interventions intended to help the organization meet its intended objective and sustain their competitive advantage.

As we move through the 1990s, the role of HRM is becoming ever more demanding. HRM issues are replacing capital resource issues as the guiding force for today's and tomorroW's organizations. HRM professionals must respond to changes in the economy, government and legal influences, new organizational forms, and changing employee expectations. They must also anticipate changes in global competition and training requirements. In the future, HRM professionals must work to become equal strategic partners in their organization, if they are to add value to the company. Here is an in-depth discussion of current and future challenges and issues for HRM professionals and scholars of human resource managers.

The authors present these challenges, with specific examples of individual HRM managers and their department's responses to these problems. The authors discuss steps that HRM professionals need to take to become more efficient and productive with limited human resources. Cultivating ethical behavior, trust and teamwork, as well as the use of information systems are also addressed. Special attention is given to the need of HRM professionals to increase their competency in their expanding role of providing strategic advice to senior executives and line managers.