Personnel Management [antikvár]

Preface The material of this book deals with the personnel processes in and around organisations that can lead to the effecdve management of human resources, as well as providing an effective management service to resourceful humans. It is the fifth in a series that started with Torrington and Chapman in 1979 and 1983, continuing with Torrington and Hall in 1987 and 1991. The tide remains as Personnel Management, first to maintain the continuity and secondly because it describes the contents. The specialist people in the field still mainly retain the badges of 'Personnel Director', 'Personnel Manager' and so forth and the main institutional influences, the Institute of Personnel and Development and the Personnel Standards Lead Body, appear to affirm that 'Personnel' is the appropriate label for those specialising in aspects of human resource management. The subtitle HRM in Action acknowledges the main current influence on personnel practice. The degree of restructuring is greater than in the second edition. We have eight parts, beginning with an introduction and ending with a finale. Each of these parts has a single-word title, aiming to be clear and free from jargon. The bulk of the book is in Parts 11 to Vll, containing a total of 33 chapters. Each of these six parts begins with strategy and ends with interaction, the opening chapter in each providing a review of the strategic aspects of the function that is the subject of the part. This is in response to the great current interest in strategy and makes the necessary link to the concept of human resource management without becoming involved in its incoherent lack of agenda. After this come the chapters with an operational emphasis. The final chapter in each part is an examination of the skills involved in an interactive episode that lies at the heart of the function that has been explored. The logic of this is that personnel management incorporates more of these face to face skills than any other aspect of management. Parts II to VII therefore all have the overall format of: strategy - operations - interaction This seems to be the most effective way of producing a book which remains comprehensive and practical as well as keeping up with current thinking. Preface xv