The Future of Human Resource Management: 64 Thought Leaders Explore the Critical HR Issues of Today and Tomorrow [Hardcover]

Mike Losey (Author), Dave Ulrich (Author), Sue Meisinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0471677914 | ISBN-13: 978-0471677918 | Edition: 1

Sixty-three stellar academics, consultants, and practitioners look at the future of human resources

The follow-up to the bestselling Tomorrow's HR Management (978-0-471-19714-0), this book presents an international panel of expert contributors who offer their views on the state of HR and what to expect in the future. Topics covered include HR as a decision science, understanding and managing people, creating and adapting organizational culture, the effects of globalization, collaborative ventures, and investing in the next generation. Like its bestselling predecessor before it, The Future of Human Resource Management offers the very best thinking on the future of HR from the most respected leaders in the field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…this book is ideal for the busy practitioner and the book-weary student alike…a one-stop study guide to the most up-to-date HR thinking…” (Personnel Today, 25^th October 2005)

“…This book provides a thought-provoking skim across the surface of HR…” (Public Servant, 29 July 2005)

From the Inside Flap

Professional human resources management is an increasingly vital area in any organization, given its responsibility for building talent and creating other organizational capabilities that create competitive advantage through hiring, training, and rewarding people, and designing and managing organization processes. As business pushes on into the future and adapts to new realities, the practice of HR must keep up, and practitioners must stay abreast of changes in the field in order to prepare for the future.

This follow-up to the bestselling Tomorrow's HR Management brings together a panel of noted international experts, each contributing to an article on the state of HR today and changes to expect in the coming years. Including academics, consultants, and practitioners, these sixty-four contributors examine a wide range of issues in HR—including HR as a decision science; understanding and managing people; organizational culture; the impact of HR on business results; the requirements of an HR professional; globalization and its effects; and collaborative ventures. Divided into nine sections organized by topic, The Future of Human Resource Management presents thoughtful ideas and fresh perspectives on almost every aspect of the field.

Inside you'll find thought-provoking essays you won't find anywhere else—Coleman Peterson reveals how Wal-Mart hires and keeps its people; Peter Cappelli and Mike Losey offer divergent views on the possibility of a labor shortage in America; Libby Sartain explores HR's role in brand development; Gordon Hewitt writes about HR's contribution to business strategy; and Frances Hesselbein applies her leadership expertise to HR governance issues.

No one can know what the future will bring, but it is clear that HR will continue to grow and change. With HR's increasing importance to the success of every business, practitioners and managers who can adapt to the future will determine the success or failure of their enterprises. The Future of Human Resource Management looks at the challenges, trends, and demands that will define the future of HR.

The Future of Human Resource Management is copublished by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and the Society for Human Resource Management. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 190,000 individual members, the Society's mission is to serve the needs of HR professionals by providing the most essential and comprehensive resources available. As an influential voice, the Society's mission is also to advance the human resource profession to ensure that HR is recognized as an essential partner in developing and executing organizational strategy. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 500 affiliated chapters and members in more than 100 countries. Visit SHRM Online at www.shrm.org.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471677914
• ISBN-13: 978-0471677918
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dave Ulrich is a professor of business administration at the University of Michigan School of Business and the author of the best-selling Human Resource Champions, Results-Based Leadership, and The HR Scorecard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VALUABLE, VALID AND VIVID SNAPSHOT OF THE HR PROFESSION!, April 27, 2005

By 

Gerry Stern "Stern's Management Review Online" (Culver City, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Future of Human Resource Management: 64 Thought Leaders Explore the Critical HR Issues of Today and Tomorrow (Hardcover)

To create this collection the editors contacted thought leaders and asked them "What is the future of HR?" They responded with the essays that make up this work. Its 45 brief chapters, contributed by 64 HR gurus, cover a broad spectrum of issues confronting the field. The chapters were clustered into nine parts, with the springboard clause of "In the future, an effective HR professional must..." These nine parts focus on outcomes and results-not actions or activities. This non-tradition (i.e., not based on specialized functions) organization of the book's content captures a dynamic, value-generating spirit. The authors hope they have provided a "road map for the profession," spotlighting how HR practitioners can constantly reinvent themselves to continue being of value people, organizations, and societies.

The books' core value is that it encompasses so many key and leading-edge topics written by so many people who are at the forefront of forging the field's future. But each chapter has its own stand alone merit; quite a few have considerable originality and 'push the envelop.' For example, in Chapter 14, "Changing Mental Models: HR's Most Important Task," Jeffrey Pfeffer argues that aside from being keepers and analysts of organization culture, HR needs to be concerned with the mental models and mindsets of the people of the company, particularly its leaders. Page-forward to chapter 30; there, Jac Fitz-Enz has a slightly different take; he concludes that to be a strategic business partner, HR leaders must become more culture managers than anything else-"there is no better place to start than with the organization's culture." Such thought-provoking views are typical of this book and distinguish it as lively, varied and ambitious collection of substantive thinking. Clearly, this is not a fast-read; given its agenda and scope-that's a virtue.

As an HR consultant and practitioner (HRconsultant.com, Partner, Stern & Associates), as well as a reviewer, I find this book to be a valuable, valid, and vivid snapshot of where the HR field is, where it's likely to be heading, and the many challenges it's confronting. No question about it, there's a lot of rewarding reading in this book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Future of Human Resource Management by Ulrich et al., July 9, 2006

By 

Joseph S. Maresca "Dr. Joseph S. Maresca CPA,... (Bronxville, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Future of Human Resource Management: 64 Thought Leaders Explore the Critical HR Issues of Today and Tomorrow (Hardcover)

The authors describe human resource management as both an art and

a science. It is an art because we are required to motivate,

build alliances, assume new roles, adopt to the corporate culture

and collaborate on mutually beneficial ventures.

Human Resource management issues range from functional experience

to talent management in an organization. An HR advisor is

knowledgable on core competencies . Generally, such a team member

is trusted by superiors to provide the talent necessary to

accomplish corporate goals. Often, it is necessary to adapt the

corporate culture to take full advantage of business conditions.

Employees must focus on building markets of customers locally

and globally. This task requires both new skills and a considerable technical analysis. The HR management process

is a science in that there are reams of statistical data to

sort and interpret for senior management, customers and governmental units at every level.

This work is a good primer for the Human Resource function in

an organization both large and small.

5.0 out of 5 stars Business Imperative/Business Critical, July 12, 2007

By 

T.W. "TW" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Future of Human Resource Management: 64 Thought Leaders Explore the Critical HR Issues of Today and Tomorrow (Hardcover)

If you are interested in the critical issues facing Human Resources today and business leadership in general, this text is a must. This book is for the HR practitioner and corporate leaders. The strategic business partner role is the future of Human Resources as the tactical and transactional basics of HR are either being exported outside of HR departments or outsourced. The HR role today is business focused, business critical and business imperative. All the critical isses facing HR are discussed in this anthology - from the strategic national issues, regional issues and globalization. I highly recommend. I also recommend the first addition of this series "Tomorrow's HR Management: 48 Thought Leaders Call For Change." Thanks Amazon for bringing both books to my attention.

TW