Managing Human Resources, Fourth Edition [Hardcover]

Luis Gomez-Mejia (Author), David Balkin (Author), Robert Cardy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0131009435 | ISBN-13: 978-0131009431 | Publication Date: May 23, 2003 | Edition: 4

This book centers on business decision-making and managerial problem-solving, consistent with today's best practices' Human Resource Management Practice and Research. Real-life cases and a global focus will hold readers' interest as this book imparts valuable information about the dynamic field of human resources. Expanded coverage of international human resource issues governs this edition of the popular book; it also covers the management of work flows, job analysis, equal opportunity and the legal environment, diversity, recruitment and selection of employees, downsizing and outplacement, performance management and appraisal, workforce training, career development, compensation management, rewards and performance, employee benefits, employee relations, employee rights and discipline, organized labor, and workplace safety and health. The reference resource for human resource directors, managers, and small business owners, as well as others in leadership positions.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Most HRM books on the market focus on teaching students to be personnel specialists--people who specialize in the Human Resources function. Gomez-Mejia et al. focuses on providing management students with the information they need to be effective managers, regardless of the size of their company and the department they work within. Throughout the book the authors emphasize using human resources as a source of competitive advantage for all companies, large and small. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

PREFACE THE PLAN OF THE THIRD EDITION

How do businesses succeed in today's competitive environment? The factor that can set an organization apart is its people. The quality of the organization's employees, their enthusiasm and satisfaction with their jobs, their experience, and sense of fair treatment all affect the firm's productivity, customer service, reputation, and survival. In short, people make the difference.

Although relatively few students in Human Resource Management (HRM) courses will become HR specialists, virtually all will have to work with other people. Dealing with other people is a fact of organizational life, regardless of whether you are in accounting, finance, operations management, or same other area. Because we believe that every manager is a human resource manager, we've written our book for students who plan to manage others at same time in their career.

The idea that all future managers need to understand HRM issues is at the heart of Managing Human Resources. We cover all the core HRM topics, but our managerial perspective makes the topics meaningful to students in any area of business. Our emphasis is on how to manage human resources and haw to successfully implement HRM programs. Because managers in all departments and functions confront HR issues daily, we believe this approach is better than one that looks at HRM primarily from the perspective of the HR department.

Since the first edition of Managing Human Resources was published in 1995, the general management perspective has become much more prevalent among practicing managers. Recent environmental and organizational forces have contributed greatly to this trend. Organizations are becoming flatter. Technology such as the Internet fosters communication between all levels of personnel, and managers are expected to be generalists with a broad set of skills, including HRM skills. At the same time, fewer firms have a highly centralized, powerful HR department that acts as monitor, decision maker, and controller of HR practices throughout the organization.

Information technology also encourages a managerial approach to human resources. Why? The technology has permeated most traditional HR functions, decentralizing decisions and increasing the participation of managers and employees in all aspects of HR practice. Managers and employees have greater access to human resource information, both inside and outside the company, through bath formal (Web pages) and informal (chat rooms and e-mail messages) means. An effect of the Internet, then, has been to democratize the turf of the traditional HR department. Specifically, information technology has had a tremendous effect on HR areas such as the following:

Work design (greater use of virtual teams) Management of diversity (as personal characteristics such as race, gender, ethnicity and the like are not immediately evident to others inside and outside the firm) Recruitment (much of which is taking place through the Internet) Selection (using computer-based tests, application blanks, reference screening and the like) Training and development (with a large amount of materials that are quickly updated available on the Web) Compensation (providing quick updates to salary survey data, benchmarking practices in other firms, and making it possible to use more complicated incentive programs) Employee relations (employees feel free to use the Internet to express their views at all organizational levels) International HR and the management of expatriates (much work can now be done over the Internet regardless of location, nationality, and even local regulations)

The growing importance of a general management perspective to HRM has not lessened the importance of HR specialists, however. Many tools and techniques for selection, training, compensation, performance appraisal, and other traditional HR functions can greatly enhance the quality of hires, the skills of the workforce, job satisfaction, and employee motivation. But HR specialists' focus has shifted from one of control to one of advice and support to line managers. The forces reinforcing this trend include downsizing, outsourcing of the HR function, information technology, and the inclusion of HR courses in masters', undergraduate, and executive education programs designed for the general manager (rather than the HR specialist).

Our goal for the third edition of Managing Human Resources is to emphasize a general management approach .even more than we did in the two previous editions. This third edition offers an updated and more applied content with an even clearer emphasis on the managerial perspective. Six key features of the third edition showcase our approach:

New chapter introductions titled "The Managerial Perspective" summarize why the chapter content is relevant to managers. A new end-of-chapter feature called Managerial Skills Builder: Issues and Exercises" presents a managerial situation relevant to each chapter topic, and concludes with analytical questions and issues, experiential exercises, and group projects such as role plays and debates. Two chapter-ending "You Manage It!" discussion cases focus on HR issues from a manager's perspective. The influence of information technology on HR is addressed in every chapter. Globalization and its effect on HR practices and issues receive expanded coverage throughout the text. We have retained a newly updated version of the chapter on international HR management from the second edition that deals with the unique HR problems that multinational organizations face. Over 500 new references have been added to summarize and integrate the most recent HR research.

The response to the first and second editions has been gratifying. It also reminds us how much has changed in the work world in the past six years. To keep pace with these changes and respond to your feedback, we combed though each chapter to eliminate dated material and incorporate the latest information available. Here is a summary of key chapter-by-chapter highlights.

Chapter 1, "Meeting Present and Emerging Strategic Human Resource Challenges," has been substantially revised, focusing on emerging environmental and organizational changes affecting HR practices, such as the rise of the Internet and a new focus on work/life balance to help retain employees. Chapter 2, "Managing Work Flows and Conducting Job Analysis," has expanded coverage of teams, including virtual teams and problem-solving teams. In addition, this chapter offers more extensive coverage on contingent workers, including the effect of the Microsoft court decision regarding temporary workers. Chapter 3, "Understanding Equal Opportunity and the Legal Environment," includes important new case law in several areas including the Americans with Disabilities Act, and EEO and sexual harassment rulings (such as same sex harassment and the impact of having an effective sexual harassment policy). Chapter 4, "Managing Diversity," now discusses how technology can improve diversity efforts and gives updated information on the rationale for and facts about diversity. In addition, the chapter gives the most current information about seniors, people with disabilities, and recruiting and retaining a diverse, global workforce. Chapter 5, "Recruiting and Selecting Employees," has been significantly revised to update and give more depth to our coverage of recruiting (including on-line recruiting), and expand and clarify our presentation of quantitative issues. The topic of socialization has been moved from this chapter to Chapter 8. Chapter 6, "Managing Employee Separations, Downsizing, and Outplacement," adds more discussion about managing voluntary employee separations and downsizing in a tight labor market. It also covers recent trends, such as the "brain drain" of talented seniors and new options for outplacement. Chapter 7, "Appraisal and Managing Performance," has new coverage on team appraisal, 360-degree appraisal in this and other countries, and role-based performance. Chapter 8, "Training the Workforce," showcases advances in on-line, virtual, cross-functional, and basic skills training and offers new material on goal-based training. An updated discussion of socialization has been moved from Chapter 5 to this chapter. Chapter 9, "Managing Careers," has expanded coverage on self development, counseling (on-line and otherwise), mentoring (including counseling for assignments in other countries), and competency-based career development. Chapter 10, "Managing Compensation," has updated material on compensation strategies needed in a tight labor market including an emphasis on flexibility and helping workers attain a work/life balance. Chapter 11, "Rewarding Performance," offers a stronger emphasis on cutting-edge pay incentives to help recruit and retain employees. New coverage includes incentives based on customer service ratings, a section on directors and shareholders as equity partners, and new CEO compensation techniques in this and other countries. Chapter 12, "Designing and Administering Benefits," includes new developments in designing and administering pension benefits, new regulations that affect benefits such as the Family Medical Leave Act and the Wealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the effect of technology on benefit administration. Chapter 13, "Developing Employee Relations," has increased emphasis on developing relations through technology (e-mail, HR Web sites, and so on), and managing telecommuters and other offsite employees. Features also help students improve their coaching and feedback skills. Chapter 14, "Respecting Employee Rights and Managing Discipline," includes new information an the rights of employees/employers regarding trade secrets, soliciting business from former customers, recruiting ca-workers from a previous job, e-mail privacy and on-line Web use, and mare applied coverage of the employment-at-will doctrine. Chapter 15, "Working with Organized Labor," has updated information on emerging trends in labor union growth, labor contracts, outsourcing, labor relations in other countries, and the use of technology to help organize or thwart unions. Chapter 16, "Managing Workplace Safety and Health," contains new coverage on onsite health and safety centers, steps managers can take to decrease violence and increase safety in the workplace, organizational culture and safety, and ergonomic issues such as OSHA's proposed ergonomic standards. Chapter 17, "Meeting the International HRM Challenge," has been thoroughly updated to focus on technology and its effects on global HRM practices—from recruiting and motivating to retaining, developing, and monitoring international employees. It also adds more emphasis to topics such as self-directed international management teams, compensation in multinational organizations, and the globalization of WRM practices, such as lower job security, flatter organizations, pay-for-performance, and promotion based on merit. THEMES

In addition to the managerial perspective, we thread several themes throughout this book. These themes include:

The need for proactive HRM and cooperation between line managers and the HR department The importance of operating within a legal framework and acting ethically The effects of reorganizing, outsourcing, and quality management on HRM Workforce diversity as a source of competitive advantage in the global economy The changing forces of technology and their implications for HRM FEATURES

Managing Human Resources contains a number of innovative pedagogical features. Every chapter contains learning objectives phrased as management challenges, an opening vignette that draws students into the chapter, a running marginal glossary of key terms, a summary, a list of key terms with page references, discussion and review questions, and end-of chapter notes and references. In addition, each chapter contains these features:

The Managerial Perspective
This chapter introductory section previews what's to come in the chapter and how the HR material is relevant to future managers.

Questions of Ethics
Several of these segments raise ethical questions that relate to the chapter's content. They are designed to provoke thought and debate on issues that are not easily resolved.

Manager's Notebooks
The notebook features provide management tips on a variety of issues that managers confront daily, from providing feedback during an appraisal session to preparing employees for a layoff. Over 35 percent of these features are new.

Issues and Applications
To give extended applications that relate to HR topics, we have "Issues and Applications" features in every chapter that showcase HR practices (both good and bad? around the globe. For instance, Chapter 9 spotlights the glass ceiling in Asia and a feature in Chapter 11 addresses the surge in piece work due to the Internet. Over 35 percent of these features are new.

"You Manage It!" Discussion Cases
Each chapter concludes with two short cases based on scenarios from actual companies. The questions can be assigned as homework or for classroom discussion.

Case Study
All chapters end with one case study that has critical thinking questions and group learning exercises. The detail and length of this case study offers a challenging student assignment for individual analysis and group work. Over half of these have been updated.

Managerial Challenge
Each chapter closes with a "Managerial Challenge" designed to build managerial skills. After introducing a scenario, students are asked to answer thought questions, to complete individual experiential exercises, and to participate in group exercises such as role plays and debates.

New Part-Ending Skills Live! Video Cases
Parts 2 through 6 close with a new video case and discussion questions. These cases have an applied focus that helps students build their HR management skills.

In addition, each chapter includes numerous examples of HRM practices at a wide variety of companies, from small, service-providing organizations to huge mega corporations. A concise dictionary of HRM terminology is provided at the end of the book, along with a subject index and a name, company, and product index. THE TEACHING AND LEARNING PACKAGE

Each component of the teaching and learning package has been carefully crafted to ensure that the HRM course is rewarding for both instructors and students. Instructor's Resource Manual with Video Guide (IRM) 013-0188239 The IRM has one chapter of instructor material for every chapter in the student text. Each chapter in the IRM includes: A chapter overview/lecture launcher Annotated outline (including all text features) Answers to all questions In-depth analysis of all in-text discussion questions, group learning exercises, discussion cases, case studies, and Managerial Challenge exercises Sample syllabi Key to Powerpoints and Transparencies

The Instructor's Manual is also available on disk and contains a video guide for each segment that includes the following:

General information (title, source, running time) A brief synopsis Tie-ins to the text material Suggestions for using the clip in class PHLIP/CW Web Site prenhall/gomez

Developed by Professor Dan Cooper at Marist College, PHLIP provides academic support for faculty and students using this text. PHILIP is divided into a Student Page and a Faculty Page. The Faculty Page helps professors prepare lectures, integrate technology into the classroom, and enhance in- and out-of-class learning with industry examples as current as today's world news. The Student Page supports students through an Interactive Study Guide, Current Events Cases, Exercises, Study Skills, and Writing and Research assistance Features include:

For Instructor's (Faculty Rage):
Text-specific faculty resources include downloadable supplements (Instructor's Manual and PowerPoint presentations) and on-line faculty support for the student page (including additional cases, articles, links, and suggested answers to the questions posed on the student page).

Faculty Lounge featuring generic faculty resources

Talking to the Team is a moderated and password-protected conference and chat room system designed to allow faculty the opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions, and explore new teaching ideas. Teaching Archive features teaching resources submitted by instructors throughout the world and includes tips, techniques, academic papers, and sample syllabi for traditional classroom presentations for integrating technology in and out of the classroom. Help with Computers provides tips and links to tutorials to help you master spreadsheets, word processing, and/or, presentation software. Internet Skills offers beginners and advanced advice, tips, and tutorials for using the Internet. Supplementary Chapters The Web site also includes two supplementary chapters, one on managing quality with HR and the other on conducting an HR audit.

For Students (Student Page)
Student Study Hall helps develop student's study skills through the following resources:

Ask the Tutor serves as virtual office hours, allowing students to post questions or comments to the threaded message board and receive responses from both the PHLIP faculty and the entire learning community. This feature is monitored by Professor Dan Cooper to maintain quality. Writing Center provides links to on-line dictionaries, writing tutors, style and grammar guides, and additional tools to help students develop their writing skills. Study Skills Center helps students develop better study skills. Career Center encourages students to investigate potential employers, get career information and advice, view sample resumes, and even apply for jobs on-line. Research Center provides tips and resources that make it easy to harness the power of the Internet as a research tool through tutorials and descriptive links to virtual libraries and a wealth of search engines. Current Events Articles and Exercises for each chapter offers numerous current events to keep your class up to date. Each current event is a summary and analysis of a current news event written by our PHLIP faculty provider and includes Web links to the text, discussion questions, group activities, background/historical information, a glossary, a bibliography, and links to the related news sources. Whenever possible, there is a link to the original article itself. New current events are added every two weeks (past current events remain on the site until they are no longer useful or valid). Interactive Study Guide offers multiple-choice and true/false questions for every chapter of this text. Students submit responses to the server, which scores them and provides immediate feedback, including additional help and page references linked to the text. Test scores can be sent to as many as four e-mail addresses. Internet Resources provide links to helpful Web sites, complete with an Info button that offers the professor and students a description of each site. Supplementary Chapters The Web site also includes two supplementary chapters, one on managing quality with human resources and the other on conducting an HR audit.

Test Item Rile
The test item file includes 2,500 questions. Each chapter includes multiple-choice, situational multiple-choice, true/false, and essay questions. All questions are rated by level of difficulty (easy, moderate, challenging) and page-referenced to the text.

PH Custom Text
The test item file is designed for use with PH Custom Text, a computerized package that allows users to custom design, save, and generate classroom tests. Available in 3.5" Windows version, PH Custom Test gives instructors the ability to edit, add, or delete questions from the test item file and to export files to various word processing programs, including Word and WordPerfect.

Transparency Resource Package with Electronic Transparencies
There are more than 200 charts and figures in the third edition of Managing Human Resources. Of these, 100 have been prepared as full-color 8.5" x 11" acetates. Over 200 PowerPoint slides of figures and outlines are also available on disk.

Instructor's Resource CD-ROM
This all-inclusive multimedia product is an invaluable asset for professors who prefer to work with electronic files rather than traditional print supplements. On this single CD-ROM, instructors will find the Instructor's Manual, the complete set of PowerPoint slides, the Test Item File, and the Prentice Hall Test Manager program.

Skills Live! Video for Human Resource Management
Six videos offer dramatizations that highlight an HR skill related to that part. They allow students to see what it is like to conduct an interview, give a performance appraisal, deal with sexual harassment issues, and more. The videos provide excellent starting points for classroom discussion and debate. These videos are available on VHS for classroom presentation. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 611 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 4 edition (May 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131009435
• ISBN-13: 978-0131009431
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,269,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good. Breaks down things like Employee Manual, November 21, 1999

By 

Chad Hobart ([e-mail]) (Lake Arrowhead, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Managing Human Resources (Hardcover)

This book is clear and up to date. I found it very useful for our company. It's a keeper!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Movin' up, May 12, 2006

By 

David L. White "Wrondel" (Reno) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Managing Human Resources, Fourth Edition (Hardcover)

This was the text required for my personnell management class. (200 level) I have the Bohlander 13th ed. which is a better text, being better organised. But after going through this book I liked it as well. The last chapter on international HR issues was especially helpful. I have adapted the expatriate worker technoques to address interdepartmental issues in my organization. I understand there will be a new edition out in June 2006. Perhaps it will be better organized.

1.0 out of 5 stars terrible buying experience, August 22, 2011

By 

Carolyn H. Burton (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Managing Human Resources (6th Edition) (Hardcover)

Ordered this book to use as a co-teacher for a college course. Turns out it wasn't in stock with the vendor and it took weeks to receive that information, after being told via email that the book was in stock and had been shipped out. The book itself is okay -- not the best HR text out there, but not the worst. The case studies prompted a good deal of in-class discussion.