Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (Jossey-Bass Public Administration Series) [Hardcover]

Joan Pynes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787908088 | ISBN-13: 978-0787908089 | Publication Date: March 6, 1997 | Edition: 1st

While there are many textbooks in personnel management, to date there have been none devoted to the nonprofit sector. Further, no book has addressed the use of strategic human resources management--the integration of human resources management with the strategic mission of the organization--in both public and nonprofit agencies. This groundbreaking work is the first to do both.

Joan E. Pynes, a respected authority in public administration, demonstrates how strategic human resources management is essential to proactively managing change in an environment of tighter budgets, competition from private organizations, the need to maintain and train a more diverse workforce, and job obsolescence brought about by shifts in technology. She offers students and practitioners the guidance and techniques necessary to implement effective human resources management strategies in public and nonprofit organizations -- from job analysis to performance evaluation, from recruitment and selection to training and development, from compensation and benefits to collective bargaining. Pynes also covers important but neglected topics such as recruiting and managing volunteers, working with a board of directors, and federal and state labor relations. Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations is an important resource for all involved in shaping, implementing, or studying human resources policies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Covering many issues that are pertinent to the UK...a how-to manual." (Public, February 2009) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

While there are many textbooks in personnel management, to date there have been none devoted to the nonprofit sector. Further, no book has addressed the use of strategic human resources management — the integration of human resources management with the strategic mission of the organization — in both public and nonprofit agencies. This is the first book to do both. Joan E. Pynes, a respected authority in public administration, demonstrates how strategic human resources management is essential to proactively managing change in an environment of tighter budgets, competition from private organizations, the need to maintain and train a more diverse workforce, and job obsolescence brought about by shifts in technology. She offers students and practitioners the guidance and techniques necessary to implement effective human resources management strategies in public and nonprofit organizations — from job analysis to performance evaluation, from recruitment and selection to training and development, from compensation and benefits to collective bargaining. Pynes also covers important but neglected topics such as recruiting and managing volunteers, working with a board of directors, and federal and state labor relations. Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations is an important resource for all involved in shaping, implementing, or studying human resources policies.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1st edition (March 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787908088
• ISBN-13: 978-0787908089
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,192,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Graduate Student Resource, May 20, 2001

By 

C.R. White (Washington, D.c.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (Jossey-Bass Public Administration Series) (Hardcover)

I consider this book to be very relevant to human resource practice. The author set forth traditional human resources functions such as recruitment and selection, performance evaluation, and compensation and benefits, with the human resources perspective of the 21st century: changing, empowering, strategic management, and team-building.

I also find this book to be relevant to human resource theory. The discussion of traditional human resources theories served to refresh my knowledge of the issues and functions of human resource management.

The text was not difficult to read, but covered the topics comprehensively and provided ample case study examples. I would recommend this book to graduate students.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Graduate Student Resource, May 20, 2001

By 

C.R. White (Washington, D.c.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (Jossey-Bass Public Administration Series) (Hardcover)

I consider this book to be very relevant to human resources practice. The author set forth traditional human resoures functions such as recruitment and selection, performance evaluation, and compensation and benefits, with the human resources perspective of the 21st century: changing, empowering, strategic management, and team-building.

I also find this book to be relevant to theory. the author's discussion of traditional human resources theories served to refresh my knowledge of the issues and functions of human resources management.

The text was not difficult to read, but covered the topics comprehensively and provided ample case study examples. I recommend this book to graduate students.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good survey text, September 30, 2002

By 

"sean_van_liempt" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (Jossey-Bass Public Administration Series) (Hardcover)

This is a good general overview of Strategic Human Resources Management (SHRM) theory and techniques as applied to public sector and non-profit organizations. Although it is essentially a textbook aimed at graduate-level students in Public Policy or Public Administration, Pynes' survey approach, pointing the reader to empirical studies and other more in-depth sources, should serve as both a refresher and a source of new ideas, even to long-term practitioners in the field. The book is a series of chapters grouped around three basic themes: changing context, methods and challenges.

Part one puts human resource management (HRM) into a strategic context, starting with an overview of the shortcomings of traditional "after-the-fact" HR strategy. It is filled with real-life examples of challenges, successes and failures. Here, Pynes lays out the central thesis of the book, arguing that vertical integration of HR processes into overall strategic planning is essential for success and sustainability, especially in today's ever-changing organizational milieu. For example, Pynes argues that organizations can benefit by mirroring societal diversity in the workplace (however, I think that the case can be more compellingly presented). She ties up the section with a good overview of the relevant US federal legal and regulatory framework, with a number of examples from labor case law.

Part two provides the "meat" of SHRM practice. Pynes covers the fundamental theories and techniques of job analysis, recruitment and performance evaluation (including a good discussion of how performance appraisals might be reconciled with Total Quality Management's team-based concepts). She reviews methods for determining compensation and benefit levels, including coverage of equity and comparable worth. In these methodology sections, Pynes takes care to include additional consideration of executive level positions, given the often-different concerns that can come into play here. She touches on evolving compensation issues such as gainsharing and alternative benefits. The section closes with a chapter addressing collective bargaining.

The final section looks at today's challenges and emerging issues. Pynes brings the reader along for a look at contracting out, workplace violence, technological change and alternative dispute resolution (it seems to me that there are a number of additional issues not covered, such as the expanding definition of employer liability). Overall, the public and non-profit sectors are demanding increased professionalism from their workers. To meet the dual challenge presented by rising demand for services within increasingly constrained resources, many organizations, even those in the formal public sector, are relying more heavily on volunteers. It is refreshing to see a discussion of volunteer management within the context of an HR text. After all, volunteers constitute the unpaid labor force. The arguments presented here certainly reinforce the book's central message.

What did I like most about the book? It is well laid-out, with a good introduction to each section setting the road map. Throughout, Pynes illustrates with concrete and practical examples and models. There are headings for each new topic and a concise summary at the end of each chapter. Both the table of contents and the index are excellent guides. An extensive and broad-based bibliography points the curious reader to additional sources.

From my point of view, the book has a few shortcomings. First, the extensive examples, legislation and case law are all US-based. I think that a non-American would find some of this minutia of limited benefit. In addition, the survey-course nature of the text (the impressively-detailed methodology sections on job analysis and performance appraisals are a notable exception) may leave some readers feeling wanting. Finally, I would like to see more parallels drawn with for-profit HR issues.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a general reference text, an introduction or a refresher for anyone wanting inspiration and direction about new ways of looking at HR in a strategic context. I especially like Pyne's insistence that an organization's staff and volunteers are crucially important in fulfilling its mission. It is a message worth repeating.