Why do most employees leave? The reasons aren't what you'd think.

Effective Human Resource Management is the Center for Effective Organizations' (CEO) sixth report of a fifteen-year study of HR management in today's organizations. The only long-term analysis of its kind, this book compares the findings from CEO's earlier studies to new data collected in 2010. Edward E. Lawler III and John W. Boudreau measure how HR management is changing, paying particular attention to what creates a successful HR function—one that contributes to a strategic partnership and overall organizational effectiveness. Moreover, the book identifies best practices in areas such as the design of the HR organization and HR metrics. It clearly points out how the HR function can and should change to meet the future demands of a global and dynamic labor market. For the first time, the study features comparisons between U.S.-based firms and companies in China, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. With this new analysis, organizations can measure their HR organization against a worldwide sample, assessing their positioning in the global marketplace, while creating an international standard for HR management.

Essentials of HRM combines a commentary on organizational behaviour with an explanation of human resource management techniques, and also acts as an introduction to industrial relations. It will prove an invaluable aid to those studying for professional qualifications, such as Membership of the Institute of Personnel Management or the Diploma in Management Studies, and for students on general business or social service courses. Equally, the practising manager will find this book a useful and practical guide.

This book reflects the enormous interest in work-life balance and current pressing concerns about the impacts of austerity more broadly. It draws on contemporary research and practitioner experiences to explore how work-life balance and related workplace and social policy fare in turbulent economic times and the implications for employees, employers and wider societies. Authors consider workplace trends, practices and employment relations and the impacts on work, care and well-being of diverse workers. A guiding theme throughout the book is a triple agenda of supporting employee work-life balance, workplace effectiveness and social justice. The final chapters present case studies of innovative processes and organizational practices for addressing the triple agenda, note the important role of social policy context and discuss the challenge of extending debates on work-life balance to include a social justice dimension. This book will be of interest to academics and postgraduate students of organisational psychology, sociology, human resource management, management and business studies, law and social policy, as well as employers, managers, HR managers, trade unions, and policy makers.

This book analyses managerial responses and people management strategies and processes adopted to deal with the challenges imposed by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). It examines how key actors in the system exercised strategic choices in a given strategic environment, as well as how they responded and developed strategies in this globally integrated industry, in an emerging market context. The book focuses on the nature of strategic choices available to firms in the Indian information technology (IT) and knowledge and business process outsourcing (K and BPO) industry. It looks at how these Indian firms in the IT industry exercise their strategic choices to deal with their routine business and how these routines were changed through learning and investment in certain HR and management practices in times of crisis. Additional insights from other national and industry contexts are also provided for wider coverage of how the GFC-affected organisations frame their responses to deal with it. The book examines the changes in the human resource processes and how organisations adjust their operant business models to deal with the pressures brought about by the crisis.

This book analyzes how HR organizations operate and what makes them effective, outlining how they need to change.

Officially over in 2009, the Great Recession is now generally acknowledged to be the most devastating global economic crisis since the Great Depression. As a result of the crisis, the United States lost more than 7.5 million jobs, and the unemployment rate doubled—peaking at more than 10 percent. The collapse of the housing market and subsequent equity market fluctuations delivered a one-two punch that destroyed trillions of dollars in personal wealth and made many Americans far less financially secure. Still reeling from these early shocks, the U.S. economy will undoubtedly take years to recover. Less clear, however, are the social effects of such economic hardship on a U.S. population accustomed to long periods of prosperity. How are Americans responding to these hard times? The Great Recession is the first authoritative assessment of how the aftershocks of the recession are affecting individuals and families, jobs, earnings and poverty, political and social attitudes, lifestyle and consumption practices, and charitable giving. Focused on individual-level effects rather than institutional causes, The Great Recession turns to leading experts to examine whether the economic aftermath caused by the recession is transforming how Americans live their lives, what they believe in, and the institutions they rely on. Contributors Michael Hout, Asaf Levanon, and Erin Cumberworth show how job loss during the recession—the worst since the 1980s—hit less-educated workers, men, immigrants, and factory and construction workers the hardest. Millions of lost industrial jobs are likely never to be recovered and where new jobs are appearing, they tend to be either high-skill positions or low-wage employment—offering few opportunities for the middle-class. Edward Wolff, Lindsay Owens, and Esra Burak examine the effects of the recession on housing and wealth for the very poor and the very rich. They find that while the richest Americans experienced the greatest absolute wealth loss, their resources enabled them to weather the crisis better than the young families, African Americans, and the middle class, who experienced the most disproportionate loss—including mortgage delinquencies, home foreclosures, and personal bankruptcies. Lane Kenworthy and Lindsay Owens ask whether this recession is producing enduring shifts in public opinion akin to those that followed the Great Depression. Surprisingly, they find no evidence of recession-induced attitude changes toward corporations, the government, perceptions of social justice, or policies aimed at aiding the poor. Similarly, Philip Morgan, Erin Cumberworth, and Christopher Wimer find no major recession effects on marriage, divorce, or cohabitation rates. They do find a decline in fertility rates, as well as increasing numbers of adult children returning home to the family nest—evidence that suggests deep pessimism about recovery. This protracted slump—marked by steep unemployment, profound destruction of wealth, and sluggish consumer activity—will likely continue for years to come, and more pronounced effects may surface down the road. The contributors note that, to date, this crisis has not yet generated broad shifts in lifestyle and attitudes. But by clarifying how the recession’s early impacts have—and have not—influenced our current economic and social landscape, The Great Recession establishes an important benchmark against which to measure future change.

This comprehensive book offers a fascinating set of over 40 evidence-based case studies derived from international research on work, employment and human resource management (HRM).

How has the recession affected the conduct of human resource management? How have HR departments and managers fared? Have leading firms taken measures to sustain and revive their businesses through innovative HR measures? How have union representation and influence been affected? Is the recession reshaping work and employment practices? These are among the questions answered in Recession at Work, the first systematic study in Europe to deal with the effects of the economic crisis on people at work. Drawing on survey data for Ireland provided by nearly 500 managers responsible for human resources, on focus groups of HR managers and trade union officials, and on detailed case studies of six major firms, the book provides an unrivalled picture of the effects of the current recession on how people are managed and how they are represented by trade unions. Examining the effects of the Irish recession on work and employment in the context of international experience and commentary, this book provides detailed information and analysis on the ways in which firms have sought to handle the challenges that have arisen since the severe reverse in Ireland’s economic fortunes in 2008.