Evolving Practices in Human Resource Management: Responses to a Changing World of Work

By Allen I. Kraut

Written for non-experts in jargon-free language, this work shows how to create systems within organizations that preempt the monetary, strategic, and emotional costs associated with on-the-job conflict. Its clear and simple approach translates advanced concepts into practical how-tos and provides readers with four guiding principles they can follow to create conflict control systems of their own. Amply illustrated with real-world examples, it details the policies, procedures, and practices that make for successful control systems and tells precisely how to implement them.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787940127
• ISBN13: 9780787940126
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Pfeiffer
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

An invaluable study for understanding strategic HRM.

As stated by series editor Manuel London, "the current volume, edited by Allen I. Kraut and Abraham K. Korman, explores how changes in the work world during the last two decades have altered the nature of human resource management (HRM). Economic, global, and marketplace changes have led to flatter organizational structures, reengineered jobs, team processes, and methods for continuous, customer-driven quality improvement. The chapters in this volume show how the practice of HRM and I/O psychology has adapted to these challenges and contributed to organization development...The chapters -all written by expert practitioners who value research- describe success stories and emerging strategies in key areas of HRM such as career development, recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, teamwork, leadership development, and organizational surveys."In this context, as a sample, in third chapter of this book, "Is Job Analysis Dead, Misunderstood, or Both? : New Forms of Work Analysis and Design", Juan I. Sanches and Edward L. Levine argue that the obsolescence of job analysis is really the obsolescence of some of the traditional forms and applications of job analysis. Thus, they :(1). discuss the basis of traditional job analysis,(2). outline the business trends that have called that basis into question,(3). propose revisions in traditional job analysis practices in line with emerging trends.They begin by comparing and contrasting 'the factors' that shaped the job analysis methodology that has been used successfully in the past with their emerging counterparts, which make some traditional forms of job analysis obselete.I. Traditional Factors :* Division of labor and clear-cut labor-management distinction.* Static job.* Minimal interaction with coworkers.* Accountability to superiors.* One-way relation to technology.* Long-term employement.* Cultural homogeneity.* Tolerance for budgetary slack.II. Emerging Factors :* Cross-functional responsibilities and blurring of labor-management distinction.* Dynamic work assignments.* Maximal interaction with coworkers.* Accountability to internal and external customers.* Two-way relation to technology.* Short-term employement.* Cultural diversity.* Cost containment.After describing these factors, and changes in work analysis and its building blocks : sources of data, methods of data collection, types of data, and level of analysis; finally, they suggest that unlike traditional job analysis, instead of being overconcerned with documenting molecular tasks and job boundaries new forms of work analysis should focus on contributing useful inputs to the process of continuous organizational innovation.Not only this chapter, but this book as a whole is higly recommended for HR practitioners.