Book Description

Managing Human Resources Through Strategic Partnerships, 8e allows readers to capture the excitement of this dynamic field in an interactive and tightly integrated text. Managing human resources effectively requires mutual understanding and collaboration among HR professionals, managers, and all other employees. In this edition, the authors encourage such collaboration by clearly presenting principles for effectively managing human resources and also explaining the different HR roles and responsibilities of the three primary HR partners. Together, these HR partners can develop and implement an approach to human resource management that satisfies the needs of the organization as well as the multiple external stakeholders who ultimately determine its success. ... Read more

Book Description

Ideal for management majors who plan to become HRM professionals, this highly accessible text presents a conceptual model of the field—placing HRM in the overall context of business management. Students gain a broad, practical understanding of how HRM policies affect the workplace from productivity, quality, and customer service to employee morale. French addresses timely issues changing the current role of HRM, including international topics, the Internet, emerging legal concerns, social responsibility, and performance appraisal.

• The text covers several new discussion points, including worldwide terrorism, white-collar unionization, office/factory romances, corporate universities, "cash balance" plans, peer-to-peer counseling, and religious harassment.
• Comprehensive cases cover recent developments and issues based on well-known sources such as Business Week, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Ethics, and a number of related journals.
• A strong pedagogical framework includes International Perspective boxes, A Question of Ethics boxes, and Contemporary Issues boxes. In addition, end-of-chapter experiential exercises often involve group discussions and role-playing.

Reviews (2)

Great book!!
Great learning book for Professionals who like to expand their learning horizons. Discover and learn the practice of the Human Resource different labor relations, new laws and how to handle different situations in the day by day bussines environment. Helps a lot to handle employees and employers ethical cases. Comonmly used by Proffesor José Ramiro Rodriguez in Polytechnic University of PR.

Management
This book is highly recomended in the Polytechnic Univercity of Puerto Rico. Porf. Jose Ramiro Rodriguez uses this text book in class. The specific goal is to develop the know-how and skill to deal with the management of human resources in scientific and technical organizations in order to achiveve their goals effiently and effectively. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides readers with basic information about human beings and their behavior within the context of a business environment. It includes such issues as how to motivate people, how to give them feedback on their performance, how to influence them, and how to help them cope with stress. By examining the factors that contribute to an ever-changing business world, it will teach readers to develop, train, and motivate high-performance employees in a world of constant change.The Field of Organizational Behavior. Perception and Learning. Individual Work Differences. Motivation in Organizations. Managing Your Own Behavior. Group Dynamics and Teamwork. Decision Making in Organizations. Social and Deviant Behaviors in Organizations. Leading and Coaching Others. Culture, Creativity, and Innovation. Organizational Structure and Design. Technology in Organizations.For managers, or anyone else, who are interested in organizational behavior. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Alright
I used this book at Cornell's school of Industrial and Labor Relations in an OB course. It was ok, but I have seen better. The examples are mostly revelant, but sometimes it strays from the covered material. A good book to use to review for the final exam, but if your teacher draws tests from their own lectures, make sure you utilize the index in the back!

Poor theory, good applications
This text was used at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for an honors OB course. It served the class well by providing relevant and often humorous applications of theory. However, the descriptions of the actual theories themselves were weak and vague often referring to other concepts not yet learned. ... Read more

Book Description

The primary goal of this book is to show you new ways to improve the business impact of your HR function by up to 25 percent. Because the goal is so high, the approaches that permeate this book are aggressive ones that are designed to make you rethink everything you do in HR.

Authored by one of the industry's most respected thinkers, Rethinking Strategic HR is a forward-thinking look at building a smarter, more powerful HR strategy in any organization. Throwing out the old, conventional approaches, this provocative book provides a hard-hitting guide to 21st century HR strategy that will challenge you to think in bold, new ways.

From critiques of traditional practices to specific day-to-day steps to strategic thinking, you'll get a new perspective on HR including: a clear definition of what is and what is not strategic, the five distinct levels of contribution that HR can make, a list of the most-used HR department strategies, tools for assessing your own strategic level, a chart on how to make "fact-based" decisions, how HR routinely "under-costs" its decisions, how to make a strategic case to your CFO, and more! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Must Read for Any Hiring Manager
This book is a must-read for anyone in the field of human resources. By showing HR how to become more strategic, the book can help HR professionals enhance their credibility within their organization and not be viewed as just another administrative department - as so many senior managers view HR.

I am not in HR and I highly recommend this book to any hiring manager. As a founder and president of a small business, this book has a wealth of information that I can use to create a "performance culture" that helps myself and other managers recruit, manage and retain key employees - and measure our effectiveness at doing so. ... Read more

Book Description

Wayne Cascio's Managing Human Resources, 6/e, is perfect for the general management student whose job inevitably will involve responsibility for managing people. It explicitly links the relationship between productivity, quality of work life, and profits to various human resource management activities and, as such, strengthens the students' perception of human resource management as an important function, which affects individuals, organizations, and society. It is research-based and contains strong links to the applicability of this research to real business situations. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Fantastic - ties it all together
This is a great book. It very nicely ties together all phases of the employment process focusing on making data-driven decisions and linking HR and I/O Psychology functions to the bottom line. Throughout the text it provides 'capsules' on case studies to illustrate the points in each section. A must have for the scientist / practitioner and management generalist! ... Read more

Book Description

Provides analysis of 650 jobs, based on 20 years of research using the McClelland/McBer job competence assessment (JCA) methodology. Includes generic job models for entrepreneurs, technical professionals, salespeople, service workers and corporate managers. Defines JCA and describes in detail how to conduct JCA studies. Suggests future directions and uses for competency research. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Essential & Exceptional
The phrase 'essential reading is a cliche', however, this is truly essential reading for anyone seeking to understand competencies.

Not bed-time time reading; this is a technical book for HR professionals. Detailed and lucid (although the neophyte may prefer to start with something a little lighter, eg some emotional intelligence work by Goleman).

A good index and bibliography.

Required reading to become a true competency expert
I have studied and used dozens of books on the topic of competencies, and many are useful, but this is the one I return to most often. My copy of this book is ragged, dog-eared, coffee-stained, and marked by many colored tabs for quick reference. Competence at Work changed my approach to human resources, and I actually earned some national honors and recognition for innovations in assessment and workforce planning by using it as a guide. It yields an effective understanding of competencies and how to apply them in processes such as recruiting, selection, development, performance management, succession, and workforce planning.

Some insights and tools in the book are particularly valuable:

Criterion sampling:
Compare high performers to average performers in order to understand how each performance group achieves their different levels of success.

Operant measures:
Measure how people operate in the real world as opposed to how they respond to a list of multiple-choice items. It describes Behavioral Event Interviewing (BEI) as the preferred approach, but you might have to access other sources for a complete understanding of the BEI.

Competency definitions and scales:
These alone are worth the price of the book. Based on behaviors that are empirically related to performance in a wide variety of jobs, they provide a quick-start to comparing performance groups and developing competency models, and they provide a framework for both assessing and developing competencies in people.

The principles and methods outlined in this book allow one to construct and apply competency models and human resource practices that get results. If I could have only one book on human resources, it would be this one! If I could have only three, the other two would also be by Spencer: Reengineering Human Resources and Calculating Human Resource Costs and Benefits.

Good competence guideline
This book present the components of the job competence assessment approach,including the competency dictionary, which lists, defines, and provides scoring criteria that can help you predict superior performance for most jobs,It's provided to step by step guidelines on how to use the dictionary in all types of
job.
You will understand what is competence from this book!I strongly recommendation!

Was this review helpful to you?

An Essential Primer on Competence
Lyle Spencer has written a book that is lucid, well-organized, and a concise reference on human competence. If this was history, you would know that he had been there and had not merely interviewed those who were. This is so because his work is informed by original research. Spencer begins the presentation within a framework of competence that is criterion-referenced. The competence dictionary is organized around competency clusters that are well-defined and behaviorally anchored. But theory is not left to wrestle with the reader's experience. Spencer provides the practioner with a guide that takes the user through all steps in the conduct of a competency study. Spencer closes with a set of generic competency models that the practioner can tailor to his or her client before drawing the reader's attention to the variety of applications that study data may serve. Though a bit pricey, you can purchase it with the knowledge that it will stand up well as your single source of reference.

This book changed how I do my job as a trainer.
This book gives a comprehensive competency dictionary using behaviorally anchored rating scales for each competency. It also gives step by step guidelines on how to use the dictionary in all types of HR decision making. It is clearly written and is based on years of extensive research. Using this book eliminates the need to use expensive and dependency creating consulting services. Every HR professional should have it on their shelf. Moreover, as a training professional, if I had to choose 2 books to have on my bookshelf, I would choose this book and Performance Consulting by Dana Gaines Robinson. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive text provides the current information on research studies, issues and events in labor relations. The book integrates real-world examples and quotes from practitioners in order to bring this dynamic field to life. The Labor Relations Process examines the labor movement from its inception to current and emerging trends, including such topics as unions, labor agreements, collective bargaining, arbitration and labor relations in various business segments including government, white collar, and international contexts.The book gives an in-depth analysis of all facets of the relationship between management and labor, including a study of the rights and responsibilities of unions and management, the negotiation and administration of labor agreements, and labor-management cooperation. Other topics that are explored include the results of the labor relations process and collective bargaining issues such as health care costs containment, pensions, labor productivity and alternative work arrangements. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

A book worth buying and a book worth giving
Baseball and writing about baseball are my passions and being passionate about something is the heart and soul of the new book by Mike Veeck (and Pete Williams), "Fun Is Good: How to Inject Joy & Passion Into Your Workplace & Career" published by Rodale Press and to be released early next month. The book is part business philosophy, part autobiography, part confessional, part homage to his late father Bill Veeck, part salute to his 12-year old daughter who is fighting blindness as the result of retinitis pigmentosa, part a baseball love story and all fun. Because fun is what Mike, like all the Veecks, is all about.

Mike writes, "Somehow in our haste to seize the American dream, we've sucked the fun, passion, and creativity out of the workplace." How many of you feel that way? I guess that's why so many people say that work sucks. But as Mike points out, "Fun isn't just good; it's a necessity." "If you're not having fun, it's nearly impossible to project the upbeat, positive attitude necessary to service clients effectively."

We know that's the trouble with baseball, don't we? Somehow it has becoming way to much about greed. We could handle it if were about drugs, sex, and rock and roll, at least that's fun. Mike writes that when his father Bill Veeck died in 1986, "we had him cremated so he wouldn't constantly be rolling in his grave."

In the workplace it's about passion, the right attitude and being happy at what you do. Mike encourages change and risk taking because if you're unhappy you can't afford to stay where you are. In addition, your role whether you are an Indian or a chief is to help create a workplace atmosphere that is fun, positive and risk taking. He writes, "How effectively you interact with coworkers sets the tone for the organization," because if you take a genuine interest in the people around you, you never know where it might lead.

I was particularly struck with this philosophical statement, "If you approach things with optimism and with the mentality that any obstacle can be overcome with good humor, preparation, brainpower, and a little bit of luck, nothing is outside the realm of possibility." It is that statement that clearly drives Mike's wonderful daughter. The book is filled with interviews and vignettes from business leaders in which they express, in their own words, how the importance of a "Fun is Good" philosophy has driven the success of their company. None is more powerful or moving than the section written by Rebecca Veeck who truly sums up much more than the philosophy of the book when she writes, "Fun is Good because that's the way life is supposed to be. It's the main feeling that we're supposed to have. I mean, if you're not having fun, what's the point?"

I will be giving this book to my daughter Elizabeth on her birthday on April 11 (the same date as Veeck's eldest, Night Train Veeck) because as she prepares to graduate college and face the real world she needs to know that if you treat every day like Opening Day than life will be fun, and fun is good.

... Read more

Reviews (21)

Useful For New Managers
New to management? Have to give a performance review and you don't know how to approach it? This book will get you there.

"Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations" by James E. Neal isn't the snappiest book you'll read, and it is not the best value.

It is alphabetically organized by main topic terms, from 'accuracy,' ' achievement' and 'administration' to 'versatility' 'vision' and 'writing ability.'

You'll find 25,000 phrases under 58 such topics. For 'accuracy' there are 24 phrases, like "expects perfection" and "meets precise standards."

The drawback is twofold: the layout wastes space, and the content is easily found in other, more substantive books. It could easily be reduced to a 50 pages booklet.

There are guidelines for appraisals spread across several short appendices.

Useful for the new supervisor, or as a refresher for an experienced middle manager...

Anthony Trendl

Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals
I purchased a previous edition of this pocket handbook some years ago and replaced it recently with this newer edition..

I get the impression that this thoughtful and well laid out guide was originally for use in the military and other government agencies. It is a very useful tool for allowing your own creative juices to work for you when writing up an appraisal.

The best method that I've found for this little guide is start in with an employee appraisal, then scan through the relevant pages when you feel you are at a sticking point and need some time in order to place the correct phrase that just doesn't seem to come to mind at the moment.

Rest assured that taking a break, scanning through this guide for a while, and then putting your work aside for a few hours will result in some very constructive ideas for you..

s/ Patricia Gibbons

It's a very useful book
This is a fantastic book. The thoughtful yet articulate phrases enhance any performance appraisal. I would highly recommend it.

Awesome! Reviews done quickly!
This is a terrific resource--I finished my performance reviews in half the time!

Invaluable tool for writing
This is an invaluable tool for writing military perforance evaluation reports. The book's best use is as a memory jogger to pick out those phrases which I can then expand upon. Better yet, it keeps me writing in current tense, instead of past tense.

It saved about 5 hours while writing the last one. ... Read more

Book Description

Great managers praise effort and reward results. It’s true, and nobody knows it better than the best-selling authors of Managing with Carrots and The 24-Carrot Manager, Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. Now from these award-winning authors comes a one-a-day manager’s handbook on motivating employees through praise and recognition. A Carrot A Day can keep you away from recognition pitfalls and help you develop employees who are more focused, more committed, and more engaged in your noble cause. Read just one a day and you will become a better leaders – a manager who is able to tap the power of recognition to build a stronger workplace where employees focus on company goals, spot new opportunities faster, and have longer employment life spans (translation: lower turnover).

Adrian Gostick is co-author of the bestselling The Integrity Advantage. An award-winning business author, Adrian also co-wrote the critically acclaimed business book The 24-Carrot Manager, called a "must read for modern-day managers" by Larry King. He has written for USA Today Magazine, Investor’s Business Daily and other national publications, and has been featured on CNBC, MSNBC and NPR. Adrian is director of corporate communication with the O.C. Tanner Company. Adrian has a master’s degree in strategic communication and leadership from Seton Hall, and is a guest lecturer on ethics at that university.

Chester Elton is co-author of the best-selling books Managing with Carrots and The 24-Carrot Manager. As a motivation expert, Chester has been interviewed by The Wall Street Journal and has been a guest on CNN, Bloomberg Television and on National Public Radio. A sought-after speaker and recognition consultant, Chester is VP of performance recognition with the O.C. Tanner Recognition Company. He has been a featured speaker at the HR Southwest, Incentive Magazine Forums, New York City Premium and Incentive Show, and Chicago Motivation Show. ... Read more

Book Description

The Talent Management Handbook explains how organizations can identify and get the most out of “high-potential people”by developing and promoting them to key positions.

The book explains:

1. A system for integrating three human resources “building blocks”: organizational competencies, performance appraisal, and forecasting employee/manager potential

2.Six human resources conditions necessary for organization excellence

3. How to link your employee assessment process to career planning and development

The Talent Management Handbook will help you design career plans that boost employee morale, as well as create and sustain excellence in your organization. It is full of simple, efficient, easy-to-follow methods for assessing, planning, and developing high-value people to meet your organization’s current and future needs. And it will help you combine your organization’s diverse human resources activities into a single, cogent system.

Featuring best practices from leading companies as well as contributions from field experts who hold top positions in such leading HR consultancies as AON Consulting, The Hay Group, Hewitt Associates, Right Management Consulting. Sibson Consulting, and Towers Perrin, The Talent Management Handbook is an authoritative resource for creating and maintaining excellence in your organization through people management.

Reviews (2)

Organizational Development Demystified
One of the best books on talent management in recent years. An excellent reference work that concisely describes a straightforward, practical approach to the identification, assessment and management of talent in today's competitive business environment. The editors have drawn on a broad knowledge base of professional expertise from top-rated management consultants and leading business practioners in developing this pragmatic , "how-to" guide. Comparable to a first-rate graduate course in organizational development from a premier business school.

Human Resources Strategy for Business Success
The Talent Management Handbook presents a clear and actionable human resources strategy that is tied to business success measures which are explained in the book.

With great thoroughness, the book integrates the key elements of human resources assessment (performance, potential, competencies, career planning, and succession planning) into a cogent system that can be utilized by both managers and human resources professionals in realizing organization success.

The book provides guidance to readers on the specific actions they need to take to implement key human resources strategies. These actions include training, development, education, career management, and compensation. In a practical way, it outlines the way an organization can cultivate its "best people," protect its incumbents and backups for key positions, and properly allocate its resources.

The book clearly identifies the conditions that will cause turnover, poor morale, and performance problems. Additionally, it shows how diversity can be a crucial part of the human capital plan. ... Read more

Book Description

Hands-on help for quickly­­and persuasively­­writing company-mandated performance appraisals

Writing performance appraisals is one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks managers face. Perfect Phrases for Performance Reviews simplifies the job, providing a comprehensive collection of phrases that managers can use to describe employee performance, provide directions for improvement, and more. For example:

• "Sets priorities well"
• "Misses important deadlines"
• "Thorough, reliable, and accurate"

All managers and HR professionals will value the book for its:

• Hundreds of ready-to-use phrases, organized by job skill and performance level
• Tips for documenting performance issues and conducting face-to-face reviews
• Easily adapted performance review templates covering five performance levels

With the wide-ranging assortment of descriptions available in this book, managers will be able to find the perfect terms to help them analyze and understand the work performance of each person they work with.

Reviews (3)

Perfect Phrases for Performance Reviews .... Not!
The background to giving appraisals is very good, as is the advice on how to conduct an interview. For this alone the book is worth purchasing. Included within this book are many pages of "perfect phrases". To state they are perfect is, I feel, a little misleading. Although I must mention that at the start of the book it is stated that these sentences should be altered to suit the individual. My gripe is that the sentences have not been rated very well. For example, on page 41 under Accuracy, Outstanding options provides you with "Mistakes don't slip through" as one of the choices. Should that not read, "Exceptionally accurate at all times". Many of the sentences are very weak and fail to use any "power words" to strengthen an employee's qualities.

My feelings are that the book has been thrown together from previous appraisals with little though to the content of the phrases. The "sentences" require regrading and stronger words added to give them more bite. Also other attributes need to be added to give the book a wider audience such as: Loyalty, Sense of Duty, Competence, Confidence but to name a few.

Finding Fish
Finding Fish, by Antwone Fisher is an awsome autobiography of a foster child that became a very good father and served his country in the army
This story is about a boy, Antwone, who was put into the foster care system as a child. He stayed with the very abusive family for about 12 years. He didn't want to believe at the time that it was a bad place to live. But when he got older he finally realized that it wasn't agood place to be living and that the foster parents weren't letting him grow up. He was thrown out of the house at the age of 17 and was homeless in the coldest weather. If it weren't for his social worker believing in him and telling him that he could make it. He wouldn't have made it as far as he did. His message is that you have to have help to get anywere and have confidence in your self.
I liked the story. I say this because it shows how going through a tough life can get a good life in the end. I can relate to the foster care system and not wanting to move. I know what his life is like, especially when he denied some bad things but not all of them.

Phrases and a lot more
Doing performance reviews--preparing for them, filling out the form, and understanding how to make them effectively improve an employee's performance--can be a challenging task. How do you make it a positive experience, for yourself and for the employee? It's not easy. How do you let the person know he or she is not living up to the organization's expectations? Again, not easy. This book can help in doing these things. The majority of book is given over to phrases you can use in over 70 different categories of performance. Each category has five levels of phrases, from outstanding to unacceptable. Even if some phrases don't fit exactly what you're looking for, you have a place to start and you can easily modify them to fit your purposes. I also like the first part of the book on how to plan, conduct, and write a performance review. The book also has two cool appendixes. One is titled "Ten Mistakes Managers Make When Conducting Performance Reviews," and the other is "Seven Mistakes Employees Make During Performance Reviews." For a retail price of [money], this book is a great tool for anyone having to do performance reviews. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management, 5th edition employs a stakeholder management framework, emphasizing business' social and ethical responsibilities to both external and internal stakeholder groups. A twin theme of business ethics to illustrate how ethical or moral considerations are included the public issues facing organizations and the decision making process of managers.The text is written from a managerial perspective that along with the twin themes of stakeholders and ethics, shows how to identify stakeholders, incorporate their concerns into the organization's strategy and operations, and also integrate ethical wisdom into their decision making process.In addition, 35 case histories are included to help connect theory and practice through timely and interesting examples. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

very hands-on, practical --- real-life effective ideas
This book was enlightening. I never knew there were so many easy and low cost ways to energize employees --- and Bob shows you all of them plus more. A must-have for today's best managers. A great follow-up to Bob Nelson's best-selling "1001 Ways to Reward Employees."

A must-have for managers and HR folks
I'm an HR person myself, and have found this (and the 1001 ways to reward) to be an essential part of my library. Many people want to look through it, borrow it... some have kept it, so this is probably my fifth version of the book that I've bought! Try to put your name all over the book so they don't forget it's yours.

A fast how-to book on energizing teams... lacks depth
If you are looking to truly turn around your company or department, this is not the book for you. When does this book come in handy? If you are seeking for quick ideas to energize your team, and are short on inspiration: that is where it's a very comprehensive source. But be realistic: true energizing and change is a process that can't be bought with treats or gifts, but rather built through trust and open communication, among other things. If you want to really energize your team, then be ready for a longterm commitment from your part, that will go beyond just getting them perks or giving them awards.

There's a sucker born every minute
Companies are spending so much money trying to inspire employees that they have spawned an industry: the motivation industry. Bob Nelson is cashing in on it for sure. What executive wouldn't buy in to the notion of some pundit who champions "no cost" motivation? I wonder what they pay to hear him say it on his motivational tours??

What inspires people remains vague and elusive. For every reader who is moved by his book, there are likely ten who see it as childish drivel.

Nelson is just repackaging old anecdotes and fictional stories, then reselling them. There is not one shred of proof that any of his methods have any lasting value. Don't waste your time or money on this garbage.

Needed now more than ever!
Creative yet practical ways to motivate and retain staff are needed now more than ever before. Between the sour economy that makes raises and bonuses tougher, the specter of layoffs that's making everyone nervous, the ability of top staff to bail on you at a moment's notice, and the trend toward making managers accountable for employee retention, managers can never let down their guard in this area. Many of the ideas here are common sense, but can never be restated enough. Others are low-cost and can be implemented with the leanest of budgets. My one quibble with the book: the suggestion to have executives spend a day with the staff is, IMHO, insulting to the rank and file and may even be counterproductive, as it comes off as more of a feel-good stunt benefitting the executives than a real motivator. ... Read more

Book Description

This much acclaimed text has been fully updated to incorporate the latest advances in the field.As leading authorities on adult education and training, Elwood Holton and Dick Swanson have revised this edition building on the work of the late Malcolm Knolwes.

Keeping to the practical format of the last edition, this book is divided into three parts.The first part contains the classic chapters that describe the roots and principles of andragogy, including a new chapter, which presents Knowles program planning model.The second part focuses on the advancements in adult learning with each chapter fully revised updated, incorporating a major expansion of Androgogy in Practice.The last part of the book will contain an updated selection of topical readings that advance the theory and will include the HRD style inventory developed by Dr. Knowles.

This new edition is essential reading for adult learning practitioners and students and HRD professionals.It provides a theoretical framework for understanding the adult learning issues both in the teaching and workplace environments.

* Definitive classic, 5th edition sold over 20,000 copies.
* Essential reading for a wide audience of practitioners and students in the field of adult learning and human resource development.
* Incorporates Knowles'classic theories on adult learning alongside the latest advances in the field. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Andragogy for the 21st century
Since the term "andragogy" was first coined, several theoretical schools have developed around the topic of adult learning.This book provides a context for Knowles' ideas about andragogy and demonstrates the relevance of his ideas in the 21st century.

Unreadable
This book was the text for an adult learning course, and all 300+ students judged the book to be incomprehensible.So many complaints were received that the instructor apologized,saying it was the only book the school could find.There is good information in this book, but you need dynamite to unearth it.I have a better than average vocabulary, but I had to keep a dictionary by my side as I read, and even then I found words from the text for which I could find no definition.Some chapters had to be read 4 times before I understood the authors' message.Reading this book was a guarantee for a nap or a headache.Please, somebody stop this book before it kills again!

very comprehensive look at adult learning theory
This book is like a one-stop shopping guide to Adult education. It is so comprehensive that I doubt it leaves out one development in the history of adult education.My only warning is that the opening chapters which basically trace many theories of learning (both adult and traditional) are hard to get through -- it reads more like a research paper that summarizes every major educational theory since the beginning of time.But, if you don't want to know that much, you can simply skip these chapters and get right to the meat of the adult learning theories which are more appropos.For those who need a quick primer on learning theories, you'll love the first few chapters for their abundance of quick summary information.A useful guide to adult education.

Excellent primer of Adult Learning Theory
Malcolm Knowles is known as the "Grandfather of Adult Education" in many circles, and this update of his original book does him justice. I recommend the book as a primary resource for people looking for informationabout how adults learn (adult learning theory), as well as what works andhow to make it work in different situations.

An essential read for HRD professionals and adult educators
For those new to Knowles work, this book really is a 'must'.It takes the reader through the essentials of adult education, both in the traditional environments of adult education and in settings such as the workplace. Itprovides a theoretical framework for understanding the adult learningissues faced by professional educators each day, and also offerssignificant guidance on future practice. To those who have read pasteditions of the book, as I have, you will find the Swanson and Holton worktrue to the spirit of Knowles, and the two authors have introduced morethan enough new material to justify buying this Fifth Edition. ... Read more

Book Description

This best-selling book provides readers with a comprehensive overview of every aspect of business and the environment in which business prospers. Business, Sixth Edition, has captured the flavor and excitement of the new economy in all of its rapidly evolving practices. The new edition continues the book's user-friendly tradition and its commitment to relevant material and hands-on learning. It also focuses on people in business and the decisions they make on a daily basis. The authors have taken this commitment to new levels in an effort to provide more personal—and, at the same time, more practical—access to people who do business by letting readers ask them questions about cutting-edge business issues and practices.Chapter topics include understanding the U.S. business system, understanding the global context of business, conducting business ethically and responsibly, managing and organizing the business enterprise, understanding entrepreneurship and small business, managing human resources, understanding labor & management relations, understanding principles of marketing, managing operations and information, and understanding financial issues.For anyone who wants to better understand the business environment and the people who populate it. ... Read more

Book Description

This authoritative text appeals to upper-level students, practicing managers, and HRM professionals who require a thorough grasp of the field's essential functional areas as well as emerging trends. Drawing on their extensive experience teaching abroad, the authors introduce international issues in the first chapter and provide ongoing discussion throughout the text. Similarly, a complete chapter on each core theme enables instructors to easily integrate and revisit topics such as strategic HRM, ethics, utility (cost/benefit analysis), plus productivity and quality at any point.

• Chapter 16, Employment Transitions, focuses on retaining valuable employees during strong economic periods and reducing the workforce during difficult periods—plus internal transitions.
• The Fifth Edition features the latest theoretical approaches to strategic HRM, an increased focus on the impact of "bottom line" practices, a streamlined discussion of HRIS, and more discussion of how HR activities fit into a company's overall business strategy.
• Updated cases and boxed inserts cover a range of subjects, including test-taker rights, the pitfalls of measurement tools, performance appraisal and merit pay in China, and HRM approaches to improving a competitive advantage.

Reviews (2)

Poor text for HR
This was the text for my HR class in 2003. I am pursing my Masters. I found the text to have good examples of HR practices however, to be unorganized in fashion. It was not an easy text to follow as it jumps around a lot. It also introduces many ideas and then tells the reader that it will address the idea in a later chapter. This was very distracting. The practice test from the website are very helpful.

Human Resource Management
As a graduate MBA student using this text in the Fall, 2002 semester, I enjoyed the subject matter covered in the textbook. It opened new points of interest related to Human Resource Management that I have not learned in other business classes. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Fish! Tales is Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen, and Harry Paul's follow-up to Fish!--their enormously popular fable that draws lessons aimed at combating dysfunctional workplaces from the happy fishmongers at Seattle's Pike Place Market. In Fish! Tales the authors show how these lessons were put into practice at businesses both big (a major hospital and long-distance carrier) and small (a local car dealership and roofing company). Anyone who enjoyed Fish! (or, for that matter, Who Moved My Cheese?) or is looking for a motivational tool to help energize their own workplace, should find this short, upbeat primer worthwhile. --Harry C. Edwards ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Insightful!
Things are going swimmingly in Fish! land. In the latest volume, Fish! Tales, authors Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen, Harry Paul and Philip Strand build on the successful training program that evolved from their first Fish book. Tales shows how four companies - a long-distance call center; a hospital neural-renal unit, a car dealership and a roofing company - have applied Fish! theories effectively. They also provide short examples from other companies to show how well the Fish! function. The four main principles are familiar by now - keep the work fun, seek to serve others, stay focused on your customers and have an enthusiastic attitude - but the examples in the book bring them alive. Along the way, the authors heavily sell their Fish! courses and merchandise - that's just good salesmanship - but the real catch of the day is the final how-to section, showing ways to apply these principles in any organization. The lively writing style helps keep you hooked. We from getAbstract suggest that if you haven't yet caught any Fish!, start with this one. Its cheery, accessible methods should lure you in, hook, line and sinker.

Insightful!
Things are going swimmingly in Fish! land. In the latest volume, Fish! Tales, authors Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen, Harry Paul and Philip Strand build on the successful training program that evolved from their first Fish book. Tales shows how four companies - a long-distance call center; a hospital neural-renal unit, a car dealership and a roofing company - have applied Fish! theories effectively. They also provide short examples from other companies to show how well the Fish! function. The four main principles are familiar by now - keep the work fun, seek to serve others, stay focused on your customers and have an enthusiastic attitude - but the examples in the book bring them alive. Along the way, the authors heavily sell their Fish! courses and merchandise - that's just good salesmanship - but the real catch of the day is the final how-to section, showing ways to apply these principles in any organization. The lively writing style helps keep you hooked. We suggest that if you haven't yet caught any Fish!, start with this one. Its cheery, accessible methods should lure you in, hook, line and sinker.

"Real" It In
I enjoyed reading Fish, but Fish Tales is even better because it has real world success stories. While the original Fish! seemed like a business theory, Fish! Tales shows how several companies actually benefited from implementing these ideas instead of just reading about them. Fish! Tales enhances the credibility of the original book. Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life by JoAnna Carey is another great book for companies to share with employees because it offers entertaining stories and goal oriented advice about improving your workplace and your life.

Disappointing
While the message is a good one, it nearly gets lost in this very poorly written book.

Integrating Fish and optimizing the workplace
The Fish philosophy isn't new but the unique context and delightful presentation makes it effective. I got a lot out of this book because I saw how the concept is integrated into organizations. We have found that the best companion for the Fish philosophy is to train employees in Optimal Thinking. Optimal Thinking is the simple, realistic mental resource to empower individuals to be their best and bring out the best in others. I recommend both of these books. ... Read more