Human Resource Policy

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This book is designed for prospective general managers more than for human resources specialists although it can be used as the text for an introductory course in a human resources management sequence. Our text is directed to the general manager who must integrate HRM policies with other organizational policies. Thus we distinguish between what some call "high commitment" and "traditional" overall organizational policies and relate specific HRM policies (such as compensation) to these. Therefore our emphasis is on policy. But human resources policy can't develop in isolation. It should be consistent with the organization's overall strategy - its approach to marketing, finance, and production. Further it is developed and applied in a social, political, and economic context. Consequently our introductory chapters focus on fundamental environmental changes such as the changing makeup of America's labor force, the possible impact of computers and the "information superhighway," the rapid downsizing of large corporations, and the growing numbers of contingent (part-time, temporary, and subcontracted) employees. Other sections examine the influence of the women's movement, the new demand for individual job rights, and changing government equal employment policies. Perhaps more than most texts, this one is concerned with the legal and the societal context of human resources policies.