Coming soon · Book Profile
Managing Human Resources
A comprehensive guide for general managers on strategically managing human resources to enhance productivity, quality of work life, and profits in a globally competitive environment.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
This book is written not for HR specialists, but for students of general management whose jobs inevitably involve the responsibility for managing people. It operates on the fundamental assumption that all managers are accountable for the impact of their human resource management (HRM) activities and are expected to add value by managing their people effectively. As a unifying theme, the book links the content of each chapter to three key outcomes—productivity, quality of work life, and profits. It provides a complete, evidence-based roadmap covering the entire HRM system, from understanding the business environment and legal context, through the core functions of employment, development, and compensation, to crucial topics like labor relations, workplace justice, and international HRM. By grounding its principles in research, case law, and real-world company examples, this book equips managers to make sound, data-driven decisions that foster competitive advantage through people.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- The reader is a current or aspiring manager who wants to be successful by driving business results, but understands that managing people effectively is a critical, complex, and often frustrating part of their job. They want a clear, practical framework to handle people-related challenges and to demonstrate their value to the organization.
- The problem
- Managers constantly face difficult people-related problems—hiring the right talent, motivating employees, managing performance, navigating legal risks, and retaining top performers—in a highly competitive and rapidly changing global environment. They feel overwhelmed, uncertain, and ill-equipped to handle the "soft" side of management. They are frustrated by their inability to connect their people-management efforts to concrete business outcomes like productivity and profit.
- The plan
- First, understand the competitive, technological, and legal environment that shapes all HRM activities.
- Second, master the core employment process, including workforce planning, recruiting, and staffing for a diverse workforce.
- Third, learn to develop employee potential through effective training, on-boarding, and performance management.
- Fourth, design and administer fair and motivating pay, incentive, and benefit systems.
- Finally, successfully navigate labor-management relations, employee relations, safety, and the complexities of international HRM.
- The payoff
- Become a confident and competent leader who strategically manages human capital to drive productivity and profitability. · Create a high-quality work environment that attracts, develops, and retains top talent. · Make and justify people-related decisions with data, earning credibility and contributing to the organization's strategic success.
See our guide
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- Recruiter / Talent Acquisition →
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Additional reading
- Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock Potential in Yourself and Your Organization · Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
This is the authors' previous book, which provides a deep dive into the ITC framework that is presented as a key tool in Chapter 6 and used by the fledgling DDOs in Chapter 7.
- In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life · Robert Kegan
This book lays out the foundational theory of adult development and mental complexity that underpins the entire DDO concept, explaining the 'adaptive gap' that DDOs are designed to address.
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success · Carol Dweck
The book explicitly references Dweck's work, contrasting the 'fixed mindset' (prevalent in ordinary organizations) with the 'growth mindset' that is fundamental to a DDO's culture.
- Organizational Culture and Leadership · Edgar H. Schein
Mentioned in the book, Schein's work provides a foundational understanding of organizational culture, which is the primary medium through which DDOs operate.
- The Functions of the Executive · Chester Barnard (1938)
Chapter 10 identifies this book as providing the seminal concept of 'willingness to contribute to the cooperative system,' which forms the theoretical foundation for the modern construct of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB).
- The Psychology of Careers · Donald E. Super (1957)
Chapter 3 cites this as a foundational work that established the concept of career stages, a model that has profoundly influenced career development theory and research for decades.
- Decision-making in the employment interview · E. C. Webster (1964)
Chapter 6 highlights this as the key report from the influential McGill University studies, which revealed the cognitive biases inherent in unstructured interviews and shifted the focus of research toward understanding the interviewer's decision process.
- Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures · Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
Multiple chapters (e.g., 13, 15) refer to this document and the related AERA/APA/NCME 'Standards' as the authoritative professional guidelines that define best practices and core concepts, like the modern unitarian view of validity, for the entire field of personnel selection.
- Managing Human Assets · Beer, M. et al. (1984)
This is a seminal book that introduced the 'Harvard framework' of HRM, emphasizing a multi-stakeholder approach that considers the interests of employees, not just shareholders. It provides a foundational 'soft' HRM perspective.
- Strategic Human Resource Management · Fombrun, C. J., Tichy, N. M. and Devanna, M. A. (1984)
This book introduced the 'Michigan framework,' which advocated for a 'hard' HRM approach focused on tightly matching HR strategy to the business strategy (vertical fit). It is a foundational text for the strategic alignment concept.