“Our most important asset is our people.”

“Organizations exploit people—chew them up and spit them out.”

Which of these two views of the relationship between people and organizations seems more accurate? How you answer affects everything you do at work.

The human resource frame centers on what organizations and people do to and for one another. We begin in Chapter 6 by laying out basic assumptions, focusing on the fit between human needs and organizational requirements. Organizations generally hope for a cadre of talented, highly motivated employees who give their best. Often though, these same organizations rely on outdated assumptions and counterproductive practices that cause workers to give less and demand more.

After examining how organizations err in Chapter 6, we turn in Chapter 7 to a discussion of how smart managers and progressive organizations find better ways to manage people. We describe “high-involvement” or “high-commitment” practices that build and retain a talented and motivated workforce.

In Chapter 8, we examine issues in interpersonal relations and small groups. We describe competing strategies for managing relationships and look at how personal and interpersonal dynamics can make or break a group or team.