Preface to first edition

This book has been written for students of management and practising managers interested in the management of human resources, and is concerned with the policies, procedures and practices which can lead to the effective recruitment, integration and deployment of the human resources of an enterprise. It is designed as a sequel to an earlier book, R. L. Boot, A. C. Cowling and J. K. Stanworth Behavioural Sciences for Managers, Edward Arnold, 1977, which introduces management readers to the behavioural sciences.

Managing Human Resources has been written with a variety of potential readerships in mind. It should prove particularly useful to students taking Part 2 of the Diploma in Management Studies, Stage 2 of the Diploma in Personnel Management, and Human Resources options on MBA courses. It should also interest practising managers who find themselves unable to undertake formal courses of study but who are concerned to review the latest developments in theory and practice relevant to the management of the personnel they control. It is addressed especially to the line manager, on the assumption that line managers bear the primary responsibility for managing personnel, but includes a discussion of the role of the personnel department, and the support personnel managers can provide for line managers and the goals of the organisation.

The term ‘human resources’ was chosen because it reflects a commendable modern emphasis in management terminology on treating employees as a valuable resource requiring expert selection and development rather than the more traditional view of employees as expendable units of labour to be indiscriminately hired and fired in the market place.

The need for this type of approach has been reinforced in recent years by the high cost of employing people and the effect of both government legislation and trade union pressures which render arbitrary dismissal an expensive procedure.

A gulf sometimes exists between theory and practice in the management of human resources, which this book attempts to overcome by describing both practical techniques and procedures and relevant theory and research. Techniques are not decried, as is the fashion in some quarters, because the writers appreciate from first hand experience that they provide the means by which busy managers can give effect to good policies and procedures. At the same time, care has been taken to present the best techniques available, and to supply constructive criticism, where it has been felt to be relevant. The general emphasis and direction in this book is therefore a technological one, that is to say, it is concerned with the practical application of sound theory. It takes as its model the attention given in countries such as Germany and Japan to practical technology and the practical skills of getting things done. We hope that it will help readers not only to master the best procedures and practices currently available, but also to go on to forge new and instructive methods which will serve them well in the rapidly changing circumstances in which managers have to operate.

Acknowledgement is due here to the five specialist contributors each of whom we invited to participate in the book because of his or her particular expertise in what has become a very wide-ranging subject. We feel sure that this will enhance the reader’s appreciation and understanding of the subject matter as well as ensuring that only the most relevant policies and practices are outlined.

Ensuing chapters in this book concentrate on such key processes as employment, training, development, manpower planning, and remuneration. Because the study of industrial relations now represents a major subject in its own right it is left for detailed treatment in a separate book. However a chapter on labour relations at plant level is included. Each chapter takes account of the limitations imposed by financial restraints and organisational policies at the place of work. The growing importance of legislation is reflected in the final chapter, which not only gives an overview of the manner in which legislation now has to be taken into account in the management of human resources in the UK, but also quotes many relevant legal decisions invaluable to both student and manager alike.

AGC
CJBM