YES- AN HR DEPARTMENT BETWEEN TWO COVERS!

FOR LEARNERS, LECTURERS AND HR PROFESSIONALS…

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers

Is human resources management a science or an art? As business people who are not a qualified human resources manager and with only limited familiarity, via the workplace, with people who are, we would be inclined to say, well, it can’t be a science, so it must be an art, mustn’t it?

After all, its subject matter is living, walking, talking human beings and the way they interact in the workplace and generally contribute to the productivity of the organizations for which they work. We would’ve thought that a couple of degrees in psychology or sociology would have been the appropriate qualifications for solemn folk with such impressive sounding job titles as ‘Human Resources Manager’ or ‘Human Resources Director’.

Now we find that while not completely wrong, (yes, ideally, you should have a degree in the above as a foundation), we’re not completely right either, having now had a read through of ‘Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice’.

This is one impressive publication, now going into its eleventh edition, the first having been published in 1977. The author has obviously been toiling away for over three decades producing updated editions of the Handbook approximately every two to four years, ensuring that HR practitioners everywhere stay abreast of current trends in this continually evolving and increasingly complex discipline.

We both agree wholeheartedly with the quote the publishers Kogan Page have gleaned from the very authoritative THES (Times Higher Education Supplement) that this is ‘the most comprehensive of similar texts covering human resources…the definitive text in the field’… and ‘an excellent book.’

An HR Department between two covers is how the publishers describe it, and we have little doubt that they’re right. ‘If any book is a contender for one of the standard references of the HR profession, this is it,’ says ‘Personnel Today’, adding that ’it covers just about everything that might be considered broadly relevant to practicing HR.’

Written for learners as well as lecturers in undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programmes, including CIPD qualifications, the Handbook also functions on a practical day to day level as a complete practice manual for HR professionals.

Each chapter is systematically and logically laid out, as is the book as a whole. It is rare to find a management text book or reference book, especially in this area, that is thorough and instructive as well as accessible and easy to read, all at the same time, with excellent colour coded learning features throughout.

Online resources? Yes – there’s a companion website for both lecturers and students including teaching and learning notes in each chapter, additional case studies, a glossary and uniquely, a guide to taking CIPD exams. A comprehensive index and list of useful website addresses are included too, to help you broaden your HR knowledge and make your studies and/or lecture preparations a lot easier…your HR department between the two covers.

ISBN: 978-0-7494-5242-1

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© 2010 Kees Smans