David Farnham

HR functions within both internal and external contexts. The understanding of both contexts is crucial for comprehending how and why they drive HR strategies and practices in organizations, as well as the rules and structures within which they work. Built around five major themes which impact upon the HR function, and mapping to the CIPD Level 7 Advanced module of the same name, Human Resource Management in Context enables students to understand the complex and changing organizational context in which HR operates today by providing a comprehensive breakdown of the concepts, theories and issues from globalization and government policy to demographic, social and technological trends. This fully updated 4th edition of Human Resource Management in Context includes a range of pedagogical features, balancing theory with practical analysis to form an engaging insight into the strategic side of HR. It includes enhanced emphasis on the impact of the external environment on the HR profession, a discussion of the impact of technology and social media, increased coverage of ethics and CSR and links to the HR Profession Map. Online supporting resources for lecturers include an instructor's manual, lecture slides, annotated web links and guidance for the chapter activities.

The old certainties and structures of employment relations no longer exist. Compared with the 'golden age' of labour in the mid-twentieth century, work and employment are more precarious, employers are increasingly hostile to trade union negotiations, and the share of wages in national income is falling. Large-scale employers, in turn, are using sophisticated people-management techniques to motivate workers with person-centred, performance-driven and reward-based processes. Drawing on a range of international data, this comparative text demonstrates that whilst employment relations phenomena are nationally embedded, international market forces are compelling employers to compete in product markets by reducing labour costs, terms and conditions of employment, and job security for their workforces. In an age of transnational globalisation and free-market national economic policies, this textbook provides penetrating cross-national, cross-disciplinary and theoretical analyses of the changing structures of employment relations around the world. Key benefits:- Provides critical analyses of changing patterns of employment relations in the early twenty-first century, drawing upon global, comparative and theoretical perspectives.- Examines the changing faces of the subject in terms of academic disciplines, methodological underpinnings, and institutional, cultural and historic settings.- Integrates industrial relations literature with recent studies of the HRM paradigm.

This wide-ranging text analyses the key developments and changes in the management of the major public services in Britain during the 1990s. Designed as a successor to the editors' highly successful Managing the New Public Services, the book places public management and, in particular, the 'Third Way' as adopted by New Labour, in its economic, political and historical context, including the impact of globalization and European integration. Extended case studies illustrate and highlight key stages in the transformation of management and the book concludes with an evaluation and critique of two decades of managerial reform and a discussion of the way forward in the new millennium.

Over the last two decades public services have been directly affected by the radical, political and economic changes which have characterized Britain. As 'businesses' public service employers are now becoming more responsive to their clients and customers and have moved to a more decentralized and proactive style, based on private sector practices. This book describes past practices and current developments in public sector organizations, looking at in-depth case studies covering NHS trusts, the Civil Service, local government, police and education. It examines implications for the future and will provide an invaluable guide for both students of personnel and business studies and managers in the public sector.