The first part of the book has three chapters and a Focus on skills to introduce various dimensions of what human resource management involves. Chapter 1 sets the scene by describing the way in which human resource management works today and then explains how it has evolved to its present form over the hundred years of its existence as a separate function of management. It shows that present-day practice is not only a response to contemporary business demands and social expectations, but also an amalgam of different features which built up throughout the twentieth century and continue in the twenty-first. Later there is a philosophy for human resource management. This is followed by summaries of major debates in the field.
The first part of the book has three chapters and a Focus on skills to introduce various dimensions of what human resource management involves. Chapter 1 sets the scene by describing the way in which human resource management works today and then explains how it has evolved to its present form over the hundred years of its existence as a separate function of management. It shows that present-day practice is not only a response to contemporary business demands and social expectations, but also an amalgam of different features which built up throughout the twentieth century and continue in the twenty-first. Later there is a philosophy for human resource management. This is followed by summaries of major debates in the field.