Resources Books

This was a very concise, excellent study on the problem of terror. I think anyone interested in why our world is the way it is today should read this book. Friedman writes from having 'been there', and his documentation is good, too.

Suprising amount of information in a compact book. I really liked it, and give it a high recommendation.

I am not one to sit down and read a book cover to cover, but I did so with Sudden Terror in about 24 hours. The reason why this book excedes others on the topic is because the author has extensive academic knowledge and personal experience. Dr. Friedman has a master's degree in Arabic and is very well versed in Islamic history as this book illustrates. He is also an Israeli with quite a bit of first-hand personal and military experience on the subject at hand. Not only does he do a fabulous job in writing this book, but he does so with an amazing amount of integrity and character.

A great synopsis of our situation in the world today. I think this is as concise a study on terrorism as I have ever seen. It is relevant for both Americans and Israelis and anyone interested in understanding why the world is in the mess it's in. He does a great job documenting his sources.

Awesome book,from a real different perspective. I liked the fact that the author isn't just writing from an ivory tower, but has first hand experience and knowledge of what makes terrorism tick. He suggests alot of ways to cope with being victims of terrorism that have helped me through September 11th. I really recommend it to everyone, especially anyone who wants to know what it's like being a victim of fundamentalist Muslim terror in Israel.

This book provides a meaningful, comprehesive, and entertaining picture of the global supply chain. Through stories, Bill has effectively taken potentially dry material and brought it to life in a meaningful and helpful way. Additionally, it is a great source of reference in the research arena.

Jane Biddle
VP Manufacturing Research
Aberdeen Group

Supply Chain Architecture by William Walker is a different kind of book. It looks at how to make a Supply Chain Network effective by developing a high level conceptual principle, and, then drilling down to the practices that should be adopted to operationalize the principle.

Take an example of the Vocalize principle. This principle covers the synchronization of Supply with Demand. The book describes various techniques to improve this process including, how to the Push-Pull boundary is used in different manufacturing configurations, and, how operational control is established in various manufacturing systems such as Manufacturing Resource Planning, Vendor Management, Kanban and Synchronization.

The book invariably details how to optimize the technique in actual practice. It is written by a practitioner for practitioners

It is a book to be read and absorbed. I have found it very useful and have used sections of it in a Supply Chain course I teach at Polytechnic University in New York

Blair Williams
Industry Professor
Author of Manufacturing for Survival (Pearson 1997)

In a field crowded with literature this book is a rare find. A coherent model for the end-to-end supply chain network is presented, described by the information, material and cash flow processeses and the five principles of velocity, variability, vocalize, visualize and value.

The methodology presented is supremely practical - our organization has been using the five principles process to succesfully solve real life problems from partitioning the bill of materials and outsourcing to minimizing risk to supply and optimizing network inventory.

We are looking forward to our next projects focused on using this framework to integrate global supply chains in a highly competitive network with higher levels of profits, return on assets and cash generation

"Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat ... it is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose." Sun Tzu's admonition applies to business campaigns as well as to military battles, and the Supply Chain professional seeking victory for the company and its operations develops a comprehensive plan for doing business battle. "Supply Chain Architecture: A Blueprint for Networking the Flow of Material, Information, and Cash" by William T. Walker is an indispensable tool for developing such a plan. This book takes what could otherwise be an overwhelming task, that of defining an effective Supply Chain network flow, and brings to it an organized, understandable, and all-inclusive approach.

"Supply Chain Architecture" is highly effective as a guide for approaching Supply Chain network development because the depth of the content is matched by the book's very orderly approach in showing the Supply Chain professional how to proceed. Starting by drawing the overall Supply Chain map and defining a clear language for relating to a Supply Chain network, Walker lays out alternative Supply Chain strategies and the business and operational implications of each. Typical of the book, a wealth of detailed tables and figures provide specific guidance for this analysis process. Walker proceeds to explore the inter-company issues of collaboration and how to effectively build a Supply Chain network, and then addresses the critical issues in building such a network: the flow of information, tracking and measuring network performance, and the on-the-ground operation of the network. Walker rounds out the blueprint with a view from the financial perspective, showing the impact and opportunities that Supply Chain Architecture offers, together with a summarizing chapter and an Appendix that literally provides step-by-step instructions for this process. At every stage, Walker challenges us to move from conventional Supply Chain thinking to a broader-view, highly concise approach that focuses us on the objectives we want to accomplish.

While supplying a huge amount of hands-on material, Walker makes sure it is a nurturing river of information rather than a destructive tsunami of data by overlaying several storylines into the beginning and end of each chapter. These storylines follow "daily life" activities that illustrate key points in narrative format, and are a delightful way to maintain an overview understanding of the core concepts. This approach makes "Supply Chain Architecture" a complete package - the conceptual and the technical play off each other to complete the reader's understanding of the process of architecting the Supply Chain network.

One can easily imagine Sun Tzu smiling approvingly at the "many calculations" that William Walker gives us as he prepares us for Supply Chain victory. Planning a Supply Chain network, like planning a military campaign, is neither simple nor easy, but with "Supply Chain Architecture" as the map the Supply Chain professional can move into the battle confidently and with the blueprint needed to achieve Supply Chain success.

"Supply chain management" is becoming a meaningless cliche. This textbook spells out- significant (as opposed to occasional/nominal) trading partners, importance of cash flow & lead time- in standard APICS terminology. Introduces parameters for outsourcing manufacturing & logistics. Up-to-date, compared with many logistics tomes.

This book came recommended to me from my Professor as a valuable reference for my first year teaching college students. The books description matched the condition.

If you are teaching at the college-level or higher, this book is full of great ideas on everything from setting the tone in the first class to assessing students. Making your classes ones they look forward to attending.

This is a must-have book for college faculty. I use it to assist new faculty in developing their teaching abilities and I found many good ideas to improve my syllabus, enhance classroom interactions and help in creating an effective program for evaluating teacher effectiveness. My only complaint is that it is hard to get--too bad that such a valuable resource can't come via overnight express!

Linda has done an excellent job of compiling and explaining some of the best available techniques for teaching and survival as a professor in the modern university environment. The text is highly readable and extremely practical. I have taught for 24 years in a variety of colleges and each time I open the book I find something new to try.

This book is a great resource for teachers in general and college profs in particular. It presents solid, innovative pedagogical ideas in a practical context. My copy is becoming worn out from nearly constant use.

Excellent tool for instruction in multiple representation. Includes transparencies to assist visual learners and includes lesson ideas in a logical sequence. Highly recommend for helping students comprehend non-fiction text.

This is an excellent way to prepare students for state assessment questions. Students are exposed to the vocabulary and questions types that they need to become familiar with especially when reading non-fiction. Our staff and students used the articles regularly and find it to be very beneficial.

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I found this resource for teaching informational/nonfiction selections to my 6th graders. It covers everything I am required by the state to teach: reading tools/strategies, text organization, graphic aids, various type of articles/selections, etc. A huge plus is the color transparencies that come with it and accompany the different selections.

This is one of the best resources I've come across. I can teach the whole unit just using this one source. How often can a teacher say that??

Alice Boynton's lessons are very sensible and any teacher shouldn't have problems with her suggestions. It might also be useful for a parent, like me, who has an elementary school kid and who's trying to get her to do more than read manga and watch anime. Boynton's tips attempt to capture the student's attention span and force her/him to invst some intellectual effort. To payoff in learning from an entire world of these non-fiction books.

I am using this book in an 8th grade content area reading course. It has the complete explanations of nonfiction reading, the text features, text structures, modeling examples, questions to ask after their reading, and organizers. It helps you to explain the rationale of all these different types of text. A Must for reading teachers!

Run and buy... This book has a lot of good exercises and ideas for developing teams. I specially found it helpful dealing with group processes, e.g. how to work with roles, conflict, tasks, cooperation and other topics. I have read about 30 books about teams and games/ activities: These book is one of the top three. My best recommendations!

Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan designs activities and games for training programs and to improve human performance. Glenn Parker is a team-building expert. When the two of them paired up to create Teamwork and Teamplay, they were able to offer 38 team-building and training exercises that work.

The value of this book begins with its introduction. Thiagi and Parker start by identifying 7 different types of teams and guidelines for using the activities. Those guidelines include steps to take so you are prepared to facilitate the activity, steps to take during the activity, and what to do after the activity is concluded.

Activities include skill-building in consensus-making (don't miss "Escape from Gilligan's Island" here!), ethics, motivation, team effectiveness, stages of team development. . .and more.

Thiagi and Parker include three indices at the end of the book: a topical index, a primary use (team-building or -training activity) index, and a time/number index.

Trainers, coaches, facilitators, and team leaders will find themselves returning to this book again and again. I have worked several of these games into my training sessions, with great results, and am eager to try even more. The activities are fun and groups find them engaging and energizing, and the learning points are solid.

I met Thiagi few years ago when I was still in Bloomington, Indiana (when I was still a PhD student). I love his game and simulation seminar a lot. This book include a lot of his "tricks" and pratical guidelines for those trainers who would like to motivate the team sprit and so on. A highly recommend book

Being one of those relatively concrete-sequential, oldest child, ISTJ (for the Myers-Briggs aficionados) people, I started my consulting career a little wary of all these "touchy-feely" group activities that trainers use when working with groups. Well, times change and (maybe) people do, too. I have done a fair amount of group facilitation and training, and have found all kinds of activities to be very beneficial in getting people to identify, focus on, and move toward shared goals. Many trainers discount or are ignorant of the requirements of adult learners -- most adults won't sit still (literally) for traditional, classroom-style instruction for more than 45 minutes at a time.

This book is an excellent, concise, easy-to-follow resource for anyone working in either team building or team training environments. As explained in the book's introduction, team building "...increases the ability of an intact team to work together...," while team training "...increases the knowledge and skills of the participants in various aspects of teamwork and being a team player...." The book presents many exercises for each type of team experience.

Each of the 38 activities is organized in an easy-to-follow format that includes:

* purpose * team size (minimum/maximum recommended group) * required resources * time (to complete) * room setup * steps * debriefing * variations * templates, charts, overheads, as applicable

The book also includes appendices that sort the activities by primary use (team building or team training), time and participants, and by topic area (desired outcome or issue being addressed). These appendices make it easy to determine at a glance which of the 38 activities are most appropriate for a particular group or setting when designing training.

The value of the introduction bears emphasis. Many books have forgettable introductions; this book's introduction is an excellent short essay on the value, uses, and benefits of building and training teams. Read it slowly -- the authors make their points quickly. If you skim, you'll miss something important.

Whether you're a consultant or in-house trainer, regardless of organization size or mission, this book is a handy tool to improve the quality, participation, and outcomes from your groups training.

More is just what this phenomenal book of new and exciting trainings offers any aspiring and inspiring trainer. The trainings can be easily grouped and shared to produce high impact.

In returning from a weekend seminar of team building and communication courses, several trainings from this manuel helped to provide for a high-impact seminar with team-work problem solving, team interaction and production, opportunities for great transitional shorties between programs (adaptability is immense!) and communication inside the team.

Metcalfe, Our Team, ET, Escape from Gilligan's Island were among the courses used and combined with others throughout the seminar. Worthwhile trainings and with some ingenuity and creativity, easily adaptable to fit any size of audience!

I highly recommend this book for trainers looking to provide something new or something different in seminars on team work and communication.

I know I can't wait to implement more trainings from the book into helping others become better team players!

I now recognize behavior that I was unaware of in the past. Also, I can see what I do as a manager that increases or decreases territoriality. This type of behavior is such a drain and hurts people's effectiveness and productivity. I think this should get a lot of discussion in organizations.

As executive staff to a volunteer board, our turf wars and inability to communicate were hamstringing the efforts of our organization, and grinding staff work to a halt. This book allowed many light bulbs to go off about our inadvertent (and not!) behavior, and we even got the author in to moderate a session. Every single one of us realized what were doing to add to the problems, and how we could stop.

Annette Simmons has written one of the most important (and fun to read) management books of this decade. The subject matter makes it an important book. Simmons' style make it unique among management books. This book compares very well to "It Takes Two" by Gene Boccialetti (Jossey-Bass, 1995); in both books, the information is immediately useful in the real world. Using an adaptation of the "games" model in Transactional Analysis, Simmons takes us through the Territorial Games played in organizations very clearly and simply. As you progress through the book you will find yourself saying, "been there, done that." At the end, when you are ready to ask, "So What?" she suggests ways to stop playing the games. Because of her clear style in both writing and thinking, I hope she'll be writing another book...soon. This book is a good read for managers at any level. It will be around for a long time. Roy Mayhugh Phd

Simmons provides "names" for this evolutionary adaptation of behavior that we experience everyday such as the strategic noncompliance game, the occupation game, the camouflage game and the intimidation game. Territorial Games defines how behavior in the workplace is driven from physiological, survival instincts that over-power rational thinking. With humor and insight, Simmons reviews the emotions involved in protecting "territory" in today's organizations. The 10 games are reviewed using real-life, painful and funny examples of business situations. The book will aid you in spotting the behavior in others, because "of course you don't do this." Well, you can check that using the self-tests provided for each game.

Simmons' practical approach does not suggest that the games will go away. She does suggest that you can understand them better, develop better ways to deal with the games and begin playing more constructive games. Recommended for everyone who has ever felt like they were in a sporting competition, on a battlefield, or playing survivor in the workplace. It certainly provided me with a renewed clarity about law firm dynamics. You are sure to have a laugh reading and recognizing yourself and others. More importantly, this can be a new lens to understanding behavior in the workplace.

Simply put, reading this book helped me see more--in terms of my own behavior and others'. Ever looked back on tough work situations you've dealt with in the past and thought 'How ridiculous I was then...if only I knew then what I knew now, I'd have acted differently'? As much as I enjoyed reading the book, I must admit I felt that sting; I sat there reading about these 10 games that she has named, described (with some painfully funny stories of her own), and provided strategies for combating, and I thought 'I really needed this book years ago!' If you want to know more about how people tick and how to deal with it, get this book. Be prepared to feel stung with a higher awareness of how people operate when they are trying to protect/increase their territory in organizations--you will definitely recognize the behaviors. And more powerfully still, be prepared to have your eyes opened about some games that you, in fact, just may be playing.

A Theology for the Church is a unique book. It's a systematic theology by multiple authors, written on an academic level but with the goal of impacting the church as a whole. It is written by Southern Baptists but is applicable to all thinking Christians. The contributors disagree on some points, although they are united by their "passion for a revival of theological knowledge and understanding in the church."

The goal of the book is to present to the church a guide to the major headings of theology that will help pastors and laypeople both to learn sound doctrine and to see the importance, the relevance, of that doctrine. Toward that end, each chapter asks four questions about the doctrine at hand:

1. What does the Bible say?
2. What has the church believed?
3. How does it all fit together?
4. What is the significance of the doctrine for the church today?

This is a great approach, integrating exegesis, history, systematic theology, and application. This last section was especially great in most of the chapters I read. It's true that the study of theology involves the danger of divorcing the knowledge of God from "real life," but it's also true that the true knowledge of God, the ground of all reality, is invaluable in living in the real world.The application sections are dead-on in showing how our theology, good or bad, shapes our behavior, whether we admit it or not.

Because this book was written by a variety of authors and covers a vast amount of material, it's inevitable that everyone will disagree at some point. That was the case for me, although at most points I thought the treatments were fair even when I disagreed with the author. The chapter on salvation, for example, contained some misunderstandings of the doctrine of predestination (including an out-of-line comment that R.C. Sproul's doctrine of God is similar to that of Islam!). But it avoided many of the common errors, and was a pretty good treatment of the Reformed view of predestination, considering that the author doesn't hold that view.

A second criticism is that the book is not really written on quite the popular level you might expect from the title. I still think Grudem's Systematic Theology is the best reference for most churchgoers (without sacrificing academic rigor). Of course many laypeople will read Theology for the Church and profit from it, but it will probably be more useful to pastors with some theological training.

Criticisms aside, though, this book really is a gift to the church. The chapter "Introduction to the Task of Theology" is great; other standouts are "Special Revelation" and "Human Sinfulness." The contributors are a who's-who of bigshots in the SBC, but they quote extensively from outside that tradition, so the relevance isn't limited. The historical overviews are a great resource, and the general zeal for the importance of theology in the life of the church is catching. A Theology for the Church deserves a spot on the thinking Christian's shelf.

The book has been published recently. The contents are based on the Baptist point of view. It is really good to build one's theological foundation.

Thanks,

This is core theology from the contemporary great theologians from Southern Baptist.

This is describing and defining what the salvation, God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, church, etc in the view of Southern baptist theologians.

if you want to understand what the Bible says and what the southern Baptist theologian says, you have to got this.

This is great book!

A Theology for the Church is a scholarly systematic theology text book with a decided conservative and evangelical orientation. The book is edited by the President of a Southern Baptist seminary which should be a big clue as to the book's theological composition. However, it is an excellent book with chapters by some of the finest theologians in America. The book's major challenge is its huge size (over 900 pages) which makes it a difficult read. A Theology for the Church provides a wealth of rewarding theological insights for those willing to work through its voluminous size.

A Theology for the Church editied by Daniel L. Akin is one of the best if not the best Baptist Theology book in print. It is clear in its presentation of the different views within the evangelical context but is bold enough to take a stand on a view.
This is for the serious student of theology.

Just who is Wayne Alderson and what right does he have to tell me and you how to manage people? He has been in the trenches and succeeded. He took over PITTRON STEEL when it was undergoing an 84-day strike, had lost $6 million, was down to 300 employees, had 600 grievances per year and an absenteeism rate of 20%. Within two years, by applying his "Value of the Person" philosophies of treating workers with dignity and respect, PITTRON saw the strike end, a 400% increase in sales, a 64% increase in productivity, grievances dropped to two and absenteeism to just 1% and, best of all, the company made $6 million!

This experience led Wayne to develop a phenomenal 2-day seminar around his unique managment style that is truly the best I have ever attended. And I'm speaking as a business professor who has taught and developed seminars for 13 colleges and universities. I hosted him in the School of Business at my university some twenty years ago. He was recently here in Birmingham again teaching the young managers of an 80-year old steel company how to manage their people with dignity and respect---and still make the company profitable.

The book THEORY R MANAGEMENT is like no other managment book you will ever read. It is not about how to kick your people in the rear, or firing the bottom 10% on an annual basis. It is not about winning with intimidation or climbing to the top on a pile of worn out subordinates. No, it is about treating your people right and having them respond in in the right way. This sounds revolutionary and it is. In the past 36 years I have personally seen companies experience constant labor stife, walkouts, strikes and phenomenal turnover. But the text books I have to use never seem to address the cause of all this turmoil. They are too wrapped up in the KITA principle, Herzberg, Maslow, Theory X and Theory Y, and management versus labor to see that there is a better way.

THEORY R MANAGEMENT is all about a better way to treat people. Get the book. You won't ever regret it. And when you do, you'll probably want to call Wayne in Pittsburgh for his seminar schedule. Also get a copy of STRONGER THAN STEEL. This earlier book tells the amazing story of the turnaround of PITTRON.

If Wayne Alderson's story were ever to be made into a movie it would get two thumbs up! Get the book and see why.

There are far too many points made in this book about the importance of valuing people to adequately do it justice. Wayne Alderson, in his book "Stronger than Steel" talked about his role in the amazing turn around in the early 70's of Pittron Steel Company, and highlighted the risks he took to put people first in the heat of an "unwinnable" battle with the union. In this book, "Theory R Management", he takes the principles learned in that turn around and develops them further.

"Theory R" management says: "People come before economic and organizational concerns. They are the most important asset and the most important product of any organization". In the first chapter titled "Taking a risk to find a better way" he states that the "key is building relationships". With confrontation, everybody loses. This simple fact outlines the necessity of this book. As a Human Resources Director, I see firsthand how a failure to put people before processes can undermine a business's success. Far too often, a manager relies on confrontation instead of seeking a win/win when dealing with labor relations and employee discipline. The long-term cost is a lack of trust, not only with the one employee but others as well. This book addresses some rock solid principles to ensure both valuing the person and holding them accountable for business results are met together.

In the section titled "Treating other's with respect" Wayne outlines some principles behind "Theory R": Respect an employees needs. Respect an employee's desires. Respect an employee's potential. Respect an employee's family. These first three are pretty common in most business manuals, but "Respect an employee's family"? The theory is that if we respect an employee's family with time and appreciation, a cyclic effect begins. Family members place a greater value on the workplace and the working parent or spouse. Employees feel more pride in their work and more appreciation at home. (Page 100).

The principles here in this book are at times self-evident, at times truly revolutionary for Corporations and at times perhaps too simplistic. What is clearly evident though is how they resonate with people who hear them. Wayne is on to something here, and the risk is well worth the reward. This book should be required reading for anyone in business, especially those whose employees are supported by labor unions.

This book reminds is that good personnel mgmt is dependent on doing the right thing for the employees and not trying to manage or manipulate them. Making employees the most important resource is a key to success. Great personnel management requires good one on one interpersonal relationships not efficient organizational charts. Alderson and McDonnell use many real life examples where Theory R Management has been implemented with great results. Theory R has application for interpersonal relationships on and off the job. Related info on managing interpersonal relationships can be found in Steven R Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

This is a must-read book for all who lead. It is a workside companion, a "devotional" that will help keep us on track. For the follower, it is a "prayer list" for their superiors. It is also a checklist for them as they aspire to be leaders one day.

I don't just read this book for myself. There is a strong urge within me to pass it on to people of influence and people that could reshape the soul of the firm for good.

This book is best out of the shelves and into the hands of people. If we were just able to digest this one, and apply it to our organization, there will be quantum transformation which will make a difference in the lives of individuals and in the life of the corporation.

Don't just read this book, DO IT, MASTER IT and PASS IT ON!

I was lucky enough to find this book at a bookstore some years ago, and it has been my management bible ever since. It teaches how to handle the most important (and costly) resource in any organization... employees. Whether you know it or not, you have a relationship with everyone in your organization. Once you recognize and accept that, you can begin the process of developing those relationships into cooperative efforts that acheive organizational goals while making the workplace a much nicer place be.

Why isn't this book up there with the top selling management books of all time? Maybe the management world, which is full of matrix-based management theories and decision trees, is not yet ready to face the fact that our relationship with employees is the key to all of our business success.

This book explains how it isn't just one thing we do but all of the "Life-Giving Systems" in our churches are interconnected.
The authors have counseled numerous churches and now they impart that knowledge to anyone who wants their church to grow instead of plateau.
Any pastor or lay-leader who wants their church to experience growth in the number of attendees and spiritually should read this book.

This book has 10 attributes of successful churches. I was so impressed I bought a copy for each Board member and had them read it. We then discussed it at a Board meeting and determined how well we matched up. Highly recommended to pastors and churches who want to be successful in carrying out the Great Commission.

A practical look at ten systems being used by churches to create a healthy and growing environment. The authors use examples from the real world to support their ideas and to encourage the reader to develop healthy systems.

Dan Reeves and Gary McIntosh are two of the best church consultants around and in Thriving Churches in the Twenty-First Century you get all their wisdom for the bargain price of a book. This book is based on real-life case studies that they have observed first hand. Buy this book - it will be the cheapest church consultant you wil ever hire.

I am so excited and don't know where to start after reading this book. I have bought copies for others on my staff.

This book has relevant topics for any Christian or church looking for ways to reach people. And ways to reach people that are beyond the traditional church Bubble.

There are some great insights for any Christian who wants a system to stay connected to God.

Great for a leader who is looking to start a new church. You will find some good foundations for building a vision and core values for your staff.

If you're a church that's been around there are insightful chapters on redefining and discovering who you are so you can better use what God has given your church (resources, gifts, Staff, etc.) to build on what you have and be open to change in society to continue to reach people. And reach people where they are at.

God desires us to know him and be used to help connect Him with others. In this book there are many great tools and systems to keep the church relevant (yet biblical) with the world we are in.

T. Rogers

This book presents a wondeful overview of the topics affecting HR. I admit I was a little wary, because this is supposed to be about "tomorrow's" HR trends, and I bought it four years after publication. Despite that, it seems fresh, some of the forecasted trends have already come to pass, and this book is as impressive and essential as when it was first published. Maybe more so. Kudos all the way 'round.

This book is a must for every serious H.R. professional who want to know what are the coming challenges for the H.R. function. Remember Luck favor the well prepared mind.

Cualquiera que trabaje en Recursos Humanos DEBE de leer este libro. This books is about what HR should be in any organization where HR has any kind of value added. No se lo pierdan esta realmente "abre ojos", despierta al mas dormido de la funcion de Recursos Humanos. Even better than HR Champions.

This is an impressive collection of 38 insightful essays offering core ideas about HRM, focusing six central themes: departments need to operate as a business; today's environment means new roles for HR; HR needs to build on its past; new competencies, roles and use of measurement are vital; the human enterprise must remain central; and HR must adjust to the new global realities. Presents an impressive panorama of the newest thinking about HRM. Reviewed by Yvette Borcia, author of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

"This book offers one approach to thinking about the future of HR. A number of other approaches can and have been used. Futurist methodologies have been applied to study the 'state of the art' and the future and have through surveys of thought leaders identified likely priorities for the future. Our approach", D.Ulrich, M.R.Losey, and G.Lake write, "to thinking about the future of HR parallels closely and draws heavily on a methodology used by F.Hesselbein, M.Goldsmith, and R.Beckhard (Leader of the Future, Organization of the Future)...We have tried to select thought leaders in three groups : academics who study and write HR issues, consultants who offer advice and councel on an array of HR issues, and HR professionals who practice the craft of HR in leading companies...Each of the contributors to this book was asked to write an original ten-page essay on 'the future of HR' as he or she chose to define it...Our hope in this book was for a unique variety of opinion : positive, negative; broad, narrow; optimistic, pessimistic; provocative, discreet; calls for change, calls for status quo (from the Introduction pp.2-3)."

In this context, Ulrich, Losey, and Lake organize the 37 essays into six general sections.Each of these sections deals with a series of questions such as :

Section I :

* What is the strategy of HR?

* What are the products and services of HR?

* How should HR be organized to ensure that the strategy is executed?

Section II :

* What are the future deliverables from HR work?

* What are the metaphors of the HR professional of the future?

* What are the actions for future HR professionals?

Section III :

* What is the history of HR?

* What of the past should be left in the past, and what should be adapted for the future?

* What set of conditions will create a new future?

Section IV :

* Where should HR work be done?

* How do we measure HR work?

* How do HR executives align HR work both inside and outside?

Section V :

* How is intellectual capital operationalized?

* How can HR practices be created that motivate and commit employees?

* What is the impact of humane treatment of employees?

Section VI :

* What are the HR implications of a more global business?

* How can HR practices help a business develop a more global outlook?

* What are the competencies of global leaders?

"If our purpose is to propose a debate about the future", D.Ulrich writes, "it is better to end with questions than with answers. Questions elicit new frameworks, approaches, and alternatives, so, the final two questions we would ask (with our answer) are :

* Do you want to play in this always changing and at times unclear future?

* Are you having fun?

Without a doubt, all the authors in this volume and many others of the best HR professionals we know answer with a resounding 'yes' (p.360)."

I highly recommend.