Human Resource Management

Human resource management is not confined to the HR department. Hiring, developing, evaluating, and supporting employees are part of how organizations pursue their goals—and this textbook shows how those responsibilities fit together. Gary Dessler’s 16th edition offers a practical introduction for students of HR and management, as well as readers looking for a clear framework for understanding the field.

Connect HR practice to organizational goals

The book opens with the foundations of human resource management, its role in organizations, and the strategic context behind HR decisions. It also examines forces shaping the work, including demographic, economic, global, and technological trends, alongside topics such as diversity, ethics, sustainability, and employee engagement.

Follow the employee lifecycle

Five parts take readers from introductory concepts through the main stages of managing people at work. The text covers job analysis, planning and recruiting, employee testing and selection, interviewing, training and development, performance management, careers and retention, pay, incentives, benefits, employee relations, collective bargaining, workplace safety, and risk management. Later chapters consider global HR and the needs of small and entrepreneurial firms.

Put concepts into context

Practical examples and cases help connect HR ideas with workplace decisions. Chapters include discussion questions, individual and group activities, experiential exercises, and application cases. Additional appendices introduce the knowledge frameworks associated with PHR/SPHR and SHRM certification exams.

A useful foundation for HR and management study

Designed as a course text, Human Resource Management can help students build an organized understanding of the field and give managers and HR practitioners a broad reference point for its core responsibilities. Its central theme is clear: people practices matter in part because they help an organization develop the skills and behaviors needed to meet its strategic aims.