The Human Element

Understanding and Managing Employee Behavior

Here's practical help for the day-to-day concerns that keep managers awake at night. Written in an informal, first-person style, this useful book fills the gap between the legal and policy issues that are the mainstay of human resources and supervision courses and the real-world needs of managers as they attempt to cope with the human side of their jobs. The author is a noted scholar in both cognitive psychology and organizational studies, and has drawn from extensive personal experience as well as careful observation of good and bad managers. "The Human Element" is organized around six fundamental commitments that good employee managers make in order to succeed. It is filled with practical examples and step-by-step guidelines for performing important tasks and dealing with common problems - everything from how to conduct a meeting, to how to write a code of conduct, to how to diagnose the cause of performance problems. "The Human Element" is designed to reduce the stress of management by providing insight into why employees do what they do, and what to do about it. It is an ideal supplement for any course in "people management," including supervision, HRM, and applied OB courses.