Book review: HR to the Rescue: Case Studies of HR Solutions to Business Challenges. Edward Mone and Manuel London (Eds.), Gulf Publications, Houston, Texas
✍ Scribed by Frank Linnehan
- Book ID
- 101283207
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 56 KB
- Volume
- 21
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0894-3796
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Part II of the book consists of four Chapters of case studies of successful, as well as unsuccessful, transformations. The lens presented in Chapter 2 are used to suggest speci®c areas that either worked or did not work. Flamholtz and Randle also give examples symptomatic of the transformations taking place.
The ®ve Chapters in Part III detail tools for transformation management using the framework set out in the second Chapter. Each type of transformation will call for a dierent emphasis in the tools. Strategic planning, tailoring the organizational structure, and leadership development (that is changing people's behavior) are critical for successful transformations. There are Tables showing how each of these are associated with each type of transformation and also Tables linking management development and performance management skills to the three types of transformations. The emphasis is placed on implementation of change and is consistent with the book's focus on the manager and action plans.
Part IV consists of two concluding Chapters. The ®rst is a comprehensive study of numerous transformations in a 67-year-old company and the second provides lessons for managers and boards. This Chapter gives 10 overall lessons applying to all types of transformations, most, although commonly believed, bear repeating since they seem to be often forgotten. For example, Successful transformations take time.' Transformations require dierent kinds of leadership at dierent levels stages' and the longer an organization has been successful, the more vulnerable it becomes.' The concluding remarks may also seem trite, but in my view, often get lost in the daily operational details and crises: . . . business is a game without an end . . . the one constant in the business game every year after year: the need to understand the process of managing organizational transformations.'
Despite the number of books on managing organizational transformations, Flamholtz and Randle's model provides an important resource for consultants and managers. The book is readable, very well organized, and proposes speci®c tools for action. The authors have worked in the trenches, and in this book are oering the fruits of their labors to others. They have synthesized a considerable consulting experience into a framework that is usable by practitioners and may even serve as a research framework for academics.