A Review of Human Resource Management by Mathis and Jackson

The 12^th edition of the Human Resource Management, written by Robert L Mathis and John H Jackson was published in December 2009. The book offers the most current view of Corporate H.R and thus prepares students, professionals, new HR guy, and what have you for HR professional certification like PHR exam and SPHR exam offered by the HRCI.

Content

The content of the book is very detailed and it covers the entire sphere of Human Resource Management. It has five sections namely:

1. Nature of Human Resource Management: This section introduces the nature of HR management and explains in detail the Strategic HR. Also, it discusses employee-organization relations and provides useful guidelines for employee retention.
2. Staffing the Organization: This section talks about the legal framework of equal employment and debates on ways to maintain balance between equal employment and diversity in an organization. Further, this section discusses the process of job analysis and recruitment of employees.
3. Developing the Human Resources: Training and development of staff is explained at-length along with the process of performance appraisal and talent management.
4. Compensating Human Resources: Total rewards, compensation, variable pay and fringe benefits are covered in this section.
5. Managing Employee relations: Topics like risk management and employee protection are explained followed by employee rights and responsibilities.

The new HRCI outline is now featured in this edition to effectively prepare you with the latest body of knowledge of human resource management from which the certification exams are taken. Whether you are an HR professional or a student, you will surely find this book useful for your ongoing professional success. It will even help you to maintain a balance between your work and personal life.

Updated with latest HR changes

This book is updated with the current changes in HRM. It provides references from recent real life events to ensure latest coverage of information. Case studies provide an in-depth account of HR strategies adopted by organizations to cope with difficult situations. HR headlines at the start of each chapter provide a depiction of current events that have affected or arise from HR.

Online Course Management

Along with the book, students are provided with CDs that enable them to study anywhere anytime. This is the new integrated CengageNOW online learning system. This innovative tool allows you to efficiently plan your course, easily manage and assign homework, automatically grade assignments, teach with built-in technology, and test using a customized test bank. You can even create your report card to analyze your learning graph. Also, there is a unique feature of HR BizFlix Video Cases highlight short clips from popular Hollywood films to illustrate and connect HRM concepts from the text to situations familiar to students. Also, there are interactive glossaries and quizzes to make learning a playful and enjoyable experience.

Practice tests

There are Pre tests to judge your basic understanding about the subject and post tests to evaluate the knowledge gained after completing the book. These tests are at times taxing for the students however on the whole provide greater confidence to them. After completing them, you can know how you would perform at the PHR/SPHR certification exams because the tests are designed on a similar pattern.

Objective learning

An objective explanation is provided for the HR policies, detailing their pros as well as cons. Real life examples from Companies are used to illustrate their practical implementation. This makes the content more understandable and realistic. The examples are infact picked from Small-Medium enterprises, Multi National companies, government sector and non profit organizations to provide information from a broader perspective. This book offers the perfect blend of theory and practice. Valuable learning features, from the latest HR headlines to HR Best Practices, add to your knowledge of how current events impact HR and shape success today. The HR on the job feature suggests how to deal with difficult HR issues most effectively.

Layout

Topics are well sequenced such that students can easily relate to them. Each chapter lists down learning objectives which are actually the most essential topics to be covered. Summary points are listed at the end of each chapter, highlighting the key areas. Visuals like charts and statistical tables are used to make the book more objective and interesting.

Study Guide

This text goes along with a separate study guide however, the pricing is independent. The two doesn’t go together. You can check the other features of the STUDY GUIDE and find out if the price is right.

Affordability

Such comprehensive study on HR management provided with focused tests and helpful glossary of terms, all available only at $200 odd figure, is definitely worth it. You can save on this too, thanks to the discounts and saving schemes offered by various book selling websites. Amazon offers a reduced price specifically on slightly used one.

The Human Resource Management book intended to be used as a major resource book in preparing for PHR exam and SPHR exam written by Robert L Mathis and John H Jackson 12^th edition is surely a Bible for all examinees.

Based on the information above, I would give this book an overall rating of 9 out of 10. It is surely a must buy.