Human Resource Management, 12th edition

Published by Pearson (1 December 2024) © 2025

  • Derek Torrington Emeritus Professor of Management, University of Manchester
  • Laura Hall
  • Stephen Taylor University of Exeter Business School
  • Carol Atkinson Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
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Products list

Access details

  • Instant access once purchased
  • Offline access via app

Features

  • Learn with videos and interactives*
  • Highlight-to-translate in 100+ languages
  • Practice with quizzes and flashcards
  • AI-powered study support*

*Available for some titles

Title overview

People are central to organisational success, making effective human resource management a critical capability for managers and HR professionals. Human Resource Management provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles, practices and challenges of managing people in today's workplaces. Combining academic research with practical examples and contemporary business issues, the content helps students understand how HR policies and practices contribute to organisational performance, employee wellbeing and long-term success.

Designed to encourage critical thinking, the text explores both established HR concepts and emerging developments shaping the profession. Students examine how organisations attract, develop, engage and retain talent while responding to changing workforce expectations, technological advances and evolving legal and social environments. Real-world case studies and practical learning activities help connect theory to workplace practice.

Students develop a strong understanding of the strategic and operational aspects of human resource management while building the skills needed to apply HR concepts in real organisational settings. Coverage of workforce planning, talent management, employee relations, reward and development helps learners evaluate HR decisions from multiple perspectives. By engaging with current debates and contemporary workplace challenges, students gain the confidence to contribute effectively to people-management decisions and organisational success.

Who It's For

Ideal for undergraduate students studying business, management and human resource management, as well as learners enrolled in CIPD-accredited programmes seeking a comprehensive introduction to contemporary HR practice.

Table of contents

  • Part 1: Human resource management in the modern world
  • 1. The nature of human resource management
  • 2. The global context for human resource management
  • 3. HRM around the world
  • 4. Strategic human resource management
  • 5. Workforce planning, analytics and AI
  • 6. Employability: the basic skills
  • Part 2: Resourcing: getting people in the right places to do the right things
  • 7. Organisational agility and flexibility
  • 8. Recruitment
  • 9. Selection methods and decisions
  • 10. Employability: skills in resourcing
  • Part 3: Performance: success through individual and collective achievement
  • 11. Employee performance management
  • 12. Leadership
  • 13. Managing attendance and absence
  • 14. Engagement and retention
  • 15. Employability: skills in performance
  • Part 4: Development
  • 16. Organisational change and development
  • 17. The context of employee learning and development
  • 18. Learning and development
  • 19. Talent and career development
  • 20. Employability: skills in learning and development
  • Part 5: Employee relations
  • 21. Employee voice
  • 22. The legal framework of work
  • 23. Diversity and inclusion
  • 24. Employability: skills in employee relations
  • Part 6 Reward: the contract for payment
  • 25. Total reward and setting pay
  • 26. Incentives
  • 27. Pensions and benefits
  • 28. Employability: skills in reward
  • Part 7 Contemporary issues
  • 29. HRM and business ethics
  • 30. Managing the human resource function
  • 31. HR in small and medium-sized enterprises
  • 32. Health and well-being
  • 33. Managing the international workforce
  • 34. The future of work
  • 35. Advanced HR skills
  • Index

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