Do We Need HR?: Repositioning People Management for Success

Written by a leading team of authors, Do We Need HR? explores the position of HR, asking pivotal questions such as: does making HR a separate business function still make sense? Should HR return to a narrower personnel role? Should key areas like talent management be relocated to leadership and management units outside of HR?

The authors present a picture of what new lean HR structures might look like, arguing that in the tough current environment, HR could be facing diffusion or even disintegration as a result of new types of organizational design, business knowledge, and cross functional networks. Drawing upon exclusive research and interviews with HR directors, this expert team examines the challenges facing HR departments and provides actionable advice for managers contemplating the nature of HR in their own organizations.


Table of Contents:
1. HR: Looking In and Looking Out
2. Innovation and People Management
3. Customer Centricity and People Management
4. Lean Management and Organisational Effectiveness
5. Managing HR Beyond the Organization
6. Big Data and the HR Analytics Debate
7. Strategic Talent Management
8. What is the Value of HR?
9. Organizational Well-being and Fairness
10. Model HR


About the Author :
Paul Sparrow is Director of the Centre for Performance-Led HR and Professor of International Human Resource Management at Lancaster University Management School. He has previously worked at Aston University, Warwick University, Sheffield University, and Manchester Business School. He has consulted with major multinationals, public sector organizations, and intergovernmental agencies and was an Expert Advisory Panel Member to the UK Government's Sector Skills Development Agency. He is on the Editorial Board of a number of leading HR journals and has published over 100 journal articles and chapters and several books. He is regularly voted amongst the Most Influential HR Thinkers by Human Resources Magazine, listed in the Top 10 Most Influential for 2014-15.

Martin Hird is a Fellow at the Centre for Performance-Led HR at Lancaster University Management School. He has worked in both higher education as a Business School Dean and in industry as a HR Director for companies that have included Bae Systems, Royal Mail and Tag-McLaren.

Sir Cary L. Cooper is Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University. He is the author of over 125 books, 400 scholarly articles, and a frequent contributor to national newspapers, TV, and radio. He is a Fellow of the (US) Academy of Management (having also won the 1998 Distinguished Service award) and of the British Academy of Management. In 2001 he was awarded a CBE for his contribution to organizational health. He is Chair of the Academy of Social Sciences (comprised of 46 learned societies and over 88,000 social scientists), President of the Institute of Welfare, and Immediate Past President of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. In 2014-15 he was ranked number 1 in the Most Influential HR Thinkers by Human Resources Magazine.


Review :
"This book starts asks a challenging question at a critical time for the HR function and profession - a time where the 'people agenda' has never been more important. Good people management is also good business management, and HR has the opportunity to step up and really establish its value and long term role. The authors take a long hard look at the structures and models of HR, challenge some of the ordained thinking, and propose ways in which HR needs to reposition itself to add value and really impact business performance. Something all HR practitioners, and indeed business leaders, should read."
-Peter Cheese, Chief Executive, CIPD

'In this important and provocative book, the authors - with precision and wisdom - show how current business issues (like innovation and customer centricity) can be addressed. They challenge outdated thinking and frameworks and describe what it would take for HR to be a worthy and credible partner to the CEO and CFO. A 'must read' for anyone determined to make a difference, build their competence, and hone their judgement.'
-Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice, London Business School

"HR practitioners have struggled for decades to understand what their priorities should be. Do We Need HR? provides a new and clear answer that can rebuild the importance of that function."
-Peter Cappelli, George W. Taylor Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Human Resources, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

'Do we need HR? Not unless it adds value. This is not easy to demonstrate, for there are many ways to define 'value'. To assess any of them, there must be a tight linkage between HR processes and business strategy. Fortunately, the authors provide lots of thought-provoking questions, practical examples, and sound advice to address that fundamental issue.'
-Wayne F. Cascio, Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado; Robert H. Reynolds Chair in Global Leadership

''This book does a giant service to the HR profession arguing for its continued and unabated relevance. Written by distinguished authors from the Centre for Performance Led HR at Lancaster University, it summarizes a wealth of knowledge on HR and performance. I recommend it as an ideal book for advanced undergraduate, masters, and executive programs.'
-Professor Patrick Flood, Dublin City University Business School; Co-author of Change Lessons from the CEO