Reading list

Below we have put together a recommended reading list of titles that we believe we help you in your human resources development

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All of these titles are available to purchase through Amazon.co.uk, just click on the image thumbnail to view the title on Amazon.

The Road to Organic Growth: How Great Companies Consistently Grow Marketshare from Within

Edward D. Hess

Achieve solid growth from within through measurement and performance. A two-year study of more than 800 companies found that the successful ones had a passion for measurement, customer service, and an employee-centric organization. Edward Hess demonstrates that the real keys to organic growth are an intense focus on measurement and performance, consistently exceeding customer expectations, maintaining a strict attention to detail, and building an employee-centric organization. He goes on to show how to link these elements into a proven formula for long-term growth and competitive advantage.

Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions

John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber

This charming story about a penguin colony in Antarctica illustrates key truths about how deal with the issue of change: handle the challenge well and you can prosper greatly; handle it poorly and you put yourself at risk. The penguins are living happily on their iceberg as they have done for many years. Then one curious penguin discovers a potentially devastating problem threatening their home – and pretty much no one listens to him. The characters in this fable are like people we recognise, even ourselves. Their story is one of resistance to change and heroic action, confusion and insight, seemingly intractable obstacles and the most clever tactics for dealing with those obstacles.

Managers Not MBAs

Henry Mintzberg

Fast Company called Henry Mintzberg ‘One of the most original minds in management’. Tom Peters named his book The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning “My favorite management book in the last 25 years… no contest.” Now, in this sweeping critique of how managers are educated and how, as a consequence, management is practiced, Henry Mintzberg offers thoughtful and controversial ideas for reforming both.

Development & Assessment Centres

Charles Woodruffe

Examining the role of assessment centres, this text proposes that when tailored to the specific needs of individual organizations, such centres can become a vital tool for selection and development of employees. The author examines: how to use assessment centre strategy to make an organization a natural home for talent; how to develop the individual after the development centre; using “off-the-shelf” and computer-driven approaches to development and assessment centre exercises; the alternatives to assessment centres; the use of computer software to design and run development and assessment centres; case studies of development centres; and the use of 360 degree feedback with development centres.

Douglas McGregor on Management

Gary Heil, Deborah Stephens and Warren Bennis

Douglas McGregor has been investigating the importance of people to business for over 50 years. He believes that in order to thrive, an organization needs to harness the intelligence, enthusiasm, and commitment of all its employees. This work traces the influence of McGregor’s thinking on leadership issues like open book management and empowerment, and updates it for 1990s business environment. It offers ten principles based on his beliefs.

Assertiveness at Work: a Practical Guide to Handling Awkward Situations

Ken Back and Kate Back

A self-training book designed to meet managers’ needs for work situation applications. The authors introduce ideas of assertiveness and provide practical suggestions for developing assertiveness in a range of familiar situations, in a way that minimizes conflict and stress.

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