A Higher calling: Redefining HR's Priorities In The New Economy

# A Higher calling: Redefining HR's Priorities In The New Economy

Corporate Leadership /Board

Washington, 2000

Today, information technology is the engine of change, in some cases completely transforming the nature of competition, the definition of industries and markets, and the relationships between corporations, their suppliers, their customers and their employees. As corporations begin to redefine themselves in the face of new competitive challenges, there is a growing realization among business leaders that the winners across the coming decade will be those companies that have mastered the "human

element" of change.

The need arises for an HR function within every corporation that can serve in a leadership role on a range of issues that are critical to the corporation's success across time. For the HR function, being a "strategic partner" will no longer suffice. The bar has been raised.

The research findings presented in this publication represent the Council's view as to how the HR function must redefine its role and its priorities in order to provide the support that those corporations now require. At the centre of this book are 12 case examples that stand for important propositions regarding HR's most leveraged role in the new economy. This study represents the last of five books published by the Council on the topic of HR ' s role in the new economy.

This council's argues for the adoption of five organizing principles for the HR function that the Council believes a

necessary to resolve the tension between delivering more strategic value while also dramatically reducing costs.

# A Practical Guide to Labour Law

JV du Plessis, MA Fouch BIuris , MW van Wyk

Butterworths, Johannesburg, 2001

The fourth edition includes developments of the concept "unfair labour practice" and proposed amendments to the Labour Relations Act and Unemployment Insurance Act. The Skills Development Levies Act and the Protected Disclosures Act have also been included.

Each chapter covers a specific aspect which is encountered daily in the study and practice of labour law. The book includes the most important principles applicable, questions and case studies to aid in the application of principles. Certain case studies are based on actual court and CCMA cases

Topics covered are: Common law, common-law contract of employment, social legislation, and labour relations

Appendices at the end of each chapter provide easy access to various prescribed forms that have to be completed by employers, employees, trade unions, employers' organisations and other bodies, in terms of labour-related Acts Extensive quoting from cases saves valuable research time

# Heartland: How to Build Companies as Strong as Countries

Mark C Scott, 2001

Every few years an idea comes along that changes the way we look at the world of business. Heartland is a book that encapsulates such an idea. Old models of competitiveness are nearing exhaustion. Few firms are genuinely global; almost all are still tied to their home market. Most firms are increasingly alike, competing on the same grounds and with the same technology. Talented employees are in short supply and ever more fickle. Margins are under gathering pressure and global revenue growth is suffering its first serious check in ten years.

The battle to differentiate has never been greater and the ideas for how to do so never in shorter supply.

All firms are founded on networks of relationships, where success is the product of the effectiveness of the interactions between people - bosses, clients, suppliers and colleagues. But this is not how we usually understand them. In Heartland, Mark C Scott shows that competitive advantage is fundamentally dependent on a firm's understanding and management of its social dynamics.

Scott argues that the only strategy that is genuinely long-term is social strategy and that the best model of effective social strategy is the Nation State. Scott's fundamental observation about the Nation State suggests there is a universal set of principles of how to manage societies. Scott examines how these principles can be applied to the firm - something no one has done to date. His findings show how to apply these fundamental laws to the firm to create a vibrant corporate community that will endure. If global companies are to become well functioning societies they need to think like states as much as companies.

The benchmarks we all use need to shift. In this ground-breaking book, Scott puts forward three arguments: - To thrive in a global marketplace, firms must master social management above all else - Firms can learn tried and tested approaches to social management from the Nation State - The successful global firm is likely to resemble a corporate state more than a conventional corporation The end game is the creation of the corporate state

The battle to differentiate has never been greater and the ideas for how to do so never in shorter supply. The need for a new model to take firms to the next stage of evolution is now acute. This book proposes a new model that can transform the national firm into a global powerhouse, a competitive Heartland.