Knowledge Society : Opportunities & Challenges

This book provides a comprehensive and critical approach to the study of the discipline. It emphasises the need to effectively integrate human resource with the wider strategic management issues of the organisation. Peter Drucker with his uncanny futuristic vision had predicted that the 21st century would belong to the knowledge worker. People management is central to the thinking and practice of management today. While human relations are largely shaped by the philosophy of trust and fairness, the operational HR aspects like recruitment, training, appraisal and reward management have necessarily to be aligned with operating environment that is intensely knowledge oriented. The first generation HR concepts and tools will obviously be out of place and they must be made relevant to the needs of the 21st century. One-size-fits-all approach that has questionable relevance must yield place to a more responsive and forward-looking HR Policies and procedures that take note of the cultural, organisational and demographic diversity and offer more customised solutions that have strategic relevance for a modern organisation. Knowledge has shifted from its ivory tower existence and is generated contextually for products and services that have commercial implications. HRM has to make a radical shift in the management of people. The collection of these articles attempts to focus on how a firm with a higher level of employee commitment can contribute significantly to the organisational effectiveness.