Human Relations Issues in Management

As the United States encounters more competition in the marketplace, American companies must change in order to survive. This book is designed to be a comprehensive reference to those involved in salvaging and empowering as many employees as possible. Few managers and supervisors are adequately trained to effectively handle the diverse and complex human relations problems that characterize business and industries undergoing organizational changes. Relevant management theories and research data pertaining to these human relations issues are discussed in this book. Special attention is given to effective ways to empower employees and to handle confrontations that grow from race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and emotional differences, which often emerge when organizations grow or downsize to meet competition pressures. No other work includes such a broad approach to human relations in the workplace.

Chief executive officers, managers, supervisors, and students in business management courses on university levels will find this especially interesting as they deal with the dysfunctional aspects of competition manifest in the workplace. Training and development specialists and human resources professionals should also be interested.

GEORGE HENDERSON is Chair of the Department of Human Relations and a Regents' Professor at the University of Oklahoma. In addition to many journal articles, Professor Henderson, a pioneer among African-American educators in Oklahoma, is the author of twenty-five books focusing on human relations, including Cultural Diversity in the Workplace: Issues and Strategies (Quorum, 1994 Praeger, 1994) and Social Work Intervention: Helping People of Color (Bergin & Garvey, 1994).