This book explores the ways in which people's work careers are changing as the organizations in which they work change. The old concept of the firm as a self-contained entity interacting with its customers has been replaced by the reality of firms whose boundaries have given way to new alliances with suppliers and other outside organizations.

The field of Personnel Psychology is broadly concerned with the study of individual differences and their consequences for the organization. As human resource costs continue, for most organizations, to be the single largest operating cost (50-80% of annual expenditure), achieving optimal performance from individual employees is of paramount importance to the sustained development and financial performance of any organization. The Oxford Handbook of Personnel Psychology brings together contributions from leading international scholars within the field to present state-of-the-art reviews on topical and emergent issues, constructs, and research in personnel psychology. The book is divided into six sections: · Individual Difference and Work Performance, · Personnel Selection, · Methodological Issues, · Training and Development, · Policies and Practices, · Future Challenges. While the Handbook is primarily a review of current academic thinking and research in the area, the contributors keep a strong focus on the lessons for HR practitioners, and what lessons they can take from the cutting-edge work presented.

The fragmented nature of modern working life is leading to fundamental changes in our understanding of the term career . Few people now expect to have a lifetime of continuous employment, regardless of their qualifications or the sector they work in. This book presents a kaleidoscopic view of the concept of career, reviewing its past and considering its future. International specialists in psychology, sociology, counselling, education and human resource management offer a multi-layered examination of career theories and practice, identifying the major changes taking place in the world of work that are challenging and extending the meaning of the word career. The overall aim is to redefine it in ways that are relevant to the newly emerging network society of the 21st century. The chapters are wide-ranging, exploring topics such as the changing contexts of career, individual career experiences, women s careers, multicultural issues, and implications for practice and policy-making.

Organizational restructuring and global, hypercompetition have revolutionized careers and destroyed the traditional blueprint for advancement and career success. This book details the new forms work takes in the new organizational era where worker mobility has become critical to the well-being and learning of both people and firms. The Boundaryless Career approaches the new principle of the boundaryless career in five directions. The first section helps the reader explore the nature of boundaryless careers by highlighting some of their essential elements. The second section turns to competitive advantage and the role of workers' knowledge. The thirs section concentrates on the role of the social structure in the organizing of work. The fourth section turns to focus on how boundaryless careers affect personal development and growth. The fifth section addresses the demands boundaryless careers create for schools, communities, and other social institutions. Introductory and concluding chapters by the editors offer frameworks for conceptualizing careers now and in the future. The Boundaryless Career provides a conceptual map of new career and employment forms to the prospective benefit of people making career choices, companies re-crafting human resource practices, schools and universities re-considering their roles, and policy-makers concerned with regional or national competitiveness. It will be essential reading for scholars in a range of social science disciplines spanning themes of economics, management, education, organizational behavior, and the psychology and sociology of work. It will also appeal broadly to free thinkers interested in the changing nature of careers and employment as both people and firms tackle the realities of increasingly open markets and global competition.

First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book focuses on relations among subjectivity, work and learning that represent a point of convergence for diverse disciplinary traditions and practices. There are contributions from leading scholars in the field. They provide emerging perspectives that are elaborating the complex relations among subjectivity, work and learning, and circumstances in which they are played out.