This is the Center for Effective Organizations’s (CEO) fourth national study of the human resources (HR) function in large corporations. It is the only long-term national study of this important function. Like the previous studies, it focuses on measuring whether the HR function is changing and on gauging its effectiveness. The study focuses particularly on whether the HR function is changing to become an effective strategic partner. It also analyzes how organizations can more effectively manage their human capital. The present study compares data from earlier studies to data collected in 2004. The results show some important changes and indicate what HR needs to do to be effective. Practices are identified that enable HR functions to be high value-added strategic partners.

This book analyzes how HR organizations operate and what makes them effective, outlining how they need to change.

As the service sectors play an increasingly important role in all economies worldwide, service executives and professionals are well advised to recognize two main pathways to achieving sustainable success in services. The first path requires enhancing the strategic differentiation and operational excellence of their service enterprises; the second requires that these executives and their employees develop the knowledge and skills needed to achieve such success. Specifically, this book discusses actionable methodologies needed to generate creative ideas, including deciding on which ones to pursue; on how to justify projects financially; on how to manage the development projects for innovative services; and on how to reach out to customers and offer them superior service support.

Perform to your potential with proven mental training techniques! Achieving Excellence: Mastering the Mindset for Peak Performance in Sport and Life offers a variety of peak performance strategies to help athletes, coaches, and performers of all kinds achieve a winning mindset. The book explores sport psychology concepts and provides practical, proven strategies to incorporate into your daily life and competitive career. Renowned mental skills coach and performance psychology expert Colleen Hacker has helped hundreds of Olympic and professional athletes to achieve their individual and team goals. In Achieving Excellence, she shares her approach for cultivating confidence, focus, and habits of excellence. She will teach you how to create action plans for success and develop performance routines that optimize achievement. Inside, you will discover the strategies and practical tools needed for success in life and sport, such as these: Bulleted checklists that offer step-by-step application tips for mental skills Sidebars that highlight strategies for overcoming common challenges Success stories from top athletes and firsthand accounts of their experiences using different techniques Inspirational quotes throughout the book will motivate you, and implementation worksheets—available both in the book and online through HKPropel—are provided to help you apply mental training strategies in competition or in other achievement domains. With Achieving Excellence, you will develop a winning mindset with evidence-based, step-by-step plans that lead you to peak performance. Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with this ebook.

Excellence in Execution is about how to execute strategy. Leaders today recognize that they need to have the ability to craft strategy and that they require the skills to execute it. But almost all books, blogs, talks, articles and other material discuss “why” execution is important, not how to achieve excellence in execution. Excellence in Execution aims to start where almost all leave off. It takes the reader on the implementation journey and is in two parts. Part One addresses "Transforming the Approach." It focuses on changing the current thinking and attitude of leaders. Two thirds of strategy execution still fail and a different approach is required. A new language and terms are introduced such as, Strategy Cadence, Execution Juxtaposition, Decoding the Execution Challenge, Mavericks Network, Review Rhythm and the Three Themes Broad of Execution. Part Two is about "Making It Your Own" and explains how to do this by providing the required mindset, skillset and toolset. It explains in detail what is required to:

Information about customer service hits and misses is now more accessible to healthcare consumers. Outstanding healthcare organizations set the bar at a high level for both clinical and service excellence. Customers who are armed with information and aware of their options are choosing providers they believe are ready, willing, and able to provide the superior experience they expect. This book offers a blueprint for successfully competing in today's competitive healthcare marketplace. It presents the theories, methods, and techniques behind delivering an excellent healthcare experience through strategy, staffing, and systems. Each chapter explores a service principle and provides numerous real-world examples and current research findings. Among the many topics discussed are creating a patient-centered environment; building a culture in which customers are treated like guests; training, motivating, and empowering staff; measuring service quality; managing service waits; and recovering from a service failure. This second edition has been completely updated. Concepts have been expanded to include information on: Significance of aligning strategy, staffing, and systems Evidence-based service management and design principles Customer relationship management Internet-based opportunities for various purposes, including communication, information, marketing, recruitment, feedback, and training Retail clinics, concierge medicine, telemedicine, and other new customer-driven innovations Instructor Resources: Discussion questions and case studies with talking points. To see a sample, click the link in the right-hand navigation bar.

“Weaves together thoughts, stories, and quotes from top performers in music, business, and sports to help you achieve excellence” (Jeff Janssen, founder and president of the Janssen Sports Leadership Center). Does excellence relentlessly drive you? Does mediocrity constantly bother you? In Working Toward Excellence, Clemson University professor Paul Buyer identifies eight values for achieving excellence in work and life including hunger, effort, process, quality, consistency, leadership, time, and perseverance. Each chapter features inspiring stories, questions, and quotes from respected professionals who have achieved uncommon success in business, sports, education, and the arts such as John Maxwell, Jim Collins, Stephen Covey, John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, Wynton Marsalis, Isaac Stern, and many others. Also included is a Working Toward Excellence Evaluation to help you and your organization reach your true potential and further develop, improve, and measure these essential attributes of success. “Working Toward Excellence has captures my attention in a big way. It is filled with valuable and practical information. It will make a major difference in your life.” —Pat Williams, Orlando Magic, senior vice president, author of Leadership Excellence