Ideal for management majors who plan to become HRM professionals, this highly accessible text presents a conceptual model of the field--placing HRM in the overall context of business management. Students gain a broad, practical understanding of how HRM policies affect the workplace from productivity, quality, and customer service to employee morale. French addresses timely issues changing the current role of HRM, including international topics, the Internet, emerging legal concerns, social responsibility, and performance appraisal. The text covers several new discussion points, including worldwide terrorism, white-collar unionization, office/factory romances, corporate universities, "cash balance" plans, peer-to-peer counseling, and religious harassment. Comprehensive cases cover recent developments and issues based on well-known sources such as Business Week, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Ethics, and a number of related journals.