Effective work practices and good employee relations are a real necessity of nowadays organizations, as they can help to reduce absenteeism, turnover, organizational costs, conducting to high levels of commitment, effectiveness, performance as well as productivity. Addressing these questions, this book focuses on the implications of changes in productivity and organizational management, exploring models, tools and processes.

• Preface
• Contents
• About the editors
• List of contributing authors
• 1 The measurement of human capital and its relation to the generation of business value: empirical study
  • 1.1 Introduction
  • 1.2 Theoretical background and hypothesis
    • 1.2.1 Human capital and its relationship to value creation
    • 1.2.2 Levels of human capital measurement: the value chain of human talent
  • 1.3 Research design
    • 1.3.1 Source of data, study population, and sample
    • 1.3.2 Study variables
  • 1.4 Analysis of results
  • 1.5 Results
    • 1.5.1 Evaluation of measurement model
    • 1.5.2 Evaluation of structural model
  • 1.6 Conclusions and discussion of results
• 2 A case of certified units in a Portuguese university: Interactions of ISO 9000 norms with HRM practices, employee performance and employee satisfaction
  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Quality in the management of organizations
  • 2.3 Certified units of Minho University
  • 2.4 Methods
  • 2.5 Results
  • 2.6 Discussion and conclusions
• 3 Management tools for supporting productivity in organizations – empirical evidence from Slovenia
  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Theoretical background
    • 3.2.1 Efficiency
    • 3.2.2 Management tools
    • 3.2.3 Utilization of management tools in organizations
  • 3.3 Research design and methodology
    • 3.3.1 Data and sample
    • 3.3.2 Instrument
    • 3.3.3 Research design
  • 3.4 Results
    • 3.4.1 Utilization of management tools in production and service organizations
    • 3.4.2 Utilization of management tools in organizational departments
    • 3.4.3 Usage of management tools and organizational improvements
  • 3.5 Discussion
  • 3.6 Practical implications
  • 3.7 Limitations and future research direction
• 4 Economic and social efficiency: The case for inverting the principle of productivity in public services
  • 4.1 Productivity and economic efficiency
  • 4.2 Social efficiency
  • 4.3 Hierarchy, surveillance and education
  • 4.4 Counterproductive health reforms
  • 4.5 Logic in learning from lean
  • 4.6 Responding to technological unemployment
  • 4.7 Working to mutual advantage
• 5 Human resource management in the health system: in the never-ending quest for productivity improvement
  • 5.1 Literature Review
    • 5.1.1 Strategic dimension of HRM
    • 5.1.2 Theoretical framework definition and research hypothesis
  • 5.2 Methodological considerations
  • 5.3 Data presentation and analysis and discussion of results
    • 5.3.1 Processes in the logic of HHR situation analysis in Portuguese NHS
    • 5.3.2 Observed performance in HRM in Portuguese NHS compared with expected performance (SHRM), according to five Peretti vectors
• 6 Critical role of managerial competencies in productivity enhancement interventions: a HRM perspective
  • 6.1 Improving personal competencies
    • 6.1.1 Self-awareness
    • 6.1.2 Competency to manage personal stress
    • 6.1.3 Competency to solve problems analytically and creatively
  • 6.2 Improving interpersonal personal competencies
    • 6.2.1 Competency to build positive interpersonal relationships
    • 6.2.2 Building a strong power base and using influence wisely as a managerial competence
    • 6.2.3 The skill of interpersonal conflict management as a management competency
  • 6.3 Improving group competencies
    • 6.3.1 Empowering and delegating as a management competency
    • 6.3.2 Building effective teams and team work in work teams as a management competency
• 7 Prospective characteristics of contemporary engineers (using the approach of mechanical engineering)
  • 7.1 The objective of mechanical engineering
  • 7.2 Work scope and duties of mechanical engineers
  • 7.3 How to be a well-educated engineer and to have a solid engineering career
  • 7.4 Important factors for success in engineering
  • 7.5 Prospective characteristics of a newly minted engineer
  • 7.6 Contribution and role of mechanical engineers to organization management and productivity
    • 7.6.1 A specific example of a medical technique in engineering and science
• Index