As editor, Robert MacKenzie at Karlstad Business School has added new chapters to an already well-established book on International Human Resource Management (IHRM).
The book covers issues related to work and employment in a global perspective, focusing on the importance of context. The way in which employment systems and work experiences develop is the result of an extensive series of institutional and cultural factors, strategic and political measures, and a struggle for power. The book emphasises these issues when covering different perspectives on International Human Resource Management (IHRM).
The first edition of International Human Resource Management – The Transformation of Work in a Global Context made us realise the effects of globalisation on work and employment, and it illustrated issues related to power and politics. Now there is an updated version of the book.
– This is the first edition of the book, says Robert MacKenzie, Professor of Working Life Science at Karlstad Business School. There have been big changes since the first edition was published. For example, the development of the gig economy.
Robert MacKenzie wrote a chapter in the first edition but is now one of the editors.
– My job has been to introduce new chapters to the book. One of these is about restructuring in the form of layoffs. Businesses manage restructuring in different ways and we have done comparisons on an international level. The countries we have looked at are Sweden, Great Britain and Australia. The impact of technology is another new chapter, as well as the chapter on sustainability. Several colleagues at Karlstad Business School have been involved in the writing of this chapter.
We are all affected by all this new technology. We face a lot of technology both in our working lives and private lives. Robert MacKenzie sees the advancement of technology as a reflection of many different aspects.
– It is easy to end up fetishising technology, but the implementation of technology is reflected in decisions made by executives, as well as in different power relationships. Many of us have been working from home the last two years. Being overexposed to Zoom has of course made an impact.
International Human Resource Management – The Transformation of Work in a Global Context is a research-based textbook for people who want a more critical perspective on IHRM.
– The book problematises this subject. We have tried to maintain problematisation of terms of employment as a common thread throughout.
