A concise but detailed overview of best practices for the many roles that HR departments play.
A compact, comprehensive guide to human resources administration in the business world.
In her nonfiction debut, Larocque-Patton draws on her 15-plus years as a human resources representative to offer a thorough guide to the many roles of HR in a workplace setting. These include recruitment, training, employee relations, ensuring a safe work environment and fair treatment for workers, as well as warnings and firings, when needed. Each chapter includes a general discussion of the topic at hand, and many have multiple “Story Time” sections in which the author relates specific examples from her extensive experience. There are also “HR Jail” stories, which take on a far more cautionary tone. In all cases, the book reminds readers that the subjects under discussion are often governed by local and federal legislation. On providing references, for instance, she informatively notes that “In some countries, there are laws that state a former employer can be liable for hindering someone from receiving an offer from another employer. This means you should tread lightly on giving negative references.” Likewise, she examines the delicate task of firing employees, including potential liabilities. Employee engagement surveys are also covered, as are exit interviews; regarding the latter, Larocque-Patton points out that people tend to be more honest “because they will never see you again.” In one of the book’s most entertaining and thought-provoking sections, the author runs through the many differences between employee generations, including baby boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and the youngest employees of Generation Z (“Want to contribute to the world, will not put in extra time at work as more important things to do…short attention span”). Over the course of the book, Larocque-Patton’s straightforward prose style offers easy reading and clear authority. Along the way, she insightfully urges readers to remember that employees are also customers and ambassadors, so treating them conscientiously will not only benefit them, but also one’s business, in multiple ways.
A concise but detailed overview of best practices for the many roles that HR departments play.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5255-4766-9
Page Count: 186
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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