1st Edition
Human Resource Management: A Nordic Perspective
Sweden has one of the lowest national debts in Europe, a well-educated workforce, and the country consistently ranks in top positions of the best places to live and work in the world. Human Resource Management: A Nordic Perspective offers a unique and valuable insight into the working practices of HRM in Sweden, which has been explicated for an international audience. The book offers readers outside of the country alternative methods for improving efficiency and well-being in their own workplace.
A team of experienced contributors based in Sweden discuss and analyse the Nordic tradition of inclusive and participative management and present different perspectives on creating a work-life suitable for every person involved. The first part of the book includes chapters on general issues in HR work such as development and learning, selection, teamwork, career paths, and cooperation within organisations. The second part addresses diversity, inclusion, and how discriminatory practices can be avoided.
This book will be a valuable resource for students of: HRM, business, management, education, psychology, sociology, as well as human resource management professionals who are seeking new ways to balance economic and human values.
Introduction: Nordic perspectives on Human Resource Management
Part 1 General features of HR work
Chapter 1 Developing co-workership in organisations
Karin Kilhammar
Chapter 2 Effective interaction in organisations
Annika Engström
Chapter 3 Organising for knowledge and learning – a balancing act between divergent forces
Cecilia Bjursell and Dag Raudberget
Chapter 4 ‘Career’ from a perspective of effort and reward
Ingela Bergmo-Prvulovic
Chapter 5 Creativity at the workplace
Ylva Lindberg
Chapter 6 Recruitment mistakes, future employees, and fabulous fantasies: the market’s need of magical qualities
Roland S. Persson
Part 2 Diversity and inclusion
Chapter 7 The equality work that needs to be done
Helene Ahl
Chapter 8 Heteronorms, LGBTQ, and queer at the workplace
Frida Ohlsson Sandahl
Chapter 9 Generational differences at the workplace
Ann-Kristin Boström
Chapter 10 Professional development for older colleagues
Cecilia Bjursell
Chapter 11 Understanding why an immigrant neurosurgeon is driving your taxi: on highly qualified foreign labour looking for work in your country
Roland S. Persson and Vezir Aktas
Chapter 12 Functional workplaces for people with disabilities
Joel Hedegaard and Martin Hugo
Chapter 13 Working in knowledge-intensive organisations when it is impossible to be physically present: female employees who suffer from chronic illnesses
Claudia Gillberg
Chapter 14 Those who know more than you: talent management in the Google era
Roland S. Persson and Vezir Aktas
Conclusion: HR work – a balancing act with integrity
Ingela Bergmo-Prvulovic and Karin Kilhammar
Biography
Helene Ahl is a professor of business economics and management at the School of Education and Communication at Jönköping University, Sweden.
Ingela Bergmo-Prvulovic, Ph.D., is a lecturer in education at Jönköping University, Sweden.
Karin Kilhammar Ph.D., is a lecturer in education at Linnaeus University, Sweden and a former HR manager.
'This volume is a very timely addition to the HRM literature, providing insights on topics from careers to creativity, and from "co-workership" to ethics. The strong focus on multiple dimensions of diversity highlights the added value of the Nordic perspective.'
Elaine Farndale, Associate Professor, The Pennsylvania State University, USA and Tilburg University, the Netherlands
'Building on a tradition of democracy and co-workership, inclusion and trust, Nordic countries have demonstrated remarkable results in terms of economic performance as well as quality of life. It is evident that Nordic HRM does something right. This book opens new perspectives and gives invaluable insight into how this works in practice.'
Juergen Deters, Professor of Human Resource Management and Leadership, Leuphana University, Germany