The Good Work Guide: How to Make Organizations Fairer and More Effective

Human Resource Management International Digest

ISSN: 0967-0734

Article publication date: 7 June 2011

375

Citation

Isles, N. (2011), "The Good Work Guide: How to Make Organizations Fairer and More Effective", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 19 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2011.04419cae.003

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


The Good Work Guide: How to Make Organizations Fairer and More Effective

Article Type: Suggested reading From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 19, Issue 3

Nick IslesEarthscan2010ISBN: 978 1 84407 557 7

This book is positioned as different from the many books on work and related aspects because it focuses on the idea of “good work”. The author defines this as “a way of looking at work as a fully human activity”. It is a means of balancing traditional work-related aims, such as profitability and efficiency, with more personal values such as fairness and voice.

The need for good work is stronger than ever as organizations look for ways to prosper in a knowledge economy, which means engaging employees so that they use their knowledge to create value. Organizations no longer control the work environment, as only employees can control the knowledge they own. Therefore organizations need to give more and understand what employees need from work.

The book starts by creating the context that has made good work so important – the credit crunch, the recession and the rise in the knowledge economy. It goes on to define the idea of good work and explore it in practice. The author links it to the high-performance workplace, which has many of the practices that empower the workforce and encourage delegated authority. These include: an apparent simplicity of processes; a culture of empowerment; a long-term customer orientation; communication and the related ability to share knowledge; and open, visible and accessible leaders.

The author then focuses on ownership, as a key to good work, explores the five dimensions of ownership and looks at the role that leaders play in delivering good work. The final chapter gives ten steps to good work, and acts as a guide to help organizations looking to embrace this way of thinking and working.

Good work is shaped by context and is a way of thinking that aims to get better outcomes for everyone involved in enterprise. The ten steps are designed to work together to help an organization to find its own approach to good work and, despite the intangible nature of the idea, they give a practical model for moving forward.

This is a thought-provoking read and one that may help organizations looking for a way to balance the seemingly conflicting demands of today’s business environment.

Reviewed by Sara Nolan, Editor, Strategic HR Review.

A longer version of this review was originally published in Strategic HR Review, Vol. 9 No. 6, 2010.

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