Preface

With business environments being highly dynamic and constantly changing, chief human resources officers (CHROs) face difficult challenges in managing people. In fact, we are living in a particularly challenging time during which people have learned that no matter how much control they think they have over their lives, their environment, and their relationships, everything can change in an instant at the fancy of a virus that does not respect age, nationality, ancestry, intelligence, or skills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people learned that the limitless power of science and technology was purely illusory in the face of an absolute and overwhelming force of nature that was almost no longer recognized. After all, the balance of forces between nature and science and technology was inevitably shaken and the certainties with which people built their lives were jeopardized by an unpredictable and constantly changing reality. Indeed, uncertainty is one of the biggest challenges we face today. Never before, as today, has people management been able to make such a difference in people's future, both personally and professionally. CHROs need to decide where to focus their resources and attention and choose their action priorities.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the new challenges of people management and provides guidance on how to handle these challenges. It includes sixteen chapters organized into three sections.

Section 1, "People Management in a VUCA World", reflects on the way in which human resources can be managed in a context of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). This section includes seven chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the problem of leadership and its understanding in several theories, and studies of technological changes in organizations. Chapter 2 analyzes the factors contributing to staff turnover in the hotel industry and the subsequent impacts of staff turnover on productivity. Chapter 3 examines the current situation of human resources in Vietnam's textile and garment industry. Chapter 4 discusses effective human resource development strategies during and post-crisis. Chapter 5 unpacks the work challenges organizations face in times of crisis and what it means for employee development in an African context. Chapter 6 highlights the idea that managing workplace skills development in South Africa is essential to ensuring that Black youth can obtain employment and contribute to and benefit from the economy. Finally, Chapter 7 presents a range of learning methods and discusses the challenges of adapting several of these learning forms to match the needs of ever-changing organizations.

Section 2, "A Bright Future for People Management", describes some trends in terms of good human resources practices and how these practices can make people more productive and promote sustainability. This section includes six chapters. Chapter 8 highlights the importance of diversity management as a strategy to enhance sustainable businesses in the global economy. Chapter 9 sheds light on the new principles and techniques of business management of innovation and human capital within a widely connected world. Chapter 10 discusses the challenges managers face in modern and

flexible workplaces, reflecting on stressors that arise for employees when working in a multi-space environment and examining how employees bind to their workplace. Chapter 11 links the relationship between career development and value proposition in human resources management. Chapter 12 discusses performance management in South African municipalities and describes the relationship between municipal leadership, management, and staff in relation to the realities of the performance management system. Chapter 13 examines several issues related to the direction of development of information systems for human resources in terms of their applicability in the enterprises of the future (enterprises 5.0).

Section 3, "People Management for People Happiness", discusses how to measure happiness at work and how happiness relates to productivity. This section includes three chapters. Chapter 14 discusses how the constructs of the happy-productive worker thesis (HPWT) can be operationalized. Chapter 15 contextualizes the different emotions felt by employees, as well as their involvement and performance in the context of small and medium-sized Portuguese companies. Finally, Chapter 16 presents the conditions for managing humanely and opens the path to more sustainable, ethical, and qualitative people management and work organization.

From the strategic management of human resources to the pursuit of happiness at work, this book reflects on the bright future(s) of people management, illuminating trends and reflecting on potential risks as well as promising achievements.

> **Diana Dias** Lusófona University, Porto, Portugal

> **Carla Magalhães** Lusófona University, Porto, Portugal

## Section 1
