Acknowledgments

My sincere thanks to the reviewers of this textbook. Their valuable suggestions and feedback have vastly improved the quality of the finished product.

I would also like to thank the HR professionals who agreed to interviews and are the focus of the “HR Talk” features in each chapter. Their insights and experience lend a practical, real-world focus to the text:

I am also grateful to the many undergraduate and graduate students at Texas Woman’s University who assisted in writing cases and reviewed draft chapters of the book. Their feedback was invaluable in producing a concise book that engages the learner. Kiaa Haynes, my Graduate Assistant, provided assistance with research and proofreading, and her editorial background enabled her to provide extremely helpful input.

I appreciate the staff at FlatWorld for their expertise and support throughout this process. I especially wish to acknowledge Sean Wakely for helping to shape the vision for this book, and Nikki Ross for her dedicated support (and for graciously extending deadlines whenever I needed, which was most of the time). I also want to thank the many people working behind the scenes at FlatWorld for their tireless efforts to produce quality textbooks at affordable prices.

The person to whom I owe the most gratitude to is my wife, Tricia Crews. She has spent unknown hours proofreading, assisting with research, and writing cases. Her expertise in education and curriculum development has been crucial to the completion of this project, but her greatest contribution has been her understanding while I worked many evenings and weekends, and her constant encouragement and moral support.