The people advantage - Neville Bain

The main source of competitive advantage for an organisation rests in its people. Many companies claim that its people are the greatest asset of the company, but the evidence is that few behave accordingly. Indeed, when managers are appointed to new important positions, such as their first general management position, few receive any special training for this role. The evidence is that most appointees are appointed on the basis of their track record, and not through any attempt to evaluate the new position and to match the candidate's objectively measured skill base against the core competencies needed for that job. This book demonstrates the many ways that the careful selection of individuals and teams can add value to the enterprise. It also demonstrates that there are methods by which teams can be enhanced through utilising and understanding the diversity of the different styles of the individuals.

NEVILLE BAIN is Chairman of The Post Office, Hogg Robinson and the SHL Group. Previously he has held positions including Group Chief Executive for Coats Viyella and Deputy Group Chief Executive for Cadbury Schweppes. Previous publications include Successful Management (Macmillan, 1995), and Winning Ways Through Corporate Governance (Macmillan, 1996)

BILL MABEY is a chartered occupational psychologist. He is a Director of the SHL Group having previously held the position of Managing Director of SHL in the UK. SHL operates in 40 countries worldwide (see www.shlgroup.com for details). He has also held positions as a professional market researcher in the UK with the British Market Research Bureau and in Asia Pacific as a Director with the Survey Research Group

'The People Advantage offers a rare blend of eminently practical advice for managers, measures and methods to document the economic value of managing a firm's human assets more effectively, and the fundamental ideas that underlay the recommendations. As such, the book is comprehensive, usable and based on sound research and analysis.' - Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor of Organizational Behaviour, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, USA

'The People Advantage gives excellent practical guidance.' - Sir Dominic Cadbury, Chairman, Cadbury Schweppes

'This book is very important. A must for everyone interested in the performance of people in business; students of management, human resource specialists and business leaders.' - Tim Melville-Ross, Director General, Institute of Directors

'...an excellent work - for both students of the subject and practitioners.' - Professor Tom Cannon, MCI

'The authors have succeeded in the difficult task of producing a book which is useful to practitioners and at the same time technically accurate. One of the most important features of the book is how the authors deal with high-level strategic issues and place the practical tasks needed for good selection and assessment in overall context.' - Professor Ivan Robertson, Manchester School of Management, UMIST

'Neville Bain and Brian Mabey are a 'dream team' - a duo that brings both top-level experience of running large organisations and the benefits of meticulous research and survey methodology in occupational psychology and marketing.' - Human Resources

'This book takes a refreshing look at the issues of fitting people to jobs, and I found myself putting aside my novel to read it ...very readable, well structured and comprehensive...a must for those new to issues of selection and performance, particularly line managers. HR professionals and change management specialists would find it an enjoyable read. It would also be a valuable addition to a student's reading list.' - Ambassador Magazine