Two management consultants and a Union College psychology and management professor have collaborated to produce this concise book on workplace violence. They ground their presentation in management and social psychology theory, empirical research, case studies, and their own interviews with managers and employees. Their work covers the basics: myths, realities, and definitions of workplace violence; violence frequency; factors contributing to violence; sexual harassment; intimate partner violence; and ideas for managing violence, aggression, and other abusive behaviors in the workplace. They propose several dimensions of workplace violence such as the level of intensity, intentional versus unintentional, physical versus nonphysical, and solitary versus group-oriented. A great feature of the book is the listings of outside resources such as Web sites, organizations, magazines, books, and government offices; these listings would have been better combined in one appendix. The book concludes with a model employee handbook policy on workplace violence covering threat assessment teams, violence reporting, and investigation of complaints….Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through practitioner collections.
Choice
Human resources management consultants Paludi and Carmen A. Paludi, and Rudy V. Nydegger translate concepts and theories from academic research into practical strategies that business leaders can use to respond to the threat of workplace violence. They describe such measures as developing and enforcing effective policy statements, investigatory procedures, and training programs.
Reference & Research Book News
This is a thoughtful and measured practicum from which to observe and handle workplace events, which, unfortunately, are escalating….With well-considered research (and a battery of books to her credit, such as The Psychology of Sexual Victimization, 1999), she easily dismantles common myths such as the post office is the worst place for violent acts and children are not affected by domestic violence, then continues by building new, more realistic perceptions. Her plea for corporate policies, training, and heightened awareness and actions is communicated through actual case histories, occasional interviews with experts and field HR professionals, plus ready-to-use statements, procedures, and other tools. Sobering and much-needed information.
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