xxxv P r e fA C e A number of radical changes have been made to this 12th edition of the Handbook. Two whole new parts have been added. One covers 16 key skills required by human resource management (HRM) professionals, the other contains 14 toolkits that provide practical guidance on developing and implementing fundamental HRM practices. These additional parts recognize that, however important the conceptual framework of HRM is as dealt with in the first two parts of the book and however important it is to know about the different areas of HRM as covered in the next six parts, ultimately HRM is all about putting things into practice. This needs a wide range of skills and a systematic approach to managing development and implemen- tation programmes. Other innovations include many more illustra- tions of HRM in action by means of case studies and examples, and a number of critical evaluations of significant HRM concepts or approaches. Apart from these substantial changes, the Hand book has been brought up to date by reference to the findings of a number of recent significant re- search projects and other investigations into how HRM operates in practice. The plan of the book is illustrated in the `route map' shown in Figure 0.1. The companion website provides further resources for students and lecturers, as described on page xxv.