Introduction

There are several learnings one can have by studying how changes and differences in an organisation’s macro-economic, legal, political, social, cultural and technological context has an impact on managing people, or what we generally refer to as human resource management and employment relations (HRM & ER). A major case in point from the twenty-first century is the catastrophic impacts of the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) on managing people in the organisations directly affected by it. The approach taken by this book is to embed learning using theoretical insights balanced with learning from case studies from different contexts. I believe a case-based approach is critical in providing insights in applied disciplines such as HRM and ER and to allow the learner to engage in higher order learning skills. To this end, this chapter begins with an overview of the case-based approach to learning, highlighting the conditions where such an approach is most effective. The skills of a facilitator of learning are also acknowledged as important in bringing the most out of the specific cases. This chapter also provides an overview of the structure of the book and its associated case studies for developing higher order understanding of strategic HRM and ER.