Synopsis: The people factor is now regarded as arguably the most important driver of business performance, but according to surveys of CEOs, it is one of the least effectively managed corporate functions! Closing the Gap between Latest Ideas, Research & Practice Over the last 20 years or so, organisational research has come along in leaps and bounds, but in the process, the gap between ideas and practice has grown to such an extent that the use value of many of these ideas is understandably questioned and discounted by practitioners. In this important book, Beames shows how many of the key ideas that have emerged in management and organisational studies over the last two decades can be harnessed to guide management practice and improve organisational performance. Here, for the first time, we have a book which clearly shows the importance of the psychological contract for workplace health and performance - and more importantly, how it to measure and use it to transform workplaces. Now, more than ever, in these increasingly fragile and uncertain economic times, knowing how to build workplace relationships and drive value creation through human capital will be a key to future success. This book provides a clear blueprint for how this can be achieved. Peter Gahan, Associate Professor in Human Resources and Employment Relations, Department of Management, Monash University For directors, senior managers and even HR professionals, coming to grips with the volume of research and information on organisation and people management is daunting. Colin Beames takes complex, emergent and critical subjects and presents them in a way that is readily grasped by the reader. This book is timely, given the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, which has caused discontinuities to our previous thinking. It provides both frameworks for directors and CEOs, and detail for executives, each trying to understand and answer questions of how best to manage the entity's human capital. Colin's book illustrates how contemporary thinking can be applied to provide practical people solutions for this difficult task. Richard de Lautour, Regional Director, Finance & Administration, Flight Safety Foundation About the Author: Colin Beames BA (Hons) Qld, BEng (Hons), MBA, MAPS, Corporate Psychologist Colin Beames is a thought leader in the measurement and reporting of human capital, workplace trends, employee engagement and retention and careers, with a deep and expansive knowledge of these subjects. He is the Director of the WRDI Institute, an Australian boutique consultancy firm which specialises in the development, commercialisation and provision of a range of innovative human capital products, tools, services and resources. Colin's organisational consultancy experience includes assignments in Australia and overseas, both in the private and public sectors. Industries in which Colin has worked include the: agricultural distribution and export, agricultural research, banking and finance, biotechnology research, building and construction, information technology, insurance, health, manufacturing, retail, resources, and tourism industries.