Books by Michael Armstrong

Optimize staff performance with this handbook of performance management including guidance for remote workforces and the latest innovations in personnel development planning and pay.

Gain a complete understanding of the theory and practice of L&D for students and practitioners alike covering the fundamentals of learning and development, new developments, learning cultures and strategic L&D.

This new edition of the bestselling How to be an Even Better Manager covers 50 key topics, organized into the three key areas in which any manager needs to be competent: managing people; managing activities and processes; managing and developing yourself. With new chapters on how to learn, achieve continuous improvement, get engagement, make a business case and prepare a business plan this is an invaluable handbook for existing and aspiring managers. How to be an Even Better Manager provides sound guidelines that will help you to develop a broad base of managerial skills and knowledge and build on existing skills. Even the most experienced manager needs to keep abreast of new developments and brush up on essential skills, so this new edition will continue to be an invaluable aid.

Learn about and be able to implement complex HRM strategies formulated by practitioners, academics and consultants with the latest edition of this popular book.

In 1964, Northern Dancer won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, the first two legs of the US Triple Crown, exploding the myth that Canadian-bred horses could not compete on the world stage. The little horse from Ontario's Windfields Farm went on to change the face of international racing through his sons and daughters, a testament to the foresight of his owner and breeder, Canadian businessman E.P. Taylor. But there is more to the Windfields Farm story than Northern Dancer, and Colin Nolte and Michael Armstrong have written a tribute to the continuing legacy of E.P. Taylor and Windfields.Northern Dancer's sire and dam produced other horses who made their mark on the track or in the breeding shed, and there were numerous other stallions and broodmares at Windfields whose names appear in the pedigrees of today's stakes winners and top stallions. Previous books have focused on specific Windfields horses or families, but this one shows the global extent of Windfields' impact on horse racing, with leading racers and sires in Japan, Australia, South Africa, and South America, as well as Europe and North America.The importance of E.P. Taylor to racing in Ontario, and throughout Canada, in the 20th century is also highlighted. Taylor brought his business acumen to the Ontario racing industry in the 1940s and 1950s, consolidating tracks and creating a showpiece at Woodbine that forty years later became the only track outside the United States to host the Breeders' Cup, horse racing's annual festival of champions. Through the 1960s, Taylor offered a large proportion of his yearling crop for sale, spreading the Windfields bloodlines, and stakes winners, throughout the country and the world. He stood stallions in Ontario and Maryland, making them available to breeders from across North America and overseas.Detailed chapters and charts on the foundation mares and their descendants, as well as chapters on Northern Dancer, the impact of his parents and sons, and behind-the-scenes employees who made it all happen reveal the full story of the Windfields legacy in international horse racing.

Gain essential skills for career development with practical advice on how to manage performance, deal with difficult people and maintain a successful team.

The world of the Friday Boy: an Asian secret. "I don't have what it takes to be a Friday Boy." "There are different reasons men come to work for me." "What do you mean?" "It is not always about money. Even Nick. I think he came here for..." She stopped herself. Vesper decided it wasn't the right time to mention her thoughts on Nick. "Cale, I have only ever asked one other Western man to work for me." "Nick told me that." "I hope you take it as a compliment." "I do, but I wouldn't even know how to start to take money from a woman for sex." Cale took a sip of his whiskey. "I'll show you how." Vesper moved closer. Her voice was lowered, "I'll pay you fifty thousand NT an hour, over thirteen hundred U.S. dollars, for your time. I've already booked a suite." Vesper looked at him like she had just suggested tea for two. She was offering a fortune. He found himself asking, "You're testing me out?" "No. You are testing me out." Spanning continents and cultures, with steamy liaisons punctuated by moments of intense fraternal friendship, Friday Boys is a story of redemption set in a secretive world of lust and money.

The Reward Management Toolkit provides practical guidance on the steps required to develop and implement reward innovations and to manage key reward practices, including: bonus schemes, pay reviews and evaluating rewards.

Evidence-Based Reward Management considers how to get better return on pay and benefits, whether incentives are a positive thing, engaging staff for increased performance and questions some of the fads in reward.