The Importance of Managing the Workforce to Competitive Advantage

2040 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Employee engagement theory literature review

Key Strategic HR Issues/ Problem Statement Research has shown that in order to achieve organizational success, firm cannot only rely on technology, marketing tools or strategic performance as their source of competitive advantage. Firm has to also know how to manage their workforce. (Pfeffer, Competitive Advantage Through People: Unleashing the Power of the Work Force, 1995). Youndt et al, (1996) even goes as far as commenting that people might be the ultimate source of a firm’s sustained competitive advantages since traditional sources of competitive advantage like economies of scale and etc have been weakened by economic changes and globalization. Resource-based view furthur support this theory claiming that due to the difficulty of duplicating human capital , human is a crucial source for company to gain competitive edge. (Chan, Shaffer, & Snape, 2004) Infosys is a software firm founded by Narayana Murthy with 6 of his collegues back in 1981 in India. Initially the company provide lower end IT services(i.e IT implementation), but over the years, it has expanded into providing higher end value added services(i.e IT design/strategy) as well as end to end IT solutions at the global market. Infosys has experience growth from a 7 man company and start up cost of $250 in 1981 to 15,000 employees with a revenue of USD 754million in 2002. In 1999, Infosys was doubling in size every 20 months and this rapid growth forces management to implement a series of change in their human resource managemet in effort to improve their productivity, cost competitiveness and efficiency. (Delong, 2006) Infosys was known to recognise its employees for its tremendous growth., its vision from the start in regards to its people aspect was to be the Best... ... middle of paper ... ...ting must be enforced to discuss issues that arise during the week. Essentially, this committee will also need to be subjected to review every half a year. This review must include feedback from top management as well as feedback from the employees thru the form of survey to monitor the performance of this committee. (Mcknight, Ahmad, & Schroeder, 2001) The key potential threat that will obstruct the committee from achieving their goal for this recommendation is that the employees that already dislike taking issues thru formal mechanisms will not be comfortable sharing negative feedback about the changes to the committee. (Delong, 2006) Therefore it is important for the committee to open their doors informally and communicating that they are working independently. This will encourage employees to feel secure to seek for the committee’s support whenever needed.

Show More
Related

  • Monsters Inc Movie Analysis

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    Resulting a brighter, ethical, delightful and much more fun future for everybody including human’s children becoming happy and business extraordinary boost in the productivity many folds in one year, that is Sully’s touch in the new management and in the creative way of running the company at maximum ability.

    Read More

  • Magnet Recognition In Nursing

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    A supportive management where communication is placed on high priority and constructive feedback is appreciated ("Forces of Magnetism"): Managers can implement this force by meeting with staff monthly, sending out meeting minutes emails and placing a folder on the unit where staff can read important announcements and acknowledge it. Also, acknowledging staff 's exceptional work in form of thank you notes mailed, emailing feedback and conducting staff 's semi-annual evaluation to provide feedback and improvement opportunities is very important. It helps staff feel appreciated which makes them more receptive to constructive criticism and to

    Read More

  • Cloke And Goldsmith (2011)

    469 Words  | 1 Pages

    Furthermore, when members of the department are given the opportunity to be heard and voice their opinions, leadership is perceived as legitimate and just. The penultimate process is to ensure that members does have an opportunity to vent their frustrations and be heard. So, “before selecting a solution for implementation, [leaders] should consider the merits of all possible solutions, without favoring any particular one” (Cloke and Goldsmith, 2011, p.190). A policy change must represent the core value of not only the organization, but the people that makes the organization. Lastly, once a consensus is reached, leaders have the obligation to ensure the solution is inclusive, representative, and legal. Therefore, the solution should be reaffirmed by “consulting with experts, critics, coaches, and anyone affected by the problem or the solution to solicit feedback on alternative solutions” (Cloke and Goldsmith, 2011, p.190). This last step ensures that members of the department are included in the decision making while protecting the interest of the

    Read More

  • Lincoln Electric's Approach to Motivate Employees

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    Engagement is also an important part for the employees. The company provides information of the board meetings to all employees. This enhances the employees’ feelings of being well-informed and engaged. The employees even can challenge the current unit wage for manufactured parts. This is an open discussion, so we can see that employees are treated as if they were partners.

    Read More

  • Q12 Gallup Survey Analysis

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    Similarly, solutions can't be channeled through a fire-and-forget method; constant checkups are needed to course-correct in an organic and manageable way. Just because a plan is made and agreed upon doesn't mean it will always be properly implemented; both supervisors and individuals workers need to hold one another accountable for making the necessary changes. Unlike a "suggestion box" approach to changing engagement-impacting issues, the Q12 survey forces a two-way conversation between management staff and their employees, giving everyone's voice equal time and weight.

    Read More

  • Business Management Case Study: Yakkatech Corp.

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    YakkaTech Corp. is growing IT services firm which mainly installs and upgrades enterprise software systems and related hardware. They have grown and consolidated as well as become more efficient at their business but this isn’t without growing pains. Their employees seem to lack job satisfaction and their customers feel that the employees “seem indifferent to their problems.” The company’s voluntary quit rates have risen above the industry average while management raises pay rates in the hopes that customer service quality and productivity would improve.

    Read More

  • Interview With a Human Resources Manger

    1933 Words  | 4 Pages

    How well a business manages its assets and resources predicates its overall success. Companies that spend financial resources foolishly are apt to find themselves in bankruptcy. Companies that work capital equipment resources beyond the machine’s capabilities or for other than intended purposes are apt to experience downtime and/or lose the equipment to failure. The same premise holds true for a company’s human assets. However, unlike other company assets, which depreciate over time, human assets appreciate over time when managed properly. The article, Importance of Human Resource Investment for Organizations and Economy: A critical Analysis, explains the importance of managing human assets as follows:

    Read More

  • Ben Williams Case Study

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    He has decided to make some changes in the way that communication occurs in the office in order to improve employee satisfaction with company leadership. After an analysis of his current communication practices, it is clear that he could implement three important changes to improve results. First, he must begin having regularly scheduled meetings. Next, he must package his communications with the business to include why an action is being taken as well as what that action will be. Thirdly, Williams must adopt more effective avenues of communication, such as electronic mail, to effectively lead his staff. If Williams can successfully apply and practice these three communication strategies, he will become more effective as a leader and there is a greater chance that employee satisfaction will

    Read More

  • Strategic Human Resource Management

    2031 Words  | 5 Pages

    However you define the activities of management, and whatever the organisational processes are, an essential part of the process of management is that proper attention be given to the Human Resource function. The human element provides a major part in the overall success of the organisation. Therefore there must be an effective human resource function. In the past, most organisations viewed Human Resource Management (HRM) as an element function, that is an activity that is supportive of the task functions and does not normally have any accountability for the performance of a specific end task. Because of the emphasis on analysis and precision there is a tendency for strategists to concentrate on economic data and ignore the way in which human elements and values can influence the implementation of a strategy. 'Economic analysis of strategy fails to recognise the complex role which people play in the evolution of strategy - strategy is also a product of what people want an organisation to do or what they feel the organisation should be like.?(1).

    Read More

  • Seven Tips for Minimizing Negativity

    399 Words  | 1 Pages

    Make opportunities available for people to express their opinion about workplace policies and procedures. Recognize the impact of changes in such areas as work hours, pay, benefits, assignment of overtime hours, comp pay, dress codes, office location, job requirements, and working conditions. These factors are closest to the mind, heart and physical presence of each individual. Changes to these can cause serious negative responses. Provide timely, proactive responses to questions and concerns.

    Read More

  • Human Resources and Organizational Strategy

    2373 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...an approach of partnership is critical for organizations that want to gain competitive advantages. Butler, Ferris & Napier (1991) state this as, “the more management believes that HRM contributes to corporate success, the more its role will be integrated into the firm’s strategic planning process.” (as cited by Rose & Kumar, 2006, pg. 3). Additionally, organizations that apply energy and resources to HRD benefit from an increase in human capital. López-Cabrales, Real & Valle (2011) state the benefits of building human capital as, “If the company adopts appropriate procedures of personnel management, human capital can be orientated to the achievement of sustainable competitive advantages” (pg. 5).

    Read More

  • Organisational Behavior (OB)

    2859 Words  | 6 Pages

    By the case of Siemens, Siemens is a combination of all four cultural types and matrix structure. In Siemens five hundred thousand employees in the company,...

    Read More

  • Competitive Advantage In Human Resource Management

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    The human resource management stands for the management of an entity’s workforce and all that relates to the workforce. The significance of human resource management includes recruitment, orientation, and the ability to retain employees. The human resource management with other managers utilizes these practices in order to produce a solution that relates to challenges. A competitive advantage refers to the business ability to gain the advantages of its economic activities that, it recognizes the organization’s ability to survive and overcome competition in the marketplace. This paper will discuss the concept of competitive advantage in human resource.

    Read More

  • Introduction and Overview of Infosys

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    Infosys was founded in 1981 by Narayana Murthy and his six colleagues, they shared a vision of providing “a fair deal to the stakeholders: shareholders, employees and customers alike” (Evans & Barsoux, 2002, p.61). Infosys’ vision was to regain the top position for the Best Employee and Best Performer Company by 2007 (Delong, 2006). The head of HR leadership Hema Ravichander recognized that Infosys had some HR problems: From 1981-1991, Infosys had only one client and the organization was almost dissolved because of the bureaucratic and regulated Indian environment. Murthy was able to save the organization by energizing the rest of the co-founders (Delong, 2006). In 1991, Infosys shifted its focus from “Body-Shopping to Off -shoring” (Delong, 2006, p.4) at the same time India was facing economic liberalization. Infosys introduced off- shore development Center known as ODC and also introduced Global Delivery Model (GDM) which is a project management system. GDM afforded the organization to divide each project into components that was executed “independently and concurrently” at client site from remotely development centers.

    Read More

  • A Case Study Of Mauritius Telecom (MT)

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    One main apprehension that they have against Information System is the high investment cost. In addition to this there is the high maintenance and upgrade costs associated with the deployment of new IT systems. In fact they prefer to outsource the heavy IT department expenditures to other companies having IT as their core activities. In return they expected to receive a full solution pack to meet their requirements and they are ready to pay these IT services as an operating cost. At the same time the risks associated with IS are being shifted to the other

    Read More

More about The Importance of Managing the Workforce to Competitive Advantage

Open Document