Critically examine how a firms HR strategy could be its source of Essay - 1

Critically examine how a firms HR strategy could be its source of competitive advantage - Essay Example Competitive advantage, from a traditional business perspective, generally involves the tangible activities of the company such as the financial rewards from a streamlined production system or the positive service delivery performed by a shipping and receiving department. When the organisation performs a specific work-related activity better than other companies in similar marketplaces, the organisation has developed a unique competitive advantage. However, in terms of managing human resources, competitive advantage occurs simply by creating policies and workplace environments which are congruent to business and employee needs. It would seem that a satisfied staff is a staff which is motivated to provide excellence to job role function. This paper identifies the various methods by which HR policies can create competitive advantage for today’s organisations; both internally and externally. Having a streamlined system of HR management appears to provide competitive advantage from a human capital development perspective. Karami, Jones and Kakabadse (2008) suggest that attitude, stemming from management professionals at the firm, greatly impact whether a firm will develop an appropriate pool of talent. There appears to be many organisations, today, which under-utilise staff members, considering them as only vessels through which to achieve company goals. The aforementioned authors stress the importance of providing workers with new opportunities and increased job role flexibility as a means to secure psychological perceptions of staff importance toward meeting company goals. It might appear that job role flexibility and opportunities (such as advancement or job rotation) are rather common sense HR policies and procedures, however in terms of supplying a company with competitive advantage it is important to understand why