Term Paper on "Competitive Advantage Through Human Capital"

Term Paper 5 pages (1483 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Wal-Mart can attain competitive edge through human capital in the long run. The paper has highlighted many recent practices by companies which have enabled them to gain an edge in the industry and have given them a sustainable advantage over their competitors. HR practices of Wal-Mart are also analyzed and discussed in detail in comparison to the industry trends.

The role of HR has expanded to great heights over the past two or three decades. There was a time when HR was not considered as an integral function of an organization but now times have changed. HR is considered as an extremely important function of the department because of the changes in the business environment. Many companies have started investing heavily in their HR departments even more investment than they do in their marketing functions. One of the key reasons for such a rapid rise in the role of HR has been globalization and the increase in competition. Wal-Mart is considered as one of the success stories of the recent times. Wal-Mart's HR has not been acknowledged widely for its contribution to the success of Wal-Mart however the HR structure is responsible for creating a unique business culture "The Wal-Mart Way," which has given Wal-Mart competitive edge over the years. (Schultz, 2010)

In the current era of competitiveness many companies have realized that human capital can give them a sustainable advantage over their competitors in the long run. Top performing companies such as Google and Pepsi have invested heavily in their human capital.

Many companies who have spend heavily on their human capital have been getting positive end results in the form of increase in sales/profits h
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owever the problem with HR investment is that it cannot be measured in terms of return on investment directly. Usually an HR performance review will be based on parameters that are linked to the retention and acquisition of the talent or the morale and satisfaction of the employees. In truth, HR investment can be reflected in the bottom-line of the company which cannot be measured objectively.

The HR Strategy needs to be aligned with the corporate strategy because they both have a similar goal in mind which is to achieve a competitive advantage. The HR strategy deals only with the human capital such as the right role, right people right time, right people and right compensation, while the corporate strategy acts in a broader sense, such as what product, which industry, what segments, and what value to deliver to the customers.

The top performing companies in the retail industry such as Wal-Mart or Target are renowned for their HR strategies. These companies employ the best practices for retention and acquisition of the talent. Target for instance, has secured a unique positioning in the market through their HR practices which are employed for hiring and recruitment in the first place and then by developing the acquired talent through training and development of the employees which also helps the company in retaining the talented workforce. (Anderson est. al., 2008)

It is extremely important for the companies to find the talent that suits their company. The talent alone cannot prove to be fruitful in the long run therefore they have to nurture the talent through training programs. Many companies fail in the retention stage of the employees because they lose the nurtured talent to their competitors which make them lose their competitive edge.

Costco is the best example of how they retain the acquired talent; they hire new recruits from a very early stage and then retain them for a long period. The hiring is based on campus recruitment drives which are carried out in the top universities of the world. An individual is hired at a very stage of his career usually as an intern then the same individual is trained and developed for future challenges. So from an intern an individual moves up the organization ladder to a management trainee, assistant manager, manager, senior manager and then retires in the top hierarchy.

Wal-Mart has been employing a unique HR strategy for acquiring and retaining talent. The hiring process is based on a mix of different practices including on campus recruitment, online recruitment and newspaper advertisements. Once they have hired the talent that fits the organizational culture and job demands then they go through a seven day training program which is called "The Wall mart Way." This program helps the employees in adjusting to the… READ MORE

Quoted Instructions for "Competitive Advantage Through Human Capital" Assignment:

Competitive Advantage Through Human Capital

For this component:

Identify best practices for human capital acquisition, development, and retention.

Analyze best practices that will enable human capital acquisition, development, and retention for your organization or industry.

Analyze current organization practices and their alignment with identified best practices.

Integrate the HRM and business best practices to propose how you will create or maintain a competitive advantage to meet the challenges of the future global environment of your industry.

Analyze the role of the HRM professional in integrating and implementing human capital acquisition, development, and retention best practices in your selected organization.

Provide a rationale for how your best practices and HRM professional's role enable human capital acquisition, development, and retention. *****

How to Reference "Competitive Advantage Through Human Capital" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Competitive Advantage Through Human Capital.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2013, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/wal-mart-attain-competitive-edge/9999953. Accessed 4 Oct 2024.

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[1] ”Competitive Advantage Through Human Capital”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2013. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/wal-mart-attain-competitive-edge/9999953. [Accessed: 4-Oct-2024].
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1. Competitive Advantage Through Human Capital. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/wal-mart-attain-competitive-edge/9999953. Published 2013. Accessed October 4, 2024.

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