Human resources questions and answers

¶ … talent management is and why it is a considerations addressed by a growing number of employers.

"Talent management is an organization's commitment to recruit, retain, and develop the most talented and superior employees available in the job market" (Heathfield 2012). In an increasingly competitive workplace, service is one of the best ways a company can distinguish itself against its competitors. America has become less of a nation that 'makes things,' versus a service labor-based nation that 'does things.' Furthermore, some of the most successful companies in the marketplace today, such as Apple and Google, have succeeded primarily because of the talent of their workforce: new technology is ultimately generated by creative technological minds. That is why Google allows its engineers time to pursue their own projects, to further stimulate growth and new ideas. Google states: "we offer our engineers '20-percent time' so that they're free to work on what they're really passionate about" (Engineer's Life, 2012, Google). Talent management gives companies a competitive advantage by finding committed and loyal workers and maximizing the ability of workers to give back to the organization. It truly views employees as resources, and nurtures them, rather than tries to extract the maximum amount of work at the minimum price.

3.) How has the increase in uncertainty in business affected the "make-or-buy" decision, and is this trend likely to change?

The make-or-buy decision is defined as "the act of choosing between manufacturing a product in-house or purchasing it from an external supplier. In a make-or-buy decision, the two most important factors to consider are cost and availability of production capacity" (Make-or-buy decision, 2012, Investopedia). Companies are now less willing to invest in productive capacity, and may be more interested in buying rather than making in-house, since it is easier to reduce or increase output in deference to market conditions when one 'buys' versus making the investment in factories, manpower, and raw goods, which must be maintained even when demand is fallow Lean manufacturing principles suggest that a firm outsource unless "(1) the item is critical to the success of the product, including customer perception of important product attributes; (2) the item requires specialized design and manufacturing skills or equipment, and the number of capable and reliable suppliers is extremely limited; and (3) the item fits well within the firm's core competencies, or within those the firm must develop to fulfill future plans" (Helms 2005). The diversity of the global marketplace that offers such a wide range of inexpensive outsourcing options with technically-literature staff have further driven the impetus towards outsourcing

Chapter 10 Questions

1.) Describe how an organizational culture and the use of performance criteria and standards affect the remaining components of a performance management system.

There have been attempts to create objective criteria that can be used across organizations to structure performance reviews, like always citing positive as well as negative criticism and encouraging employee feedback, but performance management systems are inevitably affected by the organizational culture (10 secrets to an effective performance review, 2012, Business management daily). Classifications of organizational culture vary, but one of the most popular typologies is that of the 'academy culture' versus the 'baseball team culture' versus the 'club culture' versus the 'fortress' culture developed by the Yale School of Management (McNamara 2000). Some organizational cultures, like 'academy cultures' prize employees that stay within the organization and work their way up through the ranks, as well as employees that possess specific degrees (McNamara 2000). Baseball team cultures prize 'results' and emphasize those in performance evaluations. Club cultures, in contrast, stress subjective perceptions of 'fitting in to the group' while fortress cultures often use intimidation and fear to encourage meeting performance goals and often set performance standards artificially high to encourage compliance (McNamara 2000).

2.) Suppose you are a supervisor. What errors might you make when preparing the performance appraisal on a clerical employee? How might you avoid those errors?