Strategic Human Resource Management: Enhancing And Prolonging Organization's Competitive Edge

Most organizations down place a high focus on human capital management as a major component of competitive advantage. A primary reason for such is that these institutions still adopt the conventional HRM, the formal practices for managing people in organization, which essentially concerned itself with transactional and administrative support services; such as, hiring, firing, staffing, etc. In contemporary realistic world, such traditional HRM practices are quite insufficient to provide a competitive edge to institutions. In order for an organization to be successful in any market, it must create value for their clients. Making use of a new strategy, new technology or some other gimmick; this value can be created. However, to sustain this value and the competitive advantage it brings, organizations must develop and maintain an engaged, knowledgeable and creative workforce (Afiouni,2007). Additionally, globalization of companies and capital markets has changed the business landscape. The continuing removal of trade barriers and tariffs, the consequent globalization of markets, the volatility of consumer demands within existing markets, currency fluctuations, and political upheaval are by now familiar characteristics of an environment in flux. The capability of people to cope and manage within such an environment is a vital element in the success of any business and can not be over emphasized. To adequately respond in order to remain competitive, companies must manage their assets as effectively as possible—with specific reference to their human assets. It is against these backgrounds this report is provided, which considers a variety of models to adapt one's overall HR strategy to the new realities of global competition and to also emphasize the need for managements to take a greater interest in the utilization of their organizations' human resources in a bid to achieve competitive advantage.