Human Resource Management : A Competitive Advantage Essay

Competitive advantage exists when a firm has strategy, product or an attribute that makes the firm capable of delivering similar benefit to that of competitors at a cheaper cost. Having competitive advantage is not enough the company should be capable of sustaining that particular competitive advantage for a longer period of time.

Through this case study I will be discussing strategic management. Strategic management can be defined as a process where an organization attempts to determine what actions need to be taken to achieve the overall objectives and more importantly how to meet them (Mello, 2015, p. 114). For a company to strive and meet their goals, deadlines, and missions they must stay conscious of the strategic plan put in place for the success of the company. If the company does not have a good strategic plan the company could fail. With correct planning a company could succeed without fail. Something that needs to be taken into consideration in the strategic plan should be investing into the company’s human assets. At first it may look like it is causing the company more issues however in the long run it will strengthen the company and moral making a more successful company. This could help with customer relations, and the organization status which will help produce additional revenue for the company.

Today 's fast-paced, competitive business environment has resulted in "rediscovery" of the human resource management function as a group that may be able to enhance firm competitiveness and performance by being "strategic" (Dyer & Kochan, 1995; Ulrich, 1997). Strategic Human Resource Management is a term describing an integrated approach to the development of Human Resource Strategy that will enable the organization to achieve its goals (Armstrong, 2005). Whiles strategy is an action that managers take to attain one or more of the organization’s goals. Strategy presents a general direction set for the company and its various components to achieve a desired state in the future. This results from the detailed

Competitive advantage – competitive advantage is the ability of one organization to outperform other organizations because it produces desired goods or services more efficiently and effectively than its competitors. The four building blocks of competitive advantage are superior efficiency, speed, flexibility, innovation, and responsiveness to customers.

To survive and thrive, an organization must create a competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is a product or service that an organization’s customers place a greater value on than similar offerings from a competitor. Unfortunately, competitive advantages are typically temporary because competitors often seek ways to duplicate the competitive advantage. In turn, organizations must develop a strategy based on a new competitive advantage.

An effective human resources (HR) strategy is the complete design, or strategic plan, that directs the engagement of specific HR functional areas. Subsequently, HR strategies will guide decisions about company personnel to make sure they are best suited for the company. For this to be successful, all of the functional areas of HR strategies must be directly compatible with the entire business strategy of the company (Wright, Snell, & Jacobsen, 2003). One such company that has been very successful in developing an HR strategy to support the overall business strategy, is the United Services Automobile Association, or more commonly known as USAA.

A Competitive Advantage is a peculiarity for an organization between it's competitors . It's achieved either by lowering prices or by greatening the value of the product or by offering luxury service and benefits to cope with high prices .

Competitive advantage is that a company has better ability in earning profit and profit growth compared to its competitors for the same group of customers in one industry.

Competitive advantage(CA) is an advantage competitors gain by providing or offering customers or consumers greater value for their money through product and service differentiation or through lower prices. Maintaining competitive advantage is crucial to many businesses or organizations' success in order to survive in the market. Competitive advantage is characterized by superior performance which could be an attribute to outperform the competitors whether current or potential; or gaining a higher market share in a particular industry thereby ensuring market leadership; or ultimately, maximization of profit.(JOBBER 2010)

Competitive advantage is explained by Mahoney and Pandian (1992) as the function of industry analysis, organizational governance and the firm’s effects in the form of resource advantages and strategies. In order for a firm to be competitive it must adapt to the volatile business environment and through strategic management decisions establish a competitive advantage that will ultimately produce superior performance relative to its competitors (Akimova 2000).

In order to achieve competitive advantage, a firm must perform one or more value-creating activity that is more superior compared to other competitors. Superior value is created through lower costs or superior benefits to the buyers.

Netcare participates in employer surveys, internal surveys gets feedback from patients with patient feedback forms. These results help identify employment issues and are also used to reward and recognise individuals. Managers are even required to wear their name badges, thus enforcing them to lead by example.

*  A competitive advantage is one that distinguishes a firm or a business from the competitors in the minds of the customers. It also refers to the state or ​condition that make a ​business more ​successful than the ​businesses it is ​competing with, or a particular thing that makes it more ​successful such as having a higher sales through offering low or affordable goods and services.

Within this essay an in depth analysis will be conducted on the difference between Human Resource Management and Strategic Human Resource Management using contemporary perspectives. Human Resource Management (HRM) is the process of managing human resources in a systematic way. It is a practice devised to maximise the performance of employees and is concerned with the application of management principles to manage organisational personnel while paying attention to the policies and systems of the entity (Delaney & Huselid, 1996). Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a function of management which entails development of policies, programmes and practices related to human resources, which are aligned with business strategy so as to achieve the strategic objectives of the organisation (Patrick M. Wright, 1992). Its primary purpose is to improve the performance of the business and maintain a culture that encourages innovation and works continuously to gain competitive advantage. In this essay the Resource-Based View, High Performance Management and High Commitment Management perspectives of Strategic Human Resource Management and Traditional and Collaborative

exists when the firm is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a