Essay about Human Resource Management

1. Ch 1, page 60-61, question 4: What is “evidence based HR”? Why might an HR department resist becoming evidenced based?

2. Give some examples of ethical issues that you have experienced in jobs, and explain how HR did or did not help resolve them.

If a firm’s resources are both valuable and rare, a firm may achieve a competitive advantage (Newbert, 2008). A resource is considered valuable when it improves the efficiency and effectiveness of a strategy, and when it exploits external opportunities or neutralises external threats (Barney, 1991). This wording is somewhat confusing as it draws a direct connection with the environmental model, i.e. Porter’s (1985) five forces. The ‘value’ variable could therefore be rendered exogenous to the RBV (Priem and Butler, 2001). On the other hand, Peteraf (1993) praises the model for its internal focus and ability to uncover potential sources of competitive advantage which cannot be attributed to the external environment, notably because areas of value are often so difficult to identify (Newbert, 2008). The term ‘potential’ is used because not all resources have the ability to create a SCA

A strategic resource can be defined as a “firm’s capabilities that are valuable, rare, costly to imitate, and costly to substitute, and experience many barriers to imitation” (Dess, et al., 2012, p. 95). Charm City Run possess strong organizational

The basis of a firms ability to successfully execute any strategy lie in it’s resources and capabilities.The greatest plan in the world means nothing without the means to carry it out. Resources, defined in the text Modern Competitive Strategy are: “relatively observable, tradable asset[s] that contributes to a firm’s market position by improving customer value, lowering cost, or both.”

2. The resource-based model assumes that each organization is a collection of resources and capabilities, which provide the basis for a firm‘s strategy and its primary source of above-average returns. Use this this model to outline Lululemon‘s core competencies and how their capabilities will need to evolve to sustain above-average returns. Compare the resource-based model to the Industry/Organization model with respect to their ability to explain and clarify how Lululemon succeeds.

Barney, J. (2004). Firm resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Strategy: Process Content Context: an international perspective, de Wit & Meyer , 285-292.

The internal environment will be observed using the Resource Based View (RBV) theory, which looks at creating a competitive advantage through resources and capabilities. Resources and capabilities are a collection of tangible and intangible assets (Barney et al., 2011). The link between resources and capabilities allows a company to express their strategy, which creates a competitive advantage (Grant, 2016). This section focuses both on Cobra and Molson Coors, due to a lack of information available for Cobra. Molson Coors bought a majority stake in Cobra in 2009 (Pinto, 2011).

Through an internal environment analysis, companies can identify and understand their own unique resources, capabilities, and competencies that are required for their sustainable competitive advantage. Resources, capabilities, and core competencies are the foundation of competitive advantage. There is no competitive advantages are permanently sustainable in any companies, so they have to consist on their current advantages and develop new advantages by internally understanding and analyzing their resources and capabilities. Competitors have their own unique resources, capabilities, and core competencies to create values for their customers. Both tangible and intangible resources, which include individual, social and organizational phenomena, are combined to generate capabilities. In turn, company’s capabilities are used to build core competencies. Also, core competencies are as a source of competitive advantage for a company to win in the competitive market.

This strategy emphasizes the use of an organization’s resources and capabilities to achieve a core competence that cannot be imitated by competitors. Furthermore, the resource based school argues that if an organization distinctively improves its internal capability; that is being able to have effective inside machinery to deliver products and services to customers, the organization will enjoy a massive advantage in the market. This school also argues that in order to have a competitive advantage, an organization must have resource and capabilities that are sophisticated to those of competitors (QuickMBA,

A manager must recognize the employees with knowledge and skills and encourage them to use their abilities. Organization and managers should recognize their successful business which this success depends on human capital and

Secondly, the only long-term sustainable source of uniqueness lies within the personality of the organization, in particular with knowledge. The author stresses the intangible resources, stating that “Determining whether one is winning or losing end product battles is more difficult because measures of product market share do not necessarily reflect various companies underlying competitiveness” (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990). Hall (1992) also agrees that the analysis of company’s intangible resources contributes to the strategic management

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).

1) Barney, J., (1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage, Journal of Management, vol. 17 (1991), no. 1, pp. 99–120.

For transforming a short-run competitive advantage into a sustained competitive advantage we require resources that are heterogeneous in nature and not perfectly mobile. This translates into valuable resources that are neither perfectly imitable nor substitutable without great effort. If these conditions are fulfilled then the bundle of resources can sustain the firm's above average returns.