MSc Management: People Management, HRM Competitive Advantage Essay

This essay delves into the critical role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in fostering a competitive advantage for organizations in the globalized economy of the 21st century. It begins by acknowledging the profound impact of globalization, technology, and knowledge-based services on the contemporary business landscape. The paper then explores how HRM has become a key factor in helping firms gain a competitive edge. The essay analyzes the changing nature of the workforce, emphasizing the increased cultural diversity and the rise of virtual teams. It highlights how HRM is responsible for managing diversity, recruiting and selecting efficient employees, and fostering employee engagement to boost productivity and success. The essay further examines the evolving role of HRM, including maintaining workplace diversity, employee recruitment and selection, and employee engagement through talent management strategies. Ultimately, the essay concludes that in an era defined by globalization, HRM remains a crucial element for businesses seeking to thrive and establish a strong presence in the global market.

Running head: FUNDAMENTAL OF HUMAN RESOURCES
FUNDAMENTAL OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The age of globalization has paved way for various organisations to expand their
business in other countries in order to generate more profits and make a name in the global
market. However, operating internationally is a difficult task and it is important for
organisations to have some qualities which are going to help them succeed in the
international market. Companies are constantly trying to operate in ways which will help
them in gaining competitive advantage which is essential in order to be a huge success. In
recent times, it has been seen that knowledge, technology, services have had a huge role to
play in helping an organisation gain competitive advantage in the market however it is the
efficient human resource management which is the key factors that helps an organisation or a
company gain competitive advantage in the market (Amarakoon, Weerawardena and
Verreynne 2018). This paper will discuss the importance of human resource management in
gaining in helping a firm gain competitive advantage in the market.
Changing nature of the workforce
Globalization is seen to have a massive role in changing the nature of the workforce
in the 21st century. One of the major changes that globalization has brought to the workforce
is the increase in cultural diversity. According to scholars, diversity in the workplace is often
beneficial as it helps organisations in gaining new insights about various cultures from
marketing as well as management perspectives (Miron-Spektor and Erez 2017). Due to
globalization there are many companies that have been operating in different countries and
this has led to more people working in virtual teams in comparison to actual teams. Gibbs,
Kim and Boyraz (2017) states that globalization has helped people witness the development
of processes and tools that help in enabling effective coordination and collaboration between

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employees and teams that are separated by a huge distance which paves way for the advent of
virtual teams in the workforce.
Apart from the operations of an organisation, it can be seen that the role of human
resource management has evolved and has become dynamic in the recent times due to
globalization. One of the major focus of the human resource managers in recent times is one
ensuring and managing efficient workplace diversity as companies that operate
internationally tend to have employees from diverse cultures work under the same roof and it
is of utmost importance to maintain diversity in order to avoid any sort of conflicts. Scholars
state that the human resource management is responsible for selecting, retaining and
engaging employees that are efficient in the organisation so that they can be productive and
help in contributing the organisation in a successful manner which will help the organisation
gain competitive advantage in the market (Johnson and Szamosi 2018).
Globalization has led to companies operating in various different ways that challenge
the traditional methods of operations in a business. It can be seen that the human resource
management has played a huge role in managing with the changing workforce and change
their operations accordingly to support organisations. According to scholars, with the change
in the nature of the organisations and the workforce, it has been seen that human resource
managers have been putting a lot of time on research which helps them in coming up with
proper job specifications that help in the recruitment and the selection process and ensure that
the employee hired is an asset to the organisation and fits the needs of the organisation
(Kaufman 2016). The companies that have been working internationally have various
demands and need employees who have various qualities from educational qualifications to
personal attributes that aligns with the values and the goals of the organisation. The job of the
human resource management is vital in order to select and hire the deserving candidates that
will be beneficial for the organisation.

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Apart from cultural diversity, diversity in general has become common in recent times
and it has been seen that people from different generations have been working under the same
room from adults to young adults and many more which is one of the changes that the
workplace is seeing as people belonging from different generations have different attitudes
and approach towards work (Hansen 2016). Thus, it can be seen that globalization has been
changing the way an industry or even an organisation works which contributes to the higher
competition.
Role of Human Resource Management
Globalization has changed the workplace environment as well as one operates in the
organisation for various reasons like the distance and the nature of the workplace, diverse
employees working in an organisation and many more. It has been seen that the companies
that have expanded their business and have been operating in various countries need a
competitive advantage in order to survive in the foreign market and continue operations
successfully in the market. It has been seen that human resource management is the key
aspect of an international organisation and highly contributes to the organisation in order to
help the organisation gain competitive advantage in the market. The role of the human
resource management is seen to have evolved in the 21st century and have seen to have
emphasized on various other aspects except for their main role as well that are the following.
Maintaining diversity
One of the major aspects and factors that can be found in international companies at a
large scale is the diversity in the workplace. As companies operate in various different
countries it has been seen that there is an existence of people who belong from different
cultural backgrounds. Cultural differences causes a lot of issues in organisations and
according to scholars, one of the major issues that is caused by cultural differences in

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organisations is communication barriers. Olanrewaju, Tan and Kwan (2017) states lack of
communication often causes issues like miscommunication, no bonding among the
employees and also isolations of various employees which are considered to be demotivating
factors that hamper the productivity of an employee.
According to scholars, there are much other diversity in the workplace apart from
cultural like diversity in terms of sex, religion, age, caste and many more (Solanki and
Saxena 2016). These often cause various issues in the workplace which disrupt the operations
of the workplace and affect the productivity of the workplace in a negative manner. Thus, it
has been seen that human resource management has been highly emphasizing on these issues
and have been coming up with strategies that help in ensuring that the workplace is positive.
One of the strategies that has been incorporated by the human resource management
department in recent times is diversity training. Diversity training is basically a training that
helps the people participating in the training become more aware about issues that diversity in
the workplace causes and also help the employees or the participants learn new things about
diversity and also acquire necessary skills that encourage the employees to interact, work and
collaborate with other employees or people who have different strengths and qualities
(Alhejji et al, 2016). Diversity training helps employees to be more sensitive and empathetic
towards one another and encourages them to put in extra hard work which helps in mitigating
the issues like miscommunication. This makes people work in harmony and paves way for a
positive work space that helps in motivating employees to do their best to contribute to the
productivity and the growth of an organisation.
Employee recruitment
Employee recruitment is one of the key roles of the human resource management of
an organisation. Recruitment is considered to be the process which helps in searching the

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correct candidates in order to employ and stimulate the candidates to apply for the vacant
positions that an organisation offers. This process is highly important as this is the method
and the main means of attracting talented and efficient candidates that have the potential to
work in an organisation. However, in recent times, it has been seen that organisations need
various personalities, attributes and skills along with the educational qualification which is
important to operate in dynamic industries (Kilkauer, 2019). The human resource
management puts in a lot of hard work in the research and in the assessment of the necessary
qualifications and the skills that the jobs need in order to create an attractive post which help
in attracting employees that are talented and fit in the requirements so that they can be
beneficial to the organisation. Thus, it has been seen that the HR department of an
organisations is highly responsible for shortlisting talented and efficient employees.
Employee selection
Employee selection is another process which is one of the most important duties of
the human resource management in order to hire the efficient employees who are suitable for
the job roles of the company and can help in the growth and development of the company.
According to scholars, the process of conducting interviews and then the evaluation of
candidate for a particular job and also selection of the candidate based on the criteria based
like experience, qualifications and skills (Erker, Cosentino and Tamanini 2017). However
scholars state that there are various different aspects on the basis which the selection process
is conducted like the various assessments that help in understanding the thought process and
the skills of employees (McCarthy et al 2017). The human resource management has a huge
pressure of selecting the perfect candidates that will be suitable for the jobs and will have the
necessary skills like communication and the ability to work in a diverse environment,
technology friendly and many more that ensure fruitful operations of a business. The
selection of the perfect and the efficient candidate determines the future of the organisation

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and ensure that the organisations have increase in the productivity which benefits the
organisations in the long run.
Employee engagement
Employee engagement is extremely important as it is considered to be one of the
motivational factors for an employee in order to work efficiently and be productive for an
organisation. Employee engagement is considered to be the extent to which the employees of
an organisation feel passionate about the jobs they have and are committed strongly to the
company or the organisation and are also seen to put discretionary efforts into the work they
are doing. It has been seen that employee engagement is somehow related to talent
management that is one of the ways in which the human resource management ensure that the
employees are engaged in the organisation.
Talent management is considered to be the process of the human resource
management that helps in attracting, motivating and also helps in retaining the employees in
an organisation. According to scholars, there are various talent management strategies that
help in engaging employees and also motivate the employees in an organisation that the
human resource management follows these days like coming up with attractive job
descriptions, assess whether the candidate will be able to fit in the organisation with diverse
work culture, provide continuous proper training to the employees, provide fruitful rewards
and recognition to the employees to applaud them for the contributions they make to the
business and also cultivate a proper career path for the employees which ensures the growth
of the employees in their career (O’Connor and Crowley-Henry 2019). These highly help in
motivating employees in an organisation and also helps in satisfying the employees which
makes the employees work harder and also paves way for employee loyalty and retention
which is considered to be a huge factor in the growth and development of a company.
Conclusion

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The age of globalization is seen to have made businesses expand their organisations in
another countries and it is important for these companies to have a competitive advantage in
the market which helps in the growth and development of the business. There are many
aspects that has helped the companies in gaining competitive advantage however, it the role
human resource management plays in acquiring competitive advantage is unmatched. The
human resource management operates in a way that helps in recruiting and selecting efficient
employees, provide them with some guidance with training and come up with strategies that
help in satisfying the needs of the customers which help the employees put in hard work for
the organisations they are working for and are motivational factors that help employees to
produce quality work that helps organisations in gaining competitive advantage in the market
and have leverage in the market.

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