Human Resource Management Paper

In any organisation gaining and sustaining a competitive advantage is of critical importance in how successful and profitable the organisation is or can be. A competitive advantage according to Michael Porter (1985) “is the extent to which an organization is able to create a defensible position over its competitors” In that regard, in order for organisations to facilitate the gaining and sustaining of a competitive advantage, they must ensure that all of their resources are effectively and efficiently managed. However with the constant changes in the environment of business, organisations can no longer depend on just having the best equipment or the closet proximity to customers, but this is where having competent human resources becomes essential. According to the Oxford University Press dictionary of Human Resource Management (2001) human resource management “is a means through which an organisation can gain a competitive advantage. The employees are one of the key factors in an organisation, and through carefully developing and managing them; they will ultimately be the critical factors that distinguish successful orgainsation from unsuccessful organisation.”
Armstrong and Baron (2002) defines employee resourcing as “one of the key strategic human resource management functions”, they also state that employee resourcing focuses on matching resources to the needs of the organisation while ensuring the proper utilization of these resources. However before any organisation can match human resources to their organisations there must be some level of planning involved. Hence human resource planning according to DeCenzo and Robbins (1989) “is the process by which any organisation ensures that it has the right number and right kind of people, at the right place, at the right time, capable of effectively completing those tasks that will help the organisation achieve its overall objectives.” To illustrate the relevance of human resource planning as a root

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