Abstract
The paper contains discussion of three different stories that are closely related to human resource management issues. Most of its content is devoted to the analysis of the key problems described in the stories. There is also a discussion of the key concepts presented in the academic articles. The material for discussion is taken from reliable academic resources that are targeted at discussion, analysis and improvement of up-to-date human resource practical issues.
Innovation and Competitive Advantage
Human Resource Management has been studied and improved for many years. Every year brings something new for human resource practices. Various studies introduce new vision of human resource management and establish new direction in managerial thought. One of the most influential examples and stories is “Moneyball” story. Being written as a book about baseball it also has much to propose for human resource studies. The book touches such aspects as innovation, progress, success, achievements, human resource management and development of competitive advantage. Contribution of the book is very significant since it has changed the vision of potential possibilities that had been ignored and unrevealed (Wolfe, Wright and Smart, 2006). The book shows how revolutionary approaches can benefit organizations by maximizing efficiency of limited resources. One of the most vivid ideas expressed in the book is the idea of targeted selection. The idea is that team efficiency can be maximized, when the main focus in employee selection is on specific traits that are needed for a certain kind of activity rather than on general traits. Here, the topic is about some kind of “individual specialization”, when personal abilities are highly productive in specific activity and are less effective if scattered among many activities.
“Moneyball” introduced the idea of function analysis, where functions must be analyzed for duplication, interference and confrontation. According to this idea, every function must be fully targeted at the performance it is meant for, and it must not meet confrontation from other functions. In simple words executors must work in symbiosis and not interfere with each other. For human resource management the story gives examples of what factors slow down innovation, what methods are good for achieving success, the importance of competitive advantage and the significance of sustainability. In general the story turns around of Billy Beane, who by all means fought against old ideas brining the new ones, that changed the vision of organizational tactics and human resource strategy.
The Value of Work.
In the book “The Thought of Work” John W. Budd (2011) has disclosed his experience in work evaluation. Work has been one of the central things in lives of many people for centuries. For human resource management this story is highly beneficial for its research of philosophical concepts of work. Every company and every employer have their own concepts of work. Every organization and individual have their own values and perception of work. The best thing is when values of employer and employee are common for both sides.
The key idea in this story is the human motivation to work. For some …