Chapter 1: Managing Employees for Competitive Advantage

The extent to which the three primary HR activities are designed to achieve the goals of the organization.

The knowledge, skills, abilities, and other talents that employees possess.

A company’s ability to create more economic value than its competitors.

The individuals who work for a company.

The pressures that exist outside companies that managers must consider to strategically manage their employees.

The extent to which the three primary HR activities that a company uses help them meet their organizational demands, cope with environmental factors, and comply with regulatory issues.

The blurring of country boundaries in business activities.

Challenges that managers must consider in the management of employees that relate to (1) Organizational demands; (2) Environmental influences; and (3) Regulatory issues.

A support function within companies that serves a vital role in designing and implementing company policies for managing employees.

The practices that a company has put in place to manage employees.

The extent to which specific practiced used within each HR activity are consistent with one another as well as aligned across the primary HR activities.

The individuals who are responsible for supervising and directing the efforts of a group of employees to perform tasks that are directly related to the creation and delivery of a company’s products or services.

The set of underlying values and beliefs that employees of a company share.

The factors within a firm that affect decisions regarding how to manage employees.

The strategic management of employees centers around three categories of HR activities (1) Work design and workforce planning; (2) Managing employee competencies; and (3) Managing employee attitudes and behaviors.