Assessment 1 Essay on Talent Management
Assessment item 1 – Written Assessment: ESSAY ON TALENT MANAGEMENT
DUE DATE: 6th August 2014, Wednesday 2:00 pm, Week-6
WEIGHTING: 40%
LENGTH:2,500 words (±10% excluding title page & references list)
OBJECTIVES:
This assessment item relates to course learning outcomes numbers 1, 2, 3 & 4.
TASK DETAILS:
Assessment task 1 requires the writing of an academic essay.
The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate your critical research and writing skills.
This essay should be an ‘argumentative/ academic essay’, and must therefore contain an argument that is used as the structuring element of the paper. You are required to support your argument with appropriatetheoretical discussion and references.
A minimum of twelve (12) academic journal articles must be referenced in addition to your set text and other academic sources/reputed websites. The references list as well as in-text referencing must be formatted in the prescribed Harvard style.
For this assessment task you are required to research the topic on “Talent Management”and read the case, “War for Talent” by Kip Frame.The case is given below in this document. You should study,critically analyse the case and respond to the issues raisedwithin the context of an argumentative/ academic essay. You are expected to engage in extensive research within the academic literature relating to talent management in contemporary HRM field. You must explain your findings regarding talent management issues in the context of the above cited case.
In your essay, you must address the following issues:
1. Put forward a business case for organisations to adopt talent management as part of their strategic human resource management.
2. Identify key talent management strategies that organisations can adopt.Analyse how diversity, job design and flexibility contribute to attraction and retention of talent in organisations.
3.Explain the importance of effective leadership in an organisation towards managing talent.What skills/competencies do leaders and managers require to retain a diverse workforce?
Theassignment should be a properly constructed academic essay. It should contain aneffective introduction, discussion body (addressing the three issues) and a comprehensive conclusion.
The introduction should introduce the essay, thesis statement (main objective of the assignment) and include your argument. The main body of the assignment shouldpresent the evidence you have collected to support your arguments for the three issues and the conclusion should restate your arguments, summarise the evidenceand provide an inferencebased on your arguments.
MARKING CRITERIA:
Your essay will be assessed on the extent to which it meets each of the following criteria:
HRMT 20023 – Contemporary Studies in Human Resource Management
Assignment 1 - Marking criteria for Essay on Talent Management
Student Name………………… Student No.……………..
Assessment Criteria / HD / D / C / P / F34 - 40 / 30 - 33 / 26 - 29 / 20 - 25 / 19.5
Appropriateness of response to the task requirements / 4.25 / 3.75 / 3.25 / 2.5 / 1
A thorough knowledge and critical analysis of the topic expressed in a coherent format / 8.5 / 7.5 / 6.5 / 5 / 2
Overall application of relevant theories, models and concepts to address the issues, and discussing talent management strategies that can be applied in contemporary organisational contexts / 8.5 / 7.5 / 6.5 / 5 / 2
Persuades the reader that the point of views developed in the answers is well supported by ideas and information drawn from academic literature and reflection / 4.25 / 3.75 / 3.25 / 2.5 / 1
Demonstration of additional research beyond the course material and textbook through the use of recent and relevant peer reviewed academic journal articles (minimum of twelve) / 4.25 / 3.75 / 3.25 / 2.5 / 1
Presentation including Harvard style referencing, formatting, layout and grammar / 4.25 / 3.75 / 3.25 / 2.5 / 1
OVERALL COMMENTS:
TOTAL: /40
CASE:
War for talent
Three leading talent managers from Westpac, Lend Lease and Wesfarmers discuss the business case for talent management.
By Kip Frame
It’s no surprise that the war for talent is just as fierce today as it was in 1997 when McKinsey & Company first coined the phrase. After all, highly skilled employees are the currency of the knowledge economy.
In Australia, the war for talent is a high-stakes engagement. A recent study by the Society for Knowledge Economics found excellence in talent management was a key attribute of high-performing Australian workplaces, which were 12 per cent more productive and produced profit margins nearly three times higher than their lower-performing peers.
This supports the findings of a McKinsey 2001 study which reported that high-performing managers grew revenue and profits by 50 to 130 per cent (depending on their industry), while the lowest performing managers achieved no growth at all. As these statistics show, there is a real, bottom-line benefit of attracting the best talent and working to develop leaders in a business.
Recently, I had the opportunity to lead a panel discussion with HR and talent leaders from three businesses we work with, all of whom are passionate about people: Patricia O’Connor, general manager of leadership development and talent management at Wesfarmers; Michael Vavakis, group head of human resources at Lend Lease; and Tony Fiddes, general manager, group people capability at Westpac. We discussed the business case for talent and the challenges and opportunities for talent managers today and in the future.
Four themes were top of mind:
Pragmatism – the importance of taking a commercial approach to talent
Sustainability – recognising that it takes time to create leaders and involving tomorrow’s leaders as well as today’s
Connectivity – working with the CEO and board to ensure leadership is part of the business success strategy.
The next frontier – creating the edge in talent attraction and retention for the future through diversity, job design and flexibility.
O’Connor sums up her approach to talent in a single word - pragmatism. Previously research director at the Centre for Creative Leadership, O’Connor says a talent strategy should be based around the needs of the business and address three fundamental leadership requirements – it must be commercial, deliver results and engage people. She suggests talent managers identify real-time leadership challenges and build a business case based on asking ‘so what?’. “We need to be more agnostic about some of our tools - ask ‘what does the business need?’ and then directly tie the strategy to that commercial need,” she says.
Vavakis of believes a key challenge for HR managers is making time to think about talent. While it’s easy to become immersed in other activities that come across the desk of a busy HR leader, a focus on talent can make a significant positive impact on the business. He believes that a review of people is now the responsibility of many CEOs is evidence that HR and talent management are now recognised as strategic imperatives for a business.
Fiddes concurs. Over a two-year period, Westpac has created a new talent and leadership program across the business and talent is recognised as one of the core ingredients that makes a bank successful, along with technology, funding and footprint. Westpac’s talent management strategy includes selection processes and cultural fit, leadership capabilities, talent identification and development.
While recognising that it takes time to create leaders, Fiddes says, “It’s rewarding to see individuals who have been through a leadership development program and have then re-committed to the organisation as a result.” Advice for HR managers looking to build a business case for their talent strategy includes using real-life examples – such as the cost to the business if a key employee was to depart suddenly – or using a crisis as an impetus for change and an opportunity to put leadership ability on the table. Fiddes describes himself as “the luckiest talent manager” due to the support of his CEO and says aligning talent with critical strategy conversations is crucial. “Leadership is part of what makes the bank successful,” he notes.
O’Connor agrees – she believes that CEOs should spend around 85 per cent of their time thinking about and engaging in people strategy, since an organisation’s staff are critical to business success. This includes a focus on internal talent as well as key external stakeholders.
Vavakis says he is fortunate to have strong support from the Lend Lease executive team and board for the company’s talent strategy. However, he says if your management team and CEO or executive sponsor aren’t 100 per cent behind the talent strategy, don’t do it as it will be a waste of time. “Find the opportunity, start small and keep at it,” he advises.
Measures used by the experts interviewed to evaluate talent management programs included asking managers involved if the programs made a difference and what their team would look like without the programs; tracking succession; and monitoring how many people who participated in programs were promoted or put into new positions.
As to the future of talent management? The three experts agree that flexibility and diversity are key. “Think about the next frontier – what will give you the edge? Job design and flexibility will be key components for the future,” says Vavakis. He believes we need to think differently about gender, age, job design and work practices, including asking people what they need in terms of flexibility and changing the metrics or scorecards used to evaluate performance to suit a more flexible workforce.
According to O’Connor, diversity is simply smart business. “You want to appeal to as many people as possible, otherwise you will lose out to a competitor.” She pointed to Wesfarmers’ commitment to Aboriginal employment initiatives as well as to increasing the representation of women in leadership roles across the group.
Lend Lease defines diversity as “diversity in all the ways in which we differ” and Vavakis says this includes diversity of thought to address any unconscious bias which may act as a barrier to other forms of diversity.
Diversity of thought and having a ‘global mindset’ were critical to delivering a competitive advantage in terms of talent, according to the experts. With the war for talent continuing apace, it’s clear that talent management is no longer simply the icing on the cake – it’s a critical element of high-performing businesses.
(Source:HRmonthly,Australian Human Resources Institute,February 2013, pp. 41-42)