Strategic Management Question Answers

10-1 What are critical issues that a company must consider when trying to match its staffing to its strategy?

Scarcity of labor is an issue for staffing. If the company wants to expand with a strategy, which calls for a special skill, it will be harder to find the right employee than an unskilled job. If there is no one working on the needed field, the company may have to train and groom their own team.

Brain drain is an issue for training highly skilled workers. After spending money and time on training, there is no guarantee that the employees will not quit and leave with all the knowledge. Therefore, knowledge management and talent retention are important issues for staffing.

Cost is a major issue when trying to match staffing to strategy. The labor market determines the price of labor. The company cannot control the market but it can change the strategy. There is a certain degree of struggle or going back and forth between staffing cost and cost of changing strategy. The company must weigh both costs to make decision on the priority of strategy or staffing.

10-2 What are the unique impacts on a company that must staff in international setting?

In international settings, culture plays an important and unique role. Domestic firms do not have to worry much about cross-culture staffing. International firms must acknowledge cultural differences and try to avoid related conflicts in hiring. Discrimination and labor laws are impacting hiring practice in foreign countries where labor regulation is less strict than in the U.S. Companies want to get the best staffs for the lowest possible wages. Sometimes they are willing to go overseas to find employees, and the domestic job seekers lose their chance of employment. Patriots or nationalist oppose outsourcing for this reason. While companies still outsource because they want to follow the most profitable strategy and to stay in competition.