Discussion Topic: Chapter 1

Concept and Brief Description

Gaining Competitive Advantage: As the book says, “In terms of business strategy, an organization can succeed if it has sustainable competitive advantage (is better than the competitor at something).” An organization can achieve competitive advantage by investing in their “people resources.”

Emotional Hook

Imagine working for a company that is not committed to finding the best people, resources, training and development, or performance management? What kind of environment would that look like?

Key Points

Companies can achieve competitive advantage by committing to best practice of designing work, planning, recruiting, selecting, training, developing, compensating, and managing the performance of its employees.

Facilitative Question

How can a company expect to achieve competitive advantage over competition without commitment and support from a company’s constituents? How can a company expect their constituents to be motivated towards company goals without a culture committed to its employees?