In the globalized world we live in and even more in information, the environments in organizations, both external and internal, are highly dynamic, which conditions organizations to actively respond to changes and readings of environments, allowing the creation of a strategy flexible to address the challenges of high dynamism. Among the distinctive reasons for this to happen are competitiveness and how to maintain it.
However, a company is competitive when there are various things under its belt that allow it to generate that value proposition that positions and distinguishes it in the market. To achieve this, the most important asset is human talent, therefore, the professional in charge of human resources is responsible for the present and future of the organization, thus maintaining or recruiting trained personnel with an aligned mentality. with the interests of the organization (Mission, Vision, Values).
According to Krugman (1990) Productivity is not everything, but in the long term, Productivity is almost everything.
In a more general application of the term competitiveness Robert Solow (1970), the standard of living of a country depends on its productivity, on its ability to generate wealth with limited resources.
Table 1: Competitiveness
Competitiveness - Costs
Source: Benjamin Coriat 1994
The organization that has the need to maintain itself over time, will do so looking towards the future of the organization, staying in the now with no view to tomorrow, they will not be able to actively respond to constant changes, it is at this point that human resources professionals play a fundamental role as watchmen and guides in that future that always close to evolution contemplates a change, the change brings up challenges or challenges.
Globalization: “Globalization can be defined as the intensification of social relations throughout the world through which distant places are linked, in such a way that local events are shaped by events that occur many kilometers away or vice versa. This is a dialectical process since these local events can move in the reverse direction to the distant relationships that shaped them. " According to Anthony Guiddens.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) «Globalization is a growing economic interdependence of all the countries in the world, caused by the increase in the volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services, such as in international capital flows, time that the accelerated diffusion of generalized technology ».
For Dave Ulrich in his work Human Resources Champions.
“Observe globalization Difficulties appear in different cultures (a lot), different conceptions of the market, strong changes in the markets due to the change of rules, political instability (which should increase) throughout the planet, social gaps widen between rich and poor in the least developed countries, there are changes in social contracts (the company is no longer so safe, the worker has to insure himself), accelerated growth in competitiveness.
The permeability that the era of communication has given to relations between organizations and countries supposes a set of characteristics, which the human resources professional must take into account when the time comes to capture and conserve human capital in organizations. Understanding this as the fundamental asset for the survival and adaptation of the organization with respect to time.
The value chain and human resources:
For Porter (1980) Value chain are all the steps, both value added and non-value added, required for the transformation and bringing the raw material to the customer.
This aspect becomes highly important when ensuring the relationship with customers and suppliers are understood as they are, as necessary partners to maintain the quality of operations and product. More important when working on complex value chains (where suppliers are also customers).
Profitability through costs and growth:
Gitman (1997) says that profitability is the relationship between income and costs generated by the use of the company's assets in productive activities. The profitability of a company can be evaluated in reference to sales, assets, capital or share value.
A primary objective of the economic activity of any organization is profitability, among the methods to achieve it is the study of the value chain (to reduce costs). The other is the increase in income (by quality, differentiation, sectorization) of products or services.
For Sánchez (2002), profitability is a notion that is applied to every economic action in which material, human and financial means are mobilized in order to obtain certain results. In the economic literature, although the term is used in a very varied way and there are many doctrinal approaches that affect one or another facet of it, in a general sense, profitability is called the measure of performance that in a certain period of time produces the capital used in it.
Customer empowerment: understanding the customer as a variable to maintain and encourage buying more. According to Dave Ulrich in his work Human Resources Champions.
Strengthen core capabilities: identify the qualities and capabilities of the organization, to create new products, in order to achieve new income.
Acquisitions: mergers and purchases in search of strengthening competitiveness, adapting according to the market and its evolution.
For human resources professionals, it is necessary to take into account aspects such as talent, technology, continuous change and the empowerment of human talent for a better performance of their activities due to a positive mental state regarding the work they perform.
All this environment generates the need for new roles in the human resources professional, which aim to increase the individual competitiveness of human talent through innovation and commitments generated from practices generated by these new professionals.
For Dave Ulrich in his work Human Resources Champions
All this new business paradigm has generated new roles that the human resources professional must address to actively contribute to their organization with a view to the following objectives:
.- Execution of strategies.
.- Administrative efficiency.
.- Contribution of employees.
.- Ability to change.
Table 2: HR roles.
HR roles - Dave Ulrich
Source: Dave Ulrich
Expert in administration and management (Processes - Operational)
It consists of operating the basic functions of HR and the administration of the company. Seeks the efficiency of processes with an emphasis on technological leverage.
Leader of effectiveness and Partner of workers (PEOPLE - OPERATIONAL)
It seeks to involve workers and provide support in response to their needs.
Strategic Partner (PROCESSES - STRATEGIC)
It consists of aligning the HR strategy with the business strategy, with processes whose purpose is to make contributions to the objectives and problems of the business and the end customer. It seeks a comprehensive understanding of the business and its individual strategies in order to generate solutions and contributions that benefit individually and collectively.
Change Agent (PEOPLE - STRATEGIC)
It seeks to contribute to the process of change, facilitating and making it conducive as required, generating a continuous and sustainable learning environment.
Peter Drucker defines organizations as a specialized human group that perform a common task. This must be effective, since each member of the organization has a specific specific function. That is, each person must meet a goal that leads to or fuels the overall goal of the organization.
With this in mind, from my point of view, the role of the HR professional is fundamental in the life of organizations, since it is the individuals who contribute and constitute the weaknesses and strengths within them. And because they are individuals, they are complex, so a unified approach to their management would be neglecting some of the important edges of their personality that could be profitable for the interests and strategies of the organization, thus a flexible and permeable approach External and internal stimuli in human resources management greatly facilitate the diagnosis and management of the organization, in order to establish a set of strategies and tactics that are in harmony with the objectives that are set by an organization or department.
Starting from the admission of a multidisciplinary approach of organizations, as living entities that can be managed from different approaches to exploit their potential in such a way that they are in constant evolution to achieve their objectives such as profitability and their permanence in time.
Bibliography
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Porter, M. (1980), Competitive Strategy. New York: The Free Press.
Rifkin, J. (2000), The age of access: The revolution of the new economy. Barcelona: Paidos.
Guerrero, L. (October - December 2013). Competitiveness in Venezuela. IESA discussions. volume (XVIII), 60-62.
Porter, M. (January). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review., 1-15.
Arribas, E. (2003), The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Madrid: BBVA Foundation.
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