Describe the criteria necessary for firms to achieve sustained competitive advantage through people.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

For an organization to achieve sustained competitive advantage through people, four criteria must be met.The resources that are developed must be of value to the organization. People are a source of competitive advantage when they improve the efficiency or effectiveness of the organization. This value is increased when employees find ways to decrease costs, provide something unique to customers, or some combination of the two.The resources must be rare. People are a source of competitive advantage when their skills, knowledge, and abilities are not equally available to competitors.People are a source of competitive advantage when employee capabilities and contributions are inimitable, or cannot be copied by other firms. For example, companies such as Disney, Southwest Airlines, and Starbucks are known for creating unique cultures that get the most from employees and are difficult to imitate.People are a source of competitive advantage when the resources are organized in such a way that their talents can be combined and deployed to work on new assignments at a moment's notice.