Talent Management Assignment: Reflective And Deliberate Personal Perspectives Of Talent
Question
Task: Devise a reflective journal that documents
1. The most impressive or talented person you met/ interacted with that day? List three (3) reasons WHY you arrived at this judgment.
2. The least impressive or talented person you met/ interacted with that day? List three (3) reasons WHY you arrived at this judgment.
Because each of you already pass judgment on others. We are seeking to illuminate how and why you evaluate and value individuals. What information, assumptions, biases etc are these judgment decisions based? We are seeking to make the unconscious, more conscious.
This experiment should allow you to identify patterns in how you frame the notion of "value" and what you look for and value in an individual that "impresses you" - these patterns may have implications for how you define the concept of "talent" within the world of work.
Employ what you have learnt about ethnography and observations and the processes of making judgments when noting your reflections.
We will use the outputs from this exercise as part of your assessment structure.
• Judging People by their CoversURL
• Amy Cuddy - Body LanguageURL
• Judgment - more Amy CuddyFile Haptics - Power poses - judging.pptx - Alternative Formats
• How your birth date influences success...URL
• Why we judge peopleURL
• Activity 1.2File Activity 1 - Week 1.2.pptx - Alternative Formats
Weekend 2.1 - Talent Management Strategies
We cover two areas in this module: Organisational Strategies and Talent Management Strategies
1. Because talent management strategies and judgments about talent should be informed by, and aligned to, current and future strategic ambitions and goals.
2. Because organisations need to know what "game" (i.e. strategy) their playing, to decide which skills, capabilities, individuals and roles are strategic.
Activities/ Content:
• What is organisational strategy? How do we define and identify strategy.
• What do organisations want to achieve? Organisations want / need to employ people and talent-based resources to achieve...
Answer
Introduction
The investigation carried on the study examined in the talent management assignment illustrates that globalisation and advent of technology has created the need for organisations to search for talents who can drive their organisations. The meaning of “talent” and “talent management” has been vague also ambiguous as the term has a common usage with the domain of “talent” management. The term lacks semantic clarity and lacks operational clarity which has been a concern for researchers. In this current talent management assignment, I will elaborate on my personal understanding of the term “talent” and the distinction between rhetoric, research, and reality regarding “talent management”. The reflective analysis conducted here will help reveal the basic concept and understanding of the term “talent” and also identify any stereotypes, biases in regards to this concept. It will enable developing in-depth knowledge which can be applied in the later part of the course. It will also help ascertain any lack of knowledge such that it can be bridged for conducting experiments.
Analysis
The talent management assignment examines the McKinsey's (1997) research and publication on the “War for Talent”, the term “talent” has been high on the professionals' list of priorities. Recruiting and the development of talented employees have been incredibly integral to the success of organizations. PwC’s 18th Annual Global CEO Survey depicted that 61% of CEOs found retaining skills and talents as being a key issue in the next five years, along with the capability to acquire and manage “talent” being the most critical for CEOs (Jones, Whitaker, Seet & Parkin, 2012, p 410). The use of the word “talent” has been a topic of the substantial discussion in the present talent management assignment. There has been hardly any precise defining term for “talent”. According to me, the word “talent” is a thousand-year-old term that refers to an employee's ability and capability to perform a certain task. The meaning of the word “talent” can be understood from a number of perspectives, but the meaning of the term in organizations reflects the capability of an employee at an individual level and group level. Most organizations form their own meaning of the word “talent” which aims at describing “talent” in local authority, a small enterprise and in a transnational organization. Like most people, I am also not precise regarding the meaning of the term “talent” in the organization and its implications for “talent” in practice. “Talent management” is a process of judging values by considering the valuable aspect of an employee to the organization. Within organizations, stakeholders need to ascertain skills and capabilities that specific employee roles and positions need to possess which will be valued within the organization. “Talent” includes a social construct that is defined within organizational boundaries as defined by different stakeholder groups having different interests (Meyers, van Woerkom & Dries, 2013, p 311). With varying organizations and their internal stakeholders, there arise different needs to identify “talent” which consists of the core of workforce differentiation. Stakeholders in an organization make a judgment of the value that they perceive of employees, which in turn is referred to as “talent”. The argument raised on talent management assignment illustrates that the aim of an organization is to identify “talent” and retain it.
Defining the term “talent” is crucial for defining robust “talent” management policies and practices across organizations and also in developing, designing, planning training and other interventions for engagement. “Talent” I believe exists in several types of people since their birth. So, I am of the point of view that “talent” originates in genetically transmitted structures so partly innate (Wiblen, 2016, p 100). Early signs of “talent” in an individual can be used to predict success in the future. Trained people have the capability to identify “talent’ at an early stage as there might be some advanced indications. These indications provide the basis for predicting who is likely to excel. As per this view of mine, there are only a limited number of people who will be talented and have the necessary capabilities to make a difference in the field of human endeavor. “Talent” emerges from the ability of an individual's learning experience. “Talent” emerges from a historical and linguistic-comparative perspective to depict its meaning (Mäkelä, Björkman & Ehrnrooth, 2010, p 140).
My definition of ‘talent’ has been derived from a number of influences that are discussed in the present context of talent management assignment. My perception of “talent” has been gathered from mostly my ethnography, bias and stereotyping. I have grown up in a society and cultural background, where the perception of “talent” was mainly connected to mean some inherited genetical characteristics. The typical perception of “talent” that I bear in mind is that some groups of people might possess the “talent” and some do not from their birth. I am also influenced to associate the term “talent” with males as compared to females. The stereotype that has influenced by perception regarding “talent” includes the people that I have seen in my society and culture, who have excelled in their professional lives. I consider them talented and associate their values with people I see talented around me.
My ethnography has greatly influenced me to create my perception of “talent”. According to my ethnographic perception, I would like to mention in this talent management assignment that the word “talent” has an in-depth meaning attached to genetically inherited capabilities. In my culture, almost everyone attaches the meaning of the word “talent” to capability within the individual to do something in a unique manner. When this word is transcribed within the organization, it comes to mean an employee who possesses certain capabilities to perform the task.
Bias has affected my perception of forming the meaning of “talent”. My personal bias has led me to ignore the group aspect of “talent” that is reflected in the organization. Rather my perception led me to understand and being judgemental about the nature of “talent”. I am solely focussed on the individual and organization view of “talent”. With my bias, I have also completely ignored the perception of “talent” within various countries.
While the rhetoric definition of “talent” by Ben Bengougam, EMEA VP of HR at Hilton Worldwide explains that “talent” comprises the strength of the organization (Tansley, 2011, p 270). These talents are individuals in senior positions or in technical fields that lead to the performance of the business. Rob Briner, professor of organizational psychology at the University of Bath, states that lack of dependence on senior employees can distract organizational performance. McKinsey considers “talent” as a kind of carefully distributed resource management. David Collings, professor of HRM at Dublin City University recognizes “talent” being everybody (Gallardo-Gallardo, Dries & González-Cruz, 2013, p 295).
Research definition of “talent” management (Scullion et al, 2010) notes that people have no precise information regarding “talent” and its implication in defining “talent” management. Etymologically “talent” referred to the denomination of weight, as used by Babylonians, Assyrians, Romans, Greek, and other ancient people. Contemporary research of talented individuals was indicated by the innate “talent” that existed since birth. The international perspective and a philological one reflect “talent” within a diverse socio-cultural and historical context. The talent management assignment explores the words of Holden and Tinsley (2008) which states that “talent” in the Danish language reflects "innate abilities for a specific field". According to Russian, it means a rare occurrence to succeed in something. In organizations, “talent management” is defined as being a tricky issue with no consensus in practice. The reality of “talent management” is complex in nature. Organizations hardly know ways in which “talent management” needs to be conducted. Barely organizations have policies or procedures for understanding “talent”. Organizations generally derive their own meaning of “talent” rather than accepting universal definitions or prescribed forms. For example, Price Waterhouse Coopers consider those talented individuals who drive energy at an applied intelligence level. At Google, “talent” is referred to as those who are confident and possess ideas or ones who can think outside of the box.
The term “talent” thus stands for the capability that an individual possesses in regards to the organization. “Talent” includes skills and capabilities which an organization deems valued. The readings used to prepare this talent management assignment clarifies that the perception of “talent” is different from one another and is defined separately for each type of organization. The term “talent” is referred to as personal capabilities that can drive success in organizations (McDonnell, Collings, Mellahi & Schuler, 2017, p 110). The paradoxical manner in which organizations group their “talent” includes positive as well as negative connotations. These connotations are used in describing “talent” for shaping skills and knowledge that is to be included for individual levels of competence within an organization. These levels of competence might not bear inter-correlation between one another. Organizations are known to group their “talent” into “talent” pools. These consist of a group of employees who are collectively regarded/ identified to be talented by the organization.
The beliefs regarding “talent” need to be maintained in the light of their learning’s and experiments in MBA903 because in future such concepts will be applicable. In the current globalized world with rapid technological advent, there will be continuous and numerous developments with technological innovations that will change the way work are done. Organizations especially HR managers need to understand and manage the people-based resource. According to the research on talent management assignment People-based resources comprise of the most integral resource for any type of organization; hence their management becomes crucial. Hence, in future organizations role of HR managers will be to recognize talents, train them and retain them such that the growing relationship between machines and humans can be maintained. The beliefs regarding the perception of “talent” will enable creating organizational strategies and resolve case studies later in this course. Further, the perception of “talent” consists of the basic understanding or foundation in this course. Its conception will enable forming future concepts and perceptions regarding the course. It will help formulate background and core knowledge based on which other parts of the course will be built later on. Moreover, the concept of “talent” needs to be identified and distinguished from its traditional meaning. It should be understood in relevance to this topic such that there is no confession of meaning and later part of the course can easily be understood. The approaches undertaken while preparing talent management assignment in this conceptual building of the term “talent” is essential so that it’s relevant to organizations can easily be understood. Experiments in the course are connected to understanding the nature of “talent” and the way in which “talent” management is conducted. Therefore, in regards with the findings obtained in the talent management assignment, knowledge is essential and crucial for conducting experiments of any type. In the activities of this course, it is almost impossible to conduct them without having proper and in-depth knowledge of the concept of “talent” and “talent management”.
Conclusion
By considering the overall analysis on talent management assignment, it can be said that the “talent” ecosystem is integral as there might be people who are valuable to work for the organization full-time. The term “talent” varies depending upon the nature of people and the organization one works for. The meaning of the word '“talent”' can be understood from several perspectives, but the meaning of the term in organizations reflects the capability of an employee at an individual level and group level. Most organizations form their meaning of the word “talent” which aims at describing “talent” in local authority, a small enterprise and in a transnational organization. The word talent's meaning has shifted from being a single denotative, referential meaning that comes with undefined properties, concerned with aptitudes and abilities, mental powers and mental endowments. Critically the word '“talent”' enables HR professionals to judge employee qualities through what an organization actually needs. “Talent” is now used as a general wrapper for describing an entire employee population. The term “talent” and “talent management” examined in the talent management assignment have emerged as dependent on most senior employees in an organization and it defines the success of an organization. Hence for the management of workforce “talent”, it becomes crucial to understand and define “talent” and “talent management” and its application within organizations.
References
Gallardo-Gallardo, E., Dries, N., & González-Cruz, T. F. 2013. Talent management assignment What is the meaning of ‘talent’ in the world of work? Human Resource Management Review, 23(4), 290-300.
Jones, J. T., Whitaker, M., Seet, P.-S., & Parkin, J. 2012. Talent management in practice in Australia: individualistic or strategic? An exploratory study. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 50(4), 399-420.
Mäkelä, K., Björkman, I., & Ehrnrooth, M. 2010. How do MNCs establish their talent pools? Influences on individuals’ likelihood of being labeled as talent. Talent management assignment Journal of World Business, 45(2), 134-142.
McDonnell, A., Collings, D. G., Mellahi, K., & Schuler, R. 2017. Talent management: a systematic review and future prospects. Talent management assignment European Journal of International Management, 11(1), 86-128.
Meyers, M. C., van Woerkom, M., & Dries, N. 2013. Talent — Innate or acquired? Theoretical considerations and their implications for talent management. Human Resource Management Review, 23(4), 305-321.
Tansley, C. 2011. What do we mean by the term “talent” in talent management? Industrial and Commercial Training, 43(5), 266-274.
Wiblen, S. 2016. Framing the usefulness of eHRM in talent management: A case study of talent identification in a professional services firm. Talent management assignment Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 33(2), 95-107.
