Effect of Covid-19 on chosen company's strategic human resource strategy and competitive position

So what are you supposed to do in this TMA? You are to choose one company from the local, regional or international context to answer the question below in a word limit of 1500 words. Your answer has to be in essay format with an introduction, and a conclusion.

Based on HRM330 course material and external resources, you are to discuss the effect of covid-19 pandemic on the chosen company strategic human resource strategy and consequently its competitive position. How do you see the strategic human resource strategy being reshaped in the future?

Covid-19 pandemic which hit all countries with no exception left its scars on both societies and organizations. Many health systems have collapsed and some are on the verge of crumpling. Governments are struggling to face the consequences of such pandemic while trying to keep the economy running as much as possible as not to endure more financial losses.

Companies are barely surviving. Many have already closed their doors laying off consequently many of their human force. Multinational companies (MNCs) are barely surviving leaving to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship ventures no margin at all for persistence. The service sector is the most affected one given lockdown periods and people fear of covid-19.

Firm performance is the starting point, reflected in organizationss search for competitive advantage and sustained competitive advantage (Boselie, 2013). Determining (sustained) competitive advantage for an organization enables us to reveal the critical factors that lead to success. These critical success factors — later on specified in critical HR goals and critical non-HR goals — are thought to be affected by employee attitudes (e.g. employee commitment and motivation) and employee behaviours (e.g. low employee absence rates). Finally, these employee attitudes and behaviours can be influenced by HRM: The reversed approach of what we will call ‘the HR value chain.

Linked to the key business processes of an organization, the VRIO framework suggests it is best to avoid the use of resources that have no (economic) value and therefore do not contribute to firm performance. Nowadays, these types of resource are often outsourced to other organizations in order to reduce costs and focus on the core business activities of the organization. For resources that are valuable without beine rare, for example, in terms of labour supply or raw materials available for production processes, the framework suggests.

Without anv structural support bv the organization, the framework suggests these three resource qualities are not likelv to result in lone-term success (sustained competitive advantage).

The relevance of optimal coping with change is embedded in the concept of competitive advantage; a concept that will be elaborated further in chapter 3.

 It is important to understand that competitive advantage is important for organizational survival and is at least partly manageable by HRM.

Competitive advantage tells us something about how well the organization is doing in comparison to others in the same branch of industry or in the same region. Competitive advantage might be reflected in financial performance (e.g. bigger sales, higher profits  and  increased growth)  and  non-financial performance, including the organization's reputation in relation to customers and potential employees.