Zain Kuwait’s Human Resource Management and Competitive Advantage

HRM and Competitive Advantage

Introduction

Human Resource Management (HRM) plays a crucial role in evaluating the success of an organization; the department is responsible for processes such as compensating, appraising, teaching and acquiring employees (Du Plessis et al., 2013). Arguably, such activities contribute to operational efficiency, but, importantly, they lead to competitive advantage. A business achieves that by ensuring that its staff is motivated and highly skilled, thus promoting a high-quality workforce. For example, in Kuwait, Zain is the leading telecom operator serving 2.4 million consumers as of 2013 (Zain). The foundation of the firm’s achievement lies in its ability to inspire the workers to deliver the best quality. Based on the success of the mentioned institute, it is evident that HRM activities, such as retention, reward structure and motivation, training and development, and recruitment and selection, are crucial aspects that enable a business to obtain a competitive advantage.

Recruitment and Selection

The mentioned HRM activity is crucial within the department because it is the component that enables matching candidates and future jobs. The process has been critical to the competitive advantage of organizations such as Zain Kuwait, which is perceived to be a pacesetter in achieving high performance, sustaining employee commitment, and establishing organizational change (Aravamudhan & Krishnaveni 2016). The realization from Zain Kuwait is that it is not only the activity crucial for success but also corporate survival. The major point is that staffing through this method can influence a firm in various ways, leading to a strategic edge. For example, it has enabled businesses to have an adequate workforce to perform the job; it is an essential consideration because a shortage of personnel is often linked to problems with providing excellent services. More so, selective hiring allows for the rigorous recruitment of individuals who fit well into the organization’s culture. This personnel enhances employee attachment to the organization, generating a committed and satisfied workforce with a competitive edge.

Training and Development

The above-mentioned HRM activity is an ongoing process whereby the workers continually reinvent themselves, adapting, changing, unleashing, and learning for organizational objectives. The method relates to how organizations such as Zain Kuwait deliberately adapt and adjust over time based on behaviors, attitudes, values, functions, and structures within them. Therefore, it is an exercise that promotes competitive advantage and encompasses advancing achievement through improved understanding and knowledge. After practical education, the teachings drawn are kept in the managerial reminiscence in the system procedures and customs, which will be feasible in the future. Therefore, as soon as they are well-proven, they shape human preferences and guide their behavior, ultimately resulting in the strategic edge (Singh 2013). Furthermore, training and development is an approach that enables a company to stand out in the crowd; the firm continues to move forward with a strong position in the market and automatically gains more value by ensuring that its staff members are continually progressing (Wins 2016).

Reward Structure and Motivation

The program mentioned above has enabled successful organizations to retain, develop, and attract talented employees. It comprises systematized processes, non-monetary rewards, and financial remunerations surrounding the circumstances under which they are distributed (Vaiman & Vance 2010). It can be argued that compensation structure and motivation can help an organization achieve a competitive advantage, as evident in the case of Zain Kuwait. The reason therein is that it promotes a culture recognizing values and recompensing outstanding performance. It also ensures that a firm meets changing and varied employee requirements by introducing more flexibility and choice and improving the engagement of the workers; therefore, it enhances performance. A company should also avoid dependence on expensive and dubious financial incentives (Armstrong & Cummins 2011).

Retention

The issue raised above, mostly of high-performance teams, is the significant concentration of HRM performance in an organization that has attained a competitive advantage, such as Zain Kuwait. The activity involves maintaining the workers who are producing the desired results; thus, it is vital that the company retains adroit human resources to remain profitable and thrive. In essence, the concept plays a crucial role in the growth of the business; it is essential for HR managers to do all in their power not to let their talented employees leave. The reasons therein are as follows: investing in teaching programs may be vulnerable, finding capable personnel can be problematic, and the fee of interchanging the labor force may appear too high (Mensah 2013). The key to maintaining the workers is to realize that they are valuable resources to the organization; arguably, the HR manager needs to ensure that the staff feels appreciated by the company by developing informal and formal ways to recognize them (Throckmorton 2013).

Conclusion

In summary, as in the case of Zain Kuwait, it is evident that HRM activities can be a primary basis of viable competitive advantage for an enterprise. A firm can achieve this aim by relying on the HRM to conduct the following activities: retention, reward structure, motivation, training, development, and recruitment and selection. Therefore, the success of an institution depends on how it manages its human resources. All in all, HRM is crucial because it helps to deal efficiently with the levels of the mentioned employment cycle.

References

Aravamudhan, NR & Krishnaveni, R, 2016, ‘Capacity building as a new template for diagnosing, assessing and improving recruitment and selection activity: An Indian case study,’ Journal of Contemporary Management Research, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 34-57.

Armstrong, M, & Cummins, A, 2011, Reward management toolkit: a step-by-step guide to designing and delivering pay and benefits. London: Kogan Page.

Du Plessis, AJ, Sumphonphakdy, S, Oldfield, J, & Botha, C, 2013, ’Competitive advantage: Recruitment and retention of senior managers in financial sectors in Laos,’ Journal of Community Positive Practices, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 41-52.

Mensah, RD, 2013, Principles of human resource management. Bloomington, Indiana: Xlibris Corporation.

Singh, AK, 2013, ‘HRM practices and managerial effectiveness in Indian business organizations,’ Delhi Business Review, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 79-90.

Throckmorton, R, 2013, Retention: Learn how to create a competitive advantage for your company. Available from: https://strategichrinc.com/article/retention-learn-how-you-can-create-a-competitive-advantage-for-your-company/ [3 April 2018].

Vaiman, V, & Vance, C, 2010, Smart talent management: Building knowledge assets for competitive advantage. Camberley: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Wins, M, 2016, How do corporate training and development lead to the success of your business? Available from: http://www.procurement-academy.com/training-development-success-business/ [3 April 2018].

Zain (n.d.) ZAIN5144 – Organization performance and development manager. Available from: http://careers.zain.com/careers/zaingroup/VacancyDetail.aspx?VacancyID=125068 [3 April 2018].