Task Description: This assessment item is designated as a major piece of assessment. To be eligible to pass the course students must complete all major items of assessment. According to Chambers et al (1998: 50), creating an employment value position superior to those offered by a firm’s competitors is crucial for gaining a competitive advantage in the talent market: The ability to define, develop, and deliver a superior employee value proposition will be especially critical … Small companies offer employees a chance to satisfy their desire for meaning, excitement, flexibility, impact, and reward. … Large companies … possess natural advantages of their own: the magnitude of impact (be a big fish in a big pool), depth (the resources to take risks, particularly with people), capital (the resources to support big decisions), and variety (a range of experiences over the course of a career). There is a large body of academic research about the ‘Talent War’ and its importance for the recruitment of talent in all organizations and for all levels of employees. For example, Hiltrop (1999: 422) suggests: As we move into the 21st century, the need for (and shortage of) people possessing the wide range of skills and abilities needed to meet the fast-growing requirements of international corporations will almost certainly expand. As a result, many organizations will have to develop new strategies to attract and keep talented employees. Not all researchers agree, however, with the propositions put forward by Chamber et al (1998) and Hiltrop (1992). For example, Pfeffer (2001: 248) states: It's bad enough that fighting the "war for talent" has companies fighting the wrong war, often using the wrong methods. But there is an even worse problem, namely the consequences that are unleashed by even waging the talent war in the first place. Your task is twofold: first, to review and critically analyse the articles by Chambers et al, Hiltrop and Pfeffer (copies of the articles are available for download from the ‘Assessment’ section of the course website); and second, in the light of the key points in your critical analysis, to compare and contrast the ‘Employment Value Proposition’ (as presented via the websites) of two(2) of the following organisations: IBM in Australia http://www-07.ibm.com/employment/au/ Apple in Australia http://www.apple.com/jobs/au/ Hewlett-Packard in Australia http://www8.hp.com/us/en/jobs/index.html IMPORTANT NOTE: You must read more widely than the three specified articles and the prescribed text and readings. It is expected that you will have utilised at least an additional 4 refereed research articles published since 2002 from academic journals in your critique of the Chambers et al, Hiltrop and Pfeffer articles. Failure to use meet this requirement will results in a reduction of your mark for the assessment item. Citation and referencing format should conform to the APA (American Psychological Association) style both in the body of your essay and the reference section. The essay should have page numbers and a title page including the word count. Information on referencing styles is available from the Academic Integrity tutorial on the Library website.
