The purpose of this assignment is to provide evidences about the importance of the HR strategies and Practices and how they can best fit into the corporate strategies of companies and lead to competitive advantage. The first step, of course, will be to describe the specific kinds of business strategies that organizations are after and define the exact meaning of the term "competitive advantage". The next logical step will be to identify the importance of the HR strategies and how they can be aligned to the overall corporate strategy. This essay looks into each corporate strategy individually and states the ways in which the HR practices should be performed in each one. However, despite the fact that the importance of these practices is clear enough, sometimes are neglected or misunderstood by line managers and hence this "fit" cannot be achieved. Some of the reasons why this happens are described and solutions are provided in order this situation to be reversed. .
INTRODUCTION.
Indisputably, the turbulent environment that characterizes the markets of the 21st century has forced companies to "think" carefully their strategic planning. The growing demand along with the extremely high competition and the changes in demographic trends, make it more difficult for firms to achieve their corporate goals and create or maintain a competitive advantage. Because of the rapidly changing environment, organizations cannot easily acquire this advantage from their tangible assets. For this reason, companies try to focus more on their intangible assets and especially their human resources. Nowadays, firms recognize that distinctive competencies can be obtained thought the specific skills, talents, knowledge and experience of their workforce. Thus the major issue today is to align HR practices with business strategies. .
CORPORATE STRATEGIES.
Prior to providing evidences of the importance of HRM and how it can "fit" to the business strategies, it is essential to explain which are the competitive strategies and what exactly is a competitive advantage.
