Verified Document

Talent Management Models, Theories, And Research Paper

Build a strong achievement ethic throughout the business

Create exciting, challenging jobs in which people can excel.

Select and develop outstanding leaders.

Make talent management a critical corporate priority

Foster a talent management mindset.

Develop managers who can coach, mentor, empower and sponsor talent -- and deploy it to best advantage.

Develop the necessary skills to lead and manage talent.

Make managers accountable for managing talent.

Create the means to identify and select outstanding talent

Be clear about what talent is needed for the business.

More scarce than ability is the ability to recognize ability.

Be able to recognize it when it is demonstrated.

Be aggressive in securing the services of identified talent.

Engage talent fully -- manage it and continue to develop it.

Promote talented people early and often.

Today's high-performers need to be both valued and fully involved.

Give feedback, coach and mentor.

Confront -- and deal with -- retention issues.

Source: Based on graphic in Williams, 2005 at p. 97

Notwithstanding the fact that Continental operates in about 75% of the world's 200 or so countries, the foregoing best practices appear capable of overcoming any cross-cultural constraints to talent management because of their focus on identifying and grooming the leadership talent that will fuel the company's growth into the future. In this regard, Williams notes that, "The above four imperatives are the cornerstones of talent management. They are therefore fundamental to close-quarter leadership and especially the leader's responsibility for identifying and developing those who will lead the business tomorrow" (2005, p. 98). As to imperative one, "Create a winning environment within which to work," Williams suggests that Continental's leadership must:

1. Set the example and establish a strong achievement culture within the areas that they control, by defining and maintaining high standards.

2. Develop and share compelling, but realistic, visions of how they see tomorrow needs to be managed today (remembering that there's often a fine line between vision and hallucination!)

3. Create great jobs, which challenge, stretch and enable talented people to excel, finding ways in which to enrich or shape jobs and roles, around peoples' major talents, focusing on assignments which involve major savings, increased profit/market share levels, developing a new function or unit, global roles, or improving cross-cultural/cross-functional synergy, are all 'stretch' experiences that allow people to make a significant leadership impact upon the business (Williams, 2005, p. 98).

The relevant studies to date have found that among the primary key challenges that motivate talented include:

1. Early responsibility, supported by feedback and coaching; and,

2. Opportunities to make a significant contribution to the business, its transformation and its success;

3. Exercising leadership and influencing 'upwards', as well as down the line;

4. Sharing task synergy with other talented, exciting people who were also high achievers; and,

5. Work which was challenging and fun (Williams, 2005, p. 98).

The second best practices imperative, "Make talent management a corporate priority," can be achieved by ensuring Continental's leaders assume accountability for helping their subordinates grow by: (a) acquiring...

Parts of this document are hidden

View Full Document
svg-one

100). As to the third and fourth imperatives identified by Williams, "Create the means to identify and select outstanding talent" and "Engage talent fully -- manage it and continue to develop it," some individuals may possess truly unique talents that will make them particularly valuable in certain settings but which will contribute little in others. In this regard, Williams emphasizes that, "Talent comes in many forms -- some of which are not always immediately recognizable, or apparent" (p. 100). Certainly, it is a fairly straightforward matter to identify top performers at lower levels of the organization, with "employee a" producing 500 more widgets a week than any other employee, but talent as it affects an individual's ability to lead others to a common goal is a far more ephemeral quality, but one that requires special attention by leaders at all levels. In this regard, Williams emphasizes that, "Talent, especially leadership talent, once confirmed, is a critical asset to the business, to which value can be constantly and productively added. Coaching, therefore, is a more or less continuous process, based upon a good deal of informal -- but structured and focused -- feedback and dialogue" (p. 100).
Conclusion

An evaluation of this best practices model for effectiveness for the company suggests that many of these imperatives are already in place at Continental Airlines, even if they are not specifically codified in this fashion. Based on its proven track record, it is also reasonable to conclude that Continental has succeeded in recruiting, identifying and retaining top-quality leaders where other airlines have failed based on its commitment to using its human resource management process in a strategic fashion to help it achieve its organizational goals. In the final analysis, the research was consistent in showing that the time, effort and resources devoted to helping people grow in an organization pays major dividends and that those companies that remain focused on this commitment, even during periods of economic downturn, will reap major benefits over the long-term.

References

Berger, L., & Berger, D. (2003). The talent management handbook. New York: McGraw Hill.

Burke, R.J. & Cooper, C.L. (2005). Reinventing human resources management: Challenges and new directions. London: Routledge.

CO facts: A quarterly digest of states & facts. (2010, 2nd quarter). Continental Airlines. Retrieved from http://www.continental.com/web/en-U.S./content/company/profile/continental

Facts2010q2.pdf.

Datol, C. (2006, June 23). Continental Airlines; bridging the Asia Pacific. Manila Bulletin, 3.

Flouris, T. & Walker, T.J. (2005). The financial performance of low-cost and full-service airlines in times of crisis. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 22(1), 3-4.

Hansen, F. (2006, February 27). Paperless route for recruiting. Workforce Management, 85(4), 1-

2.

Ladd, B.E. (2005). A devil disguised as a corporate angel? Questioning corporate charitable contributions to 'independent' directors' organizations. William and Mary Law Review,

46(6), 2153-2154.

Mohrman, S.A. (2007). Designing organizations for growth: The human resource contribution.

Human Resource Planning, 30(4), 34-35.

Moore, M.L. (2007). Beyond HR: The new science of human capital. Human Resource

Planning,…

Sources used in this document:
References

Berger, L., & Berger, D. (2003). The talent management handbook. New York: McGraw Hill.

Burke, R.J. & Cooper, C.L. (2005). Reinventing human resources management: Challenges and new directions. London: Routledge.

CO facts: A quarterly digest of states & facts. (2010, 2nd quarter). Continental Airlines. Retrieved from http://www.continental.com/web/en-U.S./content/company/profile/continental

Facts2010q2.pdf.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Business Plan: Bridal Salon Business Products and
Words: 3400 Length: 10 Document Type: Business Plan

Business Plan: Bridal Salon Business Products and services Keys to Success Company description Vision Statement Mission Statement Company background Products and Industry Product Description Industry Description The Market Market and Target Customer Market Segmentation Target Market Strategy Competition and Competitive Advantage Curbing Local Competition Curbing Regional Competition Marketing Strategy Overall Strategy Sales Plan Competitive Plan Research and Development (Growth Plan) The Organization Legal and Organization Structure Key Personnel Related Service Providers Location The Financials Critical Risks Income Statement Cash Flow Projection Balance Sheet Assumptions References Executive Summary Introduction Pace-setter is a bridal salon that rides on the theme of 'experience'. It creates an environment in which

Business Description Definition of the Market Description
Words: 1271 Length: 4 Document Type: Business Plan

Business Description Definition of the Market Description of the Products Organization and Management Descriptions Marketing Strategies Financial Management This paper presents business plan for a new leather garment manufacturing and retailing business. The business is being set up with an initial capital outlay of $53 million. The paper starts with a brief description of the business; its target market and product offerings, and then proceeds by proposing organizational and management strategies, marketing strategies, and financial management

Business Plan Gbsgreen Building Solutions Company Description
Words: 1926 Length: 6 Document Type: Business Plan

Business Plan GBSGreen Building Solutions Company Description Product & Service Description Marketing Strategy & Plan Environmental Analysis (SWOT/PEST) Competitive Analysis Products and Services Pricing Promotion People Financial Analysis & Projections Profit and Loss Risks and Assumptions GBSGreen Building Solutions Business Plan According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the impact of commercial buildings on the physical and social environment are such that there is "not questioning the vast impact…" (Environmental Protection Agency, 2006) Commercial Buildings are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration

Business Plan Idc Interiors Aims
Words: 3240 Length: 12 Document Type: Business Plan

[2: www.med.govt.nz/business/business.../structure-and-dynamics-2011.... ] The primary research of the Auckland market presents the following sectors for consideration for the new venture: The demographics in the target market include: college going and married women with children who either are working mothers or stay-at-home mothers; this makes the age group anywhere between 25 to 55; the overall annual income of the household is more than AUS $100,000; the property owned by the target individual

Business Plan of Searchyyy.com a Meta Search
Words: 2289 Length: 7 Document Type: Business Plan

Business Plan of Searchyyy.com a Meta search engine Market Opportunity & Solutions Business Model and Strategy Search engine according to countries and languages Advertisement Revolution Social Networking and Blogging Sites Revenue Opportunities Sales and marketing plan Technology overview Technology implementation Intellectual property Competition Financials Current ratio ROE Debt to equity ratio (D/E) Management Organization and Ownership Organizational Structure Risks and mitigation Searchyyy.com, Inc. is Meta search engine which intends to provide a multi-category search engine to its users at a faster pace. The growing technology has evolved our lives. Users

Business Plan Product Description Market
Words: 4066 Length: 15 Document Type: Business Plan

As part of the research triangle, Raleigh has a significant portion of its population that fits the target market. For the Farmery to succeed, it only needs to capture a small portion of the market share. This is especially true because the store has a small footprint, and has the flexibility to set up on vacant lots without the costs of either renting or developing fixed real estate. The

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now