CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY ANITA TOMANY IDENTIFICATION OF THE CONDITIONS REQUIRED WITHIN AN ORGANISATION FOR A TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY TO SUCCESSFULLY BE PUT IN PLACE DEFENCE ACADEMY - COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY PhD THESIS CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY DEFENCE ACADEMY – COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE AND SECURITY PhD THESIS Academic Year 2011 - 2012 Anita Tomany Identification of the Conditions Required Within an Organisation for a Talent Management Strategy to Successfully be Put in Place Supervisor: Dr Sylvie Jackson April 2012 © Cranfield University 2007. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright holder. Abstract Talent management has been viewed both as a relatively new phenomenon that can deliver competitive advantage and as the latest management fad that is nothing more than a sub-section of human resources. Much has been written on the subject, albeit predominantly by consultants, so there is little academic rigour on the subject. Moreover, the majority of the literature focused on highlighting the diminishing supply of talent and providing advice to practitioners around recruiting, retaining, developing and rewarding talent. This thesis reviewed the existing literature to provide a holistic view on talent management in order to add value both at the academic and practitioner level. It focussed on what conditions an organisation is advised to put in place in order to leverage the performance of talent and whether talent can have a significant impact on organisational performance. The secondary research suggested that talent could act as a lever for organisational performance. This was tested through primary research, from the organisational and individual perspective, and resulted in the identification of four conditions that impacted on the performance of talent. These conditions were grouped into a model, which was tested both by the case study organisations and by organisations that had not been involved in the research. The findings were used to adapt the model and this is offered for subsequent researchers to further develop in order to explore generalisability for all organisations. iii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I thank my husband Mark Tomany for his tireless patience and support throughout this process, for allowing me to regale him with stories about talent management, chew over the implications and then proof read my chapters, again and again! Enormous thanks go to my academic supervisor, Dr Sylvie Jackson, for endless patience, reassurance and clear direction. Without her help this process would have been far slower and a lot more painful! Not forgetting the support from the other members of my supervisory team: Dr Bryan Watters and Dr Teri McCoville for providing me with support and direction – often at short notice! Finally, I thank the many organisations and people who agreed to be interviewed to inform my data gathering. Despite pressures on their diaries they all willingly gave freely of their time and provided me with excellent data without which there would be no thesis. iv Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................iii Acknowledgments...........................................................................................iv Contents ...................................................................................................... v List of Tables..................................................................................................ix List of Figures.................................................................................................xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION..........................................................................1 1.1 CONCEPT AND PURPOSE OF RESEARCH.......................................1 1.1.1 Starting Point and Problem Statement............................................1 1.1.2 Research Aim, Question and Objectives.........................................3 1.1.3 Study Value.....................................................................................4 1.2 ASSUMPTIONS....................................................................................7 1.3 RESEARCH UNDERTAKEN.................................................................8 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW..............................................................10 2.1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................10 2.1.1 Definition and Impact of Talent......................................................11 2.1.2 Personnel Management................................................................17 2.1.3 Human Resource Management.....................................................17 2.1.4 Strategic Human Resource Management .....................................19 2.1.5 Human Capital...............................................................................19 2.1.6 Succession Planning.....................................................................20 2.1.7 Talent Management ......................................................................20 2.1.8 Labour Market...............................................................................22 2.1.9 Return on Investment....................................................................23 2.2 ALIGNING THE BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE TALENT STRATEGY TO DELIVER RESULTS...........................................................24 2.3 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE.....................................................46 2.4 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE ..........................................................51 2.4.1 Definition of Culture.......................................................................52 2.4.2 Culture and Climate.......................................................................55 2.4.3 Culture – Theories of Management Style......................................60 2.4.4 Culture – Theories of Leadership..................................................64 2.4.5 Culture and Behaviours.................................................................75 2.4.6 Motivation and Performance..........................................................81 2.5 PROCESSES......................................................................................91 2.5.1 Attracting, Selecting and Retaining Talent ....................................91 2.5.2 Developing Talent to Drive Performance.......................................97 2.5.3 Talent: Enhancing Organisation Performance.............................109 2.5.4 Rewarding Talent........................................................................121 2.5.5 Metrics - Measuring the Talent Contribution................................124 2.5.6 Managing Risk.............................................................................132 v 2.6 CONCLUSION..................................................................................132 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................136 3.1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................136 3.1.1 Research Question and Objectives.............................................137 3.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.........................................................141 3.2.1 Research Philosophy..................................................................141 3.2.2 Ontology......................................................................................144 3.2.3 Epistemology...............................................................................145 3.2.4 Reflexivity....................................................................................147 3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN........................................................................148 3.3.1 Research Strategies....................................................................148 3.3.2 Data Gathering Approach............................................................149 3.3.3 Ethical Considerations.................................................................153 3.3.4 Research Reliability and Validity.................................................155 3.3.5 Constraints and Limitations.........................................................156 3.3.6 Generalisability............................................................................157 3.3.7 Grounded Theory........................................................................158 3.4 CASE STUDIES................................................................................158 3.4.1 Case Study Sample Group..........................................................160 3.4.2 Case Study Format .....................................................................171 3.5 SURVEY – INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE.........................................174 3.6 CONCLUSION..................................................................................176 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS................................................................................178 4.1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................178 4.2 CASE STUDIES INTRODUCTION....................................................179 4.3 DEFINITION OF TALENT.................................................................181 4.4 ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY – CASE STUDIES........................182 4.4.1 Organisational Strategy – Case Studies - Findings.....................184 4.5 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE – CASE STUDIES.....................184 4.6 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE – CASE STUDIES..........................186 4.7 TALENT-FOCUSED PROCESSES...................................................191 4.7.1 Talent-Focused Processes - Findings.........................................195 4.8 CASE STUDIES - DOCUMENTARY DATA......................................196 4.8.1 Case Studies – Documentary Data - Findings.............................198 4.9 QUANTITATIVE DATA - EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEYS..199 4.9.1 Quantitative Data - Employee Engagement Surveys - Findings..206 4.10 QUANTITATIVE DATA –INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE.................206 4.11 QUANTITATIVE DATA – MILITARY COHORT .............................207 4.11.1 Attractors...................................................................................209 4.11.2 Retainers...................................................................................210 4.11.3 Performance Enhancers............................................................210 vi 4.12 QUANTITATIVE DATA – VODAFONE COHORT..........................211 4.13 QUANTITATIVE DATA – INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE FINDINGS...213 4.14 PRIMARY RESEARCH FINDINGS.....................................................214 4.15 PRIMARY RESEARCH FINDINGS - STRATEGY..............................215 4.16 PRIMARY RESEARCH FINDINGS – STRUCTURE...........................216 4.17 PRIMARY RESEARCH FINDINGS – CULTURE................................216 4.18 PRIMARY RESEARCH FINDINGS - PROCESSES...........................217 4.19 CREATION OF THE MODEL .............................................................218 4.20 CONCLUSION...............................................................................221 CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS................................................................................222 5.1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................222 5.2 ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY......................................................223 5.3 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE...................................................226 5.4 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE ........................................................229 5.5 TALENT-FOCUSED PROCESSES...................................................231 5.6 REACTION TO THE MODEL............................................................234 5.7 CONCLUSION..................................................................................237 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS.......................................................................232 6.1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................232 6.2 RESEARCH QUESTION...................................................................233 6.3 ASSUMPTIONS................................................................................233 6.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.........................................................234 6.5 CONCLUSIONS................................................................................235 6.5.1 Alignment Of Talent Management Strategy Against Business Strategy...................................................................................................236 6.5.2 An Organisational Structure That Supports Talent......................238 6.5.3 Talent Focused Culture...............................................................239 6.5.4 Existence Of Talent Focused Processes.....................................241 6.6 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS...............................................................242 6.7 LESSONS LEARNED.......................................................................243 6.8 ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION TO RESEARCH..................................245 6.9 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY.............................248 REFERENCES...............................................................................................250 APPENDICES................................................................................................298 Appendix 1 Timeline................................................................................299 Appendix 2 Letter to Vodafone................................................................300 Appendix 3 Letter and Questionnaire to Unilever....................................301 Appendix 4 Pre Coding Table.................................................................303 Appendix 5 Coded Transcript..................................................................305 Appendix 6 Case Study: Summary Of Questions And Answers .............325 vii Appendix 7 Development of Model.........................................................331 Appendix 8 Request for Comments........................................................338 viii List of Tables Table 1: Personnel Management and Human Resources Management - an Outline..............................................................................................................18 Table 2: Five Definitions of Strategy.................................................................36 Table 3: A High Level Depiction of Management Hierarchy.............................42 Table 4: Ten Areas - Strategic Approach to Management ..............................44 Table 5: Four Models of Management Style.....................................................50 Table 6: Five Dimensions of Culture................................................................54 Table 7: Six Dimensions of Climate..................................................................56 Table 8: The 12 Core Values............................................................................58 Table 9: Performance-driven Values................................................................59 Table 10: Four Assumptions of Man.................................................................62 Table 11: Six Effective Managerial Styles........................................................64 Table 12: Transformational Leadership............................................................68 Table 13: Emotional Intelligence Domains and Associated Competencies......72 Table 14: Six Traits of a High-performing Organisation....................................78 Table 15: Factors for 100 Best Companies to Work For..................................79 Table 16: The Top Ten Organisations to Work For..........................................80 Table 17: Herzberg's Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers.............................................85 Table 18: Three Types of Discretionary Behaviour..........................................87 Table 19: Unlock Discretionary Effort...............................................................89 Table 20: Nine Factors of Branded Talent Developers...................................100 Table 21: Management Competency.............................................................103 Table 22: Findings on Employee Satisfaction and Commitment....................111 Table 23: Which Jobs Make the Difference?..................................................117 Table 24: Special Extras in Dot Coms............................................................121 Table 25: Talent Management Metrics: Pepsi Cola........................................125 Table 26: Four Perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard ...............................127 Table 27: McKinsey 7-S Framework ..............................................................128 Table 28: Table of Authors ..........................................................................135 Table 29: Major Differences between Deductive and Inductive Approaches to Research........................................................................................................150 Table 30: Standards for Quality of Conclusions.............................................155 Table 31: Styles of Case Studies...................................................................159 Table 32: Case Study Organisations..............................................................163 Table 33: Organisational Strategy, Case Studies, Findings...........................184 Table 34: Organisational Structure, Case Studies, Findings..........................186 Table 35: Organisational Culture, Case Studies, Findings.............................190 Table 36: Summary of Action Plan 2009-13...................................................198 Table 37: Factors for 100 Best Companies to Work For................................199 ix Table 38: Employee Engagement Findings on Leadership............................200 Table 39: Employee Engagement Findings on Well-being.............................201 Table 40: Employee Engagement Findings on My Manager..........................202 Table 41: Employee Engagement Findings on My Team...............................203 Table 42: Employee Engagement Findings on Fair Deal...............................203 Table 43: Employee Engagement Findings on My Company.........................204 Table 44: Employee Engagement Findings on Personal Growth...................205 Table 45: Organisational Themes, Military Cohort Performance Enhancers..208 Table 46: Organisational Themes, Vodafone Cohort Performance Enhancers .......................................................................................................................212 Table 47: Organisational Feedback on Final Model.......................................237 Table 48: Progress against Gaps in the Research.........................................246 x