Talent Management under Threat in Uncertain Times - Case Study Example

?Unocal Case Introduction The need for major corporations to deal with controversies has been a phenomenon that has existed for a long time. The source of worry, however, has to do with the impulse of the controversy, the people involved in the controversy and the perception held by accusers in the controversy (Cairns, 2009). In the current case, Unocal is dealing with the problem of controversies surrounding some of its major activities that has to do with issues of human rights, environmental protection, drugs and pipeline security. The problem at hand is described as a controversy because of its nature and form. Currently, there has not been a legal judgment as to whether or not the company is guilty to any of the perceptions held by accusers. The company has also not come to that stage yet where it has proved beyond reasonable doubt to its accusers that it is innocent. It is some of these factors and form of the current situation that make it nothing more than a controversy. But there remain some key implications that the company might have to deal with for now. Example of this is the possibility that the company will soon be engaged in series of legal battles as there has been a governmental perspective taken on all these controversies. Stakeholders of the Organization The problem and case of controversy that the company is dealing with right now has greatly affected the important players and for that matter stakeholders involved in the company. It would be noticed that the role of stakeholders of any given organization is not a static and robust position that cannot be changed (Cairns, 2009). Depending on events and happening in a particular company, the stakeholders keep changing. Presently, there are four major stakeholders that can be identified with the company. These are government, the community, financiers and managers/employees of the company. The governments of Burma and United States have become key stakeholders in the company as certain key decisions to be taken by these governments can affect the company in a great deal of ways. For instance, as a shareholder in the company, the government of Burma has a lot of stake in terms of the macro economic policies that are put in place and how these policies affect Unocal (Harvard college, 2000 p. 2). The government of the United States has also become a stakeholder by virtue of the fact that the government holds a firm on all the controversies that are going on. The community, which sees itself as denied benefactor of the company is also a stakeholder. This is because it is for these people that the company works for and it is these people the company expects to patronize their products. The community therefore has a lot of stake in deciding the trend of revenue of the company. Financiers such as shareholders also have a lot of stake in funding the company. Managers and employees also have a stake in ensuring the corporate running of the company is done in a manner that ensures growth and development. Other target groups of the organization Given the present controversy surrounding the company, it could be said that all clients and outsourcers of the company should be considered as important target groups whose actions and decisions would affect the company greatly. The clients of the company must be concertized to come to accept and agree to the present reforms that are being suggested by the company. Though a lot of these reforms would initially come with some level of challenge to clients and perhaps denied them of some initial benefits, it is important that the clients will be made to appreciate the reforms as long term strategies that come with future benefits that will be of importance to not just the company but to the clients as well (Lewis and Heckman, 2006). If this concretization is not done, there is a very high probability that several clients of the company will leave the company in this crisis time that the company needs them most. The role of management and production team Management is expected to be a pool of strategic decisions at this point. In management and leadership principles and practice, it is expected that when the company gets to such point when it is at the verge of breaking as a result of such volume of controversy, the management quickly adapt a decision making model that accurately responds to the issues (McCartney, 2009). In this instance, management is expected to take a lot of boardroom decisions that will affect the day to day running of the company including decision on major issues like pipeline security, human rights, procurement, merger and acquisition, and environmental protection. The intensity of these decisions is enormous and would greatly affect the future of the company and so should only be taken at the management level. On the part of production team of the company, this is the best time for them to show their loyalty by acting according to instructions from management. Clearly, the production team and most officers on lower ranks are not going to have the luxury of being part of decision making but they have to consider this as part of an interim situation to curtail an immediate problem and so they must play the role of compliance. Strategic issues and any Decisions The current events in the company call for immediate enactment of a corporate social responsibility to as it were, make up for some of the public reputation that might have been lost. As a leadership strategy, the company should not be so concerned about taking an entrenched position in all the debates and controversies but use the prevailing situation as an opportunity to score huge competitive points. In other words, as critics continue to engage in the controversies, the company should undertake massive corporate social responsibilities that will justify the company’s willingness and readiness to harbor the welfare of the ordinary consumer. It is expected that the corporate social responsibility will focus attention in the area of the promotion of human rights and the protection of the environment. Clearly, the beginning will be very tough but the company could eventually succeed in this course. With time, there are higher probabilities that instead of the media and public focusing on the controversy, attention will be turned to the publicity and promotion of the corporate social responsibility of the company. An integrated corporate social responsibility strategy is hence the way forward for the company. Risk factors and remedial options The fact that the United States and other governments have taken interest and positions in the controversy that Unocal is currently facing possesses some level of risk factor to the company. Major among these is the possibility that various allies of these countries including any regional league that the governments join may be part of a collective effort to putting sanctions on Unocal, should the company be proved guilty. This is a major disadvantage for the company in its present situation. In the event of such a situation, the best remedial option for the company is to be involved in individualized arbitration, whereby instead of opting for protracted court hearings, the company can ask its legal team to find amicable out of court settlement for offenders (Lewis and Heckman, 2006). There could also be another side of the case whereby if the company is proven innocent, it would gain favor in the eyes of all the individual governments who were involved in the hearing of the case of the company and thus have a widen potential market base to start new market exploration. Conclusion and Recommendation In conclusion, it is important for Unocal and its managers to realize that the present challenge may be a blessing in disguise; as long as the company trusts in its innocence. Given the fact that not all activities that have gone on in the outsourced department of the company can be tracked, it is recommended that the company adapts an attacking strategy rather than a defensive one in handling the controversy. It is should be time for the company to stir up its human centered corporate responsibilities as a way of winning public attention to the vision and mission of the company. In the course of doing this, the company must not forget the fact that it is important to continue staying in business and so the corporate social responsibility would not take the central stage of the company to the detriment of increased production. There should be a fair balance between these two situations. Furthermore, it is suggested that in order that the company does not loss focus of its central aim of embarking on expansion, the corporate social responsibility strategy should be introduced as a new component of the company such that all other human resource personal would continue taking their places in the organization. References Cairns, T. (2009). Corporate Management in Northern America: A corporate model suggests a recipe for success. Company Growth Relations Today. 19-26. Lewis, R., & Heckman, R. (2006). Talent management: A critical review. Human Resource Management Review, 16, 139-154. McCartney, C. (2009). Fighting back through talent innovation. Talent management under threat in uncertain times. Part 2. Hot topics. London: CIPD. Read More