Does the 'war for talent' exist for Australian multinational corporations in China?

This paper reports on skills shortages, recruitment and retention issues that Australian multinational corporations (MNCs) based in China face when staffing their foreign operations, with both managerial and non-managerial staff. A qualitative research methodology was used, investigating 20 organisations as case studies. It was found that Australian MNCs experienced a 'war for talent' in their Chinese operations. This meant that it was difficult for them to find and retain skilled staff. For managerial positions, Australian MNCs used an ethnocentric staffing model; however, they had issues recruiting willing expatriate managerial staff for China. It is recommended that Australian MNCs implement enhanced talen-management programs to recruit and retain the skills and talent they need for the Chinese market.

Manufacturing to Asia : who will win the emerging battle for talent between Dragons and Tigers?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the issues relating to recruiting highly skilled managerial and professional staff experienced by multinational companies (MNCs) manufacturing in six Asian countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach – Data collected from 529 MNCs were used to examine critical human resource planning and recruitment concerns of companies operating in high growth “Dragon” and newly developed “Tiger” economies. The study examined the differences in recruitment practices between manufacturing and service companies and the issues relating to how manufacturers maintain an adequate skills basis.

Findings – There appears a considerable extent of battle for talent among Dragon and Tiger economies with the latter required to be more aggressive as they attempt to sustain growth. Manufacturing companies are experiencing a higher demand for more job-related managerial and technical capabilities whilst competing with service companies that are also in need for more talent. To succeed, manufacturing MNCs will need to adopt a strategic approach for recruitment and retention, and internal capability training to maintain their skilled employees in order to sustain competitive advantage.

Originality/value – The results shown in the paper provide manufacturing MNCs with insights into managerial and professional recruitment trend in Asia.

External knowledge and performance of offshore IT service providers in India : the mediating role of talent management

The global shortage of IT professionals has been identified as one of the most serious threats against the continued growth of offshore IT service providers (OSPs). As a result, talent management has become a key competitive strategy for OSPs. However, how talent management contributes towards the performance of OSPs remains poorly understood in relation to its interaction with knowledge. To examine this issue, we draw on a sample of 68 OSPs in India to test the effects of talent management and external knowledge on performance. The results confirm that both external knowledge and talent management are positively related to firm performance and that the latter has strong mediating effects on the relationship between external knowledge and firm performance. The results suggest that OSPs should consider talent management as a mechanism through which knowledge resources can be exploited to enhance firm performance. The managerial implications and limitations of the findings are also discussed.

The influence of parents in identifying and developing Australian female tennis talent

This study investigated the role of parents in developing Australian female professional tennis players. Top WTA ranked Australian singles players (n=10) and their parents (n=10) responded to written questionnaires. Participants were asked to recall their tennis
background and describe the current role of parents and compare these to possible earlier roles. Further, participants were asked to make recommendations to parents who wanted to help a player develop her talent. A series of inductive content analyses was conducted to analyze the data. These analyses revealed a significant, and changing, role of parents in a development process extending over 10 years. Sacrifices were necessary in order to pursue a tennis career but positive benefits were generally reported by players and their parents. The importance of a caring and respectful home environment for aspiring players was highlighted.

‘Wasting talent’? Gender and the problematics of academic disenchantment and disengagement with leadership

Confronted with the processes of massification, commercialisation, internationalisation and reduced funding, universities also face an ageing academic workforce, with implications of a shrinking pool from which to recruit managerial and research leaders. A feminist analysis suggests that the policy problematic has been wrongly conceptualised as disengagement with leadership due to the characteristics of the academic workforce. Instead, it is argued that the corporatisation of the academy has produced academic disenchantment due to managerial dominance, commercialisation and privatisation and disengagement with the dominant values, practices and images of university leadership. Furthermore, the intensification of academic labour and the lack of diversity in leadership discourage many women from aspiring to or achieving leadership.

Globalizing talent and human capital: implications for developing countries

Includes bibliography

The international mobility of talent and its impact on global development: an overview

Includes bibliography