The current discussion of talent management is based on the idea that the research on the problem lacks a clear definition of the term, as well as the variety of perspectives to apply in order to guarantee the complex and systematic approach to discussing the issue (Collings & Mellahi, 2009). According to Thunnissen, Boselie, and Fruytier (2013), the existing research on talent management should be viewed as “one-dimensional,” and it can also be discussed as “managerialist and unitarist” (p. 1744). As a result, little attention is paid to analyzing effective practices that can be used in order to develop the company’s talents.
Another approach to discussing the practice is a focus only on the role of talent management in the firm’s performance (Cappelli, 2008). If the research is concentrated only on managers’ actions to develop the talent or only on activities to improve the performance, it is almost impossible to speak about the systematic understanding of the talent development process (Cappelli, 2008, p. 74). Therefore, those organizations that aim to apply the strategic framework for developing their talents can face a challenge because there is a lack of information regarding the aspects of talent management that should be included in the framework (Collings & Mellahi, 2009).
For instance, there is no single idea regarding the discussion of employees and their qualities to speak about them as talented workers. On the one hand, focusing on talent development, an organization can work only to promote attributes that stimulate the employees’ performance. On the other hand, such approach does not address employees as personalities with their own needs. The problem is in the fact that such promoted vision of talent management cannot lead to achieving the managerial goals because the more systematic approach is required.
Ethics and Talent Management and Strategic Approach
In spite of the fact that talent management is not usually discussed with the focus on ethical issues or considerations, it is possible to determine certain implications that are associated with applying ethics to the problem of talent development.
According to Swailes (2013), the main ethical considerations that can be associated with talent management are the problem of identifying employees who should be regarded as talents in the company, the unbiased appraisal or assessment of employees, the employers’ responsibility in relation to workers, and managers’ duties related to addressing the staff’s interests. From this point, the talent management can be discussed as effective when human resource managers identify talents with the help of unbiased assessments, when they meet their needs, and when the employer demonstrates the responsibility and ethical attitude.
In order to achieve high results in managing the talent, it is possible to apply the specific strategic approach to retaining talented employees. The advantages of this approach are in the fact that it is holistic, and it is directly associated with the business strategy used in the company. Furthermore, this approach allows for building strong connections with employees, and it is based on integrating the company’s values and philosophy into the process of developing talents in the organization (Egerova, 2013). As a result, when the integrated or strategic method that is used to develop talents is followed in the company, it is possible to expect that the process of managing talents becomes correlated with the firm’s objectives, and the improved performance can be predicted.
References
Cappelli, P. (2008). Talent management for the twenty-first century. Harvard Business Review, 86(3), 74-78.
Collings, D. G., & Mellahi, K. (2009). Strategic talent management: A review and research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 19(4), 304-313.
Egerova, D. (2013). Integrated talent management: A challenge or necessity for present management. Problems of Management in the 21st Century, 1(6), 4-6.
Swailes, S. (2013). The ethics of talent management. Business Ethics: A European Review, 22(1), 32-46.
Thunnissen, M., Boselie, P., & Fruytier, B. (2013). A review of talent management: Infancy or adolescence? The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(9), 1744-1761.