Competitive edge to be gained by caring organisations

THE dynamics within the business environment for many organisations, regardless of the sector, have soured and continue to do so.

- LEHLOHONOLO MAKHANYA

Within the context of South African organisations, the external dynamics range from socio-economic factors (such as the high and growing unemployment rate, crime, poverty, etc.) to internal ones like well-crafted business strategies together with the implementation of these business strategies.

Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, and Strickland authored a book called Crafting and Executing Strategy in 2012, highlighting the importance of organisations taking into account resources and capabilities when crafting strategies to enable the organisations to have a sustainable competitive advantage over rivals. There are several categories of resources, such as capital, cash, human capital, and capabilities like manufacturing technology, product quality, and organisational culture, for example. It is my opinion that the emphasis on human capital will have a far superior competitive advantage by virtue of how people are as human beings - complex and interesting. The question now is - how far do organisations go when it comes to taking into account people-based matters during the crafting and execution of business strategies?