Strategic Human Resource Management

1. Background of the Study

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has been gaining momentum in recent time. This is so due to the ever increasing competition among business sectors and broadening their competitive advantage in their endeavor. Firms have been highly obsessed in maintaining their position, if possible enhancing their competitiveness through achieving operational excellence, deploying state of the art technology, axing cost of production and consequently offering lower price and high quality product, at the right time and place to their customer than their counterparts. Above all, the engine of the aforementioned good practices and good achievement is only attainable only if there is well tailored human capital, which is underpinned with the strategy and directive of an organization .As noted by Berian and Mark (2006), SHRM focuses on organization performance than individual performance. Mohammedreza. F and Ali.B (2009), note that strategic management of human resources is holistic and comprehensive for managing the human capital of an organization to align with the strategy of the company. In so doing it gives sustainable competitive edges to organization which give birth to above average financial performance (Brain and Mark ;2014)  

Human resources is an asset that has not been shown in the financial statement of an organization on yearly basis. However, it is one of the most dynamic and ever-changing asset of an organization that contribute a great deal of value to an organization. A resource to be a source of competitive advantage it should be valuable, imitable, rare and non-substitutable (VIRN); in this context, human resource can fulfill the attribute set forth by Barney, 1991.

In Ethiopia in general and Pharmaceutical industry in particular, there is shortage of talented and experienced personnel .One of the dragging factors investors are not attracted, despite massive incentive package by government, to the sector is shortage of experienced personnel in the field of production, quality assurance and engineering that deemed the required expertise in the manufacturing of Pharmaceutical products.  In this regard, SHRM is a “must to do” than “want to do “activity that should cordially performed by all stakeholder in the Pharmaceutical industries. The management of people in the pharmaceutical industry ought to be intertwined with the strategic direction of the organization in dealing with recruitment, selection, training and development, motivation, fostering team work , retention and performance appraisal.

 Pharmaceutical industries in Ethiopia are twelve in numbers and covers only 20-25% of the domestic market (Ministry of Industry, 2017).Among the pharmaceutical industries, Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing share company (EPHARM) which is one of the oldest medicine manufacturing company in Ethiopia .It has accumulated a vast knowledge capital that transcend beyond half a century.

Organization Business Facts

Ethiopian Pharmaceutical manufacturing share company (EPHARM) is pioneer pharmaceutical industry in Ethiopia which was established in 1964 by the then King of Ethiopia, king Hailesselasi with a joint venture with British company, Smith & Nephew associate company limited SANACO with 50% share and the remaining half was owned by Imperial Ethiopian government (IEG).The company underwent different regime change under government owned business entity as sole medicine manufacturing company. During the dreg regime, on February 02, 1975, EPHARM was nationalized and became under the hand of the government .In September 2014, EPHARM was privatized and MEDTEC Ethiopia has been the owner of the company since then.