Developing Talent from a Supply–Demand Perspective: An Optimization Model for Managers

While executives emphasize that human resources (HR) are a firm’s biggest asset, the level of research attention devoted to planning talent pipelines for complex global organizational environments does not reflect this emphasis. Numerous challenges exist in establishing human resource management str...

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Main Authors: Hadi Moheb-Alizadeh, Robert B. Handfield
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2017-08-01
Series:Logistics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/1/1/5
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author Hadi Moheb-Alizadeh
Robert B. Handfield
author_facet Hadi Moheb-Alizadeh
Robert B. Handfield
author_sort Hadi Moheb-Alizadeh
collection DOAJ
description While executives emphasize that human resources (HR) are a firm’s biggest asset, the level of research attention devoted to planning talent pipelines for complex global organizational environments does not reflect this emphasis. Numerous challenges exist in establishing human resource management strategies aligned with strategic operations planning and growth strategies. We generalize the problem of managing talent from a supply–demand standpoint through a resource acquisition lens, to an industrial business case where an organization recruits for multiple roles given a limited pool of potential candidates acquired through a limited number of recruiting channels. In this context, we develop an innovative analytical model in a stochastic environment to assist managers with talent planning in their organizations. We apply supply chain concepts to the problem, whereby individuals with specific competencies are treated as unique products. We first develop a multi-period mixed integer nonlinear programming model and then exploit chance-constrained programming to a linearized instance of the model to handle stochastic parameters, which follow any arbitrary distribution functions. Next, we use an empirical study to validate the model with a large global manufacturing company, and demonstrate how the proposed model can effectively manage talents in a practical context. A stochastic analysis on the implemented case study reveals that a reasonable improvement is derived from incorporating randomness into the problem.
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spelling doaj-art-90c2bcbff08b4f9ea838e7ed5fef1ff42025-08-20T02:52:13ZengMDPI AGLogistics2305-62902017-08-0111510.3390/logistics1010005logistics1010005Developing Talent from a Supply–Demand Perspective: An Optimization Model for ManagersHadi Moheb-Alizadeh0Robert B. Handfield1Graduate Program in Operations Research, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USADepartment of Business Management, College of Management, North Carolina State University, 2806-A Hillsborough St., Upper Level, Campus Box 7229, Raleigh, NC 27695-7229, USAWhile executives emphasize that human resources (HR) are a firm’s biggest asset, the level of research attention devoted to planning talent pipelines for complex global organizational environments does not reflect this emphasis. Numerous challenges exist in establishing human resource management strategies aligned with strategic operations planning and growth strategies. We generalize the problem of managing talent from a supply–demand standpoint through a resource acquisition lens, to an industrial business case where an organization recruits for multiple roles given a limited pool of potential candidates acquired through a limited number of recruiting channels. In this context, we develop an innovative analytical model in a stochastic environment to assist managers with talent planning in their organizations. We apply supply chain concepts to the problem, whereby individuals with specific competencies are treated as unique products. We first develop a multi-period mixed integer nonlinear programming model and then exploit chance-constrained programming to a linearized instance of the model to handle stochastic parameters, which follow any arbitrary distribution functions. Next, we use an empirical study to validate the model with a large global manufacturing company, and demonstrate how the proposed model can effectively manage talents in a practical context. A stochastic analysis on the implemented case study reveals that a reasonable improvement is derived from incorporating randomness into the problem.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/1/1/5talent managementnonlinear programmingstochastic programmingchance-constrained programming
spellingShingle Hadi Moheb-Alizadeh
Robert B. Handfield
Developing Talent from a Supply–Demand Perspective: An Optimization Model for Managers
Logistics
talent management
nonlinear programming
stochastic programming
chance-constrained programming
title Developing Talent from a Supply–Demand Perspective: An Optimization Model for Managers
title_full Developing Talent from a Supply–Demand Perspective: An Optimization Model for Managers
title_fullStr Developing Talent from a Supply–Demand Perspective: An Optimization Model for Managers
title_full_unstemmed Developing Talent from a Supply–Demand Perspective: An Optimization Model for Managers
title_short Developing Talent from a Supply–Demand Perspective: An Optimization Model for Managers
title_sort developing talent from a supply demand perspective an optimization model for managers
topic talent management
nonlinear programming
stochastic programming
chance-constrained programming
url https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/1/1/5
work_keys_str_mv AT hadimohebalizadeh developingtalentfromasupplydemandperspectiveanoptimizationmodelformanagers
AT robertbhandfield developingtalentfromasupplydemandperspectiveanoptimizationmodelformanagers