Discuss the relationships among KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities), job analysis, organizational strategy, and HR activities.

KSAs are a list of special qualifications that an individual has for them to get the position that has been defined for a specific job. These KSAs must be unique as this is what will be used to distinguish this character as more qualified compared to other applicants who also have similar qualifications. Due to the increases number of applicants for particular job vacancies, it has been a major task to choose the best out of a certain group of qualified participants. This is because many people have the same qualifications and it takes the company or business entity offering the job to go deeper and look at the unique abilities, skills and knowledge that these applicants have (Barrick & Feild 2008).

While looking at the KSAs of an applicant the employer must put into consideration the organization’s strategies that have been set. The joy of any company or business entity is to be able to come up with unique strategies that will help to improve the competitive advantage of the organization and to achieve success through these strategies. On the other hand, job analysis remains at the heart of the human resource practices (Barrick & Feild 2008). However due to the increased competition and technological innovations it is very difficult to carry out job selection using the traditional method. It requires them not to go with the qualifications only but to consider how the applicant will contribute to the strategies of the organization. What are the KSAs needed by the firm to achieve the strategy?

The KSAs needed for a particular firm will be according to the strategies that they have set and the goals they are to achieve. For example in the case of a sales and marketing firm, the employee must have KSA sales. This means that he or she is required to have special knowledge, abilities and skills to carry out the sales. The employee must be in a position to attract more customers as compared to the other competing firms. These unique KSAs are what put that particular company at a higher competitive advantage in the market. The common KSAs that are tested include creativity, interpersonal skills, good management skills and communication skills. The applicant must also be in a position to multitask by being effective and efficient in the work that they are required to do.

What KSAs are currently resident?

There are those KSAs that are common to a firm and this makes them not any different to the other competing firms. This is because they are commonly known and most of the applicants are also aware of them. For example in our case of the marketing firm, it is clearly evident that for one to be a good sales person they must be able to convince the buyer that the product is worth the sale. There should be clear communication (Suffiani 2010). The buyer may decide to buy the product but is not convinced to come back. There is also the skill of interpersonal relation which is a major issue. How does the firm grow its KSAs to meet the strategic challenge?

The firm should ensure that it goes for the job applicants that are creative in thinking and are capable of coming up with new measures of improving the strategy. They can also train their employees on the KSAs and motivate them to be critical and creative thinkers. The skill of communication is the most important in business and the employees should be capable of attracting more clients and maintaining the organization in the high competitive position.

Reference:

Barrick, M. R., Gatewood, R. D. & Feild, H. S., (2008), Human resource selection, Cengage Learning, NY: New York.

Federal Government, (2010), Knowledge, Skills and Ability (KSA) & Federal Government Resume Guide, Mortimer Caplin Public Service Centre.

HYPERLINK “http://www.law.virginia.edu/pdf/pubservice/ksa0910.pdf” http://www.law.virginia.edu/pdf/pubservice/ksa0910.pdf.

Suffiani, M. A., (2010), Investment in Saudi Capabilities is AACC Top Strategy, Retrieved September 4, 2010 from

HYPERLINK “http://www.aacc-ltd.com/englishokaz.pdf” http://www.aacc-ltd.com/englishokaz.pdf.