The Art of War
Erica McNairy
Lawrence Wagoner
TELS 3345
November 27, 2011

The Art of War and Human Resource
The field of Human Resource coincides with Sun Tzu’s The Art of War in many approaches. “The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry, which can on no account be neglected” (Tzu). This book was based on military strategies but in reality these strategies can be used in all job fields such as the Human Resources. Sun Tzu broke down each chapter with different strategies for war. From the “Laying of Plans” to the “Use of Spies” an instrumental lesson could be formed with the challenges that Human resource Management is
Appraising and improvements would also be the picking of the troops for each. If not suited for the job, the soldier will not get picked. Some companies have weekly, monthly, and yearly evaluations, and sometimes employees are fired because their not suited for the job or they are given some sort of probation period where they have time to improve before getting cut. Sum it up the best of the best is needed in the line of duty and the best of the best is needed to reach organizational success.
“Weak Points and Strong” (chapter 6) Battles will be lost, from those lost battles lessons will be learned, the commander will be able to point outs its troops strengths and weakness and its opponents. This will be used as strategy for the next battle. The same with a business there will be some good outcomes and not so good outcomes. It will reflect both on the manager and its employees. The manager will be able to point out the strengths and weakness in all aspects. Chapter 6 is merely pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy to use as an advantage. In Human resource management knowing the competitions strengths and weakness is a must. This knowledge will allow a manager to know where he/she needs to excel at and where they stand in competition. Also new efforts could be provided in expanding the business and reaching organizational success.