Moneyball Film Management Concept, Essay Example

Introduction

Moneyball is a movie based on Michael Lewis bestseller book that is based on a true story of a baseball superstar. A biographical sports drama where Billy Beanie being their general manager are determined to assemble a formidable Team. Moneyball generated articles in the past year measuring up the Moneyball concept to Human resource and the approach to hiring by influencing the “big data” concept. Moneyball contains valid concepts that apply to workforce analytics most notable the concept of recruiting and high headedness on recruiting managers.

Beanie was determined to rebuild the team at bargain basement prices; he was influenced by the theories of Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a young Yale economics graduate that had formulae on how to evaluate a strict cost-benefit analysis of baseball players (Shea, 2008).

He convinced Beanie that he should hire players based on certain performance statistics that targeted undervalued players. Together, they convened a team that seemed impulsive at first, but during the course of a tough season, proved that it was worth in baseball.

Plot of the film and the company being portrayed

Moneyball is a story based on a character whose past circumstances drive and require him to think differently and broadly.  Bills throughout demonstrated a character that takes a risk that enables him to understand something of himself, and to understand something about himself.  Billy attempts to do something that goes beyond simply win baseball games which manifests his relentless efforts and daringness by turning tables in the baseball arenas. The competitiveness perceived in that baseball season was immense.  It’s really a trial, an attempt to prove his ability in correlating human potential with something that if proven true, would explain in part why his life turned successful the way it did, which is a thrilling idea.”

Moneyball inspired HR leaders to embrace analytics for recruiting and create new metrics for performance management. However, the impact on business operations and the insight into more mature workforce management opportunities seems to be inspiring organizations to evolve their processes and technology strategies with workforce analytics.

This is really a movie that entrenches broad business concepts. The individual players have insignificant roles, the entire drama happens in the mind of the general manager and his strategic partner. They gamble against tradition and in goodwill of numerical analysis that goes against the grains of baseball history, notwithstanding the fact that for all of those years, analysts have had correctly predicted well thought statistical theories on talk shows. The numbers crunchers clearly demonstrated that a computer can analyze and assemble accurate data to constitute a team better than human analysis

The Human Resource practice – performance management

The application of data driven management played a significant role in reshaping an otherwise laggard main league team to become an international class winner. Other than using traditional metrics as the basis of performance management, the use of lesser known statistics resulted to success in games. Innovative tactics played a vital role in data advantage for recruitment and development of players.

Baseball owners are only an example of years past, where many human resource professionals and managers fail to address fundamental principles that govern their practice thus making mistakes in constituting their teams. One cardinal mistake is by undervaluing their employees. Now the human resource management needs a holistic approach to ensure that the right data is obtained and professionally analyzed and used to improve talent management.

The HR practice impact the employees

Labor productivity is a core component in human recourse. Beanie’s intended to formulate a strategy to maximize the productivity and efficiency of his workforce. The concept of on-base percentage against batting average runs batted in and stolen bases redefined baseball, but the idea is workable with a workforce when accurate productivity metrics are consolidated. After analyses and personnel with desired quality skill are identified, a schedule optimization follows which entails putting the right place at the right time. This challenge is evidently in the film, when Oakland’s manager persistently ignores Bean’s request to remunerate a player at a particular position (Scott Battenberg at first base) (Armstrong, 2012).

When employee skills, motivations and knowledge are at sync with the demands a culture harmony and coordination is evidenced. On the contrary when the opposite happens the entire team loses focus of the intended objectives of the organization. Inevitably, a holistic approach is needed amalgamate right data, select, track, compare and used it to improve performance. Dynamics in economy, rising commodity costs, competition and shrinkage of consumer dollars undermines on profits. Global business leaders are in charge of ever-larger portfolios of products and human recourses, and they need transformative and creative stimulate growth in their companies (Alborg, 1992).

Evaluation

The Human Resource practice fairness, appropriateness, or effectiveness

In the movie “Moneyball,” Beanie refocuses on innovative methods on how to scout and hire baseball players owing to the fact that his small team cannot afford a budget to match wealthier teams as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox on free agent contract. His assistant sources for measurement techniques collected from the financial circles revealing baseball players who other teams have undervalued (Grove, et al. 2000).

Visibility and accountability is integral to workforce management, and is spelt and well in the movie. Beanie was innovative, creative and He was visionary. He had gone an extra mile to implement what the management did not deem as a strategy to achieve the organization’s goals. He wanted certain players in his lineup executing specific roles to enable his strategy. While his aspirations were evidenced in the outcome of his wins (Goldin & Rouse, 2000).

Recommendations based on knowledge of HR management

The acumen to measure performance and gauge results based on implementing certain programmed modalities provides the visibility essence to hold management accountable and adopt the changes necessary to realize organizational goals. Human relations managers are responsible for engineering production by presenting credible manpower recourse in their organizations. The hireling managers have the discretion in determining their mode of hire. A hireling manager may opt to hire on the basis of similarity in traits with the HR, or they share similar leisure interests .as in Moneyball the hireling criteria was performance ,it then makes sense to analogize  business and sports and HRs will recruit people like the role played by Johan Hill in the film (Travers, 2011).

The essence of data is revisited in Moneyball as a major component in accurate recruiting; on the contrary most departments may lack reliable reference data demanding HRs to be more creative in approaching other recruiting methods. HR management entails an orderly approach with organized files, strong time consciousness, management skills and personal efficiency are vital to HR effectiveness.  Dealing with people’s lives and careers demands much attention, issues such as requests need speed and concern (Ditzian, 2011).

Multitasking is the order of the day, an HR professional address an employee’s personal issue followed by, an intermittent leave question, in a word the contents on a HR list are tightly scheduled to issues that are at times not in the program. All issues are addressed with urgency so as to leave no issue lying on the other in HR, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. HR managers more oftenly deals with issues in “the grey area.” Discrimination, harassment, reasonable accommodation, intermittent leave, these are HRs starting points which bears all due complexities with incomplete information, and they have to know how address whichever crux and when to seek the professional help.

Along with grey comes a time to negotiate arbitrating two or more opposing views, and the successful HR identifies an acceptable middle ground. Remember, arbitration is to end up with two parties that are contented with the outcome. HR professionals have to communicate over to managers, to potential employees, and to all levels of current employees. And they have to consolidate the information in writing, while they have to be cautious, convincing, caring, and believable. HR professionals are the   philosophy of the company, as well as guardians of confidential information. As they serve the needs of top management, they also monitor strict ethics toward employee’s to be sure organizational principles and regulations are followed. They always handle confidential information appropriately, and never divulge it to any unauthorized person.

References

Alborg, D. A., (1992). “Predicting the job performance of managers: What do the experts know?” International Journal of Forecasting, 7, 467-472.

Armstrong, J. S. (2012), “Illusions in regression analysis,” International Journal of Forecasting. 28 available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1969740.

Ditzian, E., (2011). “‘Moneyball’ Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know”. MTV Movie News.

Goldin, C. & Rouse, C. (2000). “Orchestrating impartiality: The effect of ‘blind’ auditions on   female musicians,” American Economic Review, 90 (4), 715-741.

Grove, W.M. et al. (2000). “Clinical versus mechanical prediction: A meta-analysis,” Psychological Assessment, 12, 19–30.

Shea, J., ( 2008). “Beane a sex symbol in ‘Moneyball’ movie?”. SFGate.com.

Travers, P., (2011). “10 Best Movies of 2011: Moneyball”. Rolling Stone.