Managing Partnering Agreements

Stock car racing is a very dangerous form of auto racing. The drivers of NASCAR are always in competition, but they often engage in a cooperative strategy called drafting. The idea is for one car to pull in behind another, often only inches apart, taking advantage of aerodynamics to maintain speed with greater fuel efficiency. If only briefly, the two drivers have formed a partnership for that portion of the race.

Oddly enough, a similar type of cooperation/competition sometimes is employed in the auto manufacturing industry. For example, in 2002, General Motors and Ford Motor Company cooperated to build a new automatic transmission, designed for transverse engine applications in cars and light trucks (Shuldiner, 2006). The companies agreed to invest $720 million in their manufacturing plants to support the new transmission. Even though they remain fiercely competitive, they each leveraged the others efforts, and in so doing increased their chances of competing against companies like Honda and Toyota.

The Ho et al., article notes that in entering partnership agreements, companies need to carefully balance competition and cooperation because many such strategic alliances involve potential sharing of information, knowledge, and technology in ways that cannot be completely controlled. In your research, give consideration to what specific skills are beneficial to HR executives when managing partnering agreements.

With these thoughts in mind:

Evaluate the skills necessary for HR executives to manage partnering agreements. What HR skills are needed to maximize protections and preserve competitive advantages for organizations in partnering agreements that involve sharing of information, knowledge, or technology? What HR skills are needed to maximize cooperation, which can lead to its own competitive advantages, and why?