Vol. 2, Issue 11, Part D (2016)

Abstract
Talent in commercial world is sometimes hard to spot. It is sometimes well hidden, covered by the daily pressures generated by the short, medium and long-term results required by the business concerns. It is massively important that this talent is uncovered to fulfill its potential. Talent Management helps individual and organizational development in response to a changing and complex operating environment. It includes the creation and maintenance of a supportive, people oriented organization culture. The forces of the war for talent add-up to a fundamental shift in the business environment, requiring companies to radically adjust the way they manage people. The search for the best and the brightest will become a constant, expensive battle, a fight with no final victory. The companies have to devise more imaginative hiring practices than to work hard to keep their best people. There is no single formula for effective talent management. It is perhaps more useful to think in terms of talent functions i.e. talent procurement; talent plight; talent development; talent positioning and talent retention, that offer openings for strategies to achieve competitive advantage. These talent functions are interrelated and companies need to ensure that their overall approach focuses all areas and achieves the specific needs of the organization. In this paper an attempt is made to discuss the theoretical aspects on the talent functions and also the strategies followed by the organizations to achieve competitive advantage.