Development of human resources Essay Example

This growth has taken place through acquisitions, as well as through organic growth.

For example, in July 2006, the firm took over Happy Harry’s, a rival drugstore. In 2007, Walgreen acquired Take Care Health Systems, a health clinic. In the same year, the firm also took over Option Care, a drugstore chain that had more than 100 stores in its fold (Walgreen Co, 2010a).

Growth has also been through diversification. For example, in 2006, Walgreen opened health clinics in its stores, where walk-in patients could be treated for common illnesses. By 2008, it had 400 such clinics.

By acquiring Option Care in 2007, Walgreen effectively ventured into and got a toehold in the home infusion and specialty pharmacy segments of the healthcare market. Again, it has been mentioned that organizations with an adhocracy culture have a long term emphasis on growth and the acquisition of new resources.

This contrasts with the long term emphasis of hierarchy, market, and clan cultures. Clan cultures emphasize the long-term benefits that accrue from the development of human resources and give a lot of weight on the cohesiveness of the group.

Hierarchy cultures have stability, performance, and efficiency as the long term goal of the organization, and the organizational glue that holds the group together are the formal rules and procedures. Market cultures espouse as their long term focus the achievement of a sustainable competitive advantage and the attainment of targets and goals which are measurable (Tharp, 2009).

On the strength of the arguments of the competing values framework, Walgreen’s organizational culture closely matches the adhocracy culture.