SECTION A $[40$ MARKS$]$Read the case study below and answer ALL the questions that follow.Talent Management at MED PharmaceuticalsMED Pharmaceuticals has a market capitalisation of approximately US$$15$ billion and is the leading pharmaceuticalcompany in South Africa. As a global player in speciality, branded and generic medications, the company has an extensiverange of products that provide for a broad spectrum of acute and chronic conditions. Today, MED has a strong globalpresence in both emerging and developed countries, with more than $60$ established business operations in $50$ countries.The Group has $30$ manufacturing facilities at $20$ sites across six continents and has more than $15,000$ employees.The operations of MED Pharmaceuticals have changed significantly since Andile Mpofu took over as CEO in $2018.$ Not onlydid the company become more transparent in its talent management processes, but more emphasis was placed on productdevelopment and innovation. The transparent approach adopted by MED allowed employees to understand the strategicrationale for certain talent management decisions. Second, the innovative processes adopted by MED were more humancentred.Consequently, the research and development programme adopted by MED included medical representatives,pharmaceutical engineers, chemists and pharmacists who focused on improving product development by identifyingseveral success factors.MEDs success is mainly ascribed to the attention it pays in developing the potential of their employees to support theirpersonal growth and advancement of the organisation. The company further recognises that it is dependent on theintellectual resources of its workforce. This is reflected in Andiles emphasis on attracting, developing and retaining thoseinvaluable thinkers in the organisation.Human Resource Management at MED PharmaceuticalsAs a global company, MED recognises the need to integrate its human resource policies and procedures in its dailyoperations. This includes the talent management practices of the company. Jenna Pillay, the HR Director, further explainsthat for the talent management programme to be successful, they need to include a certain degree of flexibility.Consequently, the organisations talent management approach is one that emphases differentiating talents. This means thatMED recognises that talent management should not only focus on managing talented employees for succession inmanagerial positions, but also on the development and advancement of employees who are high performers withleadership potential. MEDs current talent management practice is built into two key processes, namely its performancemanagement system and its succession management system.Performance ManagementJenna explains that MED is very performance$-$driven, with its performance management system at the centre of its talentmanagement process. MED assesses performance by appraising both KPI attainment and employee behaviour. It is anonline system that allows both managers and employees to complete their ratings and enter their feedback on thecompanys intranet. The ratings and feedback are available to both managers and employees, as required. Managers arefurther encouraged to have mid$-$year discussions with their employees and provide more frequent periodic feedback tothem. Lastly, the performance management system assists managers in identifying training and development needs. Theoutput generated by the performance management process is used in the companys succession management process.Succession ManagementSuccession management at MED involves four key steps:Step $1-$ Identify Pivotal Positions: Pivotal positions are key positions that play a central role in the organisations success.These positions typically include leadership and professional roles.Step $2$ Conduct a Talent Review: The talent review process of MED Pharmaceuticals assesses employees on twodimensions: leadership potential and performance. In addition, the talent review process also identifies the strengths andweaknesses, career interests, and developmental needs. The purpose of conducting talent reviews is to identify employeeswith talent and plan their development.Step $3$ Develop a Talent Pool: The next step is to use the information obtained from the talent review to identifycandidates for the companys talent pool. Individuals included in the talent pool are put in line for succession to more seniorpositions$.$Step $4$ Talent Development: Talent development involves determining the actions that need to be taken to further improvethe competencies of high performers. This typically involves a range of activities that includes formal and informal training,special assignments, and coaching and mentoring. The training programme designed for talented employees at MEDincludes a set of topics that are included in the Leadership Development Programme for High Potentials and theDeveloping Programme for Evolving Leaders. These programmes cater for two different types of employees. The formertargets employees who have been included in the talent pool, while the latter is designed for those who do not haveleadership potential or the desire to advance into leadership positions, but should be recognised as talented employees anddeveloped accordingly. To develop these employees, MED will make use of game$-$based learning. Through gamification,employees will be able to create and define their own learning and development within the organisation, resulting inincreased motivation and employee engagement.The approach taken by MED in managing its talent is different from the typical approach taken by other organisations, thatuse, for example, talent pools to provide a more focused talent development programme for their high potential $/$ highperformance managers. Those included in the talent pools are informed of their selection into the pool and these membersundergo development programmes as a group. The advantage of this approach is that talent pool members are movemotivated to participate in the activities. The disadvantage is that the talent pool members may develop a superior attitudeand entitled mind$-$set. While MEDs talent management approach is appealing, it does raise the question of whether thecompanys talent management programme is simply a traditional human resource development programme.$[$Source: Du Plessis, M$.,$ Mda, T$.,$ Nel,P$.,$ Erasmus, B$.$ and Loedolff, P$.(2019)$ Managing Training and Development. EighthEd. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.$]$Answer ALL the questions in this section.QUESTION $1(20$ Marks$)$Critically analyse the extent to which MED Pharmaceuticals approach to talent management aligns with the concept ofStrategic Human Resource Development $($SHRD$).$