Movie: Moneyball

Q1) In the movie, Peter Brand claims that baseball teams in the past have wrongly defined their goals as "buying players." According to Peter Brand in the movie, what should be the true goal of a baseball team? Why? (Hint: Watch the scene where Billy Beane and Peter Brand discuss this point at the parking lot.)

Q2) Now, identify the HR needs (KSAs, behaviors, culture, etc.) of a baseball team that is (are) required to achieve the goal that you have answered in Q1. More specifically, identify the behavior(s) that are required from baseball players for a baseball team to achieve the goal that you have answered in Q1. How can this help baseball teams to achieve the goal that you have answered in Q1?

Q3) In the movie, how did the Oakland A's achieve the vertical fit of HRM? In other words, what are some specific examples of HRM practices that the A's have implemented to fulfill the HR needs that you have identified in Q2? (Hint: Watch the scene where Billy Beane and the scouts discuss which players to recruit with Peter Brand being present in the meeting room. Also, watch the scenes where Billy Beane and Peter Brand instruct the players what to do during the games.)

Q4) In the movie, how did the Oakland A's achieve the horizontal fit of HRM? In other words, what are some specific examples of an HRM practice that you have answered in Q3 being compatible with another HRM practice? For example, due to the budget constraint that the team was facing, the pay level for the players of the Oakland A's had to be low. So, the team could not just recruit any players that can fulfill the HR needs that you have identified in Q2. The team had to recruit in a way that was "compatible" with the low pay policy. What were some specific examples of this? Q5) What would be a similar situation that organizations face in a more generalized business setting? And how can organizations better respond to this situation by applying what you have learned from the movie (with a focus on the strategic fit of HRM)?