Today, human resources are seen as "the available talents and energies of people who are available to an organization as potential contributors to the creation and realization of the mission, of the organization's vision, strategy and objectives" (Jackson and Schuler, 2000, p. 37). There are two models that attempt to describe what strategy is and how an organization should develop that strategy. The first model known as the industrial organization (I/O) model is based on the assumption that competing firms in the same industries are homogeneous and emphasizes the external environment as the basis for organizational decision making. The second model, called the Resource Based View, contrasts the I/O model by assuming that individual companies are unique and composed of a distinct set of resources. According to the resource-based perspective, firms attempt to develop and exploit distinctive competencies based on the physical, organizational, and human capital resources under their control. Ultimately, these distinctive competencies can lead to sustainable competitive advantages and superior performance. The emphasis on human capital resources leads to an understanding of the role of strategic human resource management in achieving competitive advantage. Wright and McMahan defined strategic human resource management (SHRM) as “the pattern of implementation and planned human resource activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its objectives” (1992:298). This field moves away from traditional "people management" and towards the idea that employees play a critical role in developing an organization's competitive advantage and how such carefully planned HR initiatives should be implemented to increase their value to the company. SHRM was conceptualized with Walker's (1978) article, which highlighted the need for a link between strategic planning and human resource planning. However, it originated with the article by Devanna, Fombrum and Tichy (1984) which analyzed in great detail the link between business strategy and human resources. The field of SHRM has enjoyed a remarkable rise over the past two decades as both an academic literature and a focus of management practice. While RBV may not have directly contributed to this evolution of SHRM, it played an important role in its development. The development of SHRM only began when HR researchers realized that the RBV provided a compelling explanation for why HR practices led to competitive advantage. The RBV highlights the need for internal factors and resources as sources of competitive advantage, and this conjecture has catapulted the great importance of employees (human resources) to the forefront of human resource theory. RBV placed “people” on the HR map thus justifying the concepts established by SHRM.