ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a business case for a paradigm shift in talent management and specifically identifies the areas where a shift is imperative so that organizations, particularly those of African countries, can compete effectively in the global market. Talent management is an integrated process which comprises workforce planning, recruitment and selection, development, performance management, compensation, employee engagement and career development, among other functions. The challenge of talent management in African organizations does not inhere only in obsolete HR systems, policies and practices; it also has its roots in the paradigms of managers. A paradigm shift is necessary, and it is a transformation from being efficient managers to being effective leaders and global executives. It is important to stress the fact that the need for a paradigm shift is not based on the tenet of the Universalist school of thought which contends that management is based on principles and techniques that are universally applicable to every organization irrespective of the culture.
