1.0 Introduction The purpose of this report is to discuss a couple of strategic issues faced by human resource management practices in companies today. At the end of this report we will evaluate the benefits and challenges that each of these problems brings. Recommendations will be provided that organizations can implement to overcome the challenges posed by each strategic issue. The strategic issues I have chosen to discuss in this report are mergers, acquisitions and outsourcing. 1.1 Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions are entirely different but serve the same purpose. A merger occurs when two companies merge to form a larger company. As for acquisitions, this happens when a company buys another company and the purchased company is then absorbed by the company that bought it. Mergers and acquisitions can be classified in two ways; within the same sector or between different sectors. Mergers and acquisitions within the same industry mean that the two companies belong to the same industry. As for cross-industries, the two companies come from different industries but are then combined into a single company that serves both industries. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2014)1.2 OutsourcingOutsourcing means that companies engage the services of third-party suppliers, vendors, or consultants to provide the services that companies are unable to provide themselves due to lack of experience. Outsourcing means that people do the work externally, not internally. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2014)2.0 Advantages2.1 Advantage of Mergers and AcquisitionsThere are numerous reasons why companies merge and acquire other companies. The biggest advantage of carrying out a merger or acquisition is that...... at the center of the paper... the cultures of the acquired companies (Kumar, 2014).4.2 Recommendation: Outsourcing A strategy that can be implemented by the HRM of a company is to enter into an agreement with the third party service provider to participate in the interview process of the person who will do the outsourced work and also to familiarize the person doing the work with the company (Kumar, 2014). The way Ezra Holdings does this is through a buddy system where the external party works closely with an internal employee who is trained to handle such situations and is also very familiar with the company's culture (Kumar, 2014) . This way the company will have an easy way to provide feedback and the partner will also be able to train the external party if it doesn't meet expectations. The knowledge needed to carry out the job will also be provided by the internal employee.