A.considered
B.at
C.rather
A. do the next job【T1】______ than on the basic background skills
B. often【T2】______ the edge of the corporate hierarchy
C. Skill acquisition is【T3】______ as an individual responsibility
If sustainable competitive advantage depends on work-force skills, American firms have a problem. Human resource management is not traditionally seen as central to the competitive survival of the firm in the United States.【T4】______. Labor is simply another factor of production to be hired or rented at the lowest possible cost much as one buys raw materials or equipment. The lack of importance attached to human resource management can be seen in the corporation hierarchy. In an American firm the Chief financial Officer is almost always second in command. The post of head of human resource managements is usually a specialized job,【T5】______ . The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic decisions and has no chance to move up to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). By way of contrast, in Japan the head of human resource management is central-usually the second most important executive, after the CEO, in the firm's hierarchy. While American firms often talk about the vast amounts spent on training their workforces, in fact they invest less in the skill of their employees than do the Japanese or German firms. The money they do invest is also more highly concentrated on professional and managerial employees. And the limited investments that are made in training workers are also much more narrowly focused on the specific skills necessary to【T6】______ that make it possible to absorb new technologies.