| Course | BU 525 Strategic Human Capital |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 5 |
| Paper type | Build or buy analysis |
| Length | About 780 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | MBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BU 525 Unit 5
Train Sixteen, Hire Four: A Build or Buy Analysis for High-Voltage Qualified Technicians at a Composite Midwestern Transit Agency
Student Name
Business, Herzing University
BU 525: Strategic Human Capital
Instructor Name
March 30, 2026
Train Sixteen, Hire Four: A Build or Buy Analysis for High-Voltage Qualified Technicians at a Composite Midwestern Transit Agency
The Role and the Gap
Unit 4 placed the high-voltage qualified technician at the top of the agency's critical role list, and Unit 3 sized the gap at about 5 people in 2027, 12 in 2029 and 20 in 2031. This analysis asks how the agency should close it: by developing the capability inside, which this paper calls building, or by hiring people who already have it, which it calls buying. Both routes are costed per qualified technician. All dollar figures are labeled estimates for a composite agency, built from typical tuition, wage and recruiting costs, not from any agency's actual pay rates.
Lepak and Snell (1999) argue that the right way to acquire human capital depends on how valuable and how specific to the firm it is. High-voltage skill is highly valuable to this strategy, and part of it is specific to the agency's own buses and garage procedures. That combination usually favors internal development, but the theory does not settle the question by itself, because development takes time the first deliveries may not allow.
The Build Route
Building means selecting a general bus technician, either an existing employee or a new hire, and training them to work independently on high-voltage systems.
The build route takes about 12 months from selection to independent high-voltage work. Its main risk is that the trained technician leaves, taking the investment. Unit 2 assumed a 15 percent annual departure rate for qualified technicians, which implies about a 28 percent chance of losing a trainee within two years of qualifying.
| Build cost element | Estimate per person | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer and electrical safety courses | $7,500 | Typical tuition for a sequence of high-voltage courses |
| Travel and lodging for off-site courses | $2,400 | Three trips |
| Overtime to cover the trainee's shifts | $6,960 | 120 hours at $58 an hour, time and a half on a $38.50 base |
| Mentoring by a qualified technician | $4,100 | 100 hours of a mentor's time at $41 an hour |
| Slower work while learning | $5,000 | Reduced output on battery-electric jobs during the first months |
| One-time total | $25,960 | |
| Qualification premium after sign-off | $4,160 a year | $2.00 an hour, subject to agreement with the union |
The Buy Route
Buying means recruiting a technician who already holds high-voltage qualifications from another fleet, a dealership or an equipment maker.
The buy route takes about 8 months: 5 to fill the position and 3 to learn the agency's equipment. Bidwell (2011) found in one large organization that external hires were paid more than internal promotions into similar jobs, received lower performance evaluations in their first two years and were more likely to leave. Applying that finding here, the buy route assumes a 20 percent annual departure rate, about a 36 percent chance of losing a hire within two years.
| Buy cost element | Estimate per person | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Recruiting, including extended advertising and a search fee | $9,000 | The agency's two 2025 postings drew three qualified applicants |
| Learning the agency's buses and procedures | $4,000 | About three months at partial output |
| One-time total | $13,000 | |
| Pay above the agency's top technician rate | $7,280 a year | Market estimate of $42 an hour against $38.50, $3.50 an hour |
Comparison
On cost per retained technician the routes are close, and buy is somewhat cheaper. On speed, buy is faster for any single position. On volume, buy cannot do what the plan needs. The agency's own recent experience is that two postings produced one hire, and the region's private fleets and electric utility are recruiting from the same small pool. A plan that relied on buying 20 people by 2031 would be relying on a supply that does not exist at that scale.
| Measure | Build | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| Two-year cost per person (one-time plus two years of premium) | $34,280 | $27,560 |
| Probability still in place after two years | 72% | 64% |
| Two-year cost per technician still in place | about $47,600 | about $43,100 |
| Elapsed time to independent work | about 12 months | about 8 months |
| How many the route can supply each year | 4 to 6, limited by mentors and course seats | 1 or 2, limited by the regional market |
| Strategic risk | Depends on keeping trained people | Depends on a market other fleets are also drawing on |
Recommendation
The agency should do both, in a sequence. It should buy 4 experienced high-voltage technicians in 2026 and 2027, enough to cover the first deliveries and, more importantly, to serve as mentors and lead technicians. It should build the remaining 16 through a training pipeline of 4 technicians a year from 2027 to 2030, drawing first on the two surplus rebuild technicians identified in Unit 3 and then on general technicians who volunteer. The mentors bought early are what make the build route possible at volume, since the agency's current three qualified technicians cannot mentor 16 people while also keeping the pilot buses running.
Cappelli (2008) recommends treating talent like a supply chain, combining internal development with outside hiring to hedge against uncertainty in both. This recommendation follows that logic. The buy route hedges against the first deliveries arriving before trainees are ready; the build route hedges against a market that cannot supply the volume.
Both routes run through the collective bargaining agreement. Bringing in outside technicians above the top rate and paying a qualification premium to trained ones are changes the union must agree to, and the selection of trainees has to respect the agreement's rules on seniority and posting. Those negotiations are a precondition for either route, so they belong at the start of the plan in Unit 8, not as a detail to settle once the first buses are already waiting.
What Would Change the Recommendation
The recommendation would shift toward buying if the regional market grew, for example if a technical college launched a high-voltage program producing graduates, or if the union agreed to a wage scale that made the agency competitive for experienced people. It would shift toward building if trained technicians proved more loyal than assumed, which Unit 6 examines, because the build route's cost per retained technician falls quickly as the departure rate falls. At a 10 percent annual departure rate, building becomes the cheaper route.
References
Bidwell, M. (2011). Paying more to get less: The effects of external hiring versus internal mobility. Administrative Science Quarterly, 56(3), 369-407. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839211433562
Cappelli, P. (2008). Talent on demand: Managing talent in an age of uncertainty. Harvard Business Press.
Lepak, D. P., & Snell, S. A. (1999). The human resource architecture: Toward a theory of human capital allocation and development. Academy of Management Review, 24(1), 31-48. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1999.1580439
BU 525 Unit 5 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 5 of BU 525 asks students to compare developing a critical capability internally with acquiring it from the labor market for one role. Expect to carry the role and gap forward from earlier units, cost the build route including training time, lost productivity, teaching effort and the risk of losing the person afterward, cost the buy route including recruiting, market pay, time to fill and ramp-up, compare the two on cost, elapsed time, certainty and strategic risk, and make a recommendation. A combined answer is acceptable if it is argued. Cost figures can be labeled estimates from public sources. Quoting what your employer actually pays for the role should be avoided.
Inside the BU 525 Unit 5 example
The sample restates the role and the gap, uses Lepak and Snell to explain why valuable, partly firm-specific skill usually favors building, and notes the timing problem. A build table lists five cost elements with estimates and bases, followed by elapsed time and departure risk. A buy table does the same for recruiting and ramp-up and adds a pay premium, with Bidwell setting the departure assumption. A comparison table sets both routes side by side on cost per retained technician, speed, annual volume and strategic risk. The recommendation section commits to a hybrid, explains the sequence and the role of early hires as mentors, and notes the union precondition. The close names conditions that would shift it.
Reading the BU 525 Unit 5 rubric
The rubric for build or buy analysis usually awards points for a clearly defined role and gap, complete costing of each route, attention to time and risk, a fair comparison and a committed, argued recommendation, along with writing and APA. Definition earns credit when the gap is carried forward from earlier work. Costing scores highest when both routes include the same categories and the hidden costs, such as productivity lost while learning. Time and risk earn points when elapsed months and departure probabilities are stated. Comparison rewards a side-by-side table on several dimensions. The recommendation carries significant weight and rewards writers who commit and explain what evidence would change their mind.
BU 525 Unit 5 help before you submit
Build or buy papers lose marks by costing only tuition for the build route and only salary for the buy route. Another common weakness is ignoring the chance that a trained or hired person leaves. Writers often recommend buying without asking whether the market can supply the numbers needed. Some avoid committing, ending with a list of pros and cons. Others forget constraints such as pay scales or union agreements that both routes must respect. Actual employer pay rates should not appear in the paper. If your cost figures are thin, our writers can help you build labeled estimates and a comparison table for your role.
Get a BU 525 Unit 5 example written to your instructions
Post the Unit 5 instructions across with your BU 525 rubric and whichever role the assignment wants analyzed, plus any costing template the classroom provides. We write a custom example that prices both routes on identical categories, separates lead time from money and closes on reversal conditions. First custom sample free, back in 24 to 48 hours.
More BU 525 papers and MBA samples
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- BU 525 Unit 3: Gap analysis
- BU 525 Unit 4: Critical role identification
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- BU 525 Unit 7: Workforce metrics and reporting
- BU 525 Unit 8: Strategic workforce plan
- BU 530 Unit 5: Theory comparison
- BU 531 Unit 5: Scenario analysis
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BU 525 Unit 5 questions, answered
Where do the cost figures come from?
From the composite case, stated as constructed. Published market pay ranges and industry reports can anchor them, and citing a public source is usually welcome, but the figures in the comparison should be yours and labeled as such. What the criterion weighs is whether the categories are complete and applied evenly to both routes, not whether the numbers are real.
Can the answer be both?
Often it should be, and a split recommendation is defensible if you say how the work divides. Buying part of a capability to cover the near term while developing the rest for the years after it is a real strategy. What fails is a conclusion that recommends both because choosing felt uncomfortable, with no allocation and no sequence attached.
Can I quote what we actually pay for these roles?
Pay data is one of the most tightly held categories an employer has, and internal bands, offers and individual salaries are off limits for a graded paper. Public salary surveys and government wage series are fair to cite. Beyond that, price the routes inside the composite case, and keep the analysis clear of anything that could read as advice on a real pay decision.
Where can I find a free BU 525 Unit 5 sample paper?
The BU 525 Unit 5 build or buy analysis is open on this page at no cost, with both cost tables, the comparison and the recommendation, plus margin notes. Weighing a different role? Pass along the prompt and a version costed for it is written free, typically inside two days.
Can the answer be both build and buy in BU 525 Unit 5?
Yes, if the reasons are clear. The sample hires four experienced technicians early to cover first deliveries and serve as mentors, then trains sixteen, because the market cannot supply twenty.