Technology

Summary

This article talks about the importance of human capital, which is defined as recognition that people in organizations and businesses are important and essential assets who contribute to development and growth, in a similar way as physical assets such as machines and money. It looks at the expenditures you make in training and development as an investment, not just an expense. It goes on to say that a company can no longer gain a competitive edge just with a technological advance because other companies will soon gain these advances as well. To gain a real edge company's employees must have better skills and abilities than the competitor. In summary, people should be treated as an asset rather than an expense item. Efforts should be taken to develop skills and abilities and to provide opportunities for people to maximize their contribution.

Reaction

I think this article is very true because employees are essentially the foundation of most companies. To gain success as a company you want to build from the ground up and this usually starts by having good employees. I believe these investments are a necessity if you want to have that edge over the competitor. You want your employees to be happy because this tends to lead to more success. I think this goes hand in hand with the discussion we had in class about making the investment of sending an employee back to school if they wish to gain a higher degree. Instead of looking at this as an expense it should be looked at as an investment.

Stockley, Derek. (2005, February). Human capital concept - definition and explanation. Retrieved October 4, 2005, from http://derekstockley.com.au/harticles.html