Human Capital, Human Assets Intellectual Capital Essay Example

Human Capital, Human Assets Intellectual Capital Paper This essay discusses and explores the terms Human Capital, Human assets and Intellectual capital. Human capital is a way of defining and categorizing peoples skills and abilities as used in employment (Economic Review, 2004). According to Robert Heller, A business can realize the benefits of its greatest asset by winning the hearts, minds and spirit of people. Human assets are those personal qualities and characteristics that enhance the individual health, happiness and well being of each family member. The intellectual capital refers to the knowledge and knowing capability of a social collectivity such as an organization, intellectual community or professional practice (1998:245). The essay also focuses the way in which these terms are beneficial to HR managers to use these terms to assist themselves and communicating and planning human resource management strategies. Human capital is a way of defining and categorizing peoples skills and abilities as used in employment and otherwise contribute to the economy. It is a stock of asset one owns, which allows one to receive a flow of income, which is like interest earned. Human capital is substitutable i.e. it will not replace land, labor or capital totally, but it can be substituted for them to various degrees and be included as a separate variable in a production function. We will write a custom essay sample on Human Capital, Human Assets Intellectual Capital specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Human Capital, Human Assets Intellectual Capital specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Human Capital, Human Assets Intellectual Capital specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer While explaining human capital by the unique characteristics of knowledge: it is expandable and self generating with use. For example, a doctor gets more experience, her knowledge base will increase, as will her endowment of human capital. A free worker cannot sell human capital to receive money revenues, even a slave, whose human capital can be sold, does not earn an income himself or herself instead the slave owner gets the income under capitalism, to earn an income, a worker must submit to the authority of an employer who want to hire for a specified period of time. This means that the employer must be receiving an adequate rate of profit from his or her operations, so that the workers must be producing surplus-value i.e. doing work beyond that necessary to maintain their labor power (www.marxist.org) Following Becker, the human capital literature often distinguishes between Specific and General human capital. Specific human capital refers to skills or knowledge that is useful only to a single employer, who will be likely willing to pay for it, where as general human capital such as literacy is useful to all employers. Thus human capital represents the single greatest potential asset and the single greatest potential liability that an organization will acquire as it goes about is business. While there are intangible assets, human capital is the only intangible assets that can be influenced, but never completely controlled, invested in wisely or wasted thoughtlessly and still have tremendous value. These distinguishing features are what make human capital unique. A business can realize the benefits of its greatest asset by winning the hearts, minds and spirit of the people (Robert Heller 2001). Human assets are those personal qualities and characteristics that enhance the individual health, happiness and well being of each family member. They include our health, values, talents, heritage, attitude, habits and time. While in case of a firms human assets consist of the employees and the collection of their knowledge, skills and abilities also known as human capital. The firm can buy the human capital by hiring employees and the firm can achieve human capital through, training, job experience etc. Most of the capabilities that a firm possesses can be linked to human capital and therefore this form of asset is considered critical for creating and sustaining competitive advantage (managing human assets in a uncertain world, 1999). However human assets, like other forms of assets have several uncertainties associated with it. The future value of human assets can be uncertain for example performance of employees may go down over time or job responsibilities may change causing a misfit between the person and job. The number of employees demand may fluctuate according to the market conditions. There may be demand unexpected for skills that the employees do not possess. Also, the costs of human assets in the form of wages, salaries, benefits etc, may also be uncertain. Human assets like other forms of assets have several uncertainties associated with it. There are three types of uncertainties in human assets uncertainty of return, uncertainties of volume and uncertainties of cost. Uncertainty of return. The future value of human assets can be uncertain. For example performance of employees may go down overtime or change in job responsibilities. Uncertainty of volume and combinations The number of employees demanded may fluctuate according to market conditions or unexpected demand for skills that the employees dont possess constitutes this uncertainty. Uncertainties of cost- They are associated with the high and fixed cost of employees especially when revenues are volatile. The top 10 areas to measure human assets, as recommended by Jack Fitz-enz, chair of the Saratoga Institute (now part of Spherions Human Capital Consulting Group), in a recent issue of Workforce magazine (www. workforce.com), wont all apply to your company, but some will: 1. Your most important issues: These are the targets of all lower-level measures. Focus on them and ensure that your metrics lead in a direct line to them. 2. Human capital value added: How do your workers optimize themselves for the good of the company and for themselves? This is the primary measure of an individuals contribution to profitability. 3. Human capital ROI: This is the ratio of dollars spent on pay and benefits to an adjusted profit figure. 4. Separation cost. How many people are leaving? From which departments? What does it cost the company? The average cost of separation for an employee is at least six months equivalent of revenue per employee. 5. Voluntary separation rate: Lost personnel equal potential lost opportunity, lost revenue, and the cost of workers having to fill the gaps under greater stress. Cutting the separation rate saves the cost of hiring and keeps customer service quality high. 6. Total labor-cost revenue percentage. This is total benefits and compensation cost as a percentage of organizational revenue and shows how much of what you are taking in through revenue goes to support the companys total labor cost, including temporary, seasonal, and contract or contingent workers. This metric can help you track changes in your workforce. Best approach: Compare it to your revenue factor and compensation, benefits, and contingent off-payroll costs. If the metric is rising, determine whether compensation or benefits costs are up or revenue is down. This will help you decide what actions to take. 7. Total compensation revenue percentage: This is the percentage of the companys revenues allocated to the direct costs of employees. It excludes costs for off-payroll employees who receive a 1099 form (as does the metric in number 6, above). Before creating strategies to address concerns, compare this metric to your revenue factor, compensation costs, and benefits costs to analyze what is happening with workers. 8. Training investment factor. Basic skills are crucial: Workers who cannot read, write, do simple calculations, or talk intelligently with customers need to have these skill deficiencies addressed. 9. Time to start. Recruitment will continue to be a challenge. The amount of the time it takes from approval of a job requisition until the person is on the job is a strategic indicator of revenue production. 10. Revenue factor. This is the basic measure understood by managers. The accumulation of exceptionally talented individuals is not enough for the organization. There must also be a desire for the employees to invest their skills and expertise in the organization and their position. The individuals must commit or engage with the organization if effective utilization of human capital is to happen. In addition, therefore, to human capital, there must also be social capital and organizational capital. These three forums of capital contribute to overall concept of intellectual capital. For Nahapiet Ghoshal (1998), intellectual capital refers to the knowledge and knowing capacity of a social collectivity, such as an organization, intellectual community or professional practice (1998:245) Intellectual capital consists of both people and systems. The stock of human capital consists of human i.e. the knowledge skills and abilities of people social capital is the valuable relationships among people and the organizational capital is the processes and routines within the firm. (Wright et. Al, 2001:716) Developing human capital therefore requires attention to these other complementarities. For a competitive advantage is to be achieved there must be integration between human, social and organizational capital, social capital increases the efficiency of action and aids cooperative behavior (Nahapiet Ghoshal 1998) Social relationship has an important influence on the development of both human and intellectual capital. For example individuals with better social capital and stronger contact networks will earn higher rates of return on their human capital (Garavan et.al 2001:52). Attending to the conditions, under which people are prepared to share and act upon their knowledge is a major component of human capital management. The principle role of organizational capital is to link the resources of an organization. Together into process that create value for customers and sustainable competitive advantage for the firm (Dess Picken 1999:11). Thus the connections between human capital, social capital and organizational capital will produce intellectual capital. The suggested measuring approaches for intangibles fall into four main categories of measurement approaches. These categories are an extension of the classifications suggested by Luthy (1998) and Williams (2000). 1. Direct Intellectual Capital methods (DIC) Estimate the $-value of intangible assets by identifying its various components. Once these components are identified, they can be directly evaluated, either individually or as an aggregated coefficient. 2. Market Capitalization Methods (MCM) Calculate the difference between a companys market capitalization and its stockholders equity as the value of its intellectual capital or intangible assets. 3. Return on Assets methods (ROA) Average pre-tax earnings of a company for a period of time are divided by the average tangible assets of the company. The result is a company ROA that is then compared with its industry average. The difference is multiplied by the companys average tangible assets to calculate an average annual earning from the Intangibles. Dividing the above-average earnings by the companys average cost of capital or an interest rate, one can derive an estimate of the value of its intangible assets or intellectual capital. 4. Scorecard Methods (SC) The various components of intangible assets or intellectual capital are identified and indicators and indices are generated and reported in scorecards or as graphs. SC methods are similar to DIS methods, expect that no estimate is made of the $-value of the Intangible assets. A composite index may or may not be produced. These terms Human Capital, Human Assets and Intellectual Capital are inter related. They are very much useful to HR Managers for communicating and planning human resource management strategies. As human capital has uncertainties, a firm needs to manage these uncertainties. So that they do not affect the overall performance of the organization. Firms typically respond to adverse business conditions by down sizing, thereby losing valuable human capital with potentially adverse effects on the firms performance (Cascio, 2002). Human resource practices are mechanisms through which the human capitals of the firm are acquired. Human capital helps the HR managers to keep the employees motivated, maintained and acquired. HR practices have many positive impacts on the firm. HR options are investments in the human capital pool of an organization that provide the capability to respond to future contingent events. Human resource managers deploy human capital in order to limit downside risk and create opportunities for greater returns in the future. The HR options lie in allowing the firm to respond actively to uncertainties of human assets. Many of the HR practices are aimed at building a human capital pool able to deliver returns in the current time period under current conditions. However HR practices are also aimed at building a human capital capability to respond to future uncertain events (Wright and Snell, 1998). HR practices helps to build or maintain culture and communication. A company needs its managers to manage properly its human capital and human assets under various circumstances. Risks in returns for investments in human capital cannot be ignored and to do so would result in greater, rather than less variability in relationships with employees over time. HR options generate the capability for use managing changes incriminatingly. The extent use of HR options and their usefulness will depend upon the extent of risks associated with the human capital of the firm. In conclusion, many corporations around the world have found that measuring and managing intellectual capital can provide them with a competitive advantage. Adam Smith determined that human capital in different localities is valued in different ways. Human can be developed and cultivated, but it can also decide to leave the organization, become sick, disheartened and even influence others to behave in a way that may not be to the advantage of an employer. The performance of an organizations human capital, human assets or intellectual capital is not predicable or within the control of the employer.

Invisible Man Essays - Invisible Man, Brotherhood, Paint Factory

Invisible Man Essays - Invisible Man, Brotherhood, Paint Factory Invisible Man 1. In the Emerson's paint factory, the narrator first gets a job adding dope to bad paint and then is sent to work down in the basement of a building, where the oils for the paint are produced. The then gets into a fight with his foreman, and neglects his job of watching pressure gauges. His neglecting causes an explosion at Emerson's Paint factory and he is injured in the blast, and has to be taken to the hospital. 2. Brother Jack was the leader of the Brother hood. He was the one who sought out the narrator to become part of the Brotherhood. Tod Clifton was the youth leader of the Brotherhood. Tod was black and a handsum man, who lead the youth section of the Brotherhood, but in the end he betrayed the Brotherhood. Ras the Exhorter was a man against the Brotherhood. He wanted black versus white hate and was opposed to all the Brotherhood was up to. Sybil was a women in the Brotherhood, who was married. The narrator wanted to suduce her to find out what she knew, but she turned out to know nothing at all. 3. The symbolic significance of Mary's cast-iron coin bank is of what black people stand for to white people. The coin bank made the narrator angry, because it was symbolic of blacks, being slaves to white people, and how some white people though of black people as entertainment, and were not actually people but where just animals. 4. I believe that the narrator was unnamed for two reasons. One being that most of the novel was a flash back to things that had happened and he was explaining about himself, and we didn't need to know his name since we knew so much about him. Secondly because of the title of the book Invisible being mysterious, and to follow that the author decided not to tell the readers the narrators name to follow the mystery of the title. 5. The Brotherhood was an organization of people who believed in total unity of all of the races. Their purpose was to organize together as brothers and make every one of all nationalities and colors be in peace with each other, to respect every race as friends, as brothers.

Energy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Energy - Assignment Example 1. Electrical energy: I use electrical energy originating from the state’s power house and travelling through power lines to reach my machines. The energy is renewable as the power plants are hydro-electric. In my chosen location, Sumter South Carolina, the most appropriate renewable source of energy is electrical energy. This is because the power house of South Carolina uses water to generate electricity. Water is ample here as there is good water management in this state. Rainwater also accumulates in dams which becomes a good source of electricity. Some people have also implemented solar panels but that is not a good idea as the changing season does not provide ample solar energy all the year. The two inappropriate sources of energy in this location include chemical energy and radiant energy. Chemical energy becomes inappropriate when people burn coal and other fossils for fire and other purposes. This causes pollution, thus making the environment not so green. An alternative is to use heat energy from gas heaters since South Carolina has a number of natural gas providers. Radiant energy, which originates from electromagnetic waves, is inappropriate when people use it to cook or warm food through unnatural means, such as the microwave. People are using microwaves more and more often to cook food, which makes it harmful when the radiant energy of the microwave comes into contact with the food particles over a prolonged period of time. Electrical energy is a safer alternative allowing local people to cook food on stoves. The advent of technology has greatly facilitated the implementation of renewable energy resources. Stapleton (2010, p.178) states that since there are billions of people who do not have access to clean water, sanitation, and modern services that produce affordable energy, the need for renewable energy (RE) technologies will be on its rise in the coming years to cater to the

What Made Amitaba Buddha's Pureland Speical to Sentient Beings Essay

What Made Amitaba Buddha's Pureland Speical to Sentient Beings - Essay Example However, Pureland Buddhism exalted the idea that even people who had no special knowledge could eventually one day reach the purelands if they had the desire to reach them. Pureland Buddhism stresses that â€Å"†¦ordinary beings are not born in a land of [a buddha in his body of] glory [because they have not ... can earn this distinction if they take refuge in the Vows of Amitabha Buddha and aspire for Birth in his Pure Land†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 1 This is a revolutionary concept because usually it has been necessary for someone to devote his or her life to religious practice before one can become an arhat, or person who is a foe destroyer. A foe destroyer is basically a person who has cleansed himself of all delusions, any hatred, and any greediness. Once the person becomes an arhat, he or she is enlightened and has reached the pinnacle of his or her spiritual practice. What is so amazing about Pureland Buddhism is that one can reach the stage of nirvana in Pureland practice, without h aving to be an arhat. This is significant because it was previously thought, in many situations, that a person would have to dedicate his or her entire lifetime in order to attain the worlds of the purelands available. However, it is now known that one need not be anyone special or revered in order to attain buddhahood in Pureland Buddhism. Simply the desire to want to have that knowledge grants the person to reach the purelands. Any ordinary, feeling or â€Å"sentient† beings have access to the Purelands if they so desire. That leads one to the next point. As long as someone had not committed one of the five inexpiable sins in Buddhism, reaching the purelands was possible for an ordinary person. These five inexpiable sins—which are basically sins that cannot be atoned for—include the following: 1) killing one’s mother; 2) killing one’s father; 3) killing an arhat (foe destroyer); 4) drawing blood from a tathagata (a buddha’s body); and 5) c ausing dissension within the sangha (the spiritual community). These are sins that cannot be forgiven. As long as none of these sins have been committed, the person is still able to achieve getting to the level of navigating any purelands through which the person desires to travel. Sentient beings, feelings beings, therefore, must not commit any of the five inexpiable sins in order to be able to attain the level of entering into the purelands. Anyone who had right intentions as a sentient being also was able to access the purelands with his or her own mind. Multiple worlds lay just beyond the reach of the ordinary person whose heart was in the right place. As such, that is how Pureland Buddhism differs from other branches of Buddhism. â€Å"[T]he most important statement of the buddha's covenant with sentient beings [was] promising to bring them to his Pure Land if they have the right attitude†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 2 In Pureland Buddhism, what is most essential is a person’s intentio ns. If the seeker has the right attitude, and he or she has a pure and good heart—it is much more likely that the seeker will find what is being searched for, which are the purelands. In search of the purelands, it is thought that anyone who sincerely has the desire to attain them will indeed be able to access them—not including those people who have committed any of the five inexpiable sins. In order to have proper intentions, it is important that the seeker purify his or her mind and make sure that his or her heart has only good and true intentions. That means that he or she is honest with everyone in every sense of the word. Some people are truthful but they are emotionally

White people Essay Example for Free

White people Essay ?Introduction: In this essay I am going to compose a piece of text which will involve the tension of Segregation. In the 1930s, although 50% of the population of Southern towns were black, they had no vote and could not marry whites. Also in the 1930’s, many black people lived in the southern states. During that time, racism reached its highest point. For instance, the whites treated the blacks very poorly because they thought that the blacks were lower than them. Therefore, the blacks had to fight for the right to be treated equally. As a result, black people had to face the Jim Crow Laws and the Ku Klux Klan. In my own opinion I think that the 1930 was a turbulent time for race relations in America. Paragraph 1: The first racism incident that I have spotted out and chosen to write about in my essay is when the Wallace’s’ poured kerosene over Mr Berry and his nephews and lit them on fire. One of the nephews died, the other one is alive but has the same condition as Mr Berry. The reason why the Wallace’s poured kerosene over the Berry’s was because they caught them flirting with a white woman which wasn’t allowed back then. In fact, it was not even true! The Berry’s didn’t even flirt with her. They lied about it. The quote that goes with this event was when mama (Cassies’ mum) said to her kids, â€Å"The Wallaces did that, children. They poured kerosene over Mr Berry and his nephews and lit them afire. † â€Å"Everyone knows they did it, and the Wallaces even laugh about it, but nothing was ever done. † At this right moment I feel disgusted and baffled that people could actually do this in the 1930s. The sympathy for the Wallace’s has decreased because setting fire to someone is arson and that makes Mr Wallace and his clique an arsonist. Also it makes us feel that the Wallaces are black-hearted and atrocious people, because who would want to set a person on fire? Then laugh about it. The sympathy for the Berrys has definitely increased because of what happened to both Mr Berry and his two nephews is utterly excruciating and the fact that there is no reason behind why the Wallaces did it, makes the reader feel more sorrowful for them. On the other hand in the book it says, â€Å"Disfigured man lying in the darkness† In that quote you can see how dreadful his injuries were. He was even camouflaging with the darkness; see that is real bad? Paragraph 2: The second racism incident that I found very crucial was when Cassie bumped into Lillian Jean Simms by accident but Lillian Jean still DEMANDED for a sorry and for Cassie to get on her knees instantly. As well as this was racism, it was also bullying in some kind of way because Cassie didn’t want to get on her Knees but she still got forced. â€Å"Kicking at the sidewalk, my head bowed. It was then that I bumped into Lillian Jean Simms. † Cassie really didn’t mean to bump into Lillian Jean at all but she took it over the top reacted to the bump by saying, â€Å"why don’t you watch were you’re going? † â€Å"Well apologize† â€Å"That ain’t enough. Get down in the road† This right here is what you call racism. Cassie didn’t intend to bump into Lillian Jean, it was just an accident but because Cassie is black they didn’t care at all. Cassie even got pushed around by Mr Simms. Mr Simms was even sticking up for his daughter even though she was in the wrong. Lillian Jeans’ father was saying to Cassie that when Lillian tells you that you should get off the sidewalk, you get off it. The sympathy towards Lillian Jean Simms has totally decreased because what she did was just too dramatic and it was just a ‘bump’. In my opinion Cassie did not have to go on her knees because she didn’t deliberately bump into her; all that should have been done was an apology to Lillian. My sympathy towards Cassie has increased more. The reason why I said this was because she was intimidated and forced to get on her knees even though she had already shed a tear; they didn’t care, they just wanted an apology from her. Conclusion: To sum up I think that Racism is totally unacceptable and utterly inglorious. In this novel I think that Taylor was trying to put across the fact of what the black people had to go through in the 1930s every day of their lives, and how their wouldn’t even be an us our even a peaceful world if racism was still occurring. I also think that Taylor is trying to compare today’s life to the 1930s and too see how much the black people suffered.

The Economy and Environment of Canada :: Geography

The Economy and Environment of Canada 1. The expression "official area of Canada" refers to the actual landmass of the country, thereby including all inland bodies of water, whereas "Greater Canada" includes external peninsular and coastal bodies of water (e.g. Hudson and James Bay). 2. As Hamelin stated, Canada has been both blessed and cursed by isolation and accessibility. Settlement was not possible in Canada until a relatively recent historical period. The Canadian coastline, at any point, is too great a distance to allow for regular trade via sea, thus creating an economic dependancy on the United States, Canada's oldest and original trading partner. This, however, has given Canada a relative amount of safety, being too inaccessible in historic battles. Given Canada's great expanse, it was forced to create an extensive communication/transportation network, the first wind from the bellows of Canadian industry. Because of Canada's size there are a variety of industries available for cultivation, however because of this diversity no one particular industry is focused upon and none are truly achieving their economic potential. 3. The average Canadian's view of Canada is one of a giant land mass extending from west to east, capped by hundreds of archipelagoes. The extent northward is often taken for granted given the practically nonexistant population (there are no large centres in the north) and the severed land. 4. There are few people living in the area north of 60 degrees for a few very obvious reasons. The sheer isolation is enough to drive any person from the area. There are no major commercial centres, and trade international trade is near impossible. The distance from Canada's single largest trading partner (The U.S.) is practically imeasurable. Even if that were not the case, sources of income are hard to come by given encironmental conditions. Mining and other resource based industries must deal with insurmountible cost and risk. 5. The most obvious agreements between the US and Canada are the FTA and the impending NAFTA. These economic agreements superficially remove trade barriers by eliminating tariffs and allowing the free exchange of goods, however the deal is much deeper than most realize. In the original FTA there are practically no environmental safeguards; we have all but sold our life blood (natural resources, most notably water) to the USA. It appears on the surface to be an act of sheer economic desperation designed to hold firm the trust and support of America with little thought for future stability. The NAFTA will see a surge of industry head south in search of cheap labour and lower taxes; the effect on the Canadian

How does Islamic architecture reflect Muslim beliefs? Essay

One of the most overlooked topics about the Muslim religion is its architecture; often times, Islam is always associated with the Koran, the Ramadan and such and most people are oblivious to the fact that these people also have been able to impact the world of architecture. Their structures are patterned such that the buildings and structures they create represent their religious beliefs. One style in architecture that reflects the belief of the Islamic people is their architectural decoration. The Islam religion dislike figurative representation; in turn, their architectural designs consists primarily of calligraphy and abstract ornaments and are often times coupled by colorful designs. (Farlex Encyclopedia) These calligraphic designs are often times based on the Koran. One other important thing in the Islam architecture is the design of their mosques. Basically, the Islamic mosque is a simple structure designed as a square structure with colonnades placed along the qibla wall. The design and function of this structure is said to allow the Muslims to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder in rows facing the Ka’ba when they pray. This style of architecture also creates a sense of space evoking spirituality of the environment, a feeling of peace, and the feeling of harmony and humbleness evoked in the individual during times of worship. (Hilal Plaza) These simple and oftentimes overlooked style of the Muslims in their architectural designs in reality hold more meaning than the contemporary architectures of our time, their style stresses the importance of the meaning of a structure over its aesthetic value.