The Encyclopedia of Human Resources (IV)

Terms like "human resources" and "human capital" may be perceived as insulting to people. They create the impression that people are merely commodities, like office machines or vehicles, despite assurances to the contrary.

In the very narrow context of corporate "human resources" management, there is a contrasting pull to reflect and require workplace diversity that echoes the diversity of a global customer base. Foreign language and culture skills, ingenuity, humor, and careful listening, are examples of traits that such programs typically require. It would appear that these evidence a general shift through the human capital point of view to an acknowledgment that human beings do contribute much more to a productive enterprise than "work": they bring their character, their ethics, their creativity, their social connections, and in some cases even their pets and children, and alter the character of a workplace. The term corporate culture is used to characterize such processes at the organizational level.

The traditional but extremely narrow context of hiring, firing, and job description is considered a 20th century anachronism. Most corporate organizations that compete in the modern global economy have adopted a view of human capital that mirrors the modern consensus as above. Some of these, in turn, deprecate the term "human resources" as useless. Yet the term survives, and if related to `resourcefulness', has continued and emerging relevance to public policy.

Source: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Related Post(s):
1. The Encyclopedia of Human Resources (I)
2. The Encyclopedia of Human Resources (II)
3. The Encyclopedia of Human Resources (III)
4. The Encyclopedia of Human Resources (IV)
5. The Encyclopedia of Human Resources (V)
6. The Encyclopedia of Human Resources (VI)
7. The Encyclopedia of Human Resources (VII)
8. The Encyclopedia of Human Resources (VIII)