Human Resource as Most Important Essay

The importance of human resource (HR) can be explained through the analogy of a motorcycle. A motorcycle can’t run on its own without the function of its many parts. It needs to be serviced regularly, the parts oiled and sometimes, talking to it, helps in running of your motorbike. Trust me (I myself, own a Vespa). Ignorance of its squeaky brake pads, almost thread less rear tyres could hamper the motorbike’s performance on the road or worst; the death of its rider! These same principles apply for a company. An organization cannot unction without its employees as they are essentially its driving force. Patty (2010: 15) described employees as the ones that make decisions, negotiate and execute plans. An organization exists to deliver value for people, either as a single person or whole fully as a team (Mayo, 2001). As stated by Lawler (2003: 17), some organization’s market worth is in its intangible assets, such as its reputation, brand and human capital, are extremely vulnerable to sudden death spirals. These intangible assets wouldn’t exist if not for good performing employees. A company offering bike towing services wouldn’t be reputable anymore if its mployees start to not achieve its target of 30 minutes arriving at scene upon despatched. Alternatively, a cosmetic shop selling facial products when their sales assistant themselves do not have good facial complexions. As Mayo (2001: 26) states, â€Å"everything depends on people; their capability, motivation, creativity, passion and leadership. People manage the tangible assets, and they also maintain and grow the intangible ones. † Humans possesses unique feelings and emotions and when they are correctly identified and managed with the correct strategy, an organization is able to seamlessly attain its target without much problems. As Kant (1781) mentions, â€Å"Treat people as ends unto themselves rather than as means to an end. † Armstrong (2009: 14) then elaborates, ‘productivity is directly related to job satisfaction and the output will be high if they like their co-workers and are given pleasant supervision. ’ Employees share their personal human capital with their company as they believe they will be getting something in return. As a result, an employee in an organization becomes both the stakeholder and shareholder (Mayo, 2001). Employees are merely lending their personal human capital to their company and may switch so if they are not being treated right. Meanwhile, other assets of an organization do not have an emotional element attached to them. This refers to state-of-the-art technology that manufactures excellent, ‘clean’ products for mass selling. Companies such as Apple, Sony and Philips are all well renowned for their IT products. Big touch screen tablet computers. Bigger ‘LED’ Television screen and the list go on. However, it is by the use of the human resource that we are able to come out with such ideas and thinking on how our future daily products are to be like. Machines can never be exact substitutes for humans. It is the action of our own mindless workers in those factories hat we can control the technology to be turned on or off for exact made-to-order production figures. Those same workers will be the one to diagnose and repair the machines once they break down. The same applies to the rest of the assets. The organization’s financials, materials, and methodology couldn’t be derived without the help of the human resource. It is only through people that these factors could be idealised and generated. Stewart (2005: 3) defined intellectual capital as: ‘Intellectual material –knowledge, information, intellectual property, experience – that can be put to use to create wealth. An organization may start with zero capital but with honest, experienced and resourceful employees, their company might still be successful in the end. As highlighted, no other asset is as important as human resource in any organization. An organization needs the directives of its own staff as nothing else will drive the company forward. Employee actions are the mirror image of their organization. A good responsible, reputable and polite bike technician will give customer the same impression of the company. Good impressions will drive up the company’s monthly sales target. A bad reputation will lowly dwindle down sales targets and force customer to look for other better workshops. However, most companies think of fast super fast and easy methods of cutting down costs in times of crisis by letting go of their employees. It would only be common sense to cut down on your own staff as you’re now dealing with technologies and machines for your business but we are wrong. This perspective is also being supported by various accounting principles. Mayo (2001: 4) states that ‘They are much more likely to see the company being driven by efficiency and by minimizing costs. ’ This is largely due to the fact that human resource costs re easier to monitor, while the intangible values that they generate is not. So, human resources alone will not entail in good endings. It has to be nurtured properly from the start by a good human resource management (HRM). Only with good HRM will the company be recruiting the best talent for the job. With the proper strategy and fit in line, these ‘people’s managers’ will be the change agents for their employees and only then will their approach be fruitful. As stated by Armstrong (2009: 15), ‘the overall purpose of human resource management is to ensure the organization is able to achieve success through people’. As you can see, human resources are the most important asset in the organization. They are the one that drive the organization forward in making a significant contribution to their company’s success. The rest of the assets stated above are in pale comparison to human resource. However, only with a good HRM will the organization prosper. Given the proper infrastructure, high investment and even huge manpower but without a proper HRM, there is no way that organization could run successfully. Thus, human resource is the most important factor in determining the success and failure of any organization.