The Difference Between Human Resources, Human Capital and Human Investment by Manoj Sharma

The Difference Between Human Resources, Human Capital And Human Investment by Manoj Sharma

Human resources is a general term used to represent the people element within organizations. In years past while organizations robotically said that their people were their greatest assets, this was mostly just lip service. Today with the human resource function within most professionally run organizations taking on a broader role beyond menial administration, the question of human capital and even human investment has become a topic of huge interest.

Naturally, this interest stems from the realization that human being are an expense that cost financial capital to acquire, maintain and retain. That the right human being in the right place within an organization can prove to be huge competitive advantages in the face of various challenges. And ultimately that if as an organization is investing in human resources, an organization needs to show clear return on investment in an increasingly pay-per-performance world.

At present (and in the foreseeable future) we still live in a world in which, without the human being there is no organization to speak off. The term organization in itself suggests a coming together, and somewhat ordered structuring of human beings. Human beings are at the core of all organizations and that is unlikely to change in a hurry.

While everything you and I can see, hear, smell, taste and touch comes from nature and transits along a value chain evolving into a commodity, then a product or service that finally culminates in an experience we are willing to pay for, the ultimate value creator and sustainer is always a human being. Therefore in the setting of an organization, the ultimate wealth creator, sustainer and scaler is a human being, aka. - a human resource.

The question of our time is how to translate our human resources into human capital and ultimately into human investment with the intention of reaping handsome financial and non-financial returns for the the human being involved and all concerned at the same time?

To answer this question, we need to start by becoming clear and defining what is human resource, what is human capital and what is human investment.

Consider the following as a starting points (and you are welcome to build upon them).

Human Resource is simply human potential. Potential with infinite capabilities and capacity with the possibility of beneficial engagement. Potential however, it must be noted does not have to be productive and that an opportunity has to be seized to translate potential into real value. Human Resource is a question of physicality.

Human Capital is a well employed human resource that is actively engaged in meaningful, worthwhile work and delivering some level of desired productivity. Human Capital is a question of factoring knowledge and application to physicality.

Human Investment is determined by the degree to which the human capital is productive and producing dividends. Human Investment is a question of physicality, knowledge and application channeled towards great returns on investment.

Consider that the challenge we are facing in the work environment today, is not just the lack of qualified people but the efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy with which our human resources are being translated into human capital and our human capital is being transformed into human investment.

The landscape has, a long time ago, in a progressive professional organization gone beyond just the physical presence of a human being; it has long since become about the human knowledge that comes with the presence of the human being and is increasing all about the human competency atop of the human knowledge that is quantified in solid results.

Great leaders and minds have clearly noticed a clear shift in the competitive world of business from a world of mind sets, to a world of skill sets and are now a world of business sets.

The question is, where does your organization stand in relation to this shifting paradigm? Are you focused on human resources, human capital or human investment? Your accurate and truthful answer and seeking of professional assistance when it comes to Human Resource, Human Capital and Human Investment Consultancy will determine your success and failure over the next few years.

Don't just think about it, like everyone else is, act upon it right now!

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com