In order for a manager to effectively use his or her workforce, the manager will need to build human capital in an efficient manner that will allow employees to live up to their full potential. Daft and Marcic define human capital as "the economic value of the combined knowledge, expertise, skills, and capabilities of employees." (Daft & Marcic, p. 309) Looking at myself as an organization, I can build my own human capital be gaining more knowledge and skills in certain areas. This can be done through classes that I take at school, such as this one that teaches me about the Fundamentals of Management. I can gain more experience and skills by joining various clubs that are offered, or obtaining a leadership position of sorts. Managers at organizations typically build human capital by finding the best talents and increasing their skills through training programs and other opportunities. To drive performance, further actions must be taken. As an organization myself, I can drive my own performance by incentivizing tasks. For example, I might reward myself for a couple of hours of studying with an hour of a video game break. This can translate directly to an organization with managers incentivizing employees with salaries and bonuses.
Further going on the lines about building an effective workforce, it is important to take note of the changing social contract. In the past, employees could "contribute ability, education, loyalty, and commitment and expect in return that the company would provide wages and benefits, work, advancement, and training throughout the employee's working life." (Daft & Marcic, p. 314) In short, employees were guaranteed certain positions and promotions in the past. Looking at the organizational climate today, it is more likely that something in the corporation could happen that could prevent these actions for the employees. For example, a company might go out of business, or be acquired by another company. In these cases, the employee might be let go by the company. Other factors that have led to the loss of positions in organizations include downsizing, outsourcing, rightsizing, and restructuring. This changing social contract both makes sense to me, but is also stressful in other regards. For example, stability in a job is something that I would value. However, i understand that working in other organizations can lead to development and growth in a person, which is another virtue that I like. While stability is a nice comfort to have, there is a fair trade-off when it comes to the growth of an employee. This is why I believe the changing social contract is not too bad of a thing for employees to worry about.
The last important factor in human resources is maintaining an effective workforce and managing diversity in the workplace. Daft and Marcic state that the key way to maintain an effective workforce "involves compensation, wage and salary systems, benefits, and occasional terminations." (Daft & Marcic, p. 329) I believe that all of these systems hold true, and can be related into my own life as well. To remain efficient while I am doing work, I like to allow myself some sort of wage, such as a short break time. Organizations can also keep up efforts of employees by offering bonuses for accomplishing some tasks. Diversity in the workplace is also important for the culture of the organization. The diversity can be broadened and managed in an organization by creating environments in which everyone feels welcome. Keeping diversity is important because it will allow for new perspectives and new ideas. I keep myself diverse in my life by being open to people no matter what their background is. I like to listen to everyone and keep new ideas in my life, which is what managers do in a diverse organization.
- Sayuz
Sources:
Daft, Richard L. Management. 9th ed., Cengage Learning, 2018.
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