Capital, Resource or People? Contemporary Trends in Personnel Management
Streszczenie
People should be at the centre of attention within knowledge-based economics.
The leaders of each enterprise ought to focus on providing the best conditions
for their employees’ professional and individual development and treat them
with respect in terms of their dignity and needs. In contemporary literature two
notions in perceiving people in organisations are noticeable. The first one treats
employees as ‘resources’ which have to be properly used or as ‘capital’ that
should bring a decent return on investment. The second notion derives a lot from
Christian philosophy and sees the human as a person who treats work as a way
to realize his calling and thus is able to take responsibility for the decisions
made and actions taken.
Acting in a constantly changing environment, people have to be flexible
and able to take advantage of emerging opportunities and avoid threats. Within
this process it is not a matter of being a human ‘being’ but rather becoming,
which means that they are incessantly developing their potential. Although it is
hard to predict human behaviour, the main task for managers is to lead in a way
that will help employees use their full potential for both their own and
the company’s benefit.