True or false: a company\u2019s most valuable resource is its people.<\/p>\n
Though the answer is \u201ctrue,\u201d many have an erroneously negative impression of the functional department\u2014human resources (HR)\u2014that manages personnel and more, according to Juan I. Sanchez<\/strong>, professor and Knight Ridder Byron Harless Eminent Scholar Chair in Management, Department of Management and International Business in the College of Business Administration.<\/p>\n [flv:http:\/\/business.fiu.edu\/newsletters\/BusinessNetworks\/2008\/09\/videos\/sanchez.flv 500 334]<\/p>\n \u201cPeople see the HR function occupying the bottom of organizations,\u201d he said, noting that employees regard HR professionals as police who intervene in conflicts; counselors who help employees whose problems are interfering with their performance; entertainers with the budget to organize social events complete with invitations, food, and balloons; and bureaucrats who handle paperwork.<\/p>\n Sanchez argues that taking this limited\u2014and distorted\u2014view of HR management causes companies to overlook the vital contributions that HR managers can make to improving the bottom line. That role is especially true now when intangible factors, such as talent and creativity, have replaced tangible ones, such as infrastructure, as most important for success.<\/p>\n Consider AT&T as an example of a company once competing effectively based on tangible assets and Southwest Airlines embodying the notion of drawing on intangible ones.<\/p>\n \u201cTwenty-five years ago, if you wanted to make a long distance call, AT&T owned the infrastructure,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter a series of technology breakthroughs, such as fiber optics and most importantly, wireless communication, callers no longer need to rely on the AT&T infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n Contrast that model with Southwest Airlines, which factors in personality and talent, hiring people compatible with the airline\u2019s image of reliability, no frills, and informality as a way to compete.<\/p>\n \u201cTo support that strategy, you need the kind of person who will be flexible, informal, and who doesn\u2019t take himself or herself too seriously,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n With a shift to focusing on intangibles, HR needs to approach its role differently.<\/em><\/p>\n Organizations must turn to HR to identify, hire, and train the right people in this world of intangible capital. As a result, HR can play a role in enhancing profitability. However, for HR to fulfill its valuable place as a strategic partner, its managers need to redefine and reposition themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst, they need to understand the entire business very well\u2014what their organization does and how it does it,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cThen they can pinpoint actions that fit the strategy so they can motivate people to behave in ways that are consistent with the company\u2019s strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" True or false: a company\u2019s most valuable resource is its people. Though the answer is \u201ctrue,\u201d many have an erroneously negative impression of the functional department\u2014human resources (HR)\u2014that manages personnel and more, according to Juan I. Sanchez, professor and Knight Ridder Byron Harless Eminent Scholar Chair in Management, Department of Management and International Business in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,14],"tags":[1122,1125,1427],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=995"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24121,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions\/24121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}