Learning to walk in the Customer's Shoes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Learning to walk in the Customer's Shoes - Essay Example During the technology boom years of the 1990s, TI became a product- and technology-centric organization taking advantage of the demand of the times. However, when the technology bubble burst with the change in market demands, TI’s technology-centric business had to drastically reengineer itself into a customer-centric one to be able to effectively compete for new business. This necessitated a re-orientation of the entire TI organization, which was effectively accomplished by BTS USA, a global supplier of computer-based simulations for learning. Human resource development is involved in three main areas: individual, occupational, and organizational development. Development of the individual addresses skill and career development. Occupational and group development addresses the integration of cross-functional individuals through a team building program, or for informing and training employees about new products and services. Organizational development involves the introduction of a new culture or ways of operating, such as introduction of a customer care program or quality management which requires the involvement of all individuals or groups in the organization (Wilson, 2005, pp. 15-16). In order to effect the change from technology- to customer-centric, TI had to conduct training on all three areas. The approach it took of first training its executives is the right approach. Senior management must lead the way in organizational change by providing both the leadership and commitment of the necessary resources. Documented b est practices show that senior management must make the organization’s objectives as their personal objectives and must be able to measure their own achievements, they must fully understand the process that the organization has to go through, and they must provide necessary support, empowerment and authority down the line (Cooper & Edgett, 2003). Had TI decided to train its front-line

VALUE OF HUMAN CAPITAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

VALUE OF HUMAN CAPITAL - Essay Example The accountants continue to ignore the value of human capital and stick to the age-old theory of ratio analysis and interpretation of financial statements. Ironically, these too are fraught with errors and can be easily manipulated to deceive the stakeholders. The happenings at Enron are well known when all they were concerned was with maximizing shareholder value and hence they hid debts and overemphasized profits (Gardner, 2006). Dubious accounts were passed and the account that was presented to the public was fraught with discrepancies. At WorldCom the company’s profits were artificially boosted and costs were considered as capital investment, on which they even claimed depreciation (Bhattacharya, 2004). All these helped the company to sustain its apparently smooth and rapid earning growth. The stock prices were artificially escalated and the company loan was used to buy personal properties. Several such instances can be found round the world and such manipulation is possible only with the connivance of the auditors or the accountants. Human capital has become important as it is the source of innovation and strategy. Human capital is the combination of genetic inheritance, education, experience and attitude towards life and business (Bontis and Fitz-enz, 2002). Tacit knowledge is acquired by interacting with others and is connected to life’s experiences. This tacit knowledge has to be converted and retained within the organization so that they can compete in the knowledge-based economy (Marwick, 2001). Human capital adds value, is not substitutable and leads to sustained competitive advantage. At Microsoft, human capital is the greatest asset, is demonstrated by the fact that they form teams to accelerate design and test new software modules. They invest in people and technology and they have learnt how to share knowledge rapidly through out the organization (Edmondson, 2003). They