Washington, DC - June 1, 2004 -- Stock prices and market values are increasingly driven by talent and other non-tangible capital. The competitive strength of companies, social organizations and countries are no longer restricted to physical assets or resources, but to the intellectual attributes of their knowledge workers. In fact, recent data indicates that for Standard and Poor 500 companies, only $1 of every $6 of market to book value represents financial or physical assets. The balance, of course, are intangible assets, among which the organization’s talent pool and the market’s perception of that talent, are key.
This represents a sea change in value creation, and today’s Human Resources structure, built on an administrative model in the manufacturing economy, simply is not the most effective model to deliver talent-based value. For decades, Human Resources workers and executives have been trained to build administrative processes that can function by the book and within a budget - not to think strategically about how to invest in, optimize or measure the return on game-changing talent.
In response to these issues, the Human Capital Institute - a new think-tank and education provider - today released its first position paper, entitled Harnessing the Elusive Asset by David C Forman, CEO of Sage Learning Systems in San Diego, California, and chairperson of HCI’s Education Advisory Board. Mr. Forman is a distinguished expert in organizational learning systems, and is the principal author of the Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM) Global Learning System.
HCI is focused forward on the most strategic definition of human capital as a critical lever for competitiveness and market success, states Michael Foster, Chairperson of HCI’s Executive Board. This paper provides a solid foundation for senior and c-level executives who are seeking to understand the context and new dynamics of attracting, hiring, aligning, advancing and retaining the best people in their markets.
Harnessing the Elusive Asset is the first in a series of HCI position papers, briefings and courses that address the broad spectrum of human capital issues, concepts and activities that contribute to better understanding and organizational practices.
The paper is available free to HCI members and press. Please download it now at:
Harnessing the Elusive Asset: Developing Intangible Organizational Capital
New HCI Position Paper Provides a Context for Optimizing the Value of Human Capital Assets