THE HUMAN CAPITAL AND

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Managing human capital is always a
challenge, in fact a big challenge.
Effective human resources
management is one of the most
important in creating and maintaining
a competitive advantage for any
business entity.
 From Personnel to Human
Resources
Ideally, people management ought to be aligned
with business strategy. HR planning is good
insofar as it supports the corporate vision-
mission. Despite the business serious concern
with human resources, however, it seems that the
HR function is oddly disconnected from strategic
planning and line functions. That disconnection
is evident on two primary levels, according to
Tracey and Nathan in their 2002 study of the HR
management, specifically in the hospital business
( hotel and restaurant business).
 1. Tracey and Nathan argued that, in many instances,
business leaders fail to fully consider HR influences when
making long term plans. While most executive
acknowledge the importance of HR for implementing
strategic plans. making it happen, only a few of them
formally incorporate HR concerns when developing a
strategic direction.
2. While the predominant framework requires
consideration of HR strengths and weaknesses during the
strategy-formulation process, HR is primarily viewed as
an enabling function, responsible for implementing the
plan and thus largely ignored during the initial stages.
 3. Tracey and Nathan also argued that many HR
departments fail to execute even the most basic
functions effectively. Our researchers discovered
that many firms policies and practices are archaic,
inflexible, and do not directly benefit those who
are most keenly affected by HR actions.
4. That is what differentiates personnel with
human resources management. The latter is
always part of the overall business strategy, while
the former comes in only as part of the
implementation of the plan.
 Personnel managements
Negative image
Let us face one dark side of studying HR
management, that is, the perception of some
executives regarding the HR department. With
the perception goes how they treat that
department. According to Tracey and Nathan
(2002), HR is suffering from a negative image
in many hospitality and hotel organizations
and that, sadly, it has slowly earned that
negative image. The following adulterated
views of HR may be familiar:
 HR is basically an employee-advocate function and
represents the soft side of the business
HR is a cost center since it does not generate
revenue
HR serves as an administrative-support office and
organizes the company picnic (You are reminded
that the fast developing sector of business in the
Philippines is service, that is, labor-intensive
income generating sector);and
HR is responsible for implementing strategy, not
developing strategy.
 Introducing a new model in HR
management
The traditional role of HR is more appropriately along the
line of being personnel that is, not a strategic part of the
strategic whole. In this role, personnel professionals were
responsible for recruiting and hiring, compensation- and
benefit-program design, negotiating and administering
collective bargaining agreements, policy development,
personnel record-keeping, and serving as a conduit for
employee views and concerns.
Over the years, practitioners have renamed personnel
human resources or HR, and they have found its role in the
organization (in addition to its existing mere
implementing functions.) that is, one of the integrating
people, policies, and company culture.