Human assets
A Human being is the most important asset on planet earth. All other amenities of planet earth exist at the service and control of the human being. All the impressive innovations and inventions that have come into play since the beginning of time are attributed to the skills of the human being. Interestingly, most human beings feel under-appreciated and, even more interestingly, by other human beings.
It is quite ironic that despite the need in every human being to feel appreciated, humans have a knack for taking other human beings for granted and belittling the talents and contributions of others. In the entertainment industry, we have the issues of piracy that come in when people fail to respect and appreciate the talents of others and belittle them by producing imitations that are sold at pathetic prices.
In the professional industry, one would think the human resource department would be the most robust, active and creative but you find that in most companies, the human resource department is only considered a machinery to facilitate the process of hiring and firing, in which humans become a commodity that a company pays in exchange for the commodity’s time. Also it serves as a department for basic housekeeping involving these commodities.
Rarely are human resource departments equipped to effectively manage and motivate the work force with tools that evolve with the modern inventions and the speed at which the world in general is changing. For instance, in the digital era, communication is instant which makes information to be passed from person to person at rapid speed and in turn influences the rate at which work is done and decisions are made. This fact also means people can work or receive information without having to be physically present at the office or factory, the district or even the country.
Nowadays, whether people are in the office or not, there are usually still working through their phones and laptops. This means that the old way of measuring an employee’s input or output only by hours spent in the office is fast becoming misguided. Actually, most employees need to be paid overtime for all the work done outside the official hours and realms. (Laughs Out Loud!). The point is human resource department have to become more creative at keeping up with the human assets in various organisations and keeping in touch with their various motivations, i.e., mental, physical, spiritual, social, emotional and economical.
In the political and government arena, appreciation is also a constant conflict between the voters and the elected. Voters usually feel like they are used by politicians, who become government when they get into power, and then conveniently tossed away after. So the whirlwind romance conveniently laced with presents, dates and happy-forever-after promises in the run-up to the elections soon turns into a nasty power struggle fuelled by the need from each party to feel appreciated. The government expects the people to appreciate all the efforts it is making in the interests of the people while the people feel ripped off and expect the government to show appreciation by recognising and serving the people who put it in power in the first place.
This effect trickles down to society at large where we have the bourgeoisie and the proletariat in similarly constrained relationship. Laced with rising bile, the bourgeoisie scream what would you have if it were not for us? And the proletariat retorts what would you do if it were not for us? Again each party wants to be appreciated for the various services they provide to society. Unfortunately, as the struggle rages on, the gap between the haves and have-nots grows wider as both parties seek to remain relevant and to have their relevance acknowledged.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to one thing, humans are assets that need to be protected and appreciated by other humans. The need to be relevant and important in our various circles as assets in the world at large is an important motivational factor that can foster good relations and can accelerate production and development. Think about this. Despite the headway scientists (who are human themselves) have made in the world, they are far from developing a complete replica of a human being. A human being is priceless and complex asset. Let us appreciate that fact for a moment. And then, appreciate it infinitely.
I rest my case.
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