investment in human resource (education)
JUSTIFICATION OF GOVERNMENTS HUGE INVESTMENT IN HUMAN RESOURCE (EDUCATION) BY: AGYARE A REGINALD
National development is the key to every nation’s survival. For a nation to develop, there are some critical factors that should be taken into consideration, one of such crucial factors is human resource development. It is against this backdrop that this paper exacts the importance of human resource development and the investment that governments are making in that direction.
Economists all over the world have determined that investing in education to develop human resource or capital can provide organisations with an efficient workforce capable of providing high productivity which can subsequently enhance economic growth and national development. This is evident in submissions made by renowned economists such as Theodore W Schultz, Adam Smith, Bontis et al, Frederick Harbison, Scarborough and Elias.
Schultz (1981) elaborated the concept of human capital as considering all human abilities as being either innate or acquired, ie, attributes which are valuable and can be augmented by appropriate investment.
Adam Smith defined human capital as the acquired and useful abilities of all the inhabitants or members of the society. The acquisition of such talents, by the maintenance of the acquirer during his education, study, or apprenticeship, always costs a real expense, which is a capital fixed and realized, as it were. Those talents, as they make a part of his fortune, so do they, likewise that of the society to which he belongs. The improved dexterity of a workman may be considered in the same light as a machine or instrument of trade which facilitates and abridges labour, and which, though it costs a certain expense, repays that expense with a profit.
Bontis (1999) defines human capital as the human factor in an organisation; the combined intelligence, skills and expertise that gives an organisation its distinctive character. The human elements of the
National development is the key to every nation’s survival. For a nation to develop, there are some critical factors that should be taken into consideration, one of such crucial factors is human resource development. It is against this backdrop that this paper exacts the importance of human resource development and the investment that governments are making in that direction.
Economists all over the world have determined that investing in education to develop human resource or capital can provide organisations with an efficient workforce capable of providing high productivity which can subsequently enhance economic growth and national development. This is evident in submissions made by renowned economists such as Theodore W Schultz, Adam Smith, Bontis et al, Frederick Harbison, Scarborough and Elias.
Schultz (1981) elaborated the concept of human capital as considering all human abilities as being either innate or acquired, ie, attributes which are valuable and can be augmented by appropriate investment.
Adam Smith defined human capital as the acquired and useful abilities of all the inhabitants or members of the society. The acquisition of such talents, by the maintenance of the acquirer during his education, study, or apprenticeship, always costs a real expense, which is a capital fixed and realized, as it were. Those talents, as they make a part of his fortune, so do they, likewise that of the society to which he belongs. The improved dexterity of a workman may be considered in the same light as a machine or instrument of trade which facilitates and abridges labour, and which, though it costs a certain expense, repays that expense with a profit.
Bontis (1999) defines human capital as the human factor in an organisation; the combined intelligence, skills and expertise that gives an organisation its distinctive character. The human elements of the
References: 1. Michael Armstrong, (2006), Human Resource Management And Practice, Tenth Edition 2. Wikipedia the free encyclpedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_capital 3. Dr Baafi Frimpong, MELS 561 lecture manual