Section Oneeffort. Nontraditional investment approaches will also be
examined. These include investments in disabled employees,
investments in employee health, and countercyclical hiring.
HUMAN RESOURCE INVESTMENT CONSIDERATIONS...
Several factors will be considered in the discussion of strategic
human resource investment decisions. As noted earlier, these
will include management’s values, views of risk, the economic
rationale for investment in training, utility theory, and
alternatives to human resou1rce investments. Investments in
training are covered in this section because they are
fundamental to the formation of human capital. Firms also
invest in many other human resource practices with the expec-
tation that there will be impacts on performance and financial
returns.
Management Values
Fundamental values must be addressed in many human
resource issues, particularly those involved in major strategic
initiatives. When senior managers formulate and implement
strategies, their values and philosophies are communicated to
members of the organization through human resource policies
and practices.^7 For example, senior managers who are