Section Four
For example, trend forecasters Naisbitt and Aburdene
concluded the following:
The recognition that people are a company’s
critical resource—and its greatest storehouse of
knowledge—is creating a boom in corporate
training and education. Corporations are finally
willing to invest in people and their skills through
training and education to the degree that they
have always invested in equipment.^53Unfortunately, while it is hoped that this excerpt
characterizes the current commitment of companies to training,
past practices indicate that when economic activity wanes
many companies slash their training outlays. Thus, the
commitment that Naisbitt and Aburdene observed may be
illusory, at least in some companies. An additional problem is
that for training to be most effective, it needs to be systematic
and continuous. Companies that conduct training on a “boom-
and-bust” basis are unlikely to develop the kinds of human
resources they need to gain a competitive advantage.
Nonetheless, there are excellent companies that demonstrate a
genuine commitment to their human resources, such as
Motorola. A sense of this commitment is provided by a
comment from a previous chief executive officer of Motorola,
who stated that people are “the ultimate high technology.”^54