The classification of employees as human assets applies significantly in the organizational context and implication of the same from an investment viewpoint. When an organization views its human "assets" from an investment perspective, it establishes feasible policies and procedures on how to best invest it on its own people and deploy capital, resources and other variable factors of production to meet concrete performance goals. Since the human assets cannot be emulated, they become the competitive advantage that can help the organization rule the market.

The investment vista is gaining speed as the application-based knowledge has become more important than physical work. The paradigm shift is reflected by an organization's technology that invests more in people than capital. Thought and decision-making processes as well as skills in analyzing complex data are not owned by an organization but by the individual employees. In order to manage employees as investments, the development of a suitable and integrated approach to managing human resources in line with the organization's strategy becomes more important.

However, investment in human resources becomes risky when the skills imparted are general in nature during training as compared to specific skills which are not applicable to other organizations when an employee leaves. The human "assets" can satisfy their needs and wants unlike the other physical resources which are fixed. Till the time amortization of what is expended on the employees during the training and thereafter is obtained by the organization the investment situation remains critical.

HRM Review Magazine, Strategic Human Resource Management, Decision-Making Processes, Organizations Strategy, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Aditya Birla Group, Tata Consultancy Service, TCS, Performance Management System, Tata Management Training Center, TMTC, Marketing Strategies, Performance Appraisal System, Retention Strategies, Voluntary Retirement Scheme, Organizational Goals.