An industrial investigation to determine when investment in labour will be effective

摘要

This paper describes a new method for investigating the expected gains from investment in a workforce. A manager intuitively recognises the need to invest in their workforce; however it is difficult to measure any expected gains. Spending limited resources on employees is therefore often considered risky, resulting in underinvestment. The locked value in a workforce, which economists call human capital, is now established as having a key role in growth but the mechanism generating this growth is still unknown. Indicators of cultural factors have been demonstrated to be significant to growth; however the lack of a consistent definition of culture means that the concepts cannot be applied practically. It is likely that measurements actually capture unconsidered underlying factors which really cause the growth. Influence techniques are a likely candidate and provide a useful mechanism and framework. This paper provides the results of an industrial case study testing the hypotheses that influence and authority structures both improve and include standard measures of cultural factors. The most effective influence factors are considered and the implications and uses are included. This investigation provides a sound basis for improving management investment strategies as well as economic research.