Human Capital Management and Development
The present and current scenario has seen the use of human capital management (HCM) and human capital development (HCD) by scholars and practitioners alike. What is human capital management and development? Simply stated, human capital means people. Is that not similar as human resources, workers or employees in organizations? The phrase “people or human resources are our greatest asset” are often heard. The term ‘human capital’ originated in 1954 from economic theories when the notion of capital investments was discussed not only in material capital but also on human capital (Schultz, 1971; Becker, 1964). Subsequently, Jacob Mincer discussed on investing in human capital and personal income distribution in 1958 and followed by Becker’s book entitled Human Capital, published in 1964, which became a standard of reference for many years. However, the term ‘human capital’ was rarely used in organizations and by professional practitioners due to its negative undertones and its association with economics. Nevertheless, the term ‘human capital’ emerged again and used popularly to describe human resources in organization since 2003 (Scholz, 2007). Scholars suggested that the idea of human capital is people whose assets are of value and can be enhanced through investment. Indeed, there has been many definitions given to describe the concept of ‘human capital’ but scholars argued that there is nothing new or different beyond the repertoire of knowledge, competency, attitude and behavior embedded in an individual (Youndt et al, 2004; Rastogi, 2000). Hence, human capital management can be defined as the process of acquiring, developing, deploying and the retention of the collective knowledge, skills and abilities of an organization’s employees by implementing processes and systems that match employee talent to the organization’s overall business goals. Whilst, human capital development is the process of developing and retaining the existing knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies of employees,