"Human Capital in the Supply Chains of Global Firms"

David Griffith

Organizational Dynamics

Vol, 35, No. 3, pp. 251-263

This article explores dimensions of Human Capital that are seen as necessary for organizational success in the Global environment. Two general dimensions are explored: analytical capital and social capital.

Analytical capital "reflects an individual's ability to conceptualize a problem, isolate its components, organize information for decision-making, establish criteria for evaluation, and draw appropriate conclusions." This dimension is further sub-divided into the needed areas of:

• Tacit knowledge—This refers to "an intellectual and cognitive process that is neither expressed nor declared openly, but rather implied or simply understood." Tacit knowledge is seen as providing the foundational point of reference from which global supply chain personnel can adapt to changing situations.
• Experiential framing—This refers to "an individual's ability to apply past experiences to different problems and their related solutions." This can be helpful in the ability to replicate successes in different environments.
• Prioritization of problems—This refers to "an individual's ability to identify and rank those issues related to the achievement of the organization's goals." Supply chain personnel must be able to quickly and effectively sort through global issues to respond well and in time.
• Learning—This refers to "the process through which supply chain personnel acquire a dominant logic upon which to operate." Learning from different situations is important to minimize future mistakes.
• Unlearning—This refers to "the process through which a manager, or organization, relinquishes dominant logic or protocols for completing a task and acquires new logic or protocols".

Social capital "reflects an individual's abilities, personality traits, character traits, interpersonal abilities, work ethic, and attitudes." The key elements here are:

• Intuition—This refers to "a sense of certainty relating to an issue, decision, or course of action without specific knowledge as to how one came to a conclusion." This is useful in the global environment, where information is often lacking and change is continuous.
• Self-confidence—This refers to "an individuals' degree of perceived probability of success at a task." Self-confidence usually is related to performance in the global environment.
• Ambiguity tolerance—This refers to "the degree to which supply chain personnel can hold back their need for complete information related to their environment." Ambiguity is obviously high in diverse global environments.
• Stress management—The ability to function under pressure is key in the global environment.
• Flexibility—This attribute "implies not only the awareness of alternative options, but also a willingness to change one's behavior based upon an assessment of the alternatives." The global environment demands flexibility.

Four steps are identified to maximize human capital in the global environment:

1. Assess the tasks facing supply chain personnel—The functions of the global supply chain should be specified, and then the firm must identify the tasks to be performed in each function.
2. Assess human capital and the mindset of managers—Psychological tests, scenario exposure, or post hoc review of past behaviors can be used.
3. Match job tasks to human capital.
4. Assess the effectiveness of the supply chain personnel and developmental planning.

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