Should companies prioritize developing their workforce above all else, or are there more effective says to spur growth? (business management)
☆Let’s Think
1.
What
is investment?
--- Investment is
spending resources in something for future returns. The word investment usually
means buying stocks, which will increase capitals of corporations. If the
company does well, investors will gain returns (dividends). We also use the
word figuratively as in “You should
invest your time and energy in many different things so that you can have wider
choices when you try to find a job.”
2.
What
is the major goal of the corporation?
--- The major goal
of the corporation is to make profits. They invest their money in various areas
to make profits.
3.
Exactly
what does a business invest its money in?
--- For example,
if you start an ice cream shop, you need to pay for the building to make and
sell ice cream, equipment, materials, workers, advertisements, research and
development, and so on.
4.
How
can the business benefit from educating and training its employees?
5.
Is
educating employees more important than renting a good-looking building, buying
efficient machines, buying better ingredients, using a famous advertising
company, or upgrading or inventing a good product or service? Why/Why not?
☆Hints for Points
［workers > other factors］
a.
Productivity
will increase because employees
will work more efficiently. They will work more in less time with fewer
mistakes.
b.
Turnover
rates and hiring costs will be lower
because the workers will be loyal
to the company. Loyalty, morale, and passion are
vital for a company to survive.
c.
Trained
employees will contribute to evolving the
company especially when it needs to change.
d.
Public
relations (PR) will improve as good employees
will improve the image of the company.
e.
Training
costs will decrease in the future because
workers will educate
themselves and each other.
f.
A
machine will not fix itself or grow
while a huma will.
［workers ≦ another factor/other
factors］
a.
Place:
Customers may increase. People will try a new building or location at
least once.
b.
Facilities
and materials: You can make better products that sell well more
efficiently and safely.
c.
Advertising:
Advertisements can
enhance profitability by brand recognition and loyalty;
they make your company known to new
consumers and get
customers to have better
image of the company and the products.
d.
Research
and development (R&D): Better
goods and services through product development will
make the company competitive. It
is innovation that will help the business survive in competition.
e.
Mechanization: Machines
are more efficient than humans. AI
learns much faster and makes better decisions than humans. In addition,
they are often better than humans in business
ethics. For example,
embezzlement won’t occur.
f.
Marketing counts a
lot. Going into the global market is more
important than investing in workers for a
company to survive in globalization.
☆Reply
for Ideas and Expressions
Because
of the contract stipulating that corporations work in order to increase
the capital that their shareholders have invested in, most
companies treat their workers as consumable supplies. However, they are actually
assets of the company. Therefore,
I believe that the most important thing business corporations should invest in
is the education and training of their employees. Business owners must realize
that it is not the bottom line but the workers that their business
depends on.
Marginalizing
workers is not wise. In general, companies
give workers little education and easily make them redundant. Not only
do they lay off workers for short-term
profits but also they try to cut costs
by outsourcing for cheap labor or by automation,
or robotization. However, not to speak of being inhumane,
these practices will not lead to development of the company. Uneducated
workforce with low morale lead to low performance.
High absenteeism and serious errors will cost the company money and
time. Turning unskilled workers into skilled
workers, will help avoid skilled-labor
shortage, which increases
long-term profits.
Most
workers will not waste training
resources as
long as they are treated properly. If they learn
how the business works, they will have more interest in it. If they learn
how to work quickly and neatly, they will practice it. If they are
shared ideas about a new product, they can
come up with better ones. They may also
provide valuable information, knowledge,
and opinions from
the people who actually do the job on the site.
There is an idea that people work for money and educating them does little to
improve their performance, but it is condescending to have such an idea about
workers. Most people have desire for improvement and companies should
invest in it. Possible adverse effects
among workers who are unhappy about frequent sessions
can be avoided by offering options between basic training only
and courses with advanced levels.
In
terms of other areas of investment, it should be remembered that the
performance of the people who are in charge will determine the
outcome. Product development needs the brain for innovation more
than facilities. Marketing requires not only data but also insight and
intuition. Sales relies mostly on relationship
skills of sales staff because customers or
clients need to trust the company before buying their products.
Manufacturing is improved by attentiveness and ingenuity of the workers
on the assembly line. People are the decisive factors in all
the areas of investment of business.
Personnel
are the most valuable asset of a company, which determines the
total productivity of the company. Therefore, their training and education is
the most important thing for business corporations to invest in. Besides, what
is a company all about if its workers are not happy and active at work?
☆Point
Structure Samples
Sample A
【Point
1】Merits of employee education
【Point
2】Merits of other types of
investment
【Point 3】Your decision
Sample B
【Point
1】Benefit of employee education 1
【Point
2】Benefit of employee education 2
【Point
3】Reasons why
employee education outweighs other types of investment
DRAFT
