A common refrain among executives is “People are our most important asset.” Relate this statement to any two of the four perspectives of organizational effectiveness presented ion this chapter. Does this statement apply better to some perspectives than to others? Why or why not?

This is an open discussion question because the statement can relate to all four perspectives of organizational effectiveness.

Open systems -- probably the least focus on employees of the four perspectives. People represent the internal subsystems of organizations, so are vital in that respect. Some employees are also “boundary spanners” in that they link the organization to the external environment.

Organizational learning -- this perspective views employees as reasonably important because they hold a large portion of intellectual capital (human capital and possibly some forms of relationship capital). People bring knowledge into the organization and are largely responsible for sharing that knowledge. Knowledge use is also ultimately a human endeavor.

High performance work practices -- arguably the perspective that views people (employees) as the most critical resource. HPWPs embrace the human capital model; they consider employees as competitive advantage. HPWP are practices to leverage or unleash the competitive advantage potential of employees.

Stakeholder -- Employees are one type of stakeholder, so the statement applies to this perspective. It recognizes that employees have a vested interest in the organization and its actions.

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