Investing in People: Financial Impact of Human Resource Initiatives

Chapter 8. Staffing Utility: The Concept and Its Measurement

Management ideas and programs often have been adopted and implemented because they were fashionable (for example, Total Quality Management, Quality Circles, reengineering) or commercially appealing, or because of the entertainment value they offered the target audience.^[1] In an era of downsizing, deregulation, and fierce global competition, and as the costs of HR programs continue to be examined closely by operating executives, HR executives are under increasing pressure to justify new or continuing programs in more tangible ways. Such justification requires considering the relative payoffs (utilities) to the organization of alternatives for reaching objectives.

This chapter is the first ...