Human Capital - A Quality Factor For The Competitiveness Of IT Companies

This paper treats quality, human capital and competitiveness concepts in order to determine in which measure the Human Capital quality influences the competitiveness of a firm. The human capital theory is a relatively new approach, the first valuable approach being that of Garry Becker which, subsequent of the modern management theoretical views, puts human capital into scientific frame. This present paper relates deeply on this theoretical frame as it is considered that, besides financial or tangible resources that allows and generate long term benefits for an enterprise, there is also another source that consists in an intangible form: the human capital. This resource is based on education and health, indirectly generating additional benefits for the individual as for the organization and is calculated as instruction, education and health insurances costs. That implies that this capital is an asset for the worker itself and that the worker cannot be distinguished from the knowledges, capacities, his health or his values. From this perspective, the worker is actively present in any activity a firm operates: from defining and executing process, operational planning, monitoring and control, research and development, human resources, etc. The hypothesis of this present paper will be explored with the examples of Jeff Bezos ( Amazon ) or Steve Jobs ( Apple ) as human capital is considered to be the most important component for the competitive advantage of IT enterprises. The quality level of the human capital represents the main source for long term sustainability of this competitive advantage and, given the best case practices, it’s impact on firm’s effect indicators is obvious. The paper will also emphasize the role of values and health as they are also the main issues on an IT enterprise. The article is structured in two parts. One is the theoretical frame that encompass the influence of the human capital on the competitiveness of the firm. The second part treats where the following aspects: IT enterprise competitiveness, the relationship between human capital and competitiveness as well as techniques, instruments for highlighting the influence of the human capital quality over the competitiveness of an IT enterprise.