Are Humans Resources? LO15780

John Zavacki (jzavacki@greenapple.com)
Thu, 13 Nov 1997 05:19:33 -0500

Replying to LO15758 --

At say (in part):

>A resource is anything owned such that something can be taken from it.
>This is a linguistic fact - the meaning of the word resource. If some
>humans are a resource, then it means that they are owned so that something
>can be taken from them. This is slavery in a clever disguise. I do not
>want to own any human, not even in the tiniest part for whatever reason.
>Thus I cannot and will not typify any human ever as a resource.
>
>People who exploit humans as resources, want their human resource to be
>resourceful. In other words, they want their human resources to be fertile
>in expedients which then can be taken from them. Be forwarned, any person
>or group who plan to take without giving back at least what has been
>taken, will initially reap fertility, but in the end only desolation will
>remain.
>
>Humans are not resources, but creative creatures who each has to improve
>his/her creativity by learning. When humans do it together in a loving
>harmony, they are a Learning Organisation. Thus it is a contradiction to
>think of the humans in a LO as resources.

This thread is one which annoys me. There are many ways to use resources,
natural, human, or economic. Use does not imply ownership and ownership
does not imply slavery. In the same way, that we use dialogue here, the
enterprise as a community of practice is in a continuous state of resource
sharing. When a machine operator shows me how a machine design allows
defective parts, she is giving me something which I return, with hearty
thanks by bringing together a team to redesign the equipment, thereby
helping the operator to have an easier day and the customer to be happier.

The human is not the resource. Human resources are time and knowledge.
The term human resources is no more threatening that material resources,
machine resources, or knowledge resources. A learning organization is one
which knows how to combine all of these resources into a greater resource:
wealth. The creation of goods and knowledge increases learning potential.
The only resources depleted are time and materials. Unfortunately, time
is one of the most valuable of human resources and every time I read from
this list, I have used more of mine. I am, then, At, your humble slave!!

John

-- 

"John Zavacki" <jzavacki@greenapple.com>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>