Human capital the 21st-century gauge of success
Human capital development is very important in this era and the key challenge is how to attract, develop, invest in, and reward talented employees, according to Professor Dipak Jain, director of Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chula
Giving a keynote speech yesterday at a seminar on shaping and sharpening the future road map of Thailand’s and Asean’s human capital management, co-hosted by Sasin and The Nation, he cited the evolution of global business over the past 500 years.
Until the 19th century, countries were the key players, and their business model focused on land acquisition, such as through colonialism.
The most successful, according to the metrics of that age, were those empires with the greatest power in terms of the number of countries they had colonised.
In the 20th century, the key players became corporations, and the focus moved to free-market competition.
Profit became the metric to gauge their success.
In the 21st century, citizens are the key players, and the focus is on human capital development with a sense of entrepreneurialism. The metric to gauge success is not just about profits any more but about having a purpose: How can they make a difference in the lives of people?
On the topic of "Towards a Healthy and Wealthy Ageing Socio-economy", Professor Kua Wongboonsin, Sasin’s deputy director of administrative affairs and a renowned research scholar of demography, said Thailand seemed not to be ready to deal with the coming era of an ageing society.
He added that the country focused on healing the ills of old age much more than the preventive side.
If this focus on healing becomes excessive, the state healthcare budget could be overwhelmed.
The number of people aged about 60 and up in Thailand is expected to reach 32 per cent of a population of around 64 million in 30 years, up from the present proportion of around 12 per cent.
Of the total population now, 67 per cent are of working age.
The country should focus more on encouraging those of working age to save more for retirement.
