Management and strategic direction of intellectual capital

In a competitive world where the development of new technologies is constant to achieve greater and better business performance, it is not surprising that tangible assets such as machinery and buildings are not the most valuable thing that companies have.

In developing countries like ours, it is important to promote a new business management perspective, in such a way that our businessmen discover the level of knowledge that their organization has, understanding later that much of the value of a company is inexplicable and uncountable, so much so that some authors call it the new wealth of companies.

For all this, it is interesting to ask: Why is human capital useful in improving business management? A company that does not dominate everything related to human capital, will not be able to make true evaluations of itself, therefore it cannot define where you are, what account you have, or where you are going.

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In this matter we will roughly deal with human capital, one of the components of intellectual capital and the central subject of study, its origin and the evolution of its concept will be related.

Everything concerning the components of human capital, that is, capacity, behavior, effort and time, will also be developed. We will carry out a comparative analysis between the organizational capacities versus the capacities of human capital, denoting with this the importance of the latter in the growth and development of organizations and, lastly, various forms or methods used to measure the results of the initiatives taken by the human capital of some companies.

It also describes how technology affects human capital management, and explains how to retain the companies' most important asset in companies, as well as an approach to the challenges that human capital presents in strategic management.

2- Definition and origins of intellectual capital

Today's organizations are really different from yesterday's organizations, and the change is not only in its form, that is, it is not limited to a flatter organization chart and other tangible characteristics, but the change is also fundamental, it is In other words, their employees have changed, customers have changed and therefore the management of companies has had to change.

Companies have all the tools to measure the tangible assets that make them up, they can say with cold numbers how much they invested in training, but they cannot easily say how much was learned in that training, they can quickly analyze how much they have earned in a period determined and can even project what they will earn in the next period, all with a minimal margin of error, but it is not so easy to measure how many employees really feel identified with the company or what is the level of motivation of them.

However, it can be affirmed that just because the company has a high level of knowledge does not necessarily mean that it is a successful company, knowledge must be managed in such a way that a change from an isolated thought or idea to an idea is made. Useful.

This fundamental change has brought with it a higher valuation of the company's intangible assets, which are nothing more than "all those resources that can contribute to a greater degree to the support of competitive advantages and, therefore, business success, since they are the most difficult to identify, transfer, duplicate, ultimately to imitate ”(Cerdán, 2000), in summary, intangible assets are called intellectual capital. Intellectual capital can be divided into two large groups, the intangible assets that are owned by the organization and those that are owned by the members of the organization.

Several authors agree that the intangible assets that are owned by the members of the organization are called "Human Capital", however the other group, which belongs to the organization, is commonly divided into "Relational Capital" and "Structural Capital".

In short, three components of intellectual capital are distinguished. Human capital, structural capital and relational capital. For the purposes of the investigation, a brief description of the last two will be made, and then we will focus on human capital.

3- Components of Intellectual Capital

3.1 Structural Capital

In simple words, structural capital is nothing more than knowledge seen as part of the company's structure, that is, managed in such a way that it has been internalized by the organization, preventing it from being wasted or not taken into account. bill.

What structural capital raises is essentially the institutionalization of knowledge, so that its sharing is part of the business culture. There are different methods to share knowledge, processes such as coaching contribute to dissemination, but above all to the application of what has been learned in the development of our work, making this knowledge part of the company.

Of course, all this development and institutionalization of knowledge is conquered for strategic purposes, that is, structural capital must be managed in such a way that it becomes a long-term competitive advantage. Structural capital is divided into: organizational capital and technological capital.

Within the organizational structural capital, several types are distinguished that help to increase the contribution of each of them to the organization:

The idiosyncratic structural capital represents specific knowledge of the company, which does not directly contribute to the achievement of a sustained competitive advantage over time.

Residual structural capital is known as knowledge that is not especially useful for creating value for the customer, but is not specific to the company.

On the other hand, there is essential structural capital, in which companies take the knowledge of their employees and what they know from stakeholders, both internal and external, and insert it into the company's processes, being impregnated and implanted in the development of the daily work of the organization.

Finally there is the generic structural capital of the company, that is, what is known about the company and which has been disseminated, but which is not owned by the company, and which nevertheless can be used to achieve a long-term competitive advantage..

Technological structural capital, on the other hand, are all the programs and adaptations to existing software in the company that are created or developed to structure knowledge, in such a way that it is the way to carry out the work.

Having defined structural capital and considering its strategic importance as a component of intellectual capital, we proceed to define relational capital.

3.2. Relational Capital

Also called by some authors as, client capital, it refers to the importance of the organization for the set of relationships it maintains with the external sectors related to it.

This set of relationships are basically the company's customers and suppliers, the former for being the owners of the information and the latter for being those who are required so that the former are completely satisfied.

However, to understand customer capital, it must first be known that the information that empowers customers is an intangible value and that it is a central part of the intangible value chain, which shows the displacement of a product or service from the initial seller to the final consumer.

It has been said on many occasions that the customer is always right and it has always been so, only that for a long time the companies were deaf and did not want to hear what they wanted to say; In the information age, customers receive so many elements that help them compare one company with another, or one product or service with another that makes what they know the most important.

That is why companies are more honest (by force) and at the same time managers look for information about what their customers want, to place it at a strategic point in the value chain and ensure that the product or service arrives with greater efficacy to end consumers.

Innovations are the best way to cultivate relational capital, search each day for a different service or product that meets customer needs, and constantly review existing processes and procedures, in order to make improvements to add value, is what it makes companies stand out, creating competitive advantages over others.

There are four key factors to manage the development of relational capital: customer satisfaction, loyalty, retention and acquisition; the measurement of each of these factors affects the increase in the value of the company, since the company is highly valued by the network of relationships that comprise it.

Now there are other aspects that are taken into account when speaking of relational capital in relation to suppliers, since more and more investors, for example, give more credit to the value that the company has with its network of related than financial accounting is now obsolete.

“Relationships are so valuable that they should be viewed, collectively, as a core asset of the company. It has been called ' Relational Capital', and defined as the value of a company's network of relationships. As vertically integrated companies refocus on their core business, they become increasingly dependent on their ties to those stakeholders:

They involve customers in product / solution development. They share more information with suppliers. They develop longer and wider bridges with their alliance partners. "

In times of voracious dynamism that affects all areas of the company, the administration must be very clear that the interest groups are important assets and that, therefore, they must manage policies, procedures, services and products that add value. and sense of the needs of these same groups; the result will undoubtedly be a balanced and sustained growth throughout the existence of the organization.

In summary, it can be said that relational capital can become a competitive advantage for companies as long as they know how to look for and then use everything that customers have long wanted to tell them.

3.3 Relationship Between Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management

As a consequence of the rapid development of information and technology, knowledge is the only valuable resource that companies have. Managing that knowledge is a function of all organizations, regardless of their mission.

The function of any organization must be to ensure that the knowledge it possesses is productive, since the knowledge itself is useless and only becomes productive if it is unified; For which companies must develop a series of techniques and practices to ensure that this knowledge creates an organization with sustained and long-lasting growth.

For this, companies must understand that employee loyalty will not be obtained through salaries and other monetary compensation, but rather that the company must be efficient, effective and functional, in order to grow its employees.

Knowledge, as already mentioned, is an asset despite not registering in traditional accounting, it is a main contributor to the company's results. Thus, before establishing a relationship between intellectual capital and knowledge management, the concept of knowledge management must be defined.

There are different definitions, depending on the approach that each author gives, the one that will be taken into consideration for this research is the most complete. "A conscious strategy of getting the right knowledge for the right people at the right time, and helping people share and turn information into action in a way that leads to improved organizational performance." (O'Dell and Grayson, 1998).

Knowledge management according to this definition is part of intellectual capital, since the latter encompasses the entire knowledge structure of the company, both internally and with its stakeholders, as established by relational capital and structural capital, on the other hand, knowledge management, select the type of knowledge and the right person to develop it through a series of knowledge activities.

The search for knowledge and its application in the best possible way for the benefit of the company is nothing new, companies since ancient times have searched for the best way to develop processes, provided that costs are kept to a minimum.

Looking for this better way, knowledge management has several priority objectives:

1- Collect documents that contain knowledge and place them in a place where they can be easily retrieved when needed.

2- Improve the process to access the stored knowledge, since in many occasions the use of the same is exclusive.

3- Manage the environment for the creation, transmission and use of the acquired knowledge.

4- Knowledge must be part of the company's reports, presenting reports of intellectual capital.

As described, knowledge management is a part of intellectual capital, as it views learning as a competitive weapon.

The common point that these two activities have is precisely the intangibility of the assets they deal with. The permanence of a culture of intellectual capital is rooted in the organizational culture, to such an extent that it manages to cross borders that would not be achieved with tangible assets.

Another common point they have is that they both treat knowledge as highly available information, but above all indestructible, leading organizations to work differently than they did before, under ancient methods based on the specialization of the workforce, and long hours of manual labor. However, despite all the benefits that knowledge management brings, there are many barriers that must be broken before providing the benefits expected from it.

One of the biggest problems that it faces is achieving a real commitment from the employees, which is achieved with a drastic change in the culture of the organization and great support from the management of the company, however this change in culture takes time and it is very difficult. Despite this, the company can use various tools to remove this barrier, such as the strong leadership developed in the company, as well as a drastic change in expectations and the establishment of new objectives, another tool may be to reinforce the culture through stimuli and greater empowerment.

Another obstacle is the selection and sharing of knowledge, since it is not simple to choose what is the knowledge that will be useful for the company and after being selected, make it shared, since the knowledge is in the minds of the employees, and only shared if they want and as far as they want. Finally, the measurement of results after implementing a knowledge management model is not a simple thing, since the intangibility of knowledge itself does not make the measurement task easy.

All companies must assume a reality and that is that the world in which we operate is moving from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy, it is necessary to understand that, unless the way of operating changes, there is no opportunity to achieve sustained success in this dynamic business environment.

This means that organizations must prepare to stop operating in the ways that were effective during the industrial economy, to take new approaches that are better adapted to the new situation. In this sense, Ventura (1994) considers that the capabilities of the company constitute a dynamic concept that expresses the conjunction between resources and organizational guidelines, and determines what a company is and can become.

To achieve this, companies need to possess six basic capabilities.

1.- Production capacity

Companies must produce goods and services, using the appropriate application of knowledge in the appropriate structures and processes. This involves using knowledge to control processes that are often very complex.

2.- Responsiveness

The rapid reaction to market changes is both a challenge and an opportunity for companies.

3.- Ability to anticipate

To be totally successful, a company must be able to visualize the big picture and not just react to trends, but anticipate them.

4.- Ability to create

Companies must constantly look for ways they can keep adding value as they go.

5.- Ability to last

Knowledge professionals will play a crucial role in the knowledge economy. This will result in the knowledge professional not easily committing to a company, but rather being more liberal, seeking greater satisfaction.

6.- Ability to learn

Companies must follow the process proposed by some authors to unlearn-relearn, that is, they must be open to new methods and forms, but above all, learn from themselves and their network of relationships.

Organizations that compete successfully are those that have a permanent attitude to manage knowledge, that is, they develop a proactive capacity against change, those that include systems that integrate think-do in their management structure, that are capable of uniting to all members of the organization, through relevant groups of practices for it and that make the professional development of its people.

It must be clear that the accumulation of knowledge without a defined objective does not provide value in itself. This knowledge must be strategically managed, aligned with the organization's strategy and allowing it to learn at all times.

4- Intellectual Capital Measurement Models

The need to quantify knowledge-based resources requires a greater effort than measuring tangible resources, since, as has already been said, their intangibility is precisely what makes them so subjective on many occasions. To this end, various measurement models have been developed that will be summarized.

4.1- Skandia Navigator:

It was developed by the Finnish company Skandia, by Edvisson and Malone between 1992 and 1997, it gave rise to the first business publication on knowledge measurement in 1994.

This model introduces the consideration of a triple temporal dimension, past, present and future, that is, it assumes the past referring to the financial approach, it sees the present as the emphasis that the company should make on its relations with customers and the internal processes of the company. company, and finally visualizes the future as a focus of renewal and development.

This model defines human capital as the intangible assets owned by the people who make up the organization and, on the other hand, defines structural capital as the knowledge possessed by the organization.

With this structure, the Skandia model looks at the company from different perspectives that support each other, integrated into a system that takes into account, but above all, strengthens the economic approach.

4.2- Technology Broker Model:

Developed by Brooking in 1997 fuels the fire fueled by the need to develop a methodology for auditing information related to intellectual capital. The model breaks down intellectual capital into four blocks and introduces qualitative indicators within these blocks. (Gonzáles, 2005)

According to this model, intellectual capital is made up of:

Market assets, which are those that are derived from a beneficial relationship of the company with its market and its clients and therefore provide a competitive advantage in the market. (Gonzáles, 2005)

Another component is intellectual property assets, these are property rights that come from the intellect. They grant an additional value that supposes for the company the exclusivity of the exploitation of an intangible asset.

The third component according to the technology Broker model are human assets, which emphasize the importance of people in organizations for their ability to learn and use knowledge.

Finally there are the infrastructure assets, which include the technologies, methods, and processes that enable the business to function. This also includes: the philosophy of the business, culture of the organization, information systems and existing databases in the company.

The model also establishes the steps to carry out an efficient management of intellectual capital:

Identification of intellectual capital Development of an intellectual capital policy Audit of intellectual capital Documentation and archiving in the knowledge base of intellectual capital Protection of intellectual capital Growth and renewal of intellectual capital Disclosure

4.3-Intelect Model and Intellectus Model

The intellect model creates a process for identifying, selecting, structuring and measuring assets that are generally not evaluated in a structured way by organizations.

The aim of the intellect project was to design a model for measuring the intellectual capital of organizations. In this way, the explicit value of the company is brought closer to its market value and information is obtained on the real capacity of the organization to generate sustainable results, constant improvements and long-term growth.

The main characteristics of the intellect model are: it links intellectual capital with the company's strategy, it is a flexible and open model, it measures the results and the processes that generate them, it is applicable in practice, it presents a systemic vision and finally combines different units of measurement.

As in other models, the structure of the intellect model contemplates three large blocks, human capital, structural and relational, which will not be defined as they are basically the same definitions given previously, rather we will focus on the passage of the model intellect to intellectus.

As is to be supposed, the intellectus model takes the intellect model as its basic reference point. Based on the three main concepts of this model, new trends and lessons learned from the business application of the intellect model and international best practices in knowledge management and intellectual capital are incorporated.

The greater need for the intellectus model with respect to the intellect is motivated by the need to increase the equality of the components included in each block and avoid that the different and unrelated elements have the same treatment. In this sense, from the three original capitals of the intellect model it has been passed to five capitals in the intellectus model: human capital, organizational capital, technological capital, relational business capital and social capital. (Gonzáles, 2005).

Structural capital is broken down into technological and organizational capital, which recognize the need to separate internal administrative aspects from those other capacities more closely linked to the development of technological innovations. At the same time, relational capital is subdivided into basic business capital and social capital, relative to the relations with the other agents that act with their environment.

4.4- Intellectual Assets Monitor Model

This model for measuring intellectual capital was developed by sveiby in 1997 as a complement to the theory of the “Knowledge Company”, developed by him in 1986.

According to the model, the measurement of intangible assets has a double orientation:

External, to inform customers, shareholders and suppliers Internal, addressed to the management team to know the progress of the company.

The model defines three active external structure areas of importance, those of internal structure and individual competences, which will be defined below.

Assets with an external structure: These refer to the customer portfolio, relationships with suppliers, banks and shareholders. These assets are the property of the company and some of them can be legally protected as trademarks.

Internal structure assets: Refers to the formal and informal organizational structure, to the working methods and procedures, to the databases, to the research and development systems, to the leadership and management systems. These are fully owned by the company.

Assets of individual competence: they refer to the education, experience, know-how, knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes of the people who work in the company. They are not the property of the company, but rather contracts the use of them.

The fundamental characteristic in this model is the development of three types of indicators within each structure:

Growth and innovation indicators: they collect the future potential of the company. Efficiency indicators: they inform us to what extent intangibles are productive. Stability indicators: they indicate the degree of permanence of these assets in the company.

5- Origin and Definition of Human Capital

It is known that humanity has had times of little development and others in which society has simply evolved.

The last two industrial revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries are among the most relevant. Information and telecommunications technology, which are increasingly of paramount importance in the advancement of the society of our time, to such an extent that some call it the information society.

It is not necessary to be an expert to check the external signs of this information society, such as, mobile phones, internet, electronic commerce, digital television, cable television. However, information and telecommunications systems are only a means of transmitting content and effectively managing knowledge, which, as previously described, is the main source of sustainable competitive advantage for organizations.

Thus, the claim that the primary source of an organization's competitive advantages lies basically in its knowledge, or more precisely in what it knows, in how it uses what it knows and in its ability to learn of new things. In this way and in connection with this special relevance of knowledge, today's world also receives the name of "knowledge society".

The theory of human capital was developed by the American economist Gary Becker in 1964, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for developing this concept. Becker began to study knowledge societies and concluded that his treasure was the human capital that they possessed, that is, the knowledge and skills that are part of people, their health and the quality of their work habits and is used to produce goods and services.

In the past, it was considered that primacy was economic development and that the rest would come later, today it is completely different since the relationship between education and economic progress is fundamental. Becker notes it this way: "The increasing importance of human capital can be seen from the experiences of workers in modern economies that lack sufficient education and training on the job."

Human capital is defined as: "Increase in the production capacity of labor, achieved with improvements in the capacities of workers." (Cruz, 2004)

The term capital expresses the idea of an immaterial stock imputed to a person, which can be accumulated or used. It is actually an investment. Human capital distinguishes two possible styles of training: general training is acquired in the traditional educational system, training, is financed by the worker, and specific training is acquired in a production or service unit, allowing the worker to develop his productivity. within the company, in this case it is financed by both the company and the worker.

Management must identify the human capital with which it works, currently there are various tools that contribute to this identification being complete, in order to ensure productivity, creativity, innovation and quality.

6- Components of Human Capital

Any company with an advanced mentality must have a comprehensive process of development and use of the capabilities of human capital, as the main basis in meeting the organization's objectives. For a company to develop a human capital model, it must have a good understanding of its components, which according to Davenport are capacity, behavior, effort and time, which will be the foundation for directing the sustained growth of the organization.

6.1 Capacity

It means expertise in a series of activities or forms of work and consists of three subcomponents:

The ability defined as familiarity with the means and methods to perform a certain task. Skills can range from strength and physical ability to specialized learning.

The knowledge that supposes the handling of facts to carry out a position. Knowledge is broader than skill.

Talent is the innate ability to perform a specific task. Some define it as synonymous with attitude.

6.2- Behavior

This means that the observable means of acting contribute to the accomplishment of a task. Behaviors combine inherent responses acquired with situations and stimuli of the moment. The ways we behave manifest our ethics, values, beliefs, and reactions to the world we live in.

When individuals reveal self-confidence, team up with their peers, or show an inclination to act, they exhibit behaviors important to organizations. The key for managers is observability: what you see will be what you have to deal with.

6.3 Effort

It is the conscious implementation of mental and physical resources to a specific end. Effort is at the core of work ethic. One can apologize for the weakness of his talent or the modesty of his ability, but never for saving efforts. Physical and mental effort promote skill, knowledge and talent and channel behavior towards the achievement of an investment of human capital.

6.4 Time

It is the chronological and sequential factor of the investment of human capital: hours of the day, years of a professional career or any intermediate unit. Typically, economists exclude time from the definition of human capital because, on the other hand, the other elements do not reside in the human mind or body. However, in some aspects, time is the fundamental resource under the control of the individual, since the most talented, knowledgeable and committed worker will achieve nothing if he does not invest time in the task.

The total investment of human capital will be given by the following equation:

(Capacity + Behavior) x Effort x Time, in other words:

Skills, knowledge, abilities and talent are added to behavior and multiplied by effort and then by time, which can dramatically increase the volume invested. However the key to success is effort.

7- Organizational Capacities Vs. Human Capital Capacities

Companies make their strategies a reality by concentrating their organizational capabilities on achieving an advantageous position in the market. Organizational capabilities are the collective skills of the business unit (as distinct from the individual capabilities that make up human capital).

When organizations build and strengthen their capabilities, they improve their chances of carrying out an effective strategy. The development of organizational capacities in turn requires the manipulation of a series of application levers. These levers refer to:

Human capital, which is made up of the intangible resources of the capacity, effort and time that employees invest in their work.The structure of the organization that is the model of relations between units and individuals within the company. labor processes that are the entire series of actions and operations that provide products and services. Technology that involves the use of mechanical means, especially scientific and related to computing, to perform tasks and manage information.

In order to carry out a strategy, a company must decide which of these levers, and how they are managed, will achieve crucial capabilities and thus provide the organization with a competitive advantage.

By managing these four elements, companies can create and exploit other forms of tangible and intangible capital. Among the latter, there is the company's intellectual capital and relations with customers and suppliers, which, as already mentioned, are not in sight, but which represent the entire difference between strategies carried out and unrealized.

Identify a source of competitive advantage, decide what organizational capabilities need to be achieved and managed, and then decide the levers for implementation that create and use key capabilities.

Perhaps the most interesting of these levers is the ability to manage human capital. Davenport concluded that the most important human capital capabilities are:

The contribution to the organization of the most strategically valuable forms of human capital. The creation of an environment that elicits a high contribution of that capital. The increase in the volume of human capital accessible for investment. The retention of people and their capital in within the organization for as long as possible and give them information so they can manage their investment of human capital.

According to davenport, these are the levers that must be operated with the most rigor, since to the extent that they move combined with the other components of human capital, strategies will be developed that will lead human capital to be a competitive advantage that will therefore It differs in relation to the rest of the sector to which the company belongs.

8- Human Capital and Management by Competition

Management by competition is one of the main tools in the development of human capital. It makes the difference between a training course, training and experience that are necessary to define for the requirements of a position or identify the capabilities of a worker or a professional.

Competency management aims to drive innovation for technological leadership, since workers will know their own skills profile and that required by the position they occupy or aspire to.

It is an indispensable strategic tool to face the new challenges that the environment imposes. It is to bring the individual competencies to a level of excellence, according to operational needs. Guaranteeing the development and management of people's potential, "of what they know how to do" or could do.

It becomes a continuous channel of communication between workers and the company; It is now when the company begins to involve the needs and desires of its workers in order to help them, support them and offer them personal development capable of enriching the personality of each worker.

Once the identification of the competences has been achieved through an analysis of the “behaviors of successful individuals”, a structure is obtained as a result of: applied knowledge, developed skills and demonstrated attitudes. With these elements, criteria can be formed to select, evaluate, train, develop and remunerate workers.

Directing management with a focus on competencies will allow us to:

· Align the contribution of human capital with the strategic needs of the organization.

· Efficiently manage the intellectual assets of our workers and through it the assets in their charge.

Evaluate their performance based on results and know the average performance personnel that require development for superior performance. Remunerate personnel fairly. Determine the technical gap and the training effort necessary for the functional mobility of personnel. Quantitatively establish the added value through skills, as well as the return on your investment. Establish your competitive advantage in the market.

As can be seen, there is a direct relationship between competency management and human capital, since the former contributes to the development, growth and maintenance of the latter, to the point that the latter would not be able to be managed in any company unless the same do not have first established a competency management model that allows you to measure the progress of your employees, but above all the training needs of each of them.

Once the competency management model has been firmly established, an increase in production will be achieved as a consequence of an improvement in the capabilities of the employees, which in itself is the definition of human capital.

9- Human Capital and Talent Management

Human capital is undoubtedly a topical issue, but it is not possible to talk about it without entering another concept that is equally novel in managing talent. A talented professional is defined as one who achieves superior and exceptional results within an organization, therefore the set of talented professionals who produce a product or service in a superior, exceptional and different way is defined as an organization with talent or organizational talent.

In some cases it is questioned whether talent is innate or developed and the answers are actually divided, some believe that talent is born, that is, that talent is an innate condition of human beings and that little can be done if not be like that. On the other hand, there are those who think that talent can be developed by making changes in people's personality and behavior.

The authors of this theory state that knowledge is not sufficient for the development of organizations, since it becomes obsolete with amazing speed, due to the constant changes in technology that contributes to the dissemination of information and that So much what is needed are talented professionals who can quickly learn and unlearn what they already know. Laroche et al. (1999) state that informal education is acquired through a variety of aspects such as personal contacts, social organizations, work experience (learning by doing) and self-learning itself.

Individual talent is made up of capabilities, commitment and action. Capacity is defined as knowledge, skills and competencies or attitudes. Commitment is the engine for the professional to contribute the maximum and not go to another company, finally, action means the speed with which the work is carried out.

For a company to go from talented professionals to organizational talent, it must be managed within the organization, this is accomplished in two ways:

Selecting professionals with capabilities, potential for action and commitment in accordance with what the company needs and can manage. Generating an organizational environment that motivates them to contribute and continue in the company. And this is basically achieved by reinforcing their commitment to the organization through talent retention policies.

Companies must invest in policies that attract talented professionals, as the future of the company may depend on them. Once these types of professionals are recruited, organizations must be open to the innovation and diversity that these professionals can bring.

The personnel chosen to be part of the organization must be chosen based on skills, attitudes, level of commitment and what they are capable of doing.

However, all staff must obtain certain remuneration for their contribution to the organization and not only refers to the economic part, but also to remuneration policies that reinforce the commitment of professionals, and prevent them from leaving for another company.

These policies must have two main characteristics: Be equitable remuneration in terms of each person's contribution and be competitive with respect to the market.

Lack of internal equity is one of the most demotivating factors, since employees do not understand why in some cases they receive less money than others for doing the same job, even worse when they do more responsible tasks. Creating equity is one of the challenges of avant-garde companies.

On the other hand, there is external competitiveness, that is, the adaptation of the remuneration levels to the market. The lack of external equity can cause demotivation and the loss of the best talents to other companies, which increases the feeling among those who stay because they are there because they do not have a better place.

It can be said then, that talent can be developed as long as the employee is in the correct organization, that is, organizations are the calls to create an organizational environment and culture that allows people to develop the talent they possess, in such a way So that in the face of the satisfaction of being good and an example to others in the tasks they carry out, plus a correct professional assessment, the employee remains motivated to continue innovating in order to fulfill the objectives set by the organization.

10- Measurement of the results of the initiatives in Human Capital

Companies make their strategies a reality by concentrating their organizational capabilities on achieving an advantageous position in the market. Organizational capacities are the collective skills of the business unit, which are different from the capacities previously described as a component of human capital.

When organizations build and strengthen their capabilities, they improve their chances of carrying out an effective strategy. Organizational capacity development in turn requires the use of a series of application levers. These levers refer to:

Human capital, which is made up of the intangible resources of the capacity, effort and time that employees invest in their work.

The organization structure that is the model of relationships between units and individuals within a company.

Labor processes, which are the entire series of actions and operations that provide products and services.

The technology that involves the use of mechanical means, especially scientific and related to computing, to perform tasks and manage information.

In order to carry out a strategy, an organization must decide which of these levers and how, when managed, they will achieve crucial capabilities and thus provide the organization with a competitive advantage.

By managing these four elements, companies can create and exploit other forms of tangible and intangible capital. The latter includes the intellectual capital of the company and its relations with customers and suppliers, which are not in sight, but which often represent the whole difference between strategies carried out and unrealized.

Of all the levers, the most interesting are those that refer to the management of human capital. As for this capacity, it depends on the industrial sector we are dealing with, however, according to davenport, and despite the differences, it concluded with a series of human capital capacities that are defined as the most important, regardless of the sector:

"The contribution to the organization of the most strategically valuable forms of human capital. The creation of an environment that generates a high contribution of that capital. The increase in the volume of human capital. The retention of people and their capital within the organization for so long. as possible and give them information so they can manage their human capital investment. " (Davenport, 2000)

11- Contribution of Technology in Human Capital Management

The new information technologies provide substantial improvements in attracting, retaining and retaining the best professionals.

From a strategic point of view, greater dedication is achieved at this level, freeing them from many operational tasks, while improving the motivation of the employees.

The software and hardware developed products of the information age, improves the internal flow of information, thereby promoting corporate culture and aligning employees in the development of strategies that meet the objectives that the company has. designed.

Motivated employees and working in a work environment that improves every time with the development of new technologies that contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the work, are remunerated in a more variable way by the company, since the same thanks to that Technology has the correct parameters, which results in an increase in the commitment of the employees towards the organization.

Technology at the strategic level increases the company's capacity in terms of forecasting and resource planning, using the fastest and most accurate analytical planning tools.

However, the strategic level is not the only one benefited by the development of new information technologies, but for the operational level it also has its advantages. A total reduction in the costs of the human resources department is one of the main advantages. The technology also reduces costs and time per transaction to the minimum human intervention, minimizes the use of paper, automates processes, therefore, increases worker efficiency

Excellence in technology development supports knowledge management, managing to identify, generate and share it, reducing hiring time, contributing to performance management, identifying employee performance and developing the necessary action plans.

It facilitates the introduction of variable remuneration policies, allowing to automate its calculation and communication, it increases the self-management capacity of the employee, having access to the information, whatever the employee needs in the improvement of the processes they carry out.

12- Retain Human Capital, essential management in companies of the XXI century

Staff turnover is a traditional indicator in Human Resources Management. Of course, once again the data remains in the hands of the management technicians and the real managers of people, bosses and supervisors, remain without knowing how to deal with this issue. There are "collateral damages" from fluctuation that we usually don't consider as much as we do suffer from its consequences.

The employee who decides to go to another organization takes with him a set of knowledge and relationships, which cannot be stored in a documentation or database, it is a practical know-how that requires close interaction between the parties to be transmitted. The company is left without the capacity to take advantage of past experiences. Camisón (1996) states that in a service company, the main productive resource is the people who produce it.

With the departure of key workers, the effectiveness of the management system deteriorates. The period of integration of new workers will not only cause costs in orientation and training programs, the company must foresee that the productivity of the newcomer will be weak for a considerable period.

The decision to change employment can take two forms: when the worker feels that there are reasons that push him to change. The other alternative is envisioned when you are motivated by factors that attract you to a new employer. In both cases, the company has failed to consider the motivations of its most valuable staff.

If the person does not feel challenged by the work to be done, or their deepest expectations are unknown or, worse still, false expectations are created that the organization will not fulfill, then in all likelihood the lack of motivation and loss of commitment will appear.

Another important factor in an employee's decision to leave an organization is the violation of the psychological contract between employee-employer, which can be defined as “A set of unwritten expectations anywhere, operating at all times between any member and other leading members of the organization ”. (Schein, 1992).

The psychological contract is not static, it changes over time, since the expectations of the employment relationship change over time and also the level of commitment on the part of the employee towards the company and vice versa; since for both parts the needs are modified.

With the passage of time, the employee feels less obligations within the company, at the same time that he expects more obligations towards him from the company.

13- Challenges of the Strategic Management of Human Capital

The effective use of human capital requires compliance with several aspects:

Encouragement of new knowledge to advance Extraction of knowledge from each other Knowledge management that is not understood Encouragement of people to learn

Regarding the stimulation of new knowledge to advance; In the past, knowledge was provided by researchers and engineers and they extended their knowledge to the rest of the organization; Today, knowledge comes to the organization from everywhere: the internet, conferences and business articles and, most importantly, the competitive advantage through knowledge is obtained through innovation. In this sense, the concept of competitiveness appears linked to that of productivity and depends on a wide set of factors at both the macroeconomic and macroeconomic levels (Bravo, 2004). Therefore, one of the most important functions of managers is to stimulate new knowledge in order to move forward.

There is a problem in stimulating new knowledge and that is that we do not have unlimited resources and we cannot necessarily say what is going to be useful or not.

There are several ways that we can follow:

a) Help employees understand how to apply strategic direction.

b) Let employees work on their things even though the management may not entirely agree c) Listen quietly d) Discard an idea when you are not going to work on it.

e) Help employees understand their role.a) When it comes to helping employees understand how to apply strategic direction, if people really understand the company's strategic direction, employees can be motivated to generate Consistent ideas. b) In letting employees work on their things even though management may not entirely agree, some managers may feel that they lose control of their operations if someone speaks out quickly ignoring management. But it is not all that can happen because if the employees really understand how they can contribute to the direction of the strategy, their ideas, perhaps, are not strictly in line with those of the managers, but they will, probably, and generally, in the same direction.c) Regarding listening in a stealthy way what people say is trying to automatically stifle responses such as that the ideas are too much thought or that they will never be realized. These statements may be true and may have to be said by one person, eventually, but it is a matter of choosing the right time. If you tell him all of this while the idea is born, chances are the idea will not prosper. The employee will shrug and focus on other things, however, if something is said valuing the idea, but trying to find something else, the employee is encouraged not to advance with the idea but to develop it. D) Regarding Discard an idea when you are not going to work on it. One consequence of letting people develop new ideas is knowing when you need to discard the project.If you think about exactly what you fear, you will work on things that do not create wealth. E) Finally, when it comes to helping employees understand their role, sometimes you have to say no. However, saying no also happens when employees ask to develop their idea, but people need to know whether to say no, just to the project, or to say no, to all new ideas. From each one, through the corporation, it is necessary to establish the type of appropriate decisions to involve employees, such as when employees needed to review their operations, they gave the project to a team of them who decided whether they needed supervisors or not..sometimes, you have to say no. However, saying no also happens when employees ask to develop their idea, but people need to know whether to say no, just to the project, or to say no, to all new ideas. From each one, through the corporation, it is necessary to establish the type of appropriate decisions to involve employees, such as when employees needed to review their operations, they gave the project to a team of them who decided whether they needed supervisors or not..sometimes, you have to say no. However, saying no also happens when employees ask to develop their idea, but people need to know whether to say no, just to the project, or to say no, to all new ideas. From each one, through the corporation, it is necessary to establish the type of appropriate decisions to involve employees, such as when employees needed to review their operations, they gave the project to a team of them who decided whether they needed supervisors or not..Regarding the extraction of knowledge from each one, through the corporation, it is necessary to establish what are the type of appropriate decisions to involve employees, such as when employees needed to review their operations, they gave the project to a team of them. who decided if they needed supervisors or not.Regarding the extraction of knowledge from each one, through the corporation, it is necessary to establish what are the type of appropriate decisions to involve employees, such as when employees needed to review their operations, they gave the project to a team of them. who decided if they needed supervisors or not.

There are two ways to engage employees: by consulting or involving them. Both forms are useful but differ quite clearly. The differences between both forms of commitment are as follows:

Consulting

Employees have two or more clear options about an important decision. Know the opinion of employees through some kind of questionnaire. Specific and usually unique result. The final decision is with the management team.

Involving

Employees make a decision or recommend a recommendation about an important conclusion. Assign a team of employees representing all facets of the organization. Specific but open result. The final decision may be with the management team.

Employees in the consultation must understand that they are being consulted but cannot approve a decision or say that consensus is not necessary.

As for knowledge management that is not understood, managers have new roles to offer and which are: that of teacher, researcher and the person who must maintain the flame among employees, in addition to being a director.

Regarding the role of teacher, you must help people understand the context of decisions, you must ask the right questions to employees and you must also help employees discover their ideas but without imposing decisions on them, in addition to helping them to find out what your work capabilities are. The manager may challenge them to be better, to achieve more, and to be more creative than they think.

Regarding the investigator function, the manager has the important role of staying alert; While employees are busy doing their jobs, he must continually assess the threats and opportunities presented by the environment, and must represent the interests of his employees within the broader limits of the organization.

Finally, the manager must keep the flame on the employees. It is unusual for people who have authority to shake off a trajectory without understanding the implications.

Finally, when it comes to encouraging people to learn, it is important not to confuse training with learning, since they are not the same thing. A person can take a training course but that does not mean that they learn. Knowledge professionals currently provide training lessons, but not learning, so the former does not always lead to the latter.

The compulsory training carried out by companies has the following advantages:

• It provides new behavioral options. People sometimes don't really know or have the ability to use alternatives in conflict resolution. Training can help you use them.

Officially identify sanctionable behaviors. Provide a participatory vocabulary.

The disadvantages, on the other hand, are:

It is expensive, it is subjective, it generally needs some kind of instruction, it can more urgently promote needs with individual training.

Regarding learning, companies can establish an individual plan for it. The plan enables everyone not only to understand what is needed, but to begin to take responsibility for their own learning.

On the other hand, learning takes place informally, so that informal learning makes working easier, faster or more creative.

Speed and creativity are two essential characteristics of knowledge professionals, also to achieve the leverage between intellectual capital and continuous competitiveness, the use of informal learning is essential to achieve the success of the management of knowledge professionals.

14- Conclusions

The starting point of this subject was to analyze human capital in organizations and how it can be considered as a strategic factor of competitiveness for the company. Well, we have arrived at what Porter says "strategy is to do things differently from the competition", we found that in our companies, regardless of the sector where it is applied, we believe, therefore, that human capital is of the utmost importance to place great importance on education as one of the key factors in obtaining sustainable competitive advantages for companies.

Human capital represents an inevitable factor to explain the growth of companies during the last twenty years, as well as their dynamics in different sectors. In the future, the contribution of investment in human capital to the growth of organizations will depend on the degree to which the effort made in the development of educational levels in our universities is used. It is from there, the educational policy faces in the next decades the challenge of contributing efficiently to the progress of the country.

Likewise, the assessment of the education of those employed in business activities as a measure of competitiveness in the sectors, is evidenced in the Human Resources Indicator that is part, as we have seen in this matter, of the structure of Dominican companies and, of the competitiveness in the markets.

The strategic importance of this resource, human capital as a distinctive capacity, leads us to consider the need to design quality education and training policies in the business sector.

As Grant (1991) points out, it is important to determine not only what resource, in this case, what human capital is not owned, but also how we can improve what we have to design future strategies, and in this, the education and training of human capital in our organizations.

15- Recommendations

Taking into consideration the weaknesses regarding Human capital in our companies, we make the following recommendations:

Train management personnel on how to acquire knowledge and put it into practice in the company.

Companies must perpetuate the issue of Human Capital as an organizational discipline.

Choose in our Universities to start teaching the topic Human Capital as a matter of the curriculum.

Implement competency management in our companies.

17- Biography.

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Strategic Management and Knowledge Management for the CITMA Delegation on the Isle of Youth”. Available at the Higher Institute of Science and

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Euroforum (1998): Measurement of intellectual capital. Intelect Model, Editorial IU

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