************ The United States is currently undergoing a fundamental transfonnation from an industrial toaseIVice-based economy. ! This transfonnation, which began around the eOO ofWorld WarII, has led to changes in the composition of the labor force, affecting the various sectors in which people are employed and also the types and levels ofskills that are indemand. At present ours is rapidly becoming a mowledge, or infonnation based economy, requiring "high-teclmology services" from people who are highly. trained and educated as well as experienced in their fields. Engineers, computer programmers, software developers, medical technicians, lawyers, and university professors all qualify as high-tech selVice personnel Thus, the economy is increasingly composed ofwhite collar, teclutical, professionalpersonnel GrowingRecognition oftheImportanceofHuman Assets Whereas physical capital was of utmost importance in the economy of the past, the distinctive feature of the emerging economy is an increasing emphasis on human and intellectual capital-the knowledge, skills, and experience ofpeople.
Given the growing importance of human capital and intellectual property as detenninants of economic success at both the macroeconomic and enterprise levels, it should also be clear that the nature ofinvestments made by firms needs to shift to reflect the new economic realities. Specifically, if human caPital is a key detenninant of organizational success, then investmentsintraininganddevelopmentofpeoplealso become critical.