People As Resource – Definition, Explanation, Solved Example
Before talking about people as a resource, we have first to define People As Resources. By people as a resource, we mean to say the people who form a part of the workforce and play a significant role in the economic growth by contributing to the productive resources of the country. Thus, along with various other resources, a country also needs people who can put those resources to good use and increase production. Investment in human capital is done through training, education, and healthcare, making the workforce more productive and hence more beneficial for the economy. This is how we define people as a resource. Now let us learn about People As Resource class 9.
Human Resource Development
Human resource development refers to the program of improving the productivity of a company and increasing its productivity along with employee satisfaction. Human resource development is very important for employees and extremely beneficial for the country and the economy as a whole. By providing facilities like education, healthcare, formal and informal training, the productivity of workers would improve. A healthy worker is much more productive as compared to a worker who remains sick and is absent from work. Similarly, through training, workers can acquire new skills, and this would help them increase production. This is a brief summary of People As Resources and how it can be improved.
Economic Activities
Now to explain people as a resource, we have to divide the economic activities into three basic parts. The first category includes primary activities, which are the economic activities that are related to horticulture, poultry farming, fishing, quarrying, mining, and animal husbandry. The natural resources are very easy to extract, and there is no need for any change or modification. The second class of economic activities is secondary activities. The secondary activities are associated with natural resources, but they would need to be altered. Secondary activities include industries that may be agriculture-based industries or industries that manufacture various goods from raw materials. The tertiary activities form the backbone of the economy. Such activities include banking, transport, and various such services that do not lead to direct production but are essential for the economy.
Economic and Non-Economic Activities
An activity that is performed with the purpose of selling either a commodity or a service is simply referred to as economic activity. They are done by people to fulfill their needs in daily life. For example, any kind of profession, business, or employment can be termed as an economic activity. People are usually involved in those for the purpose of earning. It helps them live a satisfactory life.
Non-economic activities include everything that a person does apart from economic activities. Any time that is spent doing any act with family or friends can be termed as non-economic activity. Religious activities such as worshiping are also included in this category.
Acts that are not done for the purpose of earning anything are known as non-economic activities. For example, a person helping underprivileged people.
Market and Non Market Activities
The economic activities can be classified according to the production goals as well. Thus, they can be divided into market and non-market activities. When a producer produces something for sale in the market, it is called market activities. A farmer producing grains or a producer producing certain goods are all examples of market activities. The non-market activities are certain products or services which are not produced for sale in the market but for self-consumption. Food crops are an example of non-market products which are produced only for self-consumption and not a sale.
Quality of Population
We cannot explain people as a resource without describing the quality of the population. The most important parts of the population’s quality are the literacy rate, health, and skills. If people remain illiterate, they would find it difficult to adjust to new production techniques and would not be able to contribute much to the economy. On the other hand, educated citizens can make the best use of the resources, can educate and actively contribute to the development of the country. Similarly, if people are unhealthy, they would be less productive because of increased absenteeism and the lesser ability to work. Similarly, if workers are provided training, which may be formal or informal, that would improve their productivity and help in increasing the production of the economy.
Did You Know?
There is a difference between the terms of human resource development and human resource management. Human resource management is considered to be a part of human resource development, which is a larger system in an organization. Human Resource Management is a function that deals with the demands of the organization. At the same time, human resource development is seen as an essential function that seeks to improve the economy's condition as a whole. People as a resource or human resource can be seen as the people who constitute the organizations and industries in the economy.
The Issue Of Unemployment
Definition of Unemployment
Unemployment can be defined as the inability of a willing person to find work. A skilled person who is looking for a job and has all the necessary qualifications is unable to secure some work for himself is said to be unemployed. In other words, unemployment is the condition where people belonging to the working-age are incapable of finding an occupation for themselves.
The rate of unemployment in India for people above the age of fifteen is around 10%. This rate varies when different factors are involved. For example, the unemployment rate of women is more as compared to men. Similarly, more people are unemployed in rural areas as compared to urban areas.
Unemployment is the Biggest Problem
Unemployment is a bane and it can be called the biggest problem of any country. It is a waste of the human resource of a nation. It leads to many problems such as an increase in the rate of poverty and a decrease in the health of people. It is a crisis which if left unmanaged can lead to social unrest. Unemployed people can easily get involved in doing illegal things. They can also create an extra burden upon their families and the government. Therefore it is extremely important to manage the situation of unemployment in India.
Kinds of Unemployment
Unemployment can be classified into various categories. Based on the area it can be either rural unemployment or urban unemployment. Rural unemployment can be further divided into two types i.e. seasonal unemployment and disguised unemployment.
The urban areas of India are facing a unique situation. There are a lot of people that have completed their education and are unemployed. This is mainly because every year many people graduate from colleges but the employment opportunity is not generated at the same rate. This is known as educated unemployment. It is common in urban areas usually.
Seasonal unemployment can be explained as the phenomenon where people are employed only during some season in a year. This can be better explained with the example of agricultural laborers that work only in the busy season such as sowing and harvesting. This type of unemployment occurs mostly in rural areas. However, in rare scenarios, it can be found in urban areas as well.
Disguised unemployment is common in densely populated countries. This is the condition when more people are hired to do work that can be easily managed by a lesser number of people. Even if some people are removed, there would be no negative effect or impact on their productivity.
Solved Example
1. What is the Difference Between Human Resources and All Other Types of Resources?
Ans: Human resources are commonly considered more important than other resources like capital, land, or labor. It is the workers who finally put the resources to use, and while all other resources are passive and have to be used, human resources are active and are useful by themselves. This is the basic difference between the two.
FAQs on People As Resource
1. What role does education play in human capital formation?
Education is a very important part of the human capital formation of the country. An educated person is much more productive and actively contributes to the development of the economy. Education helps individuals make better use of opportunities and help in the creation of more entrepreneurs who would help in the development of the country. The national income of the country improves with educated people, and the workers become more efficient. The quality of work of individuals improves and they can produce a larger quantity of goods and services than before. Thus, People As Resources become better and more beneficial to the economy with the help of education.
2. What role does health play in human capital formation?
Health is a very important part of human capital formation. Human capital constitutes all the workers that are a part of various organizations and industries. With better human capital, the quality of production in the country improves. Healthy workers are more productive and efficient than unhealthy workers. A healthy person is considered an asset for the economy, while an unhealthy person is a liability. When a person is healthy, he/she has a better immune system and would be absent less. This would allow the workers to be more productive. Health is directly related to the quantity of work that an individual can do and is hence important.
3. What are different kinds of Economic Activities?
Economic Activities are classified into three categories. They are primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary Activities are those activities where the natural resources are used as it is. Secondary activities include those activities which involve some changes or modifications in the resources that are extracted from nature. Tertiary activities are the most important among all these activities. These activities are usually occupational or service-based in nature.
4. What are some examples of different classes of Economic Activities?
Economic Activities are divided into three sectors namely primary sector, secondary sector, and tertiary sector. Some examples of the primary sector are farming, fishing, forestry, mining coal or diamond, extracting oil from resources, etc.
The secondary sector includes economic activities such as food processing, refining of coal and oil, heavy and light manufacturing, steel production, etc.
Examples of the tertiary sector are trade, administration, transport, communication, health, education, etc.
5. What is unemployment and what are its kind?
Unemployment can be defined as a phenomenon where qualified people cannot find work despite searching for it. Even though it is a worldwide problem, it is especially prevalent in India. It leads to a wastage of one of the most important resources i.e. human beings. Unemployment can be found in both rural and urban areas. There are two kinds of rural unemployment: seasonal and disguised. In seasonal unemployment, people are unemployed for a specific time in a year.
