We explain what and what the resources of a company are and the characteristics of each one: human, financial, material and technical.
What are the resources of a company?
Organizations and companies, as well as individuals, have a limited set of resources with which to carry out their operations, or in other words, with which to achieve their short- and long-term objectives.
Most of these resources are part of her assets, that is, they belong to her, or at least they are at her service. Therefore, good administration will result in better or worse results.
The resources of a company are the different elements that intervene in the production chain. Their presence is essential to guarantee the obtaining of a product, that is, to guarantee the perpetuity of the company's economic circuit.
Some intervene directly in the process, that is, they serve to transform raw materials into processed goods. Others serve to guarantee its supply or to eventually allow the modernization of other resources, thus keeping the company up to date.
Although we will detail them later in their respective and specific areas, a company's resources are initially classified into two types:
- Tangible resources. Those that can be touched, accumulated, stored and moved, that is, they are concrete and physical, as is the case of machinery or money.
- Intangible resources. Those that cannot be touched, since they are not physical or concrete, but that do not make them less valuable, as is the case of information, human talent or the so-called know-how (knowing how to do things in the best possible way).
Human resources
The main and most crucial resource of any organization is its workers, that is, its human employees, throughout their different positions, positions and sectors within the company. They are the ones who are responsible for executing, controlling and supervising production even in highly automated environments.
Obviously, are the only resource of the company that does not belong to it nor is it part of their assets, but rather constitute their labor force in exchange for a salary, that is, something like a lease of work capacity.
Human resources may have a greater or lesser degree of specialization, and may be dedicated to the production process. per seor to the administrative and control tasks, which guarantee its perpetuity.
At the same time, Their talents and abilities form an intangible asset of the company which can be improved through various training processes, such as studies or the accumulation of experience. In fact, the more knowledge and experience a worker accumulates, the higher his or her salary will be.
Financial resources
Financial resources are understood to be capital resources, that is, the amount of money in business assets including all of its liquidable assets, as well as its capacity to borrow or obtain capital through external financing. They can be money, debt bonds, shares, credit tools, etc.
Financial resources are key to launching the rest of the resources of the company, and constitute the fuel that keeps the productive circuit going. Therefore, its correct management is key to the benefit of the organization.
Material resources
Material resources are the set of tangible assets that form part of the company's assets whether movable or immovable (that is, whether or not they can change location).
This includes real estate, all machinery (machines, computers, etc.), work tools, vehicles and also the total stocks or warehouse for raw materials and already manufactured products.
This type of resources materially support the production process. In some cases they allow certain margins of effectiveness, speed or precision, since manufacturing a product with tools is not the same as without them.
Technical or technological resources
In this case we will refer to the systems, processes and knowledge that allow the organization to carry out the production process or at least carry it out in a certain way (since knowing what you are doing is not the same as improvising).
Technological resources can be tangible or intangible, since they range from physical tools to computer systems, the knowledge that the company manages (such as secret product formulas), and even the telecommunications and information tools that are at its service.
Production does not usually depend directly on this type of resources, but it does tend to have a very high impact on it, since provides greater margins of control and supervision, effectiveness, documentation and coordination when not simply greater specialized knowledge to innovate and create new products from what we already know how to make.
Continue with: Functional areas of a company
References
- “Resources of an organization” in Economic Zone.
- “Resources of an organization” in Econlink.
- “Resources and capabilities in the company” at the European Postgraduate Center (CEUPE).
- “Resources of a company” by Mónica Ávalos Castañeda, at the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo (Mexico).
