Using 3 carefully chosen, described and analysed illustrations, show Essay

Using 3 carefully chosen, described and analysed illustrations, show how images of success used in the contemporary labour market revolve around the themes of potentiality, performativity and perfection - Essay Example Given this â€Å"improved perspective† of the human resource, this paper will examine if such â€Å"improved perspective† of the workforce translates to better work life. This paper will also answer the new definition of success in the workplace, given the prevailing economic environment, and what it takes to succeed. As a business entity, companies are always driven by the profit motive. To paraphrase Radcliffe, â€Å"essentially, the main goal of all firms is to maximise and improve their bottom line† (2005 p.56). To improve this bottom line, companies had always sought new ways on how to improve its profitability that includes adoption of new processess and methodologies, as well as the usage of sophisticated technologies. It also realised that by maximising the potential of its human capital to perform, it would be able to enhanced its viability and competitiveness as a business entity in the market. Hence, there is the adage â€Å"our people is our most important asset† (Costea 2007 p.6), a slogan which is used by almost all companies in stressing the importance of human capital in their organisation. Frederick Winslow Taylor first thought that to motivate performance, employees has to be adequately paid (Jaffe 2008). It may have been a simplistic perspective about motivation, but it answers the economic needs of an enterprise’s employees and is even used until today. Mayo later expanded on this narrow perspective of Taylor about human resource and later included the social needs of its employees that needs to be satisfied for employees to be better motivated (Sarachek 1968). Perhaps it was Mayo who introduced the concept of Human Resource Management (HRM) when he introduced Human Relations department at the workplace who emphasized among its managers to treat its subordinates humanely (Smith 1987). Other organizational behaviorists and psychologists followed suit on how to better motivate employees by attending to their various