Asset Management

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A strategic approach to asset management

Asset management is conventionally assumed to be a term that describes the processes carried out by the financial industry for wealth and portfolio management. In modern day business practice

, this term can extend to equipment, infrastructure and even digital information. With company processes extending from the ‘cradle to the grave’, managing the stages of a companies asset lifecycle not only maintains them in good working order, it reduces the costs, increases productivity and extends the useful life of the asset. In capital intensive industries where the cost of equipment and systems is high, effective asset management can result in a significant improvement to a companies bottom line.

The monitoring and reporting process associated with asset management allows companies to make more informed choices about the distribution of resources. With inventory monitoring and pre-determined maintenance schedules, companies can reduce the capital costs associated with poor asset management and overstocked inventory levels. This capital can be reallocated to other areas of the organization for process improvement or business expansion. Managers can spend less time in fulfilling equipment requirements and more time on business initiatives that support the companies overall goals and objectives.

Asset management software permits companies to monitor and manage extensive information systems. With organizations increasingly dependent on information flows and critical data, maintaining system integrity and protecting infrastructure from external attacks has become critical for a companies operational viability. Monitoring software permits network scanning of hardware for external connections, data access and the installation of programs not approved as part of a companies technology mandate. With real time reporting and email alerts, it managers can reduce system support requirements and focus on central core it objectives. This ultimately improves productivity by reducing downtime and freeing up time that would otherwise by consumed by administrative tasks.

Asset management also supports decision making by improving business reporting requirements. Whether it be purchase, cost, replacement or maintenance issues, asset management software can provide business critical data ‘on the fly’ to know resource and capital requirements ahead of time. Integration with other centralized business reporting equips managers with important data for strategic decision making purposes across all business units. The modern demands of business require information be delivered in fast, efficient and meaningful way. An asset management framework can assist companies in this regard.

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Author:

Andrew Winthorp owns and operates http://www.asset-management-resource.com Asset Management. Learn more about the value of asset management to an organizations operational framework.

Asset Management and Human Resource Management

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What is asset management? It is a business process and a decision making structure that covers various things in order to come up with cost effective investment decisions. For this to work, you need to have practice good human resource management by hiring the right people with the right qualifications to get the job done.

This job falls to the human resources department as they are after all the ones in charge of hiring. In the past, the people who worked here simply gave the employees their paychecks. But that is not the only thing they do. They are supposed to train and develop the employees so they feel that they are part of something bigger.

The professionals who are supposed to do this should see themselves as two things. First as a strategic partner and second, a changing agent. Strategic partner because without them, a company will not prosper. A changing agent because it is through them that the employees can become better individuals.

With that, you can say that human resource management is the bridge between the administration and the employee. For a company to practice true human asset management, their human resource department has to do the following.

First, they must have an active role in organizational planning. To make this happen, they must be given the power to dictate what is needed in the planning phase including the necessary resources.

The human resource department should be able to recruit employees that are best suited for the organization by being given a free hand as to how this will be achieved. This includes the selection process which involves the testing and the administering component.

Human asset management can only happen if the human resource department is able to produce change. This is done by seeing what needs to be improved on in an employee and then coming up with programs that will enhance it. This includes of course facilitating and overseeing the training. If this was never done before, it should be evaluated to see if there are any flaws so this can be avoided in the future.

Let’s not forget the basics such as traditional personnel administration such as administering wages and benefits, time management, employee cost management as well as employee performance review and appraisals.

Human asset management is serious business because how well the company does depends on the people they hire to fill up the various positions. If they hire someone and he or she is not qualified, problems will occur. If the company has a high turnover, money is also wasted because of the time, training and money that were invested in that person.

To keep employees happy or motivated, they also have to come up with programs that will enhance their skills even if they should be tempted by offers from competitors.

Asset management is a combination of different things. These include cash, bonds, stocks, property and people. If you want your business to prosper, you must have an effective human resource management team in place that will take care of it. Otherwise, there will be problems within the organization. People will quit and when your competitors see that, this can be used to their advantage to the point that they may even take over your business.