Human capital characteristics
Friday, 19 October 2007
M Azizur RahmanWHAT do we want in life? How do we achieve the goal and objective in life? We would like to simply be happy in life. We are selfish by birth. We want to have more of every thing as more is better than less. Some are getting more. Some are getting less. Differences in human capital characteristics and its quality and quantity are making differences between individuals. To maximise our satisfaction in life, we need to increase our human capital characteristics with quality to the maximum possible extent including our knowledge, education, training, experience and smartness. We strive although to maximise our satisfaction in life, on-the-job if we do work, and in business if we do business. Good life means that we do not suffer from poverty. What we want in life is to have good health, knowledge and education, enough money and purchasing power, physical and non-physical assets and property, love and affection, name and fame, and good-will and well placement in the society.
Individuals of similar educational background may differ in different magnitude in their acquisition of human capital and in their standard of living if they are not equally smart and, or belong to the family of different backgrounds. Among other factors making differences between individuals are food and nutrition, health care, language, culture and religion, rural versus urban dwelling, and exposure to international prospects of life.
All other characteristic variables remaining the same or similar, two individuals may have two different levels of life and living due to their differences in smartness. Smart individuals are assumed to be looking impressive in appearance including their clothes and dresses which is the first letter of their recommendation. They are also good in talking, discussion and in conversation. They talk with confidence as they try to place their argument relatively more logically and in a convincing manner. They are generally conceived with more knowledge about life. Their spoken Bangla and English are also very good. Their interactive or interpersonal behaviour is so impressive that people want to give the leadership to a few smart ones only. Smarts are automatically selected as a social leader.
Family background provides a lot to improve the individual's characteristics including smartness because the family is there in the first place to teach us, where our children are grown physically and mentally and their developing brain gets accommodated with the first-hand knowledge about life. Parents and siblings of smart families are expected to have a family connection with other smart families. Therefore, a child born in a relative smart family is privileged in earning more knowledge and smartness. These children are assumed to do better in their effort of raising their standard of living.
Due to cultural and religious reasons in many societies including Bangladesh, male children have relatively more exposure to the world outside the family. They are also less shy to meet people and propose for a job or business. Many parents invest relatively less in female children as female children will be out of the family permanently once they are married. Female children are more restricted to go out and earn academic and non-academic knowledge from the surrounding. All these make a significant difference in favour of male children in doing jobs or business.
Smartness also differs between individuals residing in urban-, semi-urban-, and rural areas or residents in urban cities, rural cities and the countryside. Urban people have more access to modern knowledge and information, which they receive through radio, TV and newspapers and urban neighbours. For example, urban consumers can smartly do the internet shopping and compare the prices of different dealers easily and drive the high-cost sellers out, and raise their standard of living. As an another example, the family planning programme is more effective in urban areas where people treat their children as expensive recreational goods, and have less number of children. Rural people assume their children as capital goods for menial work and have more number of children.
Quality food, nutrition and health care are a part of the basic necessity in life to maintain a sound health, sound mind and a good human capital.
English language has been widely, culturally, and necessarily accepted as the international language. Most literature, based on modern knowledge and good quality research, are published in English. Our non-physical human capital remains less than well-versed if we do not know English.
If we can afford to travel a few countries in the west and Japan of high quality human capital, our mission and vision about human capital, life and living might change in a progressive manner. Students are found working there in summer to pay for tuitions during spring and fall Semesters. Some students are doing double major such as Economics and Engineering together in a few famous US universities. Many professors in the US used to do the dish-washing job in their student life.
The above factors are contributory in the formation of human capital and achievement of satisfaction in life.
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The writer is Vice Chancellor, Uttara University
Individuals of similar educational background may differ in different magnitude in their acquisition of human capital and in their standard of living if they are not equally smart and, or belong to the family of different backgrounds. Among other factors making differences between individuals are food and nutrition, health care, language, culture and religion, rural versus urban dwelling, and exposure to international prospects of life.
All other characteristic variables remaining the same or similar, two individuals may have two different levels of life and living due to their differences in smartness. Smart individuals are assumed to be looking impressive in appearance including their clothes and dresses which is the first letter of their recommendation. They are also good in talking, discussion and in conversation. They talk with confidence as they try to place their argument relatively more logically and in a convincing manner. They are generally conceived with more knowledge about life. Their spoken Bangla and English are also very good. Their interactive or interpersonal behaviour is so impressive that people want to give the leadership to a few smart ones only. Smarts are automatically selected as a social leader.
Family background provides a lot to improve the individual's characteristics including smartness because the family is there in the first place to teach us, where our children are grown physically and mentally and their developing brain gets accommodated with the first-hand knowledge about life. Parents and siblings of smart families are expected to have a family connection with other smart families. Therefore, a child born in a relative smart family is privileged in earning more knowledge and smartness. These children are assumed to do better in their effort of raising their standard of living.
Due to cultural and religious reasons in many societies including Bangladesh, male children have relatively more exposure to the world outside the family. They are also less shy to meet people and propose for a job or business. Many parents invest relatively less in female children as female children will be out of the family permanently once they are married. Female children are more restricted to go out and earn academic and non-academic knowledge from the surrounding. All these make a significant difference in favour of male children in doing jobs or business.
Smartness also differs between individuals residing in urban-, semi-urban-, and rural areas or residents in urban cities, rural cities and the countryside. Urban people have more access to modern knowledge and information, which they receive through radio, TV and newspapers and urban neighbours. For example, urban consumers can smartly do the internet shopping and compare the prices of different dealers easily and drive the high-cost sellers out, and raise their standard of living. As an another example, the family planning programme is more effective in urban areas where people treat their children as expensive recreational goods, and have less number of children. Rural people assume their children as capital goods for menial work and have more number of children.
Quality food, nutrition and health care are a part of the basic necessity in life to maintain a sound health, sound mind and a good human capital.
English language has been widely, culturally, and necessarily accepted as the international language. Most literature, based on modern knowledge and good quality research, are published in English. Our non-physical human capital remains less than well-versed if we do not know English.
If we can afford to travel a few countries in the west and Japan of high quality human capital, our mission and vision about human capital, life and living might change in a progressive manner. Students are found working there in summer to pay for tuitions during spring and fall Semesters. Some students are doing double major such as Economics and Engineering together in a few famous US universities. Many professors in the US used to do the dish-washing job in their student life.
The above factors are contributory in the formation of human capital and achievement of satisfaction in life.
.....................................................
The writer is Vice Chancellor, Uttara University