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Brain Teaser
What does HR Transmutation
means?
Transmutation of
species was a term used by a French botanist and invertebrate
zoologist- Jean Baptiste Lamarck in 1809 for his theory that
described the altering of one species into another.
Lamarck believed
that in every organism there exist a 'tendency to progression',
a principle that creation is in a constant state of advancement.
It was an innate quality of nature that organisms constantly
'improved' by successive generation. Change occurred because an
animal passed on to its offspring physiological changes it had
undergone in its own lifetime, and those changes came about by
its responding to its survival needs.
For example, the
need
for wading birds
to feed on fish
and keep their bodies dry gave
rise to their long legs and webbed feet as they would
unconsciously adopt the habit of stretching their legs to their
full extent. This trait would be passed on to the next
generation until over many generations the wading birds'legs
became those of the pelican. Conversely, the disuse of an organ
would cause it to wither and disappear, which explained how
snakes lost their legs.
When we compare
evolution of species with that of evolution of workplace
policies and practices related to human resources, we find a
strange correlation between them.... a need for inheritance of
acquired characteristics in order to survive. It is this
assumption that prompted SHRI Research Centre to coin the term
HR Transmutation.
HR Transmutation
refers to the necessity to relook and overhaul HR processes and
practices. Since transmutation is an Universal act and not an
individual change, it is about changing mindset of business/HR
leaders...a change that will probably start from the core and
percolate in multiple directions.
The current
economic churning has made it explicitly clear that industry is
not just facing another downturn but it is accompanied by
impactful structural, demographic and mindset changes across
industry and top management cannot afford to respond with
anything less than a complete overhaul of the system to survive
and sustain.
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