Corporate humanity
The story of human resources in production organisations
Human resources as corporate capital…it’s easy to say but very difficult to do (properly). This is not merely a question of corporate culture, but also of constraints, circumstances, events and external influences – and that’s just the start. Nevertheless, it is still worth seeking to understand how a principle that by now should form the basis of every good business can actually be put into practice. One place to begin is “Risorse (molto) umane ((Very) Human Resources)” by Giorgio Pivetta, in which the author – taking interpretations of Adriano Olivetti, as well as the psychology and sociology of work, as his starting point – undertook a professional journey through human resources, by way of first Barilla and then Campari.
The meaning of the book is summed up in its subtitle (as well as in the title’s parenthesis): “Myths, Rituals and Dilemmas in a Journey Through the Past and the Future”. Yes, human resources in companies truly is a set of myths and rituals – but also of dilemmas and questions, as well as of collective imaginations.
Pivetta attempts to recount all of this by starting, as you would expect, from globalisation. He then goes on to look inside businesses today, and at what they might look like in the future – when digitalization really will be king – as he seeks to bring together people, organisations and cultures. This all leads to the assertion that when it comes to human resources there are no eternal truths or general formulas. What one can do, however, is put forward a viewpoint, without forgetting one underlying feature: the humanity that inhabits every business.
At a certain point in his book, the author writes: “On the one hand, my story employs the filter of my direct experience in the field and, on the other, a comparison with the evolution of the world, of organisations and, above all, of the people who inhabit them.” We should give our full attention to the results. An interesting point to note, at the end, is the “writer’s library”, listing thirty very varied titles in which Adriano Olivetti and Max Weber feature prominently.
Risorse (molto) umane. Miti, riti e dilemmi in un viaggio tra passato e futuro ((Very) Human Resources. Myths, Rituals and Dilemmas in a Journey Through the Past and the Future)
Giorgio Pivetta
Guerini Next, 2023
The story of human resources in production organisations
Human resources as corporate capital…it’s easy to say but very difficult to do (properly). This is not merely a question of corporate culture, but also of constraints, circumstances, events and external influences – and that’s just the start. Nevertheless, it is still worth seeking to understand how a principle that by now should form the basis of every good business can actually be put into practice. One place to begin is “Risorse (molto) umane ((Very) Human Resources)” by Giorgio Pivetta, in which the author – taking interpretations of Adriano Olivetti, as well as the psychology and sociology of work, as his starting point – undertook a professional journey through human resources, by way of first Barilla and then Campari.
The meaning of the book is summed up in its subtitle (as well as in the title’s parenthesis): “Myths, Rituals and Dilemmas in a Journey Through the Past and the Future”. Yes, human resources in companies truly is a set of myths and rituals – but also of dilemmas and questions, as well as of collective imaginations.
Pivetta attempts to recount all of this by starting, as you would expect, from globalisation. He then goes on to look inside businesses today, and at what they might look like in the future – when digitalization really will be king – as he seeks to bring together people, organisations and cultures. This all leads to the assertion that when it comes to human resources there are no eternal truths or general formulas. What one can do, however, is put forward a viewpoint, without forgetting one underlying feature: the humanity that inhabits every business.
At a certain point in his book, the author writes: “On the one hand, my story employs the filter of my direct experience in the field and, on the other, a comparison with the evolution of the world, of organisations and, above all, of the people who inhabit them.” We should give our full attention to the results. An interesting point to note, at the end, is the “writer’s library”, listing thirty very varied titles in which Adriano Olivetti and Max Weber feature prominently.
Risorse (molto) umane. Miti, riti e dilemmi in un viaggio tra passato e futuro ((Very) Human Resources. Myths, Rituals and Dilemmas in a Journey Through the Past and the Future)
Giorgio Pivetta
Guerini Next, 2023