Recognition and renewal: a human resources strategy for the '90s.

• Position: Utah businesses discuss personnel management at 'Human Resources Seminar'

Recognition and Renewal A Human Resources Strategy for the '90s

If Michael Jordan traded his high tops for a corporate top spot, he might be as effective a manager off the basketball court as he is in the heat of play. What makes Jordan great is leadership, not just his individual skills, Gary L. Tooker told 350 human resources managers recently at Utah State University in Logan. Tooker is president and chief operating officer of Motorola Inc.

"Jordan is able to lead a team as well as be a star," Tooker said. "He not only demonstrates the ability to make plays, he also knows how to make heroes out of the other members on his team. Those two skills, along with the ability to plot strategy and communicate it clearly, are but a few of the skills needed to successfully manage in the 1990s."

Tooker was a featured speaker at the ninth annual Human Resources Seminar, sponsored by the Partners in Business program at Utah State University (USU). This unique program, administered by a staff of students, provides quality educational events for business executives and community leaders.

"Removing Barriers: Creating a Unified Work Force" was the theme of this year's seminar. Considering Utah's highly educated, skilled and motivated labor pool, USU was the ideal setting for such a discussion. Fortune magazine called Utah's work force "one of the most qualified in America, possessing advanced skills and a strong work ethic." Those attributes are intrinsic to what Tooker termed, a quality labor force.

In addition to Tooker, Harry Halamandaris, director of technology for Teledyne Inc., Gary G. Michael, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Albertsons Inc., and William Ginnodo, executive director of the Quality and Productivity Management Association (QPMA), among several others, discussed the challenges today's business leaders are facing. Of paramount importance is a manager's ability to tap, reward and continually renew the creativity and entrepreneurial skills of his or her employees.

"I think the renewal of resources is one of the most major issues facing corporate America in the 1990s," Tooker said. "What makes a great company different from an average company? I think it is the company's ability to manage its capital resources, its technological resources and, most of all, its human resources. There is one thing that all of these have in common - and that is people."

Tooker shared the basic elements of the company's quality improvement...