For my PREDICT 400 course, our first discussion was geared towards real life applications of linear functions. Appropriately, I chose this topic of HR technology.
I selected two articles to review that I thought was incredibly applicable to our study on the application of linear functions.
The first article is a resource article by Silent Edge, titled "Robots and Why HR Needs to Get Along with Technology". The second article is from the Wall Street Journal, titled "The Daily Startup: Human Resource Software Deals Keep Climbing" by Zoran Basich. Both articles complement each other in how things they are panning out right this moment.
When the general population thinks of HR, they think of pencil-pushing policy drivers. Plus, in media, HR gets a horrendous reputation on shows like The Office and Archer. Recently, over the past few years, HR has been trying to take own a new role as it redefines its purpose and function. There have also been plenty of articles on HBR and the Wall Street Journal calling out HR and bluntly explaining why the whole HR function should be eliminated. It's pretty harsh.
Going back to the article, the keyword from the articles that relate to HR redefining itself is "technology". As HR finds itself in a position where they can utilize technology for the better.
In the Silent Edge article, "69% of managers agree that failing to adapt to modern technology can hinder profitable growth" and "it is time for HR to join the march of forward development and embrace technology." The thing about this is technology becomes critical so many different facets in HR, including talent acquisition (recruiting), performance management, social collaboration, and learning and development. Of course, there's also the main HRIS component of a data warehouse system that stores all kinds of people data.
With this realization that HR needs to step their game, the demand becomes real and noticeable. As a result, with the basic application of the law demand and supply, supply of meeting these needs for HR has grown tremendously. From Basich's article in the Wall Street Journal, in 2004, venture investments in HR was a measly $46.5 million. In 2013, it was $230.3 million. That's 395% growth in 9 years!
In this article, we can look into the growth from 2004 to 2013 as a linear function.
2004: $46.5
2013: $230.3
I'll then use the following points: (0, 46.5) and (9, 230.3) to determine an equation that models the data.
m = (230.3 - 46.5) / (9 - 0) = 183.8 / 9 = 20.42
In slope intercept form: m = 20.42 and b = 46.5
y = 20.42x + 46.5
On another note, as we study linear functions, I can dive into the world of HR tech, Silent Edge being one of them, and derive how these companies make money. When we apply this to linear functions, we have the following:
1. Base price of the product / software
2. Variables such as price per license
When we translate this into a linear function: y = variable (x) + base price of the product / software
As an example:
There's a performance management software that charges $1200 for its product. The software is a cloud solution (software as a service) and also charges $60 per license per user.
1. Base price of the product / software = $1200
2. Variables such as price per license = $60
This would then translate to C(x) = 60(x) + 1200
As a summary, I agree with both articles on how this need has emerged in our economy, particular in HR. The growth is there. We see this in both articles as the use case for using new technology for HR increases and the venture investments increase as well, and of course, with positive slopes and all.
Articles:
http://www.silentedge.co.uk/robots-hr-needs-get-along-technology/
http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/06/03/the-daily-startup-human-resources-software-deals-keep-climbing/
The first article is a resource article by Silent Edge, titled "Robots and Why HR Needs to Get Along with Technology". The second article is from the Wall Street Journal, titled "The Daily Startup: Human Resource Software Deals Keep Climbing" by Zoran Basich. Both articles complement each other in how things they are panning out right this moment.
When the general population thinks of HR, they think of pencil-pushing policy drivers. Plus, in media, HR gets a horrendous reputation on shows like The Office and Archer. Recently, over the past few years, HR has been trying to take own a new role as it redefines its purpose and function. There have also been plenty of articles on HBR and the Wall Street Journal calling out HR and bluntly explaining why the whole HR function should be eliminated. It's pretty harsh.
Going back to the article, the keyword from the articles that relate to HR redefining itself is "technology". As HR finds itself in a position where they can utilize technology for the better.
In the Silent Edge article, "69% of managers agree that failing to adapt to modern technology can hinder profitable growth" and "it is time for HR to join the march of forward development and embrace technology." The thing about this is technology becomes critical so many different facets in HR, including talent acquisition (recruiting), performance management, social collaboration, and learning and development. Of course, there's also the main HRIS component of a data warehouse system that stores all kinds of people data.
With this realization that HR needs to step their game, the demand becomes real and noticeable. As a result, with the basic application of the law demand and supply, supply of meeting these needs for HR has grown tremendously. From Basich's article in the Wall Street Journal, in 2004, venture investments in HR was a measly $46.5 million. In 2013, it was $230.3 million. That's 395% growth in 9 years!
In this article, we can look into the growth from 2004 to 2013 as a linear function.
2004: $46.5
2013: $230.3
I'll then use the following points: (0, 46.5) and (9, 230.3) to determine an equation that models the data.
m = (230.3 - 46.5) / (9 - 0) = 183.8 / 9 = 20.42
In slope intercept form: m = 20.42 and b = 46.5
y = 20.42x + 46.5
On another note, as we study linear functions, I can dive into the world of HR tech, Silent Edge being one of them, and derive how these companies make money. When we apply this to linear functions, we have the following:
1. Base price of the product / software
2. Variables such as price per license
When we translate this into a linear function: y = variable (x) + base price of the product / software
As an example:
There's a performance management software that charges $1200 for its product. The software is a cloud solution (software as a service) and also charges $60 per license per user.
1. Base price of the product / software = $1200
2. Variables such as price per license = $60
This would then translate to C(x) = 60(x) + 1200
As a summary, I agree with both articles on how this need has emerged in our economy, particular in HR. The growth is there. We see this in both articles as the use case for using new technology for HR increases and the venture investments increase as well, and of course, with positive slopes and all.
Articles:
http://www.silentedge.co.uk/robots-hr-needs-get-along-technology/
http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/06/03/the-daily-startup-human-resources-software-deals-keep-climbing/