Indicators for measuring the effectiveness of human capital.
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Madhurapantula has been involved with developing microscopy techniques to establish macroscopic stress vs. strain relations in body tissues that present mixed tissue compositions, in conjunction with X-ray diffraction scanning techniques to establish tissue composition.",coeditorOneBiosketch:"Prof. Orgel is a multi-disciplinarian by research and professional practice with international name recognition in the collagen and connective tissue fields and in X-ray diffraction.",coeditorTwoBiosketch:null,coeditorThreeBiosketch:null,coeditorFourBiosketch:null,coeditorFiveBiosketch:null,editors:[{id:"212416",title:"Dr.",name:"Rama Sashank",middleName:null,surname:"Madhurapantula",slug:"rama-sashank-madhurapantula",fullName:"Rama Sashank Madhurapantula",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/212416/images/system/212416.jpg",biography:"Dr. Madhurapantula holds a Ph.D. in Biology from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, with a focus on the molecular structure and function of type I collagen. 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Venkateswarlu",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/371.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"58592",title:"Dr.",name:"Arun",surname:"Shanker",slug:"arun-shanker",fullName:"Arun Shanker"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"878",title:"Phytochemicals",subtitle:"A Global Perspective of Their Role in Nutrition and Health",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ec77671f63975ef2d16192897deb6835",slug:"phytochemicals-a-global-perspective-of-their-role-in-nutrition-and-health",bookSignature:"Venketeshwer Rao",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/878.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"82663",title:"Dr.",name:"Venketeshwer",surname:"Rao",slug:"venketeshwer-rao",fullName:"Venketeshwer Rao"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"4816",title:"Face Recognition",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"146063b5359146b7718ea86bad47c8eb",slug:"face_recognition",bookSignature:"Kresimir Delac and Mislav Grgic",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/4816.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"528",title:"Dr.",name:"Kresimir",surname:"Delac",slug:"kresimir-delac",fullName:"Kresimir Delac"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}]},chapter:{item:{type:"chapter",id:"54434",title:"Investing in Human Capital as a Key Factor for the Development of Enterprises",doi:"10.5772/67741",slug:"investing-in-human-capital-as-a-key-factor-for-the-development-of-enterprises",body:'Currently, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developed economies are irreplaceable. They are considered a driving force of the economy because they largely contribute to the increase in innovation activities and to the flexible introduction of new products and also are adaptable. They also create a substantial volume of job opportunities. In Slovakia, SMEs represent a part of the business sector, which according to the Slovak business agency [1] produces nearly 60% of added value and provides over 70% of jobs. For a stable and prosperous market economy, it is essential that there is a medium state of SMEs in the society. It is precisely for this reason that it is necessary to pay more attention to SMEs, encourage them and also create favourable business conditions.
SME category has its own significance and role in corporate management. The role of SME entrepreneurs differs both quantitatively and qualitatively from the tasks of managers in large enterprises. In many cases, large enterprises greatly rely on SMEs in the provision of their support services and products which enables the large enterprises to concentrate on their core activities. Therefore, SMEs are highly valued for their creativity, flexibility, rapid response to changes in the environment and also in easy decision-making implementation of innovation, as well as for their focus on specific markets [2–4]. On the other hand, compared to large enterprises, SMEs have limited resources, which make them less technologically equipped. They are less able to prepare and manage business plans; they are more dependent on personal relationships between management and employees and between management and customers. SMEs usually do not have significant personal contacts within the financial sector and the government and thus are less able to negotiate special tax and state benefits [5]. However, as long as the aforementioned negatives are identified and eliminated in time, SMEs can effectively manage their business activities and significantly contribute to creating an added value and jobs in any economy.
The existence of the enterprise, its prosperity and dynamic progress is primarily affected by the quality of human resources. Prosperous enterprises realise that the most profitable capital of the enterprise is its employees [6]. Nowadays, the statement that people are the most valuable resource of any company proves to be more true than before. No more it is enough to ensure quality technical equipment and technology. Without the people who create added value in the company as bearers of human capital, no technical achievements can be properly utilised [7]. Moreover, a significant part of the value of the company, in addition to its financial capital consisting of financial assets, is created by the company’s intellectual capital. Intellectual capital is defined as stocks and flows of competencies, knowledge and skills available to businesses, which contribute to the process of generating market value of the company [8]. Intellectual capital is essentially a set of intangible sources that together with the material resources form the market value of the company. In other words, intellectual capital comprises competencies, knowledge and skills of company’s employees [9]. All these competencies are disseminated and transmitted further, parallelly with contacts to people outside the company (creating thus a social capital of the company) for the purpose of creating a so-called business knowledge-organisational capital [8]. It is clear that the company should pay more attention to the human factor, and, consequently, human factor should not be seen only as an additional expense but as a prospective income, which will pay back in the future [10]. It is also important that business owners become aware of the fact that the success of their enterprises as a whole depends mostly on their employees. They should not overlook this fact; on the contrary, they should seek ways of the most effective use of their human factor.
The significance of human factor was analysed by Gary Becker. Becker divided human capital into a general one (usable in a variety of jobs) and to a specific capital (which can be best used in a specific company). Becker’s division stimulates further discourse of motivation and the need for investment into vocational education in order to increase the company’s human capital [11]. Human capital is affected by three fundamental features shown in Figure 1 [12].
Factors affecting human capital (Source: [12]).
Figure 1 shows that the skills and qualities of the individual are determined by initial factors and they can be further developed by education and the environment. Education and the environment interact and by the impact of one’s environment in which the individual grows up, as well as by the impact of continuing education (both formal and informal) and by shaping one’s character, the individual acquires and develops his or her competencies and skills [12].
Enterprises become increasingly aware that proper investment into human resources can have a significant impact on their performance, which of course also affects their competitiveness. The corporate culture exactly offers the greatest source of competitive advantage of enterprises [13]. Continual adaptation to changing market conditions attracts businesses to invest their energy and finance to staff by improving their competencies. Businesses improve their human resources and consequently increase their psychological and professional assets by investing into human potential of individuals by improving their skills and competencies [14]. There exist various ways of investment into human resources. Businesses can invest in general human capital, which is an investment into specific or general training that enables acquisition of general knowledge usable in various companies. This results in higher future expected return of investment. The second option of investment into human resources is to invest in specific human capital. Specifically, it is investing in the improvement of specific competencies and skills for a particular job. This form of investment is less risky in terms of staff turnover as the use of specific knowledge is less likely to be used in other companies [15].
There are also other forms through which the company can provide investment in human resources, for example, by improving working conditions by using more efficient and innovative protective aids and tools [16]. The second way is to improve the health conditions of employees through quality social programme. The third form of investment in human resources could be improvement and expansion of business skills, competencies and abilities achieved by high-quality corporate education. All the above-mentioned forms of investment into human resources aim towards the overall development of individuals and also his/her acquisition of new skills, competencies and abilities, as well as a change in behaviour and attitudes of individuals towards the company and its objectives [7].
When investing into human capital, the enterprise should pay attention to the criteria used for investments into fixed capital, taking into account also the specifics and factors that affect the overall investment process. When considering the philosophy of strategic planning into human resources, it is necessary to take into account two criteria: first, feasibility of investment which answers fundamental questions about the availability of necessary resources, efficiency, time factor, the size of capital invested and the like. The second criterion is the eligibility of the investment. Then, the investor confirms the correctness of the decision to implement the investment. The evaluation process will take into account the appropriate approaches and methods, including the time factor and also the risk of investment into company’s human resources [17]. Another issue to be taken into consideration in company decisions to invest in human resources is the fact that such decision is limited and depends mainly on the estimated volume and availability of capital expenditures and also on the expected amount of income from investment management, cost of capital and optimally quantified assessment of the investment period [18].
In economic theory, investments in education of the employees are the most common assessment of the investment in connection with the analysis of investment in human capital. The development of required skills of the employees is mostly provided by two key elements: personality training and education. Personality training can be understood as the process of creating the personality of an individual. Education is a form of development and shaping of the personality of an individual. These two elements represent important components of the activities of personnel management. Personnel management, by influencing behaviour and skills of employees, seeks to effectively achieve the objectives within the frame of the company’s strategies. In this process, creation of suitable conditions for the implementation of individual education of employees, organised informal learning and quality corporate learning system play the most important role [7]. Further, business system of education in the broader sense focuses on the formation of working skills and social characteristics essential for creating healthy personal relationships of the employees [8]. This is a repeating cycle based on the objectives of the corporate strategy and also based on the principles of corporate training policy. This cycle further relies on organisational and other business conditions of education. It consists of four phases of the long-term process of effective training and development, as presented in Figure 2.
Four phases of the effective training and development in the company (Source: [7]).
In order to effectively evaluate investments into human resources, it is necessary to carefully plan company’s educational and development activities. A common problem, however, is usually insufficient budget for the required scope of education, training and other activities. The lack of subventions is also the main reason why trainings are carried out irregularly. There are two ways of investment into human resources: companies may choose internal (intra-unit) and external (outside the enterprise) form of education. Each of these options has their advantages and disadvantages. The internal form of education, which includes coaching, assisting, working on projects, internal briefing in the performance of work and so on, is by the majority of businesses considered to be a more effective form. On the other hand, the main obstacle to application of this form is usually a lack of the required volume of financial resources and a lack of suitable trainers. External form of education, carried out outside a company, is also considered to be faster and easier. The problem may occur if the supply institution misunderstands requirements, which immediately reflects in the amount and structure of the expected total return by investing in human capital of the company [18].
Except for investing in corporate education system, it is also important to invest into business benefits for human resources to ensure that capable employees that create a competitive advantage in business are recruited and retain in business. We assume that investing into an effective system of distribution of corporate employee benefits is a key solution to recruit and keep employees but also a way to further develop teams of high-quality employees [19].
Business benefits presented in Figure 3 should be arranged so that they increase employees’ motivation and interest. It is therefore necessary to regularly evaluate business benefits and check how effective, fair and appropriate they are in order to contribute to the assessment of employees’ success and consequently to the system of rewarding.
Business benefits (Source: [20]).
To assess the efficiency of investment in human resources, it is important to provide a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the investments. In order to achieve a successful investment, it is necessary not only to correctly define the economic parameters of each project but also to take into account certain specific features and their impact on expected returns in due time and in the company’s environment. In determining the expenditure related to investment in human capital, the efficiency evaluation should include all the cost associated with the identification and analysis of training needs, costs of developing and learning activities, renting costs, accommodation, information and communication technologies, the cost of teaching aids and materials, the cost of external trainers and lecturers, direct personnel costs for trainers and staff (such as travel and subsistence expenses, insurance and various other benefits provided by the employer) as well as other costs related to various forms and methods of education. These costs, as well as other costs of learning activity, are associated with specific phases of the process of vocational education, and therefore it is possible to divide them as suggested by experts [7] into:
Types—labour costs, depreciation of fixed assets, material consumption, operating costs and others
Specific educational activities—such as language training, communication training, etc.
Stages of the education process—such as identification and analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation of educational activities
To ensure economic efficiency of a selected educational activity, the company should first of all determine the optimum amount of the costs, dependent on the (minimum) number of employees in a given activity. The minimum number of trainees and the minimum volume (value) of revenues for the respective training can be defined by setting the profit threshold through the division of costs into fixed and variable. Investments in human resources may also include the costs of lost or unused opportunities that represent possible earning potential, in which the employees could gain, but which was omitted due to the educational activity. Furthermore, this cost may also include the loss of profit from unaccomplished work due to an educational activity. Generally, these costs are not economically evaluated; however, if the company is interested in evaluating the economic efficiency of educational activities correctly and objectively, they should take these costs into consideration [18].
The total expected revenues from educational activities for the company gained during a predetermined period of time depend on the success of all employees and their ability to apply gained knowledge as well as on the overall business performance in a given time. The main problems in determining profits of vocational education [21] are as follows:
Setting the period for assessing the effectiveness of education. As in education there is no universal way to determine the optimal time for evaluation of effects, it is important that a manager presents a specific activity period on the basis of their personal expert estimate.
Determination of the effect of selected training activity on the so-called cash flow expected return. This profit is influenced by a number of factors, and that is often why it may cause a problem in proper assessment whether the examined effect is the after-effect of the educational activity or whether it results from other changes within the company.
Investment in human capital is profitable (effectively utilised), provided that the total expected return (cash flow) is higher than the costs invested, respectively. In other words, it is profitable if the rate of return of funds spent (r) is higher than that of investment, so-called interest rate (i). The company then reaches revenues from investment; if pays r > i, while investment in human capital is profitable until the rate of return of funds spent (r) is equal to interest rate (i). As a result of the downward trend of the additional revenues from the additional training and development of employees, the internal rate of return of investment (r) is limited. However, to assess the effectiveness of learning activity exclusively on the basis of its costs is not reliable. Generally, such a decision can be more expensive than reduction of the cost of ineffective education. Therefore, it is preferable to choose the opposite approach in assessing the effectiveness which lies in tracking benefits (contributions) of training, which can represent positive change indicators, as presented in Figure 4 [7].
Company’s gains from investment into human capital (Source: [7]).
For several decades, experts have been seeking, testing and verifying methodology that efficiently objectively defines the value of human capital. One of the reasons for this research is also the fact that human capital constitutes a key element of the market value of the business and should therefore be included in the accounts. All these information are necessary for the acquisition, stabilisation, development and optimisation of human capital. Careful measurement of the value of human capital will lead to the implementation of appropriate management strategies of human resources as well as to the evaluation of the effectiveness of personnel work [22]. The basic objective in measurement of the value of human capital is its quantification, especially important for financial and management decisions of the company. Needless to say, the measurement and valuation of human capital are the basis for planning human resources in a company and for checking the efficiency of investment in this area [23].
The issue of investment in human resources has been analysed by several authors; however, so far there has not been compiled any unified and comprehensive methodology that would clearly stipulate the methods of measurement of the value of human capital. The main problem in setting the methodology is the measurement of human capital as an intangible asset. The reason is, in the field of labour and human resources, there are many factors (e.g. employees’ characteristic features) that are hard to quantify or are very difficult to measure. When evaluating the efficiency of investment into the training of human resources, it is necessary to determine the possible factors that influence the effectiveness of these investments. Among these factors, the quality of the implementation of individual stages of education, teaching methods and applied approaches in the process of evaluating educational activities represents the major issues. Further, this group of factors includes subjects of education and their attitude to various activities, interest in and support for the management of the enterprise via application of acquired knowledge and skills of employees, linking educational programme and business objectives as well as corporate culture. When integrating all these factors, the company should also take into account the following two very important issues [7]:
The time to achieve full return on investment. Setting of such a period significantly affects the nature and objective of the training programme. The point is that the company (after the return on investment) may benefit from additional training of staff until the end of employees’ working life.
Nonmaterial, qualitative benefits. The company shall understand that not all benefits are measurable in financial terms. These nonmaterial benefits reflect improvements in areas such as communication, motivation, attitude and teamwork, which are essential for company’s success. In order to properly measure these benefits, interviews with managers and employees, the analysis of effects and also other methods may provide useful information about the benefits of education.
Therefore, conducting a detailed assessment and monitoring of achievements are especially important in terms of determining the overall economic efficiency of investment in human resources. Moreover, evaluation of selected indicators of human resources should not be the last step in implementation of investments in human resources, but one of the first. Such evaluation should be included into the needs analysis, definition of objectives and subsequent analyses necessary for the training and development of employees. It is essential to first decide whether an investment in human capital should be carried out or not. Thus, when formulating objectives of education, the efficiency of investment should be estimated at least in general terms. Failing to present the objectives could lead to unprofitable investment [24].
In spite of the many recommended indicators, criteria and methods of assessing the effectiveness of investment in human resources available at the market of consulting and advisory companies, no such indicators should be applied without thorough knowledge of the specific company and its specifics. Each recommended methodology should be tailored to meet the specific criteria of assessment [18]. Bonta and Fitz-enz proposed indicators, which enable effective evaluation of human capital in the company. Their methodological approach distinguishes the main areas of the value of human capital, which are human capital efficiency, its value, the investment into human capital as well as the loss of human capital. For each of the areas, there are variables that can be measured and quantified [25]. They are presented in Figure 5.
Indicators of efficiency of investment in human resources (Source: [25]).
Indicator sales per employee is the aggregate result of work of the department of human resources, which also affects the development of human capital in the company. Human capital return on investment (HCROI) is an indicator of return on investment in human capital, including salary and compensation of employees for work, which represents another indicator or return on investment. Effectiveness of this procedure is based on the assumption that the value of employees to the enterprise is determined by wages (paid to employees as an equivalent compensation for their work). In addition to the salaries, investment in human capital also includes the costs of training and development activities. On the other hand, the loss of human capital is usually associated with reducing the value of company’s intellectual capital, and it should therefore be as low as possible. When considering indicators of investment effectiveness in human capital, there are five most commonly used indicators of personnel when the overall company is taken into consideration [26]:
Human economic value added (HEVA)—represents the share of one employee on creating economic value added.
Human capital value added (HCVA)—it is similar to HEVA; employee share in added value, with the added value of creating revenue net of costs (excluding the cost of employee benefits and labour costs).
Human capital cost factor (HCCF)—reflects the total cost of human capital.
Human capital return on investment (HCROI)—indicator reflects the amount of gross profit EUR per one euro of direct costs of human capital.
Human capital market value (HCMV)—the market value of human capital gives personnel managers information on the amount of EUR net market value per one employee.
Based on the research carried out on more than 10,000 companies, the most famous consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers and Saratoga recommend key indicators to measure the effectiveness of human capital. They are included in Table 1.
No. | Indicator | Characteristics |
---|---|---|
1. | Cost factor | Compares the time and effort of human capital to the operating cost of enterprise output |
2. | Return factor | It refers to the time and effort associated with human capital as well as the productivity of employees. It represents a measure of revenue generated by each individual employee. It is a basic measure of the effectiveness of human capital and is the result of all the dynamic elements of human capital management, which affects the overall behaviour of employees |
3. | Profit factor | It shows the time and effort spent on human capital acquisition of operating profit. Compares the profit from operations and total number of employees |
4. | Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciations and amortisation charges (EBITDA) | It refers to the time and effort spent on human capital acquisition income before tax, taking into account depreciation, interest and amortisation |
5. | Human capital return on investment (HCROI) | It compares the portion of adjusted indicator of profit to the cost of human capital, in addition to tuition, which directly reflects the amount of profit made from each 1 EUR invested in labour costs |
6. | Human capital value added (HCVA) | It shows a modified operating profitability indicators, which provides for adjustment of all operating expenses from operating income, taking into account the total number of employees |
7. | Human economic value added (HEVA) | It shows the wealth generated by the average number of employees in the company. It presents the extent to which the economic value added (EVA) produced by the average number of employees. It expresses the wealth generated by the average number of employees in the company. It presents the extent of economic value added (EVA) produced by the average number of employees |
According to Dubcová and Foltínová [27], these indicators measuring human capital are financially dependent on the overall business results, and their selection and use depend primarily on business strategy as well as on strategies in the filled of planning and management of company’s human resources.
At present, many changes and constantly increasing demands on human resources occur as a result of new technologies. These dynamic changes perpetually encourage businesses to be more and more interested in the efficiency of investment in their employees. It is therefore important to focus company’s investments in human resources so as to effectively get back the invested capital and to meet the objectives of the company and its visions for the future. The objective of this work is to determine the effectiveness of investments in human resources, using statistical and econometric methods. The analysis focuses on measurable economic indicators such as labour conditions, turnover, productivity, human capital value added (HCVA), human capital return on investment (HCROI) and other measurable indicators. Evolution of the indicators was examined between 2013 and 2015. Nonmeasurable indicators of the contribution of investment in human resources were obtained by questionnaires. The research was done in a woodworking enterprise engaged in the Slovak Republic, which employs less than 250 employees. The aim was to identify similarities and differences in motivation factor for employees that significantly affect the satisfaction, motivation and performance of the employees, as well as the overall performance and potential development of the company as a whole. We contacted all the employees working in the selected company. A total of 176 questionnaires were distributed. One hundred and forty-eight questionnaires were correctly filled out—which represents a return to the level of 84.09%. Detailed identification of respondents in terms of age, education level, job category and seniority is presented in Table 2.
Age | Finished education | Seniority—years of practice | Employment category | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Under 30 | 35 | Primary school | 12 | Less than 1 year | 9 | Top management | 9 |
31–40 | 28 | Secondary school (no school leaving exam) | 56 | 1–3 years | 29 | Middle management | 15 |
41–50 | 45 | Secondary school (school leaving exam) | 67 | 4–6 years | 20 | Worker | 124 |
51 and more | 40 | University | 13 | 7–9 years | 22 | ||
10 years | 68 |
Composition of the research sample.
Source: [own data processing].
From the analysis of the respondents, it can be seen that the age structure of the survey sample is diverse. That is a prerequisite of flexibility of human resources in the enterprise. Younger workers can bring new ideas, whereas older employees provide balance and knowledge based on years of experience. Completed education that prevailed among employees was secondary education. When concerning seniority, a group of employees who worked for 10 years or more prevailed. This fact is a sign that the company is able to keep valuable employees and meet their needs. Among all respondents, the greatest number was represented by workers and middle management. However, we were also able to obtain preferences of top management individual work motivation and preferences.
The results of the research in selected company can be summarised in the following conclusions:
In the area of management strategy of human resources, the company has developed an effective education system for all levels of management from top management through middle management to the workers, with a priority focus on the customer. Company’s objectives in education and development are defined to support the effectiveness of management processes, effectiveness of internal communication and quality of selling goods and services to end customers. Training of employees is based on the concept of education and development of employees. For each year, funding for education, time table, methods, individual training modules and the exact number of employees to be educated are provided. Employees are educated through external and internal forms. In terms of distance education, we mean intensive training of top employees. This education is provided by external educational institutions. Internal training takes place within the company and is intended for middle management and workers.
In the context of measurable indicators of efficiency of investment in human resources, we analysed the first indicator—wage conditions and business benefits for employees because rewarding of employees is part of the process of preserving and maintaining an effective workforce. Company’s forms of compensation varied, depending on the employee’s working position. Workers were paid on the basis of piece wage, middle management’s wages depended on contract wages and top management gained proportionate wage. The employees’ wages, based on compliance with the qualification requirements, were classified within one of the 12 categories of wage tariff system. According to the relevant tariff class, employees gain tariff salary determined by the applicable tariff. There is the guarantee that employees are entitled to tariff-based payment, i.e. to the fixed part of the contractual salary and wage advantages irrespective of the overall results of the company. The average monthly wage in 2015 was € 515.88, which is far below the average monthly wage in the Slovak Republic.
Except for wages, employees were entitled to a wide range of financial and nonfinancial benefits in terms of business benefits. This includes special bonuses; personal assessment of employees’ failure to report absence from work; additional payments for overtime, for work on public holidays and for work on Saturday and Sunday; the reward for living and working anniversaries; contribution to board; contribution to transport to and from work; contributions to supplementary pension insurance; time off with pay in excess of the labour code; contributions to health care and other recovery workers; contributions to the social and cultural events and company’s notebook, cell phone or car for employees whose job requires training and staff development. Further, the employer supported university study by providing study time off and contributions to employees who studied part time at universities, by which the employer shows interest in increasing their employee’s skills. This advantage was connected with compulsory employment after finishing the school for a selected period of time. Further benefits provided to an employee included social assistance in unpredictable situations in employee’s life.
Although the average monthly wage compared to the average monthly wage in Slovakia is lower, which reduces the attractiveness of the selected enterprise for job seekers, employees are provided with a variety of benefits that motivate them to perform. The monitored company lacks feedback from its employees, which would help to determine whether the benefits act as an incentive to increase employees’ performance.
The value of the intellectual capital of the company is closely linked to the increasing or decreasing trends in the number of employees who come into the company and thus increase the value of the intellectual capital. Average monthly income is one indicator of the effectiveness of the investment to employees. Effectiveness indicator is based on the idea that the value of individual employees is determined by wages, i.e. business investment in employees, which is paid to them as the equivalent of work.
The average monthly salary, presented in Table 3, was during the monitored period developing in a variable rate. In 2011, the average monthly wage was € 501.70, but the economic crisis translated themselves into a decline to the level of € 485.20 in 2013. The gradual recovery in the economy has increased the company’s turnover, which resulted in an increase in the average monthly wage at the level of € 515.88 in 2015. Even though the average monthly salary was less than the average monthly wage in the Slovak Republic, its slight increase might be taken as a promising positive development for the future.
Employee turnover was the third measurable indicator of efficiency of investment in human resources. In Table 4, we examined the turnover of employees within the enterprise, which may not be viewed only as a negative phenomenon. Sometimes, some low turnover rate may be even necessary, as it enables the company to maintain its potential for innovation and growth.
Staff turnover rate in the period 2013–2015 decreased gradually. That indicates a positive development in staff turnover. For companies, it is important to identify the reasons for losing their workers and, therefore, it is of key importance to pay more attention to employees who are considering changing their jobs and to understand their unfulfilled needs and expectations.
On the other hand, reasons for the leaving of employees are often results of the decision of their employer. In the monitored period 2013–2015, it was necessary to terminate the contracts of 20 employees. Another most common reason for leaving the company was inadequate salaries, as reported by workers. We recommend the company to identify the reasons for dissatisfaction of existing staff as well as the reasons for leaving of former employees. That will enable the company to properly identify the reasons for departure and to implement changes in the system of rewarding and motivation of employees that will eventually prevent further loss of human capital.
Labour productivity indicator is an important signal of economic efficiency of company’s performance. The results of the monthly labour productivity from sales and value added (during the monitored period 2013–2015) are shown in Table 5. Monthly indicator of labour productivity from revenues in 2015 had been falling slightly (decrease of € 42.06 compared to 2014) due to the increase in the number of registered employees by seven employees (as a result of hiring new employees). For the same reason, there was an increase in added value only by € 0.31 in 2015, compared to 2014.
The growth of labour productivity is important for the performance of the company because it leads to savings in expenditure of labour and labour costs. We recommend the company to focus on examining the relationship between labour productivity and the system of rewarding in the company, with special emphasis on the needs and particularities of human capital, because it is human capital in the company that is able to create value.
Human capital value added (HCVA) is another important indicator of economic efficiency of human resources in the company, which reflects the participation of employees in added value (when the added value is created by revenue net of costs excluding labour costs—labour costs and employee benefits). It is presented in Table 6.
Human capital value added (HCVA) belongs among the indicators of the overall efficiency of utilisation of human resources. Thus, based on the research results, we may conclude that the analysed company uses its human resources effectively. Nevertheless, we recommend the company to continue in using its human resources effectively which will increase the company’s performance. It is generally understood that via the abilities, skills and knowledge of its employees, the company can strengthen its competitiveness in the market. Quality technology available does not secure maximum performance because it is the employees who create added value in the company as bearers of human capital, and without employees, no technical achievements could be properly utilised.
In 2015, the company invested a total of € 120,000 in the education and the development of human resources in the form of individual training modules. Financial resources in the amount of € 80,000 were spent on intensive training of top managers, and € 40,000 was invested into intracompany education. This sum included trainings for middle managers and individual workers. The overall costs per training module were divided by the total number of participants in various target groups. Participation of at least 80% of the employees was a precondition to providing the training programme. Resources for internal training were divided into five training modules. These five modules are presented in Table 7.
After identifying the range of training modules and the number of participating employees, average investment in training and staff development were analysed. The average investment per training module was € 8000, and the average investment per participant was € 266.67. On the basis of research done, we can state that the company has an elaborate system of quality education. Moreover, the company seeks to continuously improve this system and spends quite a considerable sum of money on education of their employees.
Human capital return on investment (HCROI) is a key indicator to measure the profitability, i.e. return on investment in human capital company, and is now considered to be the most used method to measure the effect (return on funds invested in human resources of the company). The results considering this indicator are presented in Table 8.
During the monitored period, the development indicator HCROI was slightly decreasing due to higher labour costs (labour costs and employee benefits), which has caused an increase in the total number of employees. Nevertheless, we can view the results of this indicator positively because the company’s investment in human resources each year generated revenues. That means that the investments were profitable and returned. In 2013, the company earned € 1.045 for every euro invested in labour costs. In 2014 the amount was € 1.039, and in 2015 the amount reached € 1.037 for each euro invested in human resources. We can conclude that during the monitored period, funds invested in human resources of the company were effectively recovered.
The company is further advised to regularly monitor the development achievements of HCROI, because the indicator is a key method of measuring company’s human capital. This is mainly because such monitoring answers questions such as how much profit the enterprise will have much consumption cost, how many people are employed, how much to invest in labour costs (wages and benefits) and especially how it can improve the individual variables in order to increase their competitiveness in the market. HCROI allows to increase the performance of the company, as the company expects that the investments in their employees shall be returned in the form of a specific return, even though long-term nature of payback of investments into human capital should also be taken into consideration.
It is important to note that not all of the benefits of investing in human resources are measurable in financial terms. There are also nonfinancial, i.e. qualitative, benefits that characterise improvements in communication, motivation, employee satisfaction, their morale and teamwork, which are also very important to the performance and success of the enterprise, even if their contribution is difficult to quantify. In addition to financial indicators of the efficiency of utilisation of human resources, the analysed company should take into account also noneconomic indicators such as the level of employee satisfaction with company benefits, with the process learning, and their level of motivation. These aspects can encourage people to perform better and are usually determiners intensifying the interest of potential job seekers.
Within quantification nonmeasurable indicators of efficiency of investment in human resources in 2015, we conducted questionnaire research on a sample of employees of the company. Table 9 shows the list of those labour and motivation factors identified by employees as the most significant, thus increasing their working efficiency most effectively. Based on the preferences of the respondents, we have compiled a rank of 10 motivation factors that were the most preferred by top and middle management and by workers. Comparison of these two groups was conducted to determine whether, based on the similarity of the responses among various employees, an identical composition of motivation factors could be identified. This finding will enable the company to consider the amount of investment in various areas related to increasing the effectiveness of human resources.
Employees working in top and middle management considered base salary to be the most important motivating factor. They give priority financial security. Job security and supervisor’s approach occupied the second and third place, which indicates that in addition to financial security, these employees also need a sense of security, stability and background. Supervisor’s approach plays an important role in the evaluation of employees. Work-related motivation factors connected with workload, financial evaluation and social factors influencing the situation and conditions in the workplace occupied lower positions in questionnaires. Although the employees working in top and middle management considered social relationships to be important, they considered them secondary to existential and financial factors. The reason could be that, in the working positions of top and middle management, employees do not tend to build close relations and put more emphasis on themselves and their own careers.
On the other hand, workers attributed the greatest level of importance of interpersonal relations, good teamwork, atmosphere and communication in the workplace. The reason could be that employees work in teams, know each other and are used to each other. Workers thus tend more to coherence and values other than just the financial factors and career development. For them, friendly working relationships are the most important. Financial rewarding and job security were secondary to working relations, perhaps because of the unstable economic situation in the Slovak economy. The superior’s approach, recognition and fair appraisal system based on actual merit were also highly rated among workers.
Surprisingly, training and development was not rated among the most important motivators in none of the observed groups. Employees are probably interested in expanding their knowledge and expertise, and further education is considered a priority. They prefer other mentioned factors to motivate them. On the other hand, within the two groups that were compared, there were the same 10 motivation factors that more or less affected the satisfaction, motivation and performance of the human resources of the company. Based on the results acquired, we recommend the company, as a part of their overall strategy of investments into human resources, to focus on these motivation factors that enable higher and more effective contribution from investments in human capital.
Quality system of corporate benefits, declining employee turnover and the positive developments in the measurable indicators of efficiency of investment in human capital are the strengths of the investment process. All these proved that the analysed company invests in their human resources effectively. Weaknesses of investment in human resources in the analysed company lied in lower average wages of employees compared to the average wage in Slovakia, which can significantly influence the discontent and limited performance of employees. Investments in intracompany education and development appear to be at a relatively high level, but it is necessary to review the division of analysed groups to top management and other trainings (volume of sources per employee and the effectiveness of their usage). On the other hand, the enterprise has a long and elaborate system of education that is constantly trying to improve it. If the analysed company would focus on business issues that are most important to employees, such as the basic salary and the level of interpersonal relationships, they would provide employees with better working conditions and care. The company has also an opportunity to improve performance of its human resources, which will ultimately provide benefits to the company in the form of greater efficiency and competitiveness. Risks are associated with a lack of awareness of business benefits system and the possibilities for their further education and development, as well as insufficient level of their satisfaction and motivation to work better, which may adversely affect the overall performance of the company and become a serious disadvantage for the company’s competitiveness in the market.
Indicator/year | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|
Number of employees | 170 | 169 | 176 |
Average monthly wage (in EUR) | 485.20 | 508.94 | 515.88 |
Average monthly wage in Slovakia (in EUR) | 824.00 | 858.00 | 883.00 |
Number of employees and their average wage (development).
Source: [own data processing [28]].
Indicator/year | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|
Total number of employees | 170 | 169 | 176 |
Number of dismissed employees | 29 | 21 | 19 |
Development of employee turnover (%) | 16.93 | 12.54 | 10.77 |
Reasons for dismissal | |||
Employee’s decision | 5 | 8 | 7 |
Medical reasons | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Other reasons | 21 | 11 | 11 |
Development of employee turnover.
Source: [own data processing].
Indicator/year | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|
Gains (in EUR) | 10,674,582 | 10,901,848 | 11,264,557 |
Added value (in EUR) | 1,774,401 | 1,838,133 | 1,914,902 |
Total number of employees | 170 | 169 | 176 |
Monthly labour productivity based on revenues (in EUR) | 5232.64 | 5375.66 | 5333.60 |
Monthly labour productivity based on added value (in EUR) | 869.80 | 906.37 | 906.68 |
Development of the indicator of labour productivity.
Source: [own data processing].
Indicator/year | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|
Operating income (in EUR) | 11,164,318 | 11,412,981 | 11,832,978 |
Operating expenses (in EUR) | 11,099,868 | 11,353,813 | 11,773,160 |
Work expenses (in EUR) | 1,447,716 | 1,521,791 | 1,604,130 |
Number of employees | 170 | 169 | 176 |
HCVA (in EUR) | 8895.09 | 9354.79 | 9454.25 |
Development of the human capital value added (HCVA).
Source: [own data processing].
No. | Training models | No. of people | Scope of education (hours) | Module content |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Leadership | 30 | 24 | Leadership styles, the advantages and disadvantages of different styles |
2. | Marketing | 30 | 7 | Theory and practice of marketing |
3. | Communication with customer | 30 | 7 | Communication skills, coping with stress, conflict |
4. | Teamwork | 30 | 16 | Developmental stages of team building, knowing the differences of individuals and teamwork |
5. | Conflict solving | 30 | 24 | Coping with stress, conflict with internal and external customers |
Training modules of intracompany education.
Source: [own data processing].
Indicator/year | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|
Operating income (in EUR) | 11,164,318 | 11,412,981 | 11,832,978 |
Operating expenses (in EUR) | 11,099,868 | 11,353,813 | 11,773,160 |
Work expenses (in EUR) | 1,447,716 | 1,521,791 | 1,604,130 |
HCROI (in EUR) | 1.045 | 1.039 | 1.037 |
Development of the indicator human capital return on investment (HCROI).
Source: [own data processing].
Top and middle management | Workers | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Motivation factor | Mean | No. | Motivation factor | Mean |
1. | Base salary | 4.65 | 1. | Good teamwork | 4.81 |
2. | Job security | 4.50 | 2. | Atmosphere in the workplace | 4.77 |
3. | Supervisor’s approach | 4.50 | 3. | Communication in the workplace | 4.69 |
4. | Good teamwork | 4.34 | 4. | Base salary | 4.68 |
5. | Working hours | 4.30 | 5. | Job security | 4.65 |
6. | Fair appraisal system | 4.29 | 6. | Fringe benefits | 4.60 |
7. | Fringe benefits | 4.27 | 7. | Supervisor’s approach | 4.60 |
8. | Atmosphere in the workplace | 4.26 | 8. | Working hours | 4.56 |
9. | Communication in the workplace | 4.16 | 9. | Fair appraisal system | 4.56 |
10. | Recognition | 4.15 | 10. | Recognition | 4.55 |
Comparison of the most effective motivation factors.
Source: [own data processing].
In today’s dynamic times of intensifying globalisation, when many countries are hit by the financial crisis, a company should monitor new trends in their business environment [29–31]. Managers make daily permanent decisions to develop an effective strategy that will help them to succeed in a highly competitive environment [32, 33]. It is more and more true that in order to succeed, companies should provide and keep quality human resources [34]. It is generally understood that times when tangible assets were the most important assets of a business are long gone. Therefore, many businesses now focus on the knowledge and skills of their employees and the company as a whole, and these often become a source of their competitive advantage. Companies now invest in human resources and significant financial resources and seek appropriate opportunities for streamlining the development of their employees’ potential. Human capital plays a crucial role in increasing the productivity and output of an organisation [35]. It is involved in the creation of the market value of the company and also represents the most valuable source of company [36, 37]. This analysis of selected company proved the effectiveness of investment in human resources through the use of measurable and immeasurable indicators of efficiency of investment in human resources. The results confirmed that the wage system in the analysed company is set up so that the amount of wages is based on the turnover of the enterprise. The business has thus few possibilities to change this fact; however, it can focus on improving the system of corporate benefits, which can ensure retention and loyalty of employees in the company. For that reason, we recommend the company to obtain from their employees feedback determining whether the business benefits are set up to act as an incentive and arouse employees’ interest. In order to prevent unwelcomed turnover, a company should try to analyse and identify the reasons for employees’ dissatisfaction and for leaving of former employees. If a company is aware of reasons for dissatisfaction, it can evaluate and then implement necessary changes in system of rewarding and motivation of employees, which may prevent further loss of human capital. Labour productivity growth, both in sales and value added, is a key for the performance of the company because it leads to savings in expenditure of labour and labour costs. Based on the research conducted, we recommend to the analysed company to focus on examining the relationship between labour productivity and rewarding schemes and to pay special attention to the needs and specifics of human capital, because it is human capital in the company that is able to create value. Human capital value added (HCVA) had an upward tendency, which means that human resources create added value effectively. It is important for the company to pay special attention to this indicator because its rank indicates the overall efficiency of utilisation of human resources (value added by labour), and therefore we can conclude on the basis of these results that the company uses its human resources effectively. The company is further advised to regularly monitor the development achievements of HCROI, because this indicator is a key method of measuring human capital in the company. The enterprise expects that investments in its employees shall be returned, although long-term nature of the return on investment in human capital must be taken into account. What we consider to be a satisfactory outcome of this research is that when evaluating motivation in both the compared groups, respondents responded to the same 10 most important motivation factors, which more or less affect the satisfaction, motivation and performance of the human resources of the company. Based on the gained knowledge, we recommend the company to focus on (within their strategy of investing in human resources) the examined motivation factors that enable higher and more effective contribution from investments in human capital company. Finally, in order to efficiently use human resources in the analysed company, increase of employees’ awareness about the system of corporate benefits and the possibilities for their further education and development would help to achieve the best results. All these items can significantly increase employees’ satisfaction, their motivation and especially their work performance, which consequently positively translate into greater efficiency, prosperity and competitiveness of the company itself.
This research was supported by VEGA 1/0024/17 - Computational Model of Motivation.
Antibiotic resistance (AR) which is defined as the ability of an organism to resist the killing effects of an antibiotic to which it was normally susceptible [1] and it has become an issue of global interest [2]. This microbial resistance is not a new phenomenon since all microorganisms have an inherent capacity to resist some antibiotics [3]. However, the rapid surge in the development and spread of AR is the main cause for concern [4]. In recent years, enough evidence highlighting a link between excessive use of antimicrobial agents and antimicrobial resistance from animals as a contributing factor to the overall burden of AR has emerged [5]. The extent of usage is expected to increase markedly over coming years due to intensification of farming practices in most of the developing countries [6]. The main reasons for the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals include prevention of infections, treatment of infections, promotion of growth and improvement in production in the farm animals [7, 8].
\nPoultry is one of the most widespread food industries worldwide. Chicken is the most commonly farmed species, with over 90 billion tons of chicken meat produced per year [9]. A large diversity of antimicrobials, are used to raise poultry in most countries [10, 11, 12]. A large number of such antimicrobials are considered to be essential in human medicine [13, 14]. The indiscriminate use of such essential antimicrobials in animal production is likely to accelerate the development of AR in pathogens, as well as in commensal organisms. This would result in treatment failures, economic losses and could act as source of gene pool for transmission to humans. In addition, there are also human health concerns about the presence of antimicrobial residues in meat [15, 16], eggs [17] and other animal products [18, 19].
\nGenerally, when an antibiotic is used in any setting, it eliminates the susceptible bacterial strains leaving behind those with traits that can resist the drug. These resistant bacteria then multiply and become the dominating population and as such, are able to transfer (both horizontally and vertically) the genes responsible for their resistance to other bacteria [1, 20]. Resistant bacteria can be transferred from poultry products to humans via consuming or handling meat contaminated with pathogens [21]. Once these pathogens are in the human system, they could colonize the intestines and the resistant genes could be shared or transferred to the endogenous intestinal flora, jeopardizing future treatments of infections caused by such organisms [5, 22, 23, 24].
\nAntimicrobials’ use in animal production dates as far back as the 1910 when due to shortage of meat products, workers carried out protests and riots across America [25]. Scientists at that time started looking for means of producing more meat at relatively cheaper costs; resulting in the use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents [26]. With the global threat of antibiotic resistance and increasing treatment failures, the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in animal production has been banned in some countries [8, 27, 28, 29]. Sweden is known to be the first country to ban the use of antimicrobials for non-therapeutic purposes between 1986 (for growth promotion) and 1988 (for prophylaxis) [27]. This move was followed by Denmark, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and other European Union countries [27]. These countries also moved a step further and banned the use of all essential antibiotics as prophylactic agents in 2011 [30].
\nSeveral other countries have withdrawn the use of some classes of antibiotics or set up structures that regulate the use of selected antibiotics in animal production [29]. Despite these developments, it is currently estimated that over 60% of all antibiotics produced are used in livestock production, including poultry [6, 31].
\nThe use of antibiotics in poultry and livestock production is favorable to farmers and the economy as well because it has generally improved poultry performance effectively and economically but at the same time, the likely dissemination of antibiotic resistant strains of pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms into the environment and their further transmission to humans via the food chain could also lead to serious consequences on public health [32].
\nBacteria counteract the actions of antibiotics by four well-known mechanisms, namely; enzyme modification, alteration in target binding sites, efflux activity and decreased permeability of bacterial membrane [33]. This expression of resistance towards antibiotics by bacteria could either be intrinsic or acquired. Intrinsic resistance is due to inherent properties within the bacteria chromosome such as mutations in genes and chromosomally inducible enzyme production [34], whereas acquired resistance could be due to the transmission of resistance genes from the environment and/or horizontally transfer from other bacteria [35, 36].
\nThe bacterial genus Staphylococcus is a Gram-positive cocci and a facultative anaerobe which appears in clusters when viewed under the microscope [37]. They are etiological agents of staphylococcosis, pododermatitis (bumblefoot) and septicaemia which affect mostly chicken and turkeys. Coagulase-negative species have also been implicated in human and animal infections [38, 39].
\nβ-lactams were considered the first line of drugs for treatment of staphylococcal infections but due to emergence of high level of resistance to these and other drugs, there are currently very few drugs available for treatment of these infections [40]. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), now known as a superbug, is resistant to almost every available antibiotic used against Staphylococcus [41].
\nA study to detect the presence of MRSA in broilers, turkeys and the surrounding air in Germany reported the prevalence of MRSA in air as high as 77% in broilers compared to 54% in Turkeys. Ten different spa types were identified with spa type t011 and clonal complex (CC) 398 being the most prevalent. It was also found that for every farm, the same sequence types were present in both the birds and the environment [42]. This pattern of resistance was also reported in India with 1.6% of staphylococcal isolates containing mecA resistant gene [43].
\nIn Africa, studies carried out in Ghana and Nigeria have shown that livestock-associated Staphylococci are susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, amikacin, ciprofloxacin, gentamycin and cephalexin [39, 44], whereas in the US, most of the staphylococcal isolates were susceptible to rifampin, cotrimoxazole, gentamycin, vancomycin and chloramphenicol [45, 46]. It is worth noting that most of these organisms showed a high level of resistance to oxacillin and tetracycline, which would be disastrous if these oxacillin-resistant strains are transferred to humans [39, 44, 45].
\nPseudomonas is a genus of Gram-negative, aerobic bacteria that belongs to the family Pseudomonadaceae [47]. The genus Pseudomonas is ubiquitous in soil, water and on plants. It consists of 191 subspecies belonging to species groups including P. fluorescens, P. pertucinogena, P. aeruginosa, P. chlororaphis, P. putida, P. stutzeri and P. syringae. Pseudomoniasis, which is an opportunistic P. aeruginosa infection, is common in poultry birds like chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and ostriches where infections in eggs destroy embryos [48].
\nP. aeruginosa causes respiratory infection, sinusitis, keratitis/keratoconjuctivitis and septicemia and responsible for pyogenic infections, septicemia, endocarditis and lameness along with many diverse diseases [49]. Infections may occur through skin wounds, contaminated vaccines and antibiotic solutions or needles used for injection. The disease may be systemic, affecting multiple organs and tissues or localized in tissues as infraorbital sinus or air sacs producing swelling of the head, wattles, sinuses and joints in poultry birds. P. aeruginosa has been isolated from many poultry farms and birds worldwide [49].
\nA study carried out in Ghana show that P. aeruginosa isolated from poultry litter were all susceptible to levofloxacin in the range of 20–100% and nearly 75% demonstrated intermediate susceptibility to aztreonam. The organisms showed resistance to cephalosporins, carbapenems, penicillins, quinolones, monobactam and aminoglycoside. Metallo β-Lactamase encoding genes (blaIMP, blaVIM) were not detected in any of the isolates but the class 1 integron which is known to carry multiple antibiotic resistant genes were detected in 89.4% of the multi-drug resistant strains [50]. This is contrary to a report by Zhang and his Colleagues [51], who identified the blaVIM gene in P. aeruginosa and P. putida from chicken that resembled corresponding regions in clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa. These isolates were resistant to all β-lactam antibiotics tested, including meropenem, imipenem, aztreonam, and ceftazidime [33, 51].
\nAnother study in Nigeria reported that the P. aeruginosa isolates were highly resistant to β-lactams, tetracycline, tobramycin, nitrofurantoin and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, while ofloxacin, imipenem and ertapenem were highly effective against the bacterial pathogens [52].
\nIn Pakistan, a study which investigated the causative agents for necropsy in chicken, recorded a 28% prevalence for P. aeruginosa. These isolates were found to be 100% resistant towards ceftriaxone, meropenem, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin and colistin, while 60% sensitivity was observed against ampicillin sulbactam, ceftazidime, cefoperazone and rifampicin. Isolates exhibited variable multidrug resistance patterns to other antibiotics [53].
\nEscherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacterium that has been known for ages to easily and frequently exchange genetic information through horizontal gene transfer with other related bacteria. Hence, it may exhibit characteristics based on the source of isolation. E. coli is a commensal organism living in the intestines of both humans and animals. However, some strains have been reported to cause gastrointestinal illnesses [54]. Tetracycline which is commonly used in poultry has been reported to be one of the drugs bacteria are most resistant to. There is a reported tetracycline resistance in poultry even without the administration of this antibiotic [21].
\nA study carried out on fecal isolates of E. coli in the Netherlands showed that there is a high level of multidrug resistance occurring in broilers, turkeys while majority of those from laying hens were susceptible. It was observed that the isolates from birds had high rates of resistance to amoxycillin alone and others had resistance to amoxicillin as well as oxytetracycline, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. [55].
\nE. coli had a prevalence of 46.98% among the other bacteria isolated in Ghana. All isolates showed some degree of resistance to ceftriaxone (1.34%), cefotaxime (0.67%), gentamycin (2.01%), cotrimoxazole (1.34%), tetracycline (2.01%) and ampicillin (3.36%) [56]. Resistant genes have been found in E. coli isolates from Nigeria and these include bla-TEM (85%), sul2 (67%), sul3 (17%), aadA (65%), strA (70%), strB (61%), catA1 (25%), cmlA1 (13%), tetA (21%) and tetB (17%) which conveyed resistance to the following antibiotics; tetracycline (81%), sulfamethoxazole (67%), streptomycin (56%), trimethoprim (47%), ciprofloxacin (42%), ampicillin (36%), spectinomycin (28%), nalidixic acid (25%), chloramphenicol (22%), neomycin (14%) gentamicin (8%). In this study the isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanate, ceftiofur, cefotaxime, colistin, florfenicol and apramycin. Class 1 and 2 integrons were found in five (14%) and six (17%) isolates, respectively, while one isolate contained both classes of integrons. There is that suggestion that poultry production environments represent important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes such as qnrS that may spread from livestock production farms to human populations via manure and water [57].
\nSalmonella spp. are Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, non-spore forming, usually motile rods belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family, which are found in the alimentary tract of animals [37, 58]. Fecal shedding allows Salmonella to be transmitted among birds in a flock. Salmonella spp. is widespread in poultry production. Prevalence varies considerably depending on country and type of production as well as the detection methods applied. It is known to be the etiological agent responsible for salmonellosis by Salmonella spp. in both humans and animals. Food-borne salmonellosis caused still occurs throughout the world [58]. The risk factors associated with Salmonella infections and contamination in broiler chickens include contaminated chicks, size of the farm and contaminated feed and these risk increase when feed trucks are parked near the entrance of the workers’ change room and when chicken are fed with meals [59, 60]. It also depends on age of the chicken, animal health, survival of organism in the gastric barrier, diet and genetic constitution of the chicken could also affect the colonization ability of Salmonella spp. in poultry [61].
\nPullorum disease in poultry is caused by the S. pullorum. Transmission of the disease in birds can be vertical (transovarian) but also occurs through direct or indirect contact with infected birds via respiratory route or fecal matter or contaminated feed, water, or litter. Antimicrobials used to treat pullorum disease are furazolidone, gentamycin sulfate and antimetabolites (sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethazine and sulfamerazine) [62].
\nSalmonella spp. have increasingly been isolated from poultry with prevalence of 2.7% in Brazil and the most common isolates were Salmonella enteritidis (48.8%), S. infantis (7.6%), S. typhimurium (7.2%), and S. heidelberg (6.4%). All the isolated strains were resistant to at least one class of antimicrobial and 53.2% showed multidrug resistance to three or more classes, with streptomycin (89.2%), sulfonamides (72.4%), florfenicol (59.2%), and ampicillin (44.8%) [63].
\nSalmonella spp. are one of the commonest microbial contaminants in the poultry industry. In Ghana, there is high prevalence rate of 44.0% in poultry with main isolates being S. kentucky (18.1%), S. nima (12.8%), S. muenster (10.6%), S. enteritidis (10.6%) and S. virchow (9.6%). Resistance of these isolates to the various antibiotics were nalidixic acid (89.5%), tetracycline (80.7%), ciprofloxacin (64.9%), sulfamethazole (42.1%), trimethoprim (29.8%) and ampicillin (26.3%).
\nStreptococcus is Gram-positive bacteria. Streptococcus gallolyticus is a common member of the gut microbiota in animals and humans; however, being a zoonotic agent, it has been reported to cause mastitis in cattle, septicemia in pigeons, and meningitis, septicemia, and endocarditis in humans [64]. A study carried out in Japan isolated Streptococcus gallolyticus from pigeons with septicaemia. Most of the isolates were susceptible to vancomycin, penicillin G and ampicillin, while some were resistant to tetracycline, doxycycline and lincomycin. All the isolates were resistant to tetracycline had tet(M) and/or tet(L) and/or tet(O) genes [65].
\nCampylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are the most prevalent disease causing species of the genus Campylobacter. They are mostly responsible for foodborne gastroenteritis in humans [66, 67, 68]. Campylobacteriosis is often associated with handling of raw poultry or eating of undercooked poultry meat [69]. Cross-contamination of raw poultry to other ready-to-eat foods via the cook’s hands or kitchen utensils has been reported. Erythromycin is usually the drug of choice for the treatment of Campylobacter infections [68]. However, fluoroquinolones, gentamicin, and tetracycline are also clinically effective in treating Campylobacter infections when antimicrobial therapy is required [70].
\nResistance of C. jejuni and C. coli isolates to fluoroquinolones, tetracycline, and erythromycin has been reported. The increased resistance is partly due to the wide use of these antimicrobials in animal husbandary, especially in poultry [71, 72].
\nA study carried out by Elz’bieta and his colleagues, in their quest to compare the prevalence and genetic background of antimicrobial resistance in Polish strains of C. jejuni and C. coli isolated from chicken carcasses and children reported a slight difference in resistance between human and chicken strains. The isolated Campylobacter strains were found to be resistant to gentamycin, tetracycline, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin and erythromycin and tet(O) gene and mutations in the gyrA genes were found to be associated with the observed antibiotic resistance in the study [73].
\nAnother study carried out in Kenya isolated thermophilic Campylobacter species (C. jejuni and C. coli) from feces and clocal swabs of chicken. These isolates showed a high rate of resistance to nalidixic acid, tetracycline and ciprofloxacin of 77.4, 71.0 and 71.0%, respectively. Low resistance (25.8%) was detected for gentamicin and chloramphenicol and 61.3% of C. jejuni isolates exhibited multidrug resistance and 54.5% of the C. jejuni isolates possessed the tet(O) gene whereas all of C. coli had the tet(A) gene [74].
\nC. jejuni and C. coli are the predominant species of Campylobacter usually isolated from poultry farms. In Ghana, other species such as Campylobacter lari, Campylobacter hyo-intestinalis and C. jejuni sub sp. doylei have been isolated from poultry. These organisms have been found to be resistant to β-lactams, quinolones, aminoglycosides, erythromycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and all isolated species were sensitive to imipenem [75, 76].
\nIt is a Gram-negative non-spore-forming rod, a psychrotrophic bacterium and able to survive and multiply at cold temperatures. Poultry meat is one of the most important sources of Yersinia spp. infections in humans. Yersinia enterocolitica is the predominant specie mostly isolated from poultry and poultry products [77]. In humans, Y. enterocolitica is an enteric pathogen which commonly causes acute enteritis associated with fever, bloody diarrhea and inflammation of lymph nodes. Contaminated food is one of the main sources of yersiniosis in humans [77].
\nY. enterocolitica is widely distributed in nature and animals; food and environment are routinely contaminated with this organism. Major reservoir of Y. enterocolitica is swine. However, Y. enterocolitica has been frequently isolated from poultry and ready-to-eat foods [78]. A study in Iran reported a prevalence rate of Y. enterocolitica of 30% of among chicken meat samples [79]. Yersinia isolates (16%) from chicken and beef meat samples were mostly resistant to cephalotin (98%) and ampicillin (52%) [80].
\nY. enterocolitica isolated from poultry raw meat and retailed meats in Poland were classified as biotype 1A and exhibited moderate ability of producing biofilms and ystB was the predominant virulence gene. In biofilms, a multi-system that include poor antibiotic penetration, nutrient limitation and slow growth, adaptive stress responses, and formation of persister cells are hypothesized to constitute the organisms’ resistance to antibiotics [81].
\nClostridium is a genus of Gram-positive obligate anaerobic bacteria which includes several significant human pathogens. Spore of Clostridium normally inhabits soil and intestinal tract of animals and humans [82]. Common infections caused by Clostridia include botulism caused by C. botulinum¸ pseudomembranous colitis caused by C. difficile, cellulitis and gas gangrene caused by C. perfringens, tetanus caused by C. tetani and fatal post-abortion infections caused by C. sordellii [83].
\nHigh-dose penicillin-G remains sensitive to Clostridia species and thus widely used to treat Clostridial infections. Clostridia species such as welchii and tetani respond to sulfonamides [82]. Tetracyclines, carbapenems, metronidazole, vancomycin and chloramphenicol are effective options for treatment of Clostridia infections [84].
\nC. perfringens is known to cause necrotic enteritis in poultry. Bacitracin or virginiamycin is an effective treatment option when administered in the feed or drinking water. C. colinum is responsible for ulcerative enteritis. Bacitracin and penicillins are the most effective drugs in the treatment and prevention of this infection [85, 86].
\nA study in Egypt, identified 125 isolates of C. perfringens from clinical cases of necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens from 35 chicken coops and the all isolates were resistant to gentamycin, streptomycin, oxolinic acid, lincomycin, erythromycin and spiramycin. Over 95% of isolates were resistant to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, doxycycline, perfloxacin, colistin and neomycin. Most of the isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin, ampicillin, fosfomycin, florfenicol and cephradine [85].
\nThirty strains of C. perfringens isolated from chickens with necrotic enteritis in Korea were found to susceptible to ampicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, cephalothin, cefepime, chloramphenicol, cefoxitin, ceftiofur, florfenicol and penicillin but resistant to gentamycin, neomycin, streptomycin, apramycin and colistin [87]. This trend of resistance was similar to that observed in 43 C. perfringens isolates from the ileum of 5-week old broiler chicken in Taiwan. Most of the C. perfringens isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin, bacitracin and enrofloxacin but resistant to erythromycin, lincomycin and chlortetracycline [88].
\nBacillus is a genus of Gram-positive, obligate aerobic or facultative anaerobic rod shaped bacteria of the phylum firmicutes. Bacillus spp. include both free-living non-parasitic and parasitic pathogenic species [89]. Medically significant species include B. anthracis which causes anthrax and B. cereus which causes food poisoning [90]. Other infections caused by Bacilli spp. include pneumonia, endocarditis, ocular and musculoskeletal infections. Antibiotics usually used for Bacillus infections include vancomycin, imipenem, ciprofloxacin, gentamycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, clindamycin and erythromycin. Most Bacillus spp. have been found to be resistant to broad spectrum cephalosporins and ticarcillin-clavulanate [91].
\nIn a study involving 18 strains of B. cereus isolated from raw and processed poultry meat from supermarkets in Iasi county, all the isolates were found to be resistant to penicillin, amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, colistin, cefoperazone, sulfamethizole and metronidazole but sensitive to erythromycin, cotrimoxazole, tylosin, flumequine, kanamycin, gentamycin, enrofloxacin, oxolinic acid, apramycin, tetracycline and doxacilin. All B. cereus isolates were resistant to nearly half of tested antibiotics [92]. This pattern of resistance was also observed in 44 strains of B. cereus isolated from chicken and chicken products in the Jammu region of India. All isolates were resistant to penicillin G but sensitive to streptomycin. Over 60% of isolates were resistant to amoxicillin, ampicillin and carbenicillin [93].
\nMycobacteria are acid-fast, aerobic, nonmotile of bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium [94]. Mycobacteria are widespread organisms that live in water and food sources and can colonize their hosts without showing any adverse signs and symptoms. Pathogenic mycobacterial species including M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. africanum, M. macroti cause tuberculosis whiles M. leprae is responsible for leprosy. Mycobacteria spp. are naturally resistant to penicillin and mostly susceptible to clarithromycin and rifamycin [95].
\nA study in Bangladesh identified three Mycobacterium isolates from 80 poultry droppings and all isolates were found to be resistant to rifampicin but highly susceptible to azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, streptomycin and doxycycline. One isolate was identified as multi-drug resistant [96].
\nKlebsiella is a genus of non-motile, Gram-negative, oxidase-negative, rod-shaped bacteria with a prominent polysaccharide capsule and belong to the family Enterobacteriaceae [97]. Klebsiella species are found everywhere in nature including soil, plants, insect, humans and other animals [98]. Infections caused by Klebsiella spp. include septicaemia, meningitis, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, diarrhea [97]. Common pathogenic Klebsiella in humans and animals include K. pneumoniae, K. oxytoca and K. variicola [99]. Antibiotics commonly used in the treatment of Klebsiella infections include third-generation cephalosporins, carbapenems, aminoglycosides and quinolones [100].
\nA study in Langa, South Africa identified 102 sub-species of K. pneumonia (96 K. ozaenae and 6 K. rhinoscleromatis strains) from 17 free-range chicken samples. The isolates exhibited high level of resistance towards ampicillin (66.7%), nalidixic acid (61.8%), tetracycline (59.8%) and trimethoprim (50.0%) but highly susceptible towards gentamycin (3.9%) and ciprofloxacin (4.8%). Almost 40% of the isolates were found to be multi-drug resistant K. pneumonia strains [99]. Similar trend of resistance was observed among 77 K. pneumoniae isolates from poultry birds in Ekiti-state, Nigeria. The isolates showed high level of resistance towards tetracycline (100%), amoxicillin (94.8%), cotrimoxazole (94.8%) and augmentin (85.7%) [98].
\nEnterococcus is a large genus of Gram-positive diplococci, lactic acid-producing bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes [101]. Commonly found species include Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium [102]. Notable infections caused by Enterococci include urinary tract infections, bacteremia, meningitis, endocarditis [103]. Antibiotics active against Enterococci include ampicillin, penicillin, nitrofurantoin and vancomycin [104]. Enterococci often possess intrinsic resistance towards β-lactam antibiotics and aminoglycosides. However, resistance of Enterococci to vancomycin has been reported in several studies [105, 106, 107].
\nA study in Czech Republic identified 228 enterococcal isolates from the intestinal tract of poultry. These isolates were found to be highly resistant to tetracycline (80%), erythromycin (59%) and ofloxacin (51%) but exhibited low resistance to ampicillin (3%) and ampicillin/sulbactam (3%) [105]. A similar trend of resistance was reported among 163 Enterococcal isolates from poultry litter in the Abbotsford area of British Columbia, Canada. The identified enterococcal isolates were found to be highly resistant to lincomycin (80.3%), tetracycline (65.3%), penicillin (61.1%) but showed low resistance towards to nitrofurantoin (3.8%), daptomycin (3.5%) and gentamycin (0.8%) [108]. There is a high possibility of multi-drug resistant enterococci in animal meat and fecal matter being transferred to humans [106].
\nProteus is a genus of Gram-negative Proteobacteria which is widely distributed as saprophytes [109]. They are mainly found in decomposing animal matter, sewage, manure, mammalian intestine, human and animal fecal matter. They are mainly opportunistic pathogens responsible for nosocomial urinary and septic infections [110]. Three species, namely, P. vulgaris, P. mirabilis and P. penneri are the only opportunistic species responsible for human infections. Most strains of P. mirabilis are sensitive to ampicillin and cephalosporins whereas P. vulgaris strains are not sensitive to these antibiotics [109].
\nA study in Iran identified 54 P. mirabilis isolates from chicken intestines and 54 P. mirabilis isolates were screened for antimicrobial susceptibility to 13 antimicrobial agents. None of the P. mirabilis isolates in this study were found to be resistant to gentamycin. Over 90% of isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid, doxycycline and tetracycline. Less than a quarter of isolates were resistant to norfloxacin, ampicillin, amikacin and ceftriaxone. Nearly 96% of the isolates were resistant to at least two or more antibiotics. One isolate exhibited resistance to 10 antibiotics whereas three and five isolates were resistant to nine and seven antibiotics, respectively. The results showed that chicken could be a source of antibiotic resistant and multi-drug resistant P. mirabilis strains and these resistant strains can cause worldwide problem both for veterinary sector and public health [111].
\nA similar trend of antibiotic resistance was observed in 36 P. mirabilis isolates from chicken droppings from commercial poultry farms in Bangladesh. Nearly 95% of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline followed by nalidixic acid (89%) and almost 20% of the isolates were found to be resistant to ciprofloxacin and 84% of the isolates exhibited multidrug resistance [112].
\nInfections from other bacterial species could also result in the use of antibiotics. These include Mycoplasmosis (caused by Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Mycoplasma meleagridis and Mycoplasma synoviae) [86], Pasteurella multocida and Haemophilus gallinarum infections [62, 113]. These infections usually require the use broad spectrum antibiotics including tylosin, aureomycin, terramycin, gallimycin, penicillin, erythromycin, sulfadimethoxine, sulfathiazole and other sulfa drugs administered either in the feed, drinking water or by injections [62].
\nSeveral bacterial species are the major causes of infections in poultry and other animal husbandry. Most of these infections are linked to foodborne outbreaks, live animal contact, poor hygiene, and environmental exposure. With the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, the pathogenicity and virulence of these organisms have increased and treatment options are diminishing and also more expensive. Multidrug resistant bacteria have been found in poultry, poultry products, carcasses, litter and fecal matter of birds and these pose a risk to both handlers, consumers and a threat to global and public health. The above information also calls for increased surveillance measures and monitoring of antibiotic usage in both animal husbandry and humans throughout the world.
\nThis is a brief overview of the main steps involved in publishing with IntechOpen Compacts, Monographs and Edited Books. Once you submit your proposal you will be appointed a Author Service Manager who will be your single point of contact and lead you through all the described steps below.
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\\n\\nIf the manuscript is formally accepted after peer review you will receive a formal Notice of Acceptance, and a price quote.
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\\n\\n5. LANGUAGE COPYEDITING, TECHNICAL EDITING AND TYPESET PROOF
\\n\\nYour manuscript will be sent to SPi Global, a leader in content solution services, for language copyediting. You will then receive a typeset proof formatted in XML and available online in HTML and PDF to proofread and check for completeness. The first typeset proof of your manuscript is usually available 10 days after its original submission.
\\n\\nAfter we receive your proof corrections and a final typeset of the manuscript is approved, your manuscript is sent to our in house DTP department for technical formatting and online publication preparation.
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\\n\\n6. INVOICE PAYMENT
\\n\\nThe invoice is generally paid by the author, the author’s institution or funder. The payment can be made by credit card from your Author Panel (one will be assigned to you at the beginning of the project), or via bank transfer as indicated on the invoice. We currently accept the following payment options:
\\n\\nIntechOpen will help you complete your payment safely and securely, keeping your personal, professional and financial information safe.
\\n\\n7. ONLINE PUBLICATION, PRINT AND DELIVERY OF THE BOOK
\\n\\nIntechOpen authors can choose whether to publish their book online only or opt for online and print editions. IntechOpen Compacts, Monographs and Edited Books will be published on www.intechopen.com. If ordered, print copies are delivered by DHL within 12 to 15 working days.
\\n\\nIf you feel that IntechOpen Compacts, Monographs or Edited Books are the right publishing format for your work, please fill out the publishing proposal form. For any specific queries related to the publishing process, or IntechOpen Compacts, Monographs & Edited Books in general, please contact us at book.department@intechopen.com
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\n\n2. SUBMIT YOUR MANUSCRIPT
\n\nAfter approval, you will proceed in submitting your full-length manuscript. 50-130 pages for compacts, 130-500 for Monographs & Edited Books.Your full-length manuscript must follow IntechOpen's Author Guidelines and comply with our publishing rules. Once the manuscript is submitted, but before it is forwarded for peer review, it will be screened for plagiarism.
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\n\nExternal reviewers will evaluate your manuscript and provide you with their feedback. You may be asked to revise your draft, or parts of your draft, provide additional information and make any other necessary changes according to their comments and suggestions.
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\n\nWe will send you your price quote and after it has been accepted (by both the author and the publisher), both parties will sign a Statement of Work binding them to adhere to the agreed upon terms.
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\n\n5. LANGUAGE COPYEDITING, TECHNICAL EDITING AND TYPESET PROOF
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\n\n7. ONLINE PUBLICATION, PRINT AND DELIVERY OF THE BOOK
\n\nIntechOpen authors can choose whether to publish their book online only or opt for online and print editions. IntechOpen Compacts, Monographs and Edited Books will be published on www.intechopen.com. If ordered, print copies are delivered by DHL within 12 to 15 working days.
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