We think of effective human resource management (HRM) as the means to value creation, organisational performance and competitive advantage, however, we understand much less well how ineffective HRM can inhibit organizational performance, destroy value and competitiveness. Dr Jonathan Trevor takes the current financial crisis and explains how it is an example of a human capital crisis. He argues that it had its genesis in the failure to manage human resources effectively, be they executives of financial institutions, bankers and traders, regulators acting on behalf of government, employees in the automotive sector… not since the winter of discontent in 1979 has our economic and social well-being, societally and personally, been so dependent on how effectively people, as human capital, are managed.