In The Home Depot's recent Annual Report, the following passages appear:

The primary key to our success is our 39,000 employees who wear those orange aprons you see in our stores.

Few great achievements-in business or in any aspect of life-are reached and sustained without the support and involvement of large numbers of people committed to shared values and goals they deem worthy. Indeed, one need look no further than the business section of the morning newspaper to read of how yet another "blue chip" American business, entrenched in and isolated by its own bureaucracy, has lost the support of its employees and customers. . .

Frankly, the biggest difference between The Home Depot and our competitors is not the products on our shelves, it's our people and their ability to forge strong bonds of loyalty and trust with our customers. . .

. . . Contrary to conventional management wisdom, those at the top of organization charts are not the source of all wisdom. Many of our best ideas come from the people who work on the sales floor. We encourage our employees to challenge senior management directives if they feel strongly enough about their dissenting opinions. . .

. . . We want our people to be themselves and to be bold enough to apply their talents as individuals Certainly, people can often perceive great risk acting this way. Thus, we go to great lengths to empower our employees to be mavericks, to express differences of opinion without fear of being fired or demoted. . . We do everything we can to make people feel challenged and inspired at work instead of being threatened and made to feel insecure. An organization can, after all, accomplish more when people work together instead of against each other.

Write answers to the following questions:

a. Do you think The Home Depot management regards its employees more as expenses or assets? Explain.

b. What does The Home Depot regard as its most valuable asset? Explain your answer.

c. Is The Home Depot permitted to list its human resources as assets on its balance sheet? Why or why not?

d. Could its philosophy regarding its employees be the major factor in its outstanding financial performance? Explain.