Either the company views its employees as a resource to be exploited, or as an asset to be developed. It is driven by the company culture, but also by the nature of its business. Some types of activity value mostly predictability and low cost productivity, others depend on creativity and exceptional performance. Employees of the former are necessarily a resource, and the aptly named HR department exists to keep its cost at the lowest possible level.

For employees of the other kind of businesses, the real motivation is not the financial reward, it is the opportunity to be relevant. Profit sharing is a very powerful of saying to someone that he or she matters and can make a difference, but in these companies, the message is usually reinforced in other ways, such as fewer procedures, more delegation, or higher risk tolerance.