Measuring intangibles: managing intangibles for tangible outcomes

Methodologies, processes and tools have long been established to effectively manage financial, and to some extent human, capital. When it comes to the measurement and management of intellectual capital and social capital, the expertise of organizations greatly diminish. This is most likely due to the lack of ability to accurately characterize and measure these intangible assets. The tangible assets such as financial and human capital are fundamentally different than the intangible assets categorized as social and intellectual capital. Intangible and tangible assets are not completely independent. Intangible assets coexist within the same organizational environment as tangible assets and are impacted by management decisions either purposefully or unknowingly. Thus they should be co-managed by the development of an understanding of their relationships. This involves the act of comparing and contrasting the effects of changes in inputs and processes on the outcomes relative to tangible and intangible assets. This paper addresses the key questions associated with the relationship of intangible assets to tangible resources and tangible outcomes.