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This article advances the view that British Airways could be less prone to disruptions and public‐relations blunders if it adopted the human‐asset approach.

Describes the main aspects of the human‐asset approach, shows how it has been successful at Toyota and Jet Blue, and reveals the ways in which it could help British Airways to rediscover the success it enjoyed in the aftermath of privatization.

Argues that BA's drive for efficiency – in terms of relentless cost‐cutting and outsourcing – came at a cost as the airline experienced industrial disputes and employee unrest that dented its image. Puts forward the opinion that approaching efficiency from a human perspective provides organizations with a more sustainable and effective business model, where values drive the efficiency and productivity necessary for success. Explains how Toyota and Jet Blue have adopted such a model.

Reveals that there is no magic formula for developing a human asset model for a particular business; it needs thorough analysis of the needs of human assets, and the main factors and values that drive the quality of relationships between them.

Contends that the human‐asset model provides an effective framework for integrating HR with the business strategy.

Advances the view that corporate social responsibility (CSR) has brought risks and opportunities for HR managers, and that managing the risks and exploiting the opportunities will require reappraisal of existing approaches to HR and the scope of its activities.

Argues that, more often than not, an organization's identity differs from that of its CSR program, because CSR is most often seen as complementary rather than integral to the organization's core strategy. Highlights, through the examples of BP and Bristol Myers Squibb, what can result from this corporate schizophrenia.

Shows that this corporate schizophrenia represents a major challenge for HR managers, who must ensure that employee‐development programs are geared to ensuring that the customer experience reflects the organization's values with respect to the community and that the human and social values that CSR programs profess to hold dear are fully integrated into the strategic and operational fabric of the organization.

Presents the human‐asset model, which recognizes that today's organizations are best defined as a network of human assets – managers, employees, suppliers, customers, and the wider community. In this model, success is determined by the extent to which these assets are motivated to work and collaborate in pursuit of a common vision or purpose.

Highlights the need for HR professionals to engineer their organizational‐development and transformation programs around the relevant human and social values.