76 " #$%! & $'$()*+! , - T HE S IGNIFICANCE OF H UMAN R ESOURCE M ANAGEMENT Management can be defined as getting things done through other people (see Chapter 1). Although much of the success of management depends upon suc- cessful planning (as described in Chapter 3), the plans must be implemented. Implementation requires bringing appropriate resources to the situation and using them effectively. All managers are human resource managers, as they must decide how to fill existing job openingsc where to recruit for these jobsc how to monitor the per- formance of people reporting to themc and when and whom to train, promote, transfer, or discharge. In order to make these decisions, managers must plan, organi[e, lead, and control the people who work for them. This is known as /C=02!5467C5>4!=02034=421G The human resource functions of management have often been performed without consideration of overall business objectives. Traditionally, personnel offices took care of most staffing issues, training departments handled training needs, while line managers did performance evaluations and job descriptions. These functions frequently evolved as reactive measures rather than as proactive responses to identified plans and needs. As reactions, these important activities had no necessary connection to the overall business objectives. In addition, while marketing, operations, finance, and accounting have