ABSTRACT
Whether an organization, public or private, shows a profit or an increase in outcomes and productivity at year end is directly connected to how well human resources, cultural diversity, and their corollaries, strategic workforce planning and succession, are managed. The most important issue facing governments and businesses is how well human resources will be managed. Critical areas for human resources include personnel practices, cost, capacity to operate effectively and undertake change, productivity, and customer services (Milakovich and Gordon 2007, 454; Ospina 1992, 53). In updating this chapter for this new edition, it was anticipated that there would be no monumental changes in the literature on personnel or human resources management. However, an extensive review of the literature indicates that customer service has improved among government agencies, federal and local.
