The organizational factor that is most likely to provide potential competitive advantage is human resources and how these resources are managed. The most effective organizations find unique ways to attract retain and motivate employees, a strategy that is hard to imitate. The success of an organization comes from managing people effectively and providing them with a safe working environment, the best opportunities and paths to advance. Human resource management is the utilization of individuals to achieve organizational objectives. Consequently, managers at every level must be concerned with human resource management. Five functional areas are associated with effective human resource management: Staffing, human resource development, compensation and benefits, safety and health, and employee and labor relations. Staffing is the process through which an organization insures that it always has the proper number of employees with appropriate skills in the right jobs at the right time to achieve the organization’s objectives. Staffing involves job analysis, human resource planning, recruitment and selection. All areas of staffing would be haphazard if the recruiter did not know the qualifications needed to perform the various jobs. Lacking up-to-date job descriptions and specifications, a firm would have to recruit and select employees for jobs without having clear guidelines; this practice could have disastrous consequences. Job analysis is conducted after the job has been designed, the worker has been trained and the job is being performed. Human resource planning involves matching the internal and external supply of people with job openings anticipated in the organization over a specified period of time. Because conditions in the external and internal environments can change quickly, the human resource planning process must be continuous. Changing conditions could affect the entire organization, thereby requiring extensive modification of forecasts. Planning, in general, enables managers to anticipate and prepare for changing conditions and human resource planning, in particular allows flexibility in the area of human resource management. Human Resource development is a major human resource management function that consists not only of training and development but also of individual career planning and development activities, organization development, and performance appraisal, an activity that emphasizes training and development needs. Training is designed to provide learners with the knowledge and skills needed for their present jobs. Development involves learning that goes beyond today’s job; it has a more long term focus. Career planning is an ongoing process whereby an individual sets career goals and identifies the means to achieve them. This is a continuing and difficult process because the average person graduating from college today may face five to seven career changes in his working years. Career development: is a formal approach used by the organization to ensure that people with the proper qualifications and experiences are available when needed. Individual careers and organizational needs are not separate and distinct. Organizations should assist employees in career planning so the needs of both can be satisfied. Organization development is the planned process of improving an organization by developing its structures systems and processes to The organizational factor that is most likely to provide potential competitive advantage is human resources and how these resources are managed. The most effective organizations find unique ways to attract retain and motivate employees, a strategy that is hard to imitate. The success of an organization comes from managing people effectively and providing them with a safe working environment, the best opportunities and paths to advance. Human resource management is the utilization of individuals to achieve organizational objectives. Consequently, managers at every level must be concerned with human resource management. Five functional areas are associated with effective human resource management: Staffing, human resource development, compensation and benefits, safety and health, and employee and labor relations. Staffing is the process through which an organization insures that it always has the proper number of employees with appropriate skills in the right jobs at the right time to achieve the organization’s objectives. Staffing involves job analysis, human resource planning, recruitment and selection. All areas of staffing would be haphazard if the recruiter did not know the qualifications needed to perform the various jobs. Lacking up-to-date job descriptions and specifications, a firm would have to recruit and select employees for jobs without having clear guidelines; this practice could have disastrous consequences. Job analysis is conducted after the job has been designed, the worker has been trained and the job is being performed. Human resource plann