Personnel officers are important members of every company's management team. This field was earlier regarded on the one hand, as an offshoot of social work while on the other it was seen as a policing activity that controlled labor and handled problems concerning staff discipline. 

Current management philosophies however, have redefined its scope by modifying perceptions of the work force. Employees are now considered a valuable corporate asset. This has made personnel-or `human resources'-management a vital administrative function in both commercial as well as non-profit-making establishments. 

It is a specialist area. Its primary task is the efficient use and development of available skills and talent within the organization.

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Personnel/human resources, is one of the five key functional areas in management. It is a major section of most forward-looking companies, and its scope is very wide. Personnel officers are employed to ensure the smooth running of operations in not only all sectors of industry but also government departments and agencies; hospitals; and. any other type of establishment where a number of people work together. 

The importance of this area of management can be gauged by the fact that there are today specialized human resource development organizations that handle some of the major activities of personnel management on an advisory/consultancy basis.