Achieving organizational excellence in today's competitive era is a continuous process and is a result of high performance throughout the organization. Effective corporate initiatives and processes are the bedrock of successful organizations, Human Resource Management (HRM) being the most vital corporate initiative dealing with the `live brand' of the organizationits people. Hence, HRM function can no longer be treated as a mere support function. In most of the leading organizations worldwide, the HRM function is now being treated as a strategic partner of the organization through, `Strategic Human Resource Management interventions.'

The concept of HRD was formally introduced in 1969 by Prof. Leonard Nadler in America at the American Society for Training and Development Conference. He described HRD as a service of organized activities conducted within a specified time and designed to produce behavioral change. In India, Larsen and Turbo were the first organization to introduce this concept in 1975 among the private sector.

"HRM is the science and the practice that deals with the nature of the employment relationship and all of the decisions, actions and issues that relate to that relationship. In practice, it involves an organization's acquisition, development and utilization of employees, as well as the employees relationship to an organization and its performance."[Ferris R, Rosen D Sherman & Barnum T (1995)]

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