In Human Resource Management, which is what you are about to study in this book, you will learn how to manage the people who work in companies and other organizations. What exactly are the people who work in an organization? What does “managing people” mean and why is it necessary? What are the characteristics of human resource management compared to the management of other goods and money, and what points must we pay attention to in managing people? These points are the most basic in learning human resource management. Have the characteristics and mechanisms of human resource management remained the same throughout the ages? If so, why and how have they changed? Or, can we assume that Japan and other countries have the same characteristics and systems? If so, why and how do they differ? In Chapter 1, as an introduction to this book, we outline the basics of human resource management, the overall picture, and the plan of this book.