When the first edition of Allan Pepper's book appeared, it was already fashionable for company chairmen to proclaim that "our most important asset is our people". Now, eight years later, more and more organizations are beginning to behave as if that were true. And if it is true, it follows that the training, development and careers of the people concerned need to be managed with at least as much care as any other business function. Most books on the subject concentrate on methods and techniques. This one, based on the author's 30 years of experience, aims to fill a gap in the literature by providing practical guidance on managing the function. Addressed to training/development specialists and to personnel and line managers with relevant responsibilities, it offers ways of establishing policies and practices in line with corporate objectives and suggests how to overcome many of the inevitable problems. For this second edition, the text has been updated throughout and three new chapters have been added. "The International Context", Corporate Change" and "Continuous Development". As before, the author illustrates his ideas with actual case histories and the emphasis throughout is on cost-effectiveness.