Friend or Foe?

"What's HR?" I've heard people ask. HR, or human resources, is a not-so-new department in most companies.  You might have heard of "personnel department," another, older name for HR.  These people handle payroll, recruiting, hiring, possible harassment, and more.  Employees may think that HR is their best friend, but human resources is ought to protect the best interests of the company.  Sometimes HR may be part of layoffs, unfavorable performance appraisals, and other "bad" events.  Nevertheless, this department is vital to a company's success and will probably grow in importance.