The 21st century manager must be skilled in achieving objectives by maximizing the potential of an 
organization's most valuable assets-its human resources.  In the past, managers directed and controlled 
employees.  Today, managers empower employees to direct themselves. The most successful companies 
will be learning organizations, encouraging, supporting, and enriching its employees.  Understanding the 
manager's role in performance improvement is the ongoing job of successful managers.  Management is a 
lifelong learning process.