Human resource professionals understand the importance of developing a culture that can enable an organization to meet its challenges. They understand how communities of practice can form around common goals and interests, and the importance of aligning these to the goals and interests of the organization. Given the significant changes that globalization of health care can introduce, it is important that human resources professionals be involved at the highest level of strategic planning, and not merely be positioned at the more functional, managerial levels. By being actively involved at the strategic levels, they can ensure that the HR issues are raised, considered and properly addressed. Therefore, human resources professionals will also need to have an understanding not only of the HR area, but of all areas of an organization, including strategy, finance, operations, etc. This need will have an impact on the educational preparation as well as the possible need to have work experience in these other functional areas. Conclusion We have found that the relationship between human resources management and health care is extremely complex, particularly when examined from a global perspective. Our research and analysis have indicated that several key questions must be addressed and that human resources management can and must play an essential role in health care sector reform. The various functions of human resources management in health care systems of Canada, the United States of America, Germany and various developing countries have been briefly examined. The goals and motivations of the main stakeholders in the