The hypothesis that manpower planning can contribute to the improvement of means for developing and utilizing human resources is presented. Manpower planning as a function is shown to be interdisciplinary in nature, incorporating concepts and tools of labor economics, behavioral sciences, educational technology, personnel management, management sciences, and industrial engineering. It is noted that through the integration of these diverse disciplines to meet societal and individual concerns for human resource development and utilization, the quality of life can be made better. The manpower planning concept is defined and described according to its types and applications at micro and macro organizational levels. An endeavor of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a manpower planning capability in water quality agencies of States and local planning areas is described, in which agency manpower planners will assess overall manpower and training needs relative to supply and then plan to fill the gaps. Industrial engineering educators, to whom this thesis was presented, are addressed as to their role in the development and application of manpower planning technology. An annotated bibliography of 30 manpower planning resources is included in the document.