It appears that most corporate executives have a slightly more generous view of their colleagues in HR than the one popularized by Michael Scott from "The Office." Unlike the fictional boss, who makes little effort to conceal his disdain for what he regards as HR's wet blanket policies, many business leaders view HR as a critical partner in developing and growing their business. 

For instance, 42 percent of C-suite executives regard HR's role with the rest of the company as both strategic and transactional, according to a recent survey of more than 400 non-HR executives by the Society for Human Resource Management. Another 18 percent view it as a strategic partner. The survey accompanied a similar one conducted of HR managers on their views of human capital challenges. 

There remain distinct minorities of executives who view HR's role as much more narrow, however. Twenty-one percent say it is largely a "transactional and administrative" function, while 15 percent see its role as mainly an enforcement and compliance division.