This course provides a brief history and overview of the HR profession including career options. In-depth functional areas of HR including recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, performance analysis and appraisal, employee and labor relations, HR technology, and professional development and organizational learning are researched and discussed. Foundational concepts of domestic and international workforce planning and talent management are also included.
This course provides students witih a foundation of the major legal and ethical considerations impacting the functional areas of human resource management and its contribution to organizational growth and success. This course is designed to provide knowledge and practical application of employment, anti-discrimination, wage-hour and labor relation laws. The relationship between employment law and business ethics is a major focus of the course and both domestic and global perspectives are considered. Students are strongly encouraged to take HRA 4110, or be familiar with its content before taking this course.
This course provides a foundation for understanding the strategic aspects of business and sufficient analytical skills to interpret and act upon financial data and information that will lead to sound decisions for business organizations. Methods for evaluating the health of a business and allocating capital resources provide the HR professional with a valuable perspective for strategic input, partnering and decision making.
This course explores the process of executing business strategy through the development of talent management programs that align the organization's talent needs with the specific competencies required to effectively execute corporate strategy. Successful execution of strategy requires a workforce that possesses the values, ethics, competencies, and behaviors needed to implement the strategy. The specific skills and professional competencies required will vary as a function of the roles and responsibilities performed, and the position held within the organization's hierarchy. Performance metrics, which focus primarily on operational efficiency or expense management rather than the effect that skills and competencies have on strategy implementation and execution may cause managers to make suboptimal decisions in achieving organizational goals. Workforce and HR scorecards should be based on performance that is tied directly to the achievement of the organization's unique strategy as opposed to standardized industry benchmarks. Effective talent management programs are essential to the maintenance of a firm's competitive advantage and the successful execution of organizational strategy. Students are encouraged to be familiar with HRA 4110 before taking this course.
Organization, team, individual and management development are critical drivers for organizations succeeding in a global marketplace. Key steps in achieving development goals are: developing a firm understanding of the business needs, effectively engaging the workforce aligned with those needs, implementing effective learning and performance solutions and strategies, and measuring the return on investment (ROI). In this class, students research and examine effective development strategies as well as focus on various learning models, including adult learning. Differences between coaching and mentoring are addressed as they relate to employee or management development.
HR professionals must be able to turn strategy into action to benefit the organization. This course provides students with models, tools and concepts to effectively build relationships with key stakeholders, identify, analyze and diagnose organizational issues, develop and implement value-added solutions, effectively manage the change process and measure/monitor outcomes. Students apply a consulting model approach in all HR functions.
Large and small organizations today utilize information and computing infrastructure to manage human resource functions. Exponential growth in the collection, storage, and manipulation of human resource data requires information systems with the ability to support all stakeholders in the business organization. In this course, students build a foundation for working with Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) including development life-cycle models and evaluation and selection of vendor applications. Additional, the use of HRIS in strategic decision making is examined and evaluated.
Current writing suggests that leaders who develop a global perspective for change throughout their organizations will have a distinct advantage over those who do not. Models of effective global vs. domestic HR leadership skills and views are presented, discussed, and applied within the course setting. Common cultural, communication and diversity issues which can impede progress within organizations are addressed via surveys, assessment, suggestions and practice. Students strive to achieve a wide level of cultural competence.
Many organizations today are involved in international and intercultural interfaces with employees, customers, and owners. As business becomes more globalized, HR functions become more complex. This course explores global implications for policy development, HR planning, practices in HR functions, and processes that are necessary for effective global HR functioning. Through discussions, readings, research and projects students understand and apply global planning and development processes for human resources.
Best practices within the domestic strategic HR management setting are a focal point for discussion while exploring and contrasting best practices in a global setting. Resulting HR challenges emerge which become the basis for course discussion, research and projects. Sample topics include acquiring, developing, engaging and retaining international talent, emerging markets, centralization vs. decentralization of functions, learning in a global era and international assignment management.
This course explores world events, laws, employment trends, international business topics and other significant issues which directly or indirectly affect the HR professional and the strategic positioning and preparation needed to function in a global HR environment.
This is an advanced seminar covering various topics across the human resources (HR) function. It assumes a basic understanding of the key HR processes: recruiting, selection, on-boarding, training, rewards & recognition, and termination. Because the HR function does not operate separately from the rest of the business we will explore HR in the context of the broader business. This course examines HR issues through the use of case studies and reading of contemporary issues.
The components of a comprehensive Employee Relations function are the focus of this course. Through research, small discussion groups, team presentations and case studies, students learn how the components of an Employee Relations function contribute as a strategic business partner within an organization. Topics include strategic partnering, policy interpretation, complaint resolution, leadership development, succession planning, inclusion, separation plans, business case development, coaching and counseling.
This course examines key issues and challenges facing compensation managers as they strive to attract and retain high performance talent in today's global economy. Such a task requires the implementation of an effective total rewards management system. A comprehensive view of compensation management concepts, models, strategies, incentives and practices are emphasized. Changes in legislation, behavioral science theories, social and human factors and economics are discussed. Investigation of the compensation management decision making process reveals the impact of decisions on stakeholders' constituencies. Other specific topics include administration and compensation systems across public and private sectors, job evaluation, perceived equity, planning and budgeting, performance and satisfaction.
As our economy becomes more complex with domestic and international ramifications, managers and supervisors are increasingly called upon to make crucial decisions leading to organizational effectiveness. Therefore, this course explores objective and subjective decision making models, and develops supervision skills for HR professionals. The rational approach is taught via maximization of expected outcomes and decision tree analysis. The irrational side of decision-making is covered through demonstrations and discussion of decision bias and judgment heuristics. Various supervision techniques are identified and defined (such as contracting, feedback, problem-solving, coaching, motivating others and managing conflict), and methods for modeling, teaching and transferring supervisory skills to others are explored and practiced.
The Capstone Project provides students the opportunity to research a topics, problem, or issue within their field of study, and work individually with a Capstone advisor. Similar in weight to a thesis, but more flexible, this final project synthesizes and applies core concepts acquired from the program. The student selects an appropriate Capstone advisor who is knowledgeable in the field of study to work closely with and whom can guide the research project. Evaluation will be focused on the quality and professionalism of applied research and writing; critical and creative thinking; problem-solving skills; knowledge of research design, method, and implementation; and contribution to the field and topic of study. View the Capstone Guidelines for additional details. Prerequisites: A Capstone Proposal that has been approved by both the Capstone Advisor and the Academic Director, unconditional acceptance as a degree candidate, completion of at least 40 quarter-hours (including all core courses) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, and a B or better in MALS 4020. A final grade of B or better must be earned in this course to meet degree requirements.
The Capstone Seminar is a graduate seminar in which students utilize the knowledge and skills gained through the degree program to create a culminating work that critically addresses a problem or issue in the degree field of study. The student produces a paper of 7000-8000 words that presents a position on a relevant problem or issue, supports the position with professional and academic work in the field, analyzes and tests the paper position, and discusses the role of the findings within the field of study. The seminar is dependent upon collegial discussion of student research and work under the facilitation of a faculty member, and it is governed by the quality of participation and contributions of the students. The course structure, facilitated by the faculty member, guides the students through the process of independent research and writing of a capstone paper; the instructor provides intensive feedback on the capstone process and papers. Students are responsible for generating the course content through ongoing discussion of and peer feedback on the capstone process and individual papers, as well as the analysis and contextualization of focused students papers within the wider degree field of study. Students professionally and academically communicate their findings through written work and oral presentations. Students must have: unconditional acceptance as a degree candidate, completion of at least 40 quarter-hours (including all core courses) with a cumulative GPS of 3.0 or better, and a B or better in MALS 4020. A final grade of B or better must be earned in this course to meet degree requirements. Students must complete the Capstone Seminar in one quarter; no incomplete grades are assigned.
The Strategic Human Resource Management Internship is designed to offer students a purposeful experience in a practical, industry related setting. The internship is an individualized learning experience. A training plan is created for each student in conjunction with the internship site supervisor to provide experiences related to the skills and knowledge covered in the certificate and master's programs as well as professional goals. Students are responsible for finding their own internship site and proposing their internship ideas. University College will send notification to all SHRM students if they hear of internship possibilities. Students may also work through the DU career center to explore opportunities for internship experiences.