Full Course Description List:

MHRM Courses

(3 semester credits)

Students are offered a comprehensive overview of human resource management (HRM) as a strategic function, laying a foundation for the detailed course study that follows. Students explore the role of human resource professionals as strategic partners who focus on the mission and goals of an organization. Students examine traditional topics, such as organizational effectiveness and development, workforce management, employee and labor relations, and technology management. They also explore transformational topics such as HRM in a global context, diversity and inclusion, risk management, corporate social responsibility, and U.S. employment law. The course also includes an examination of talent acquisition, employee engagement and retention, learning and development, and total rewards in the context of the employee life cycle.

(3 semester credits)

One of the most important assets of an organization is its talent, in other words, its human capital. However, too often there is little planning or strategy applied to the creation and management of this huge asset. In this course, students have the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge to create and work effectively within a talent management and planning process. They explore recruiting strategies within a human capital development context and focus on building specific skills in managing an organization's talent through position planning, talent selection and placement, and retention. Using industry best practices, students also engage in applications and group projects to practice developing initiatives that align with organizational strategies.

(3 semester credits)

Understanding the specific value of the human resource (HR) capital of an organization is crucial. Metrics for HR management provide the tools for both measuring human capital value and for overseeing and managing an organization's human resources. Students in this course explore HR metrics as tools for organizational and individual performance improvement. They work toward establishing a foundation for the effective deployment of performance metrics as part of the recruitment, training and development, and retention of human resources. Students learn which metrics to employ and how to manage the results—a pivotal responsibility of HR managers. Students in this course are provided with the tools to make informed decisions required to create, apply, interpret, and manage results of appropriate metrics as an HR professional.

(3 semester credits)

Effective business practice requires the ability to handle important negotiations, from internal disputes to international mergers, as well as the knowledge of methods and tools to prevent, manage, and break inherent conflict. Students in this course explore the challenges of managing people in times of perceived conflict and dispute, and they work toward developing skills to identify different types of conflict situations. They engage in hands-on, practical exercises in general contingency thinking and action approaches, negotiation and bargaining strategies, and communication styles designed to help them resolve conflicts and move toward win-win outcomes.

(3 semester credits)

Students in this course explore the role of budgeting and resource allocation along with related processes within the organizational context. Students examine processes related to managing budgets and strategies to effectively read, interpret, and communicate the often complex financial information related to both unit and organizational performance. Students also explore the implications of resource availability as well as methods to plan for and prioritize the use of resources, while considering ethical issues related to sustainability and resource scarcity.

(3 semester credits)

Performance management involves the ongoing activities of employee evaluation and development focused on achieving the organization's short- and long-term goals. Performance management also is required to meet ethical and statuary requirements. Looking at the continuous nature of performance management underscores the importance of identifying and supporting talent development. Students assess performance management systems within the context of the defined system metrics supporting the organization's goals, and they assess the role of performance management in strengthening the organization through diversity and inclusion.

(3 semester credits)

Successful organizations leverage the unique understanding of the legal and regulatory environments held by the human resource (HR) department to guide and advise the organization. In this course, students explore the laws that define and regulate multiple dimensions of the employer-employee relationship and the compliance requirements of the organization. This includes ethical behavior, employment agreements, pay structures, personnel policies, equity, access, dispute resolution protocol, hiring practices, and discrimination policies.

(3 semester credits)

Understanding the value of an organization's human capital is crucial to its continuing success. Human resource (HR) management metrics provide the tools both for measuring value and for managing an organization's human resources. Students in this course explore HR analytics and metrics as tools for organizational and individual performance improvement. These tools establish a foundation for the effective deployment of performance metrics as part of the recruitment, talent development, and retention of human resources. They also facilitate alignment of the HR strategy with the business strategy. Students examine the power of analytics and an HR metrics dashboard. In addition, students investigate the role of human resource information systems (HRIS) and the importance of working with internal business partners from areas such as information technology, finance, and the executive team.

(3 semester credits)

Negotiation and conflict management are core responsibilities of human resource (HR) professionals and having the HR function as the conflict resolution facilitator is critical to employee/employer relationships. Taking a leadership role in facilitating conflict is critical to assuring employment law and regulatory compliance. In organizations with unionized workforces, the HR role in conflict resolution tactics may be constrained by collective bargaining agreements. Students in this course explore the challenges of conflict and dispute and work toward developing skills to identify different types of conflict solutions. Students engage in hands-on, practical exercises in negotiation and bargaining strategies as well as communication styles.

(3 semester credits)

Mentoring requires an understanding and integration of many theories, including leadership, interaction, and communication, that support the development of effective leaders. Students in this course understand and apply skills of effective mentoring, such as active listening, learning, empowering, and enabling change. Students engage in practical exercises, such as using feedback to create interactive dialogue and asking questions to acquire a deeper understanding of mentoring and coaching processes. In consideration of modern and virtual environments, students explore the challenges of mentoring or coaching individuals in a virtual or team setting.

(3 semester credits)

An organization deploys compensation and benefits as part of its total rewards strategy to build relationships with employees and increase their engagement, which can help the organization to sustain a competitive advantage. At the same time, competitive pressures may result in the total rewards strategy becoming a cost issue for the organization. In this course, students explore both the technical and strategic aspects of overall compensation. Students examine legally required and discretionary benefits at the individual and group level as well as the societal implications of the total rewards strategy. With compensation and benefits representing the largest components of the human resource (HR) budget, students also explore the role of budgeting and resource allocation along with related processes within an organizational context.

(3 semester credits)

In today's organization, human resource management plays an important strategic role and increasingly contributes to its competitiveness. Students will explore how a more proactive and systemic approach to human resources addresses strategic business challenges throughout the organization---market positioning, talent acquisition, innovation, product development, quality, customer service, and operating functions. Students will see how results-based performance management is tied to the organization's strategic agenda. Students will compare different theoretical perspectives of strategic human resource management and see the value of preparing employees of the future today to create sustainable competitive advantage.

(3 semester credits)

Contemporary organizations typically strive to align human resources with their functional strategies and business units, lending to the fulfillment of the short- and long-term goals of the organization. In this course, students explore the role of effective human resource (HR) professionals, who engage with colleagues that lead these operating areas and develop HR solutions that support their success. Students identify and discuss the key drivers and metrics that managers in accounting, finance, information systems, sales, marketing, distribution, regulatory, supply chain, and other operating areas within the organization employ to craft their functional-level strategies. Students discover that this knowledge is what provides HR professionals the credibility to be valued partners with functional management figures, thus helping to prepare students for the inherent challenges of the HR manager role.

(3 semester credits)

Contemporary business environments are increasingly competitive, global, fast paced, and knowledge intensive. In these environments, effective use of human capital is vital to an enterprise's success and survival. In this course, students will explore practical issues related to developing individuals and managing collaboration and will examine the skills and strategies necessary to address them effectively. Students will examine ethical and legal implications of managing a diverse workforce including issues that arise from cross-cultural differences and virtual work settings. The importance of communication as a tool to manage internal and external relationships is emphasized as it relates to the effectiveness of managing people to achieve organizational goals.

(3 semester credits)

Successful organizations leverage their knowledge of the legal and regulatory environment to proactively develop their human resources strategy. In this course, students explore the laws that define multiple dimensions of the employer-employee relationship, including employment agreements, pay structures, personnel policies, equity, access, and dispute resolution protocol. Engaging in a variety of assignments designed to help students apply course content to real-world issues, they work toward developing business intelligence skills to track the dynamic legal environment and work with legal partners in the organization to implement human resource strategies globally.

(3 semester credits)

Training and development provides an organization's workforce the tools it needs to contribute to success. Students explore the processes of conducting a needs assessment and developing a training proposal that builds the business case for a training intervention for both individuals and groups, creating the basis for an annual training and development plan. Integrating adult and workplace learning theory into the development of training solutions, students learn how to design, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a training solution.

(3 semester credits)

An organization can employ its benefits and compensation strategy to build relationships with employees and increase employee engagement, enabling the organization to sustain a competitive advantage. In this course, students explore both the technical and strategic aspects of benefits and their role in overall compensation. They learn about legally required and discretionary benefits at the individual and group level. Students also explore and discuss program structures that address global considerations, and they examine societal implications of benefits and compensation that lead to supporting sustainable business practices.

(3 semester credits)

Human resource departments are increasingly becoming networked organizations. Students in this course will learn the skills needed to evaluate build-or-buy alternatives for meeting human resource needs, negotiate contracts with service providers, develop service-level agreements, and track progress of ongoing contracts. Students will examine how the human resource professional can leverage systems to integrate vendor-supplied services, such as training, consulting, recruiting, assessment, coaching, and information systems.

(3 semester credits)

An integral component of the value created in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is through human resources. Human resource professionals partner with senior management to support the organization before, during, and after an M&A event. Students in this course work toward developing the skills to analyze how cultural fit between organizations can impact M&A success, manage redundancy, recommend appropriate organizational structures, assess IT implications of combined payroll and benefits systems, design reward systems, and map professional development paths to retain valued resources. Students engage in a variety of application-based assignments to learn how to design and implement the communications strategy that is necessary to facilitate all M&A activities in a structured time frame. 

(3 semester credits)

Organizations need to identify strategic talent today for their future success. In this course, students explore the processes that define an organization's future human resource needs, identify the gaps between today's resource requirements and future needs of the organization, and develop strategies to meet these needs. Through interactive discussion and practical exercises, students learn how to develop internal talent profiles, define career management tracks, conduct internal recruiting, develop comprehensive succession planning strategies, and use information technology to support these activities.

(3 semester credits)

Over the last few decades, a fundamental shift in the world economy has been underway. No longer are national economic interests and business operations largely confined within well-­defined geographic borders. Phenomena such as the explosion of the Internet, global sourcing, and the reduction in barriers to cross-­border trade have all contributed to the creation of a truly global economy. Students in this course focus on the global environment of business and explore how the international sociocultural, political, legal, economic, physical, and historical environments affect business practices and policies. Students will learn the skills and methodologies required for market analysis and business strategizing on a global scale. In particular, students identify the internal and external forces affecting an organization's ability to compete both domestically and globally.

(3 semester credits)

In today's organizations, human resource management (HRM) plays an important strategic role and increasingly contributes to organizations' competitiveness and global presence. Students explore how more proactive and systemic human resource practices address strategic business challenges and opportunities throughout an organization. This may include talent acquisition and retention, innovation, and social change. Students build theory-based but strategic perspectives of HRM's organizational role and impact in creating a sustainable competitive advantage in a global economy.

(3 semester credits)

The global landscape touches every organization in some manner, either directly through its employees and products or indirectly through its supply chain, strategic partners, and customers. The reality of a global workforce strengthens yet challenges an organization because of its diversity in areas such as cultures, social norms, practices, and beliefs. The human resource (HR) function works on behalf of the organization, its employees, and its leadership to achieve a unified and inclusive work environment by understanding and addressing the unique challenges of a globally diverse workforce, including legal and regulatory constraints. Students in this course analyze the potential for building an integrated, globally-diverse workforce that will effectively improve the organization's capacity and ability to thrive within this unique global landscape.

(3 semester credits)

Achieving measurable progress toward the organization's goals, or the degree to which the outcomes are achieved, is the meaning of organizational effectiveness. It is a key responsibility of human resource (HR) departments to plan for and support the organization's ability (both in terms of capacity and agility) to achieve the goals. HR has a leadership position in building organizational effectiveness, since capacity is directly proportionate to people and talent, and agility is directly related to how well an organization and a team responds to the need for change. Having the right people in the right positions and anticipating and filling gaps in key talent areas collectively lead to an organization's success. This course prepares the student with the skills to design and lead key organizational initiatives that both build its capacity and competitively position it for success.

(3 semester credits)

The human resource (HR) management function has evolved into a strategic-partner role due to its broad organizational impact and potential for strategically advancing the organization's business agenda. As a strategic partner, the HR function is a part of the executive strategic planning team and can drive elements of the strategic plan. In this course students can develop a strong understanding of strategic planning as a key process and have the opportunity to develop critical knowledge and tools for understanding the organizational challenges for which the HR function can develop support. Students also explore how to align ethics and values with the strategy formulation process, align human resource strategies to the organization's strategies, and drive organizational success by helping create a competitive advantage.

(3 semester credits)

In this capstone course, students evaluate the human resource (HR) content outlined in the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge (BASK). The capstone challenges students to demonstrate proficiency in all SHRM competencies within the four SHRM Certified Professional Domain modules: Leadership, Interpersonal, Business and Human Resources Knowledge. Within the Leadership Domain behavioral competencies include Leadership & Navigation; Ethical Practice; and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. The three behavioral competencies in the Interpersonal Domain: Relationship Management, Communication and Global Mindset are covered as well as are the three behavioral competencies of the Business Domain: Business Acumen, Consultation and Analytical Aptitude. Finally, the technical HR Knowledge Domain relating to people: HR Strategy, Talent Acquisition, Employee Engagement & Retention, Learning & Development and Total Rewards is investigated. Assessments include discussions, written assignments, and sample exams reflecting actual SHRM certification examinations.