MS in Human Resource Management

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.