Human Resources Management

Human resources management is vital to the financial health and productivity of all organizations. This important function provides the crucial link between management and employees in the public and private sector. In this course you will learn the fundamentals of human resources management. Begin by acquiring an in-depth understanding of the charter and mission of human resources in the industrial, service and public sectors. Then multiply your role and knowledge of the major elements of the personnel process including recruiting, interviewing, wage and labor issues, benefits, compensation, employment, regulations, documentation and termination, while gaining an insider's grasp of employee relations, work force diversity and human resources planning and research. Finally, you will address various theories regarding employee morale, organizational behavior and group dynamics. If you are interested in changing or advancing your career, this course will give you an overview of this growing field.

Managing change in an organization is a dynamic process. Effective change maximizes the alignment between an organization's strategies, structure, systems and culture. It requires an understanding of the systemic interrelationships among these factors and how changes in one can affect another. This course focuses on planning and implementing change in organizations, with an emphasis on the role of leadership within an organization. Participants examine the role of leadership and the competencies and skills required of individuals who initiate, manage, and are affected by change.

Learn the skills you will need to recruit, hire and retain qualified individuals who can meet the growing and changing needs of your organization. Explore the hiring process including the administrative preparation, direct hiring activities, retention practices, and related employment laws. Understand the ins and outs of applicant sourcing, effective interviewing, accurate assessment and evaluation, while gaining a clear understanding of your role as a human resources professional in interfacing with management and other staffing decision makers. Discussion topics will include importance of staffing metrics, tips and tools for recruiting on the web, and a review of creative recruiting methods.

A required course in the Certificate Program in Human Resources Management. Increase your understanding of all phases of wages, salaries, bonuses and incentives as they relate to various industries, functions and levels of your organization. Learn how to set and reach realistic compensation goals and create realistic and comprehensive job descriptions and effective job evaluations while exploring the legal requirements of employee compensation. This course also gives you the latest facts about wage and salary surveying practices, the most advanced techniques for relating job performance to compensation and developing individual and group incentive programs as part of employee total compensation.

This course covers the primary basic federal and state laws which come to bear on the practice of human resources management, and which govern employer-employee relations. The course addresses employment law topics including employment at-will, wrongful discharge, employment discrimination, harassment in the work place, employment contracts, defamation, leaves of absence, employee privacy issues, wage and hour issues, and collective bargaining agreements. The course also will help students organize and create a fair and positive working environment, and avoid costly lawsuits by learning how to design and implement employment policies and practices that are lawful and effective. Students also will learn effective ways in which to conduct investigations into employee misconduct, will be given an opportunity to apply various employment law subjects to actual and hypothetical problems discussed in class.

A required course in the Certificate Program in Human Resources Management. Acquire the information and experience you need to identify your organization's training and development needs and master the processes necessary to develop, implement and evaluate effective training programs. You will gain an understanding of your role and responsibilities as a trainer, as well as the practical hands- on knowledge needed to implement a successful program through lectures, classroom discussions, and developing and presenting an actual training session in class. This course is excellent for training and human resources specialists as well as operating managers with significant human resources development responsibilities.

Employee benefits are an increasingly important and complex segment of your organization's compensation portfolio. Now you have access to the latest information relating to employee benefits--information that will help you make better decisions and maximize your benefit choices. You will begin with a comprehensive survey of the complete range of major employee benefits. Then you'll be introduced to the skills of effective planning, implementation and communication of employee benefit programs, including funding, plan management and administration, as well as brokerage selection and coordination. You will expand your knowledge of your benefit options, such as major medical (health and dental, HMO's), disability plans and pensions, while exploring new benefit and compensation strategies, like the cafeteria approach to benefits. Finally, you'll learn how to monitor the effectiveness of your benefit plan through benefit plan evaluations.

Are you a manager interested in increasing your effectiveness? A human resources professional? An individual looking to move into management? Now you can acquire an in-depth understanding of the basic concepts and theories of management, while exploring the manager's operational role in all types of organizations. Gain insight into the manager's responsibility in planning, organizing, leading, staffing and controlling within the workplace. Learn how the best managers manage for success!

Effective writing is a powerful tool in the business environment. Learn how to articulate your thoughts clearly, concisely and with a style that gets your writing read. Improve your skill at using this powerful instrument by learning to select and use appropriate formats, use the correct medium and adjust your writing style accordingly, as well as identify your objective and communicate it clearly. You'll also learn to spot, avoid and correct the most common writing pitfalls and gain valuable experience analyzing, writing and revising a complete spectrum of business documents. From a simple interoffice memo to a twenty-page business proposal, learn how to put good writing to work for you.

The role of management is being significantly redefined by the accelerating rate of change impacting organizations, the escalating unpredictability of the competitive environment, and the increasing significance of the customer as a key stakeholder. Survival and success of the organization will depend much more on management's ability to inspire initiative, involvement, and commitment by people at all levels of the organization and much less on the decisions of executive management. You will establish a systematic process for planning work and setting expectations, monitoring performance, developing a capacity for performance and rating and rewarding performance. Through dialogue, assessment, hands-on and team problem solving, and feedback, you will solve of puzzles of defining the job, setting standards, giving feedback and aligning performance measurements for individuals, teams, business units and entire organizations.

Virtually everything that we do in business involves working with people in person one on one, in groups, in writing, by phone or through a myriad of other electronic means. In today's highly competitive business world, it is more important than ever to recognize and study the significant role communication plays in our lives. As employees at all levels, how well we communicate in a large part determines how successful we will be on the job, and our level of personal job satisfaction. This course is for individuals at all levels in all types of businesses/organizations who desire to polish and/or develop additional communication skills in formal and informal settings. Through interactive discussions, role plays and activities the following areas are covered: verbal and nonverbal communication; defensive/supportive communication; assertiveness, submissiveness and aggressiveness; active listening; receiving and providing criticism; team building; delegation of responsibilities; empowerment; management and sales strategies; leadership; customer service; interviewing/recruiting; conflict resolution.

Heighten your awareness and understanding of workplace ethical issues and the importance of developing tools for making ethical and effective business decisions. Recent financial scandals and subsequent regulations highlight the need to foster ethical behavior and avoid the slippery slope of an unethical business environment. This online course provides a conceptual frameworks and toolkit with practical information to apply in the workplace. Participants learn when and where ethical issues are most likely to surface and how to maintain their integrity; gain an understanding of the impact of cultural and organizational pressures to conform; explore a variety of ethical decisions-making models; develop solutions and evaluate their course of action. Business experience and case studies create the basis for this highly interactive course.

An elective course in the Certificate Program in Conflict Management and the Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution. From small businesses to large corporations, employees are afraid to be open with internal investigators for fear of losing their jobs. Learn the value of "neutral" fact finding and neutral investigations. This class will teach tips and techniques that conform to the latest court decisions including the Cotran ruling. Be prepared for interactive exercises and role plays in active listening, neutrality, and how to prepare neutral documentation.

It has been stated that everyone is someone's difficult person. Almost daily, we come in contact with people we would characterize as difficult. They are the people we work with, sell to, depend on, and live with. There are intimidators, manipulators, analyzers, know-it-alls, overly friendly, accommodators, chronic complainers and whiners. Their actions consume time, energy and emotion at the expense of productivity and morale. This course provides fresh insights and immediately usable skills needed to quickly, confidently and assertively identify and deal with various types of people, difficult or not, in a variety of contexts while maintaining your own self confidence.

This course will examine the various forms of interviews focusing primarily on the employment or recruitment interview and the performance review. Elements of the interview process will be studied and will include: all forms of correspondence (cover letters, resumes, thank you letters), all phases of the interview process (what occurs prior, during and post interview), and verbal and nonverbal communication strategies for all forms of communication interactions within the interview context.

Succession Planning Solutions for Organizational and Individual Development is a business model framed exploration of critical elements unique to an organization, its divisions, and its employees. It will clarify reasons for multiple environments and cultures; identify elements for improved recruitment, selection and employee engagement; and make stronger succession planning strategies apparent. It will clarify important information for decisions individuals make in managing their own career development strategies.

Want to learn how to secure your job, get promoted and excel in a world where hard work and talent aren't always enough? This course provides you with an understanding of organizational politics and strategies for success in the workplace. Topics include political styles, intuition, and compass; organizational climate and dealing positively with office politics; managing up, down, and sideways; group dynamics and facilitation skills. Instruction is interactive; participant focused and involves extensive group activities, case studies, and applications of learning in real time.