Major in Human Resource Management

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Taught by faculty with years of professional HR experience, our coursework is aligned with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) HR Curriculum Guide. Qualified O’Neill students can take the Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) exam — an excellent opportunity to distinguish yourself in the job market and demonstrate what you’ve learned.

Learn through experience

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"I learned to identify over 100 species of fish and 30 species of coral while studying abroad, and it felt incredible to recogize so much marine life. As I move forward in my career, I hope to be a champion for Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainable business practices—because making a positive impact can (and should) be built into the way we work."

—Manali Mukherjee, human resources management student

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Program learning goals

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1.1 Recruitment and selection: Select and apply legally and practically appropriate staffing techniques aligned with organizational strategy and according to basic principles of validity and reliability

1.2 Employee development: Articulate the value of employee training, development, job design, and job enrichment

1.3 Compensation, benefits, and performance management systems: Summarize basic components of compensation plans and performance evaluation systems, assess potential deficiencies, and create compensation systems aligned with broader organizational objectives

1.4 Employee relations: Students are able to consider the connection between employee relations practices—including health and safety initiatives, diverse representation and engagement, and fostering a welcoming and supportive environment—and organizational outcomes

1.5 Employment law: Articulate compliance with, and apply, major labor laws regarding recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, employee relations, health, and safety

2.1 Demonstrate an apply an understanding of the strategic relationship between HRM functions and other core organizational functions

2.2 Demonstrate the capacity for understanding the value, application, challenges, and evaluation of HR metrics in evaluating return on investment and driving organization decisions, strategy, and success

2.3 Understand the basic elements and value of Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS), the contribution to data compilation and analysis, and the significance in leveraging organizational success

2.4 Demonstrate an understanding and application of basic Principles of Finance and Accounting

2.5 Understand basic concepts of domestic and international public policy making, law and public affairs, economic principles, labor markets, and environmental concerns

3.1 Identify and explain variations in cultural, disciplinary, and ethical perspectives and influence on organizations

3.2 Understand the value of open-minded approach to interpreting others’ ideas related to behavior in organizations

3.3 Demonstrate capacity to identify and apply the value of diverse perspectives in HR strategy

3.4 Demonstrate basic insight and understanding of the application of processes involving staffing, performance management, employee relations, total rewards, ethics and corporate social responsibility, training and development, and diverse representation in navigating a global environment

4.1 Identify the fundamental management skills of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling

4.2 Identify approaches to managing people, dealing with stress, and fostering creativity

4.3 Understand approaches to decision-making and how that relates to managing

4.4 Identify what motivates employees and the levers managers and organizations can use to enhance employee motivation

4.5 Discuss what leaders do and the similarities of, and differences between, leading and managing

4.6 Identify sources of power in organizations and how that affects the practice of management

4.7 Develop knowledge and skills at communicating within and outside of an organization

4.8 Describe how to manage groups and teams as well as interpersonal and organizational conflict

4.9 Identify dimensions of organizational culture and its constraints and uses as a tool to enhance organizational performance

4.10 Identify elements of organizational structure and how those elements respond to characteristics of the organization’s external environment

4.11 Understand the significance of ethical practice and corporate social responsibility. Evaluate and critique varying approaches in the application of ethics to issues within an organization; and understand what it indicates about an organization’s approach to strategic HRM, ethics, and corporate social responsibility

4.12 Understand, articulate, and learn to apply the fundamental concepts behind driving culture in an organization and successful change management. Identify and articulate practices that cause failure in organizations. Articulate the competencies necessary to become a successful practitioner of strategic HRM

5.1 Analyze arguments and appropriately apply them to various situations

5.2 Distinguish between supported fact and unsupported opinion

5.3 Identify context and assumptions underlying or contributing to an argument

5.4 Research plan: Analyze a research task, develop, and articulate research questions, and identify relevant information and information sources that address the research task and questions

5.5 Strategic searching: Strategically search for information and understand which information retrieval tools contain the relevant information sources

5.6 Information use: Effectively use information and synthesize major points from multiple sources and account for connections or conflicting information; appropriately incorporate evidence into written and/or oral outcomes, while giving thought to an information source’s impact on audience and purpose

5.7 Attribution: Appropriately attribute information sources, understand the role that citation and attribution play in the research process, and correctly apply the conventions of an identified citation style