Human Resources Management Graduate Certificate Outline

This non-credit orientation is a foundation-building experience that introduces and refreshes the skills necessary for success in your Graduate Certificate Program. You'll learn how to navigate ProQuest, Ashworth College's online library, and review the distinguishing characteristics of academic journals and other publications. Internet research skills are polished enabling you to identify credible and unbiased Web sites for your research. Emphasis is placed on submission requirements, project structures, and writing formats used throughout your coursework, and APA writing style. The final portion of this course provides you the opportunity to research and explore the various career fields in the world of Human Resource Management.

Link human resource activities to business strategies. Examine specific management challenges faced by actual firms and the role of human resources. Learn about recruitment, employment planning and forecasting, testing, interviewing, training, organizing teams, appraising performance, compensation, financial incentives, benefits, labor relations, collective bargaining and more.

Design and manage successful staffing processes. Learn the secrets of effective staffing procedures in light of evolving strategic, technological, legal and practical issues confronting organizations. Explore staffing models, legal compliance, affirmative action, internal and external recruitment and selection strategies, retention and staffing system management.

Train and develop the talents of employees. Examine proven training and development practices, focusing on technology, knowledge sharing, career enhancement and employee motivation. Analyze the components of instructional design in light of cultural diversity, skill obsolescence and outplacement. Learn how to assess needs, evaluate training outcomes, use e-learning, and ensure that training relates to effective business strategy.

Resolve labor and collective bargaining issues. Study key terms, practices, laws and sections of actual labor agreements and arbitration cases. Analyze decisions of the National Labor Relations Board and courts and examine key issues related to negotiating agreements, unfair labor practices, wage and salary concerns, employee benefits, job seniority and security, grievance and disciplinary procedures, the arbitration process, unions, equal employment and more.

Design and administer pay structures. This course culls beliefs from facts, wishful thinking from results and opinions from research to help you make strategic choices in managing compensation. You'll examine the elements of compensation and pay structure theory, job analysis, job evaluation, competitiveness, pay-for-performance plans, benefit options, the impact of unions, budgeting and legal issues.

Understand employee benefit options. A detailed analysis of the various elements of today's benefits programs, how they function and under what circumstances they are used. You'll learn the advantages and limitations of different types of retirement plans, health insurance programs, life and disability insurance, social security programs and more. You'll also examine options for accommodation and enhancement benefits such as flexible scheduling, paid time-off from work, educational assistance and more. This course also includes an analysis of strategic planning involved in the administration of benefits programs, and pertinent benefits laws and regulations.

Explore the legal landscape of human resource management. A broad look at the legal environment of the workplace, examining federal and state laws that impact personnel management. Analyze issues of compensation, employee benefits, unions, equal opportunity employment, affirmative action, workplace privacy and safety as well as diversity and how laws and regulations affect them.

Stay competitive through internationalization. Globalization has challenged the competitive advantage of organizations, demanding the transfer of know-how not only from the parent company to the developing world, but among subsidiaries in an international network. This course establishes this premise and examines how human resource managers can respond to global challenges in socially responsible ways and develop innovative leaders for tomorrow.