PROPOSED GRADUATE CERTIFICATE: “GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN HUMAN RESOURCE DECISION MAKING”
Proposed by the Department of Management College of Business Administration
Contact: Dr. K. Galen Kroeck Chair X 74221
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Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Decision Making
I. Certificate Description The Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Decision Making will be offered by the Department of Management in the College of Business Administration and it will delve into functional areas of human resources such as employment law, rewards systems management, staffing organizations, high involvement human resource management, human resource strategy, and critical thinking. The Certificate Program will consist of six courses, 18 credit hours.
Relationship to Strategic Goals and Mission The University institutional goals state; “to educate graduate and professional students:… To understand the obligation of the holders of advanced degrees to apply their knowledge and critical and intellectual abilities in an ethical manner to issues important to society.” The CBA mission statement says “we prepare [our students] to succeed in a rapidly changing, technology-driven global business environment.” The Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Decision Making will meet these goals and objectives by providing the students with up-to-date knowledge in the area of human resource decision making. The Certificate Program furthers the mission of the University by providing graduate education for the urban business community, which will enhance the reputation of the University and the Chapman Graduate School of Business. In particular, the Certificate Program fulfills the following items of the University mission: (1) it provides a quality graduate education and broadens our professional programs; (2) it enhances the research and professional qualities of the faculty through interaction with a more diverse cross-section of the human resource management community. In relation to the University’s vision the following are appropriate: (1) the Certificate Program will enhance the reputation of FIU as an urban public university and (2) it will broaden the programs available to those in the business community.
II. Rationale for the New Certificate The Graduate Certificate will appeal to those who want additional knowledge and professional expertise in the area of human resource decision making and who would like to continue furthering their education without committing to a full-time degree program. Demand We anticipate about 20 students per year in this program for the next five years.
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III. Evidence of Community Need A number of professionals should be attracted to the Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Decision Making given its shorter time frame than a Master’s degree program in Human Resource Management (MS in HRM) and the unique combination of the courses which will provide them with in-depth knowledge in this particular area of human resources. Human Resource Decision Making MAN 6403 Employment Law MAN 6336 Rewards Systems Management MAN 6365 Staffing Organizations MAN 6327 High Involvement Human Resource Management MAN 6385 Human Resource Strategy and Planning MAN 6317 Critical Thinking in Human Resource Management Admission Students will be admitted to the Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Decision Making in the Spring semester. The applicant must have a combination of a minimum 2.75 grade point average (GPA) for the upper level undergraduate study and five years of professional (exempt) work experience, including at least two years in the HR field. After a student has completed 12 hours in the certificate program, the student may express an interest for further graduate studies in HRM. In that case, if the certificate GPA is 3.25 or higher the student may transfer into the MS in HRM Program provided he/she has completed the MSHRM graduate application, application fee and has submitted all required materials. If a student does not meet 3.25 GPA in the first 12 credits, he/she cannot be considered for admission to the MS in HRM Program. The student will finish two more courses in the Certificate Program and will be awarded the Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Decision Making.
IV. Required Credits The Certificate Program consists of six graduate courses, 18 credit hours.
V. Required Courses These courses are currently part of the MS in HRM degree and students eligible to transfer to the Masters program would do so with no loss of credits. Because of the manner in which the MS in HRM Program is scheduled, potentially eligible students would have to apply for the MS in HRM Program after the first two courses, with the decision admission taking place after grades are turned in for the second pair of courses.
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MAN 6403
Employment Law
This course focuses on the legal and regulatory factors surrounding human resource management. The emphasis will be on creating awareness of legal risks and legal constraints when making HR business decisions. Case studies will be used to illustrate and discuss legal implications. Numerical analysis of the workforce to assess adverse impact will be discussed. MAN 6336 Rewards Systems Management
This course covers all aspects of compensation and reward systems, such as the strategic alignment of compensation and other HR systems, job evaluation, merit- and skill-based pay, cost-effective benefit programs, and the increasingly flexible compensation systems demanded by today’s dynamic and diverse work force. MAN 6365 Staffing Organizations
This course focuses on the identification, recruitment, selection, and promotion of successful employees. The development of systems that comply with regulatory issues, such as equal employment opportunity and affirmative action laws, while satisfying business goals, will be covered. Measurement issues will be discussed in the context of their relevance to not only legal issues but also to the measures. The pros and cons of various recruitment approaches and selection techniques also will be discussed. Case studies illustrating legal issues in selection will be evaluated. The use of emerging technologies in selection and assessment will be covered. MAN 6327 High Involvement Human Resource Management
This course focuses on human resource practices that motivate and empower employees to excel in their jobs by fostering their participation and involvement in organizational decision-making. Motivational and leadership theories discussing participatory decisionmaking, self-managed teams, total quality management, and others will be reviewed. You will learn how to conduct high-involvement audits and benchmarking studies so that you can implement such systems in your organizations successfully. MAN 6385 Human Resource Strategy and Planning
This course discusses the notion of strategic planning in the context of human resource management. Different strategies (e.g., cost, differentiation) are reviewed along with their implications for human resource management. Basic notions of strategic management such as the development of mission statements, the identification of the organization’s competitive advantage and core competencies, and the development of corporate and business strategies are covered. In addition, the tools that facilitate strategic human resource management such as HR inventories, knowledge management, and the
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alignment of the organizational culture and the organization’s strategy are reviewed. This course will include case studies used to diagnose strategy. MAN 6317 Critical Thinking in Human Resource Management
This course focuses on developing critical thinking skills to solve complex and multidimensional human resource management problems. It will emphasize the analysis and discussion of real cases and scenarios about human resource disputes on the verge of going to court, as well as mock trials based on real human resource disputes. You will be presented with opportunities to apply the knowledge acquired throughout the different cases to problems that have human, legal, and business dimensions. You also will practice writing data-based executive summaries and executing data-based board presentations. Through the use of role plays and simulations, you will have opportunities to both deliver and take constructive criticism. VI. Required Resources No additional faculty, library resources, space, labs or other expenditures will be needed.
VII. Budget Requirements There is no additional budgetary cost to offering the Certificate Program. Since the courses of the Certificate Program will be the same as in the MS in HRM program, students in the Graduate Certificate program would be taking the same courses as the MS in HRM students but as a separate cohort. The combining of the two cohorts would utilize the existing faculty more efficiently and would give the students having the potential to move to the MS in HRM program a feel of what would be expected of them. The Certificate Program will charge the same fees as the MS in HRM Program.
VIII. Certificate Committee Dr. K. Galen Kroeck, Chair, Department of Management, College of Business Administration Eric Cartaya, Faculty Director, MS in Human Resource Management, College of Business Administration Dr. Tomislav Mandakovic, Associate Dean, Chapman Graduate School of Business
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