This is a free course offered as part of the Saylor Foundation's Professional Development program. 'This program is designed especially for adult learners who are ready to learn and apply skills demanded by today’s employers. Whether you are new to the employment world or wish to develop and improve your workplace skills, you will be able to select short-term courses targeted to your success.'
'The purpose of Introduction to Human Resources Management is to provide a general overview of the concepts and applications of the many parts of Human Resources (HR). This course is for the entry level HR Generalist who wants to explore how the interdependence of the major topics in HR are created and implemented. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to apply your knowledge to real world HR issues. While general topics such as benefits and compensation will be covered in other Human Resource Management courses, this course will focus primarily on the employee life cycle and each of its phases. The employee life cycle is central to most of the functions and purposes of HR. It is important to start at the beginning of any life cycle in an effort to understand how each component is dependent on the next.
To begin with, you will take a look at the history of HR and determine the major events and champion theorists who brought HR to its humble beginnings. The course will then cover the employee life cycle by first looking at the areas of recruitment, selection, and hiring. Each area will be defined, described, and broken down into its measurable parts. Next, after you have hired your employees, you must send them to the next phase of the life cycle: orientation. This is where employees learn the written and unwritten rules of the company’s code of conduct. In addition, an overview of employee services and benefits and how the role of HR impacts these services and benefits will be investigated. In this course, you will also explore the HR role in performance management. This is an area wherein clear expectations, policies, and management training are aligned with the performance management system used by the company, which in many cases are created by HR.
This course will address many different HR laws that govern the topics mentioned above. Understanding how HR law impacts each area of the employee life cycle is crucial to the legal and financial obligations of any HR Department. Human Resource Departments play a very important role in creating a fair and legal working environment for its employees while keeping the company out of the court system. Managing this balance is always quite the challenge for any HR employee.
Lastly, you will look at an in-depth approach to global human resources by understanding the current trends and challenges in the workplace. In Unit 8, you will survey important training topics in HR that will keep companies proactive and viable in an ever changing economy.'