This document provides an introduction and overview for a human resources management course. It discusses the key functions and objectives of human resources which include recruitment, compensation, employee relations, training, and compliance. The course will help students develop practical skills in these areas through projects and develop strategies for optimizing organizational effectiveness and employee productivity. The final project involves creating hiring materials and a staff manual to demonstrate understanding of human resources practices.

1. Human Resources Course Introduction

2. What Is Human Resources Management?
“The primary purpose of human resources management is
to strike a balance between meeting the needs of
employees and what best serves the market-driven [or
client-driven, in the case of nonprofits] needs of an
organization.”
- Fundamentals of Human Resources Management, p. 2
Human resources management aims to “maximize the
productivity of an organization by optimizing the
effectiveness of its employees.”
- “Human Resources Management”, Inc. Encyclopedia
(http://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/human-resource-management.html)

3. The 6 Main Functions of Human Resources
Management
 Recruitment: Attracting and acquiring staff
 Compliance & Legal: Maintaining compliance with legal
regulations regarding staff
 Compensation & Benefits: Developing compensation & benefit
packages & administering them
 Employee & Labor Relations: Maintaining a positive relationship
with individual employees and labor unions
 Safety: Maintaining workplace safety (closely related to
compliance)
 Training & Development: Training staff & building their capacity

4. About This Course
 Part of both the Business and Nonprofit
Management programs
 Project-based
 Practically oriented
 Focused on producing a final project that will be
useful in your future work
 Readings & media support the project
development

5. Course Objectives
1. Develop practical understanding of the six functions of human
resources management by analyzing and applying dominant
human resources management theories
2. Create strategies for developing human resources processes
through evaluation of organizational challenges
3. Develop a healthy organizational culture through ethical and legal
practice of human resources management
4. Evaluate and create systems for recruiting and retaining a
productive and profitable workforce
5. Evaluate the effectiveness of human resources theories and
concepts for organizations of varied size and work scope

6. Course Outline
 Week 1: Introduction
 Week 2: Recruitment
 Week 3: Compliance, Legal & Diversity
 Week 4: Compensation, Benefits &
Performance Appraisal
 Week 5: Employee Relations
 Week 6: Safety & Security
 Week 7: Training, Motivation, and Performance
 Week 8: Conclusion

7. How to Succeed In This Course
 Read the syllabus!
 Go through all the readings & media for the
week before doing the assignments
 Ask for assistance if you are unclear on the
expectations for an assignment

8. Final Project, I: Introduction & Main Sections
 The final project counts for 30% of your grade
 It is built upon the projects that you do
throughout the rest of the course
 Main sections:
◦ Project
 Hiring Materials
 Staff Manual
◦ Self-Evaluation & Course Evaluation

9. Final Project, II: Hiring Materials Section
◦ Job Analysis (from week 1) - 1 page
◦ Job Listing (Advertisement) & Description (wk. 2) - 1
page
◦ Sample Interview Questions - min. 10 questions - 1
page
◦ Interview Evaluation Criteria (wk. 2) - 1 page
◦ Sample Acceptance Letter - 1/2 page
◦ Sample Rejection Letter - 1/2 page

10. Final Project, III: Staff Manual Section
◦ Organization Mission Statement - 1 page
◦ Description of How HR Function Relates to Rest of
Organization (wk. 1) - 1 page
◦ Legal & Diversity Policies (wk. 3) - 4 pages
◦ Safety Policies (wk. 6) - 4 pages
◦ Security Policies (wk. 6) - 4 pages
◦ Compensation & Benefits Policy (wk. 4) - 4 pages
◦ Performance Appraisal Criteria (wk. 4) - 3 pages
◦ Motivation Plan (wk. 7) - 1 page