CAREER PATHS IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. Specializations within the Human Resource Management career path include but are not limited to:

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1 Career Track Snapshot: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Human Resource Management (sometimes referred to as Human Capital or Organizational Development) is a critical function which is evolving, and handled in a wide variety of ways from organization to organization. Human Resource professionals handle the many processes necessary to ensure that employees are able to function in the most efficient and productive ways providing the strongest return to both the organization and benefit to employees. Human Resource professionals may operate within organizations, or from outside on a consulting basis. Depending on their roles within an organization, they may provide direction, strategy and process implementation for the organization on many things, including: Human Resource Management, as documented by The Society of Human Resources Managers (SHRM) is defined as: the function dealing with the management of people employed within the organization. Human Capital is defined as the collective knowledge, skills and abilities of an organization s employees. Organizational Development is defined as a planned organization- wide effort to improve and increase the organization s effectiveness, productivity, return on investment and overall employee job satisfaction through planned interventions in the organization's processes. These three terms are sometimes used interchangeably, and in most organizations, there is a function and a set of processes for handling all of the above. CAREER PATHS IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Specializations within the Human Resource Management career path include but are not limited to: COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS - function is responsible for the strategy development, implementation and ongoing administration of processes related to pay, benefits and pensions for an organization s employees. This can include the objective setting and appraisal process, handling of bonus calculations, and payouts, salary increases and offers, administration of pension plans, and other related processes. CULTURE STRATEGY OR CHANGE MANAGEMENT These positions involve working with the beliefs, values and practices adopted by an organization that directly influence employee conduct and behavior. Professionals focusing on this typically will work with

2 assessing impact and alignment of an organization s culture with its objectives and industry/marketplace. Based upon this assessment and analysis, they may create strategies or plans for changes then support the organization in communication and implementation of these shifts. This function is critical in situations where organizations merge with others, go through significant transitions or move into new areas or markets. Professionals in this field can either work within an organization or on a consulting basis, with outside firms. DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT Key elements of Diversity Management involve the strategy development and implementation of processes which ensure an organization s recruitment, development and preparation of a diverse workforce, usually driving toward reflecting the relevant customer base. This function focuses on effectively harnessing the qualities, skills, experiences, backgrounds and work styles that make individuals unique. This might include age, race, religion, disabilities, ethnicity, etc. The Diversity teams implement initiatives and processes that enable organizations to leverage these differences, creating environments of inclusion, in support of organizational objectives. EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE This area of HR involves the programs and processes an organization provides for support of employees, in order to maximize their availability for work and effectiveness. This discipline can include employee wellness and fitness programs, counseling, child care recommendations or services, substance abuse treatment and recommendations, professional referrals, healthcare related referrals and many other resources. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS Employee Relations encompasses a variety of processes, behaviors and objectives related to the relationship between an employer organization and its employees, and among the employees themselves. This function, depending on how an organization is structured, can be involved with a wide range of Human Resources related decisions, such as recruiting, screening, hiring, training, compensating, assessing, coaching, counseling, disciplining and terminating employees. ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY Organizational and personal values as they relate to business decision making and actions are key to Ethics and Sustainability. They also involve the social impact of business decisions affecting numerous issues, such as employment practices, sustainability and philanthropy the employees, their families and the overall community. In some organizations the Sustainability department is housed in Human Resources. LABOR RELATIONS Labor relations involves processes concerned with formal labor- management relations, such as union organizing, pay and benefits issues, unfair practices, recognition and representation. It also involves

3 collective bargaining and contract administration and is typically associated with organizations which have large workforces (frequently hourly compensated). ORGANIZATIONAL AND EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT/LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT This area manages the overall structure and arrangement of an organization and its functions, including both the long- term and short- term identification and development of human resources. The focus is on enhancing the effectiveness of an organization and the well- being of its employee in order to achieve results which are optimal for both. The strategies and processes developed will include systematic and planned activities designed to provide employees or team members with the necessary skills to meet current and future job demands. The functions typically include coaching and training; succession planning; assessment processes, and other aspects of leadership and skills development. Within or closely related to this discipline, is a subset which addresses specifically Leadership Development (which also ties in with Succession Planning.) This focuses on identification of high potential employees or outside candidates and putting processes in place to help them acquire the experiences and skills necessary for movement into leadership. SAFETY AND SECURITY These professionals are concerned with the overall organization as well as individual employees. and the environment in which they work. This function includes the organization s processes and systems implemented to prevent and/or mitigate loss, risks to or from personnel, threats to its physical assets, damage to its technology and intellectual property, or other risks arising from all elements surrounding the work environment. Those working in this arena handle all related issues, including development and implementation of effective safety and security practices and global safety and security issues. RECRUITING AND STAFFING MANAGEMENT (SOMETIMES CALLED TALENT ACQUISITION) This function can be defined as the strategies and processes implemented to identify, recruit, hire and retain the human resources needed to support the current and future objectives of an organization. Those working in this discipline are responsible for ongoing analysis of needs, forecasting, and related development and implementation of appropriate programs and processes. They frequently work closely with the Diversity Management and/or Organizational Development teams, in order to match the actions being taken with the organization s overall needs. TECHNOLOGY (HUMAN RESOURCES RELATED) Professionals in this function deal with the use of technology of various types and functional areas within Human Resources. The systems and individuals involved work on scheduling, force management/timekeeping, tracking of various employee related factors, and more. Human Resources (HR) professionals are employed in nearly every organization and company, of all sizes and focus areas. Additionally, many consulting organizations that have significant HR practices

4 (typically called HC in the Consulting arena) including: Deloitte, Federal Management Partners (FMP), and IBM. On- Campus Recruiting: Begins very early in the year for both full- time and internships as early as September with the bulk of activity before December. There can be other on- campus opportunities (though not as plentiful) through April. Self- Directed Job Search: Career Fairs Generally September, October and Spring Semester; Job and internship opportunities posted on company websites, GWorkSB, and specialized websites throughout the year. KEY TRENDS Managing workforce stress, productivity and retention in a down economy Integrating Millennials into company culture Employee recruiting and networking online Telecommuting and flexible work hours Work- life balance issues CRITICAL SKILLS: Ability to deal with ambiguity Analytical / quantitative skills Communication and Presentation skills Coaching and feedback skills Creativity Drive for results/ action orientation Interpersonal Skills Political savvy Strategic thinking Strong sense of ethics Strong teamwork FACULTY ADVISORS Patrick McHugh [email protected] Paul Swiercz [email protected] COURSES AT GWU Course suggestions:

5 MGT 6210: Individual and Group Dynamics in Organizations MGT 6213: Organizational Factors: The Process of Change MGT 6254: Negotiations and Labor Relations MGT 6257: Performance Management and Development MGT 6258: Applied Organization Leadership MGT 6290: Thinking Skills for Executive Leadership MGT 6252: Global Human Resource Management* MGT 6259: Employment Law and Ethics* * Courses offered every 3 years HOL 6704: Leadership in Organizations HOL 6705: Strategic Performance Process HOL 6706: Issues in Human Resource Development HOL 6721: Assessing Impact of HRD Efforts HOL 6725: Internship in Human Resource Development CO- CURRICULAR & EXTRA- CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: Leadership in GWSB MBA Student Organizations: Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM) - - GWSB Chapter The Graduate Consulting Club Toastmasters Memberships: Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM) American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) CAREER FAIRS, CASE COMPETITIONS Career Fairs:

6 National Asian MBA (NAMBA) National Black MBA (NBMBAA) National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA) Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) Career Quest Career Fair GWSB Career Fairs NOTE: A list of career fairs is posted on the Career Center web site. Case Preparation and Case Competitions: Case in Point: Complete Case Interview Preparation, by Mark Cosentino Crack the Case by David Ohrvall (See the chapters on Ivy Case System and Additional Tools and Frameworks for a good summary of a possible approach.) Consulting Cases 101 http/ (excellent source of cases / well organized by industry/consulting firm/ function have to pay a reasonable fee to see all cases.) Caseinterview.com (excellent smart feedback this blog is run by a former McKinsey interviewer that provides audios of case iterviews with his feedback/commentaries on those cases: offers several useful free tips and mock casesm(have to pay for additional info but fee is reasonable.) GE/Deloitte HR Case Competition Deloitte Diversity & Inclusion Day and Case Competition NOTE: There are many other case competitions sponsored by other companies or schools. it is helpful to research these and as appropriate proactively create teams to compete EXAMPLE OF COMPANIES WHO HIRED GMBAS FOR HUMAN RESOURCES POSITIONS Booz Allen Hamilton Deloitte Department of Treasury Education Pioneers Exxon Fannie Mae Fed l Management Partners of Health Raytheon General Electric Hewlett Packard IBM Johnson and Johnson National Basketball Assoc. National Institutes FURTHER RESEARCH HR Magazine (SHRM s monthly publication) Vault Career Guides

7 Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don t, by Jim Collins The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell Winning by Jack Welch Crack the Case by David Ohrvall Harvard Business Review Wall Street Journal Diversity Employers Magazine Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM) website CAREER SNAPSHOT GUIDES SOURCES: Careers- In- Business.com Vault Guides Wikipedia CareerLeader Wet Feet What Color is Your Parachute?: A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career- Changers, by Richard Nelson Bolles For Your Improvement by Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger About.com: Human Resources