Course Schedule for Spring 2019

MPS HR Capstone

This three-credit course will be the culmination of the student’s academic and professional experience in the MPS program. Over the course of the semester, students will work with an organization to help address a real life problem in the organization. The problems will be based on the concentrations of International Human Resources Management, Diversity and Inclusion or Strategic Human Capital Management. Working with their advisor, students will present the resolution to an issue to the sponsoring organization in a reasoned, systemic way. In an effort to ensure a high quality project, the capstone will also include research methods which will provide a foundation in research methods for students for their capstone. Students will learn how to design a research proposal, how to define with specificity and particularity, objectives of research, how to conduct literature reviews and how to assess and implement appropriate research methods based on the needs of the project. The course covers both qualitative methods such as case studies, questionnaires, surveys and interview techniques and an introduction to quantitative methods and data analysis. The faculty advisor will work closely with the student and the sponsoring organization to ensure that the project comprehensively addresses the issue and demonstrates the depth of competency the student gained through the Master of Professional Studies program. In addition to other requirements, students must earn a grade of "B" or higher in the Capstone course to qualify for graduation.

Coaching Skills for HR Professionals

The Human Resources field is changing with increasing pressure to serve as strategic business partners and help organizations use human capital to gain an advantage over competitors. This includes increased emphasis on employee development and change initiatives, making coaching skills increasingly relevant for HR professionals. Depending on the position (e.g., internal, external) or role, HR professionals may encounter the need to sponsor, coordinate, or even offer coaching services. This course provides students with an understanding of the coaching domain and how HR can use it to enhance organizational performance. Students will practice coaching skills relevant to HR professionals and explore the application of those skills to a variety of HR topics through case studies and role play exercises.

Creating and Maintaining High-Performance Organizations

The Creating and Maintaining High-Performance Organizations course helps students develop the methods and skills needed to drive performance while maintaining a highly effective work culture. It will help students develop tools to increase performance across the organization and support the achievement of business objectives, while building the leadership capabilities to meet future business needs. This course provides a systemic view of the organization, best practices for creating a productive climate, and the tools and leadership practices to implement these ideas. This course combines theory and case studies. The main resource for the theory part is two assigned textbooks. The cases and supplementary readings are available as a course reader at the bookstore. The focus of this course will be applied and practice-oriented.

Creating and Sustaining a Climate of Inclusion

Many organizations with existing diversity initiatives have been unable to effectively use them to change the way that the organization behaves. In an effort to do so, organizations must develop a plan to move its efforts from tactical to strategic. This course examines the diversity field from an organizational perspective. Participants explore organization development theory and change models and interview, survey, feedback, data collection and analysis methods. This course includes an organization action-research practicum designed to identify and implement the cornerstones of an inclusive organization, to determine whether an organization has significant political and other barriers to becoming inclusive and to design and implement an inclusion template for organizations. Using a case study methodology, students will critique existing paradigms of inclusion and determine how to create new ones. Students will use powerful tools that are designed to address diversity as organizational change thus leading to inclusive policies, practices and procedures in all dimensions of organization life. Students will be required to present an inclusion strategy at course end.

Foundations of Compensation and Benefits

An organization's compensation and benefit plans are critical to building and keeping an engaged and motivated workforce.. In this course, students learn about the basic tools and diagnostic approaches used in effective compensation and benefit planning and administration, legal requirements, and how to achieve balance between external equity (what other employers offer), internal equity (what others in the organization receive), and individual equity (self-perceptions of worth and relative contribution).

Foundations of HR

This course focuses on the core competencies that are essential for effectively working in the field of Human Resources (HR) and lays the groundwork for a successful journey through Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies Master of Professional Studies in Human Resources Management program. The semester begins with a macro view of the field and its role as a critical strategic business partner to the organizations in which it functions. This “helicopter view” of HR will examine the role of HR from a strategic perspective as well as a tactical or operations perspective, and the nature of HR in different types of organizations (private enterprise, government, nonprofit, academia) will be introduced. This initial focus on the macro organization level will help establish the importance of systems thinking as a critical skill from the beginning of the course. In addition to looking outward at the field of human resources, students will be asked to look inward at themselves in order to begin their journey to increased self-awareness and personal development. Self-awareness is a cornerstone of effective interpersonal interaction, and HR professionals who have insight into their own personalities, needs, tendencies and styles can consciously choose behaviors that will allow them to be most effective in their roles as Human Resources professionals interacting with individuals, groups, and organizations. Throughout the semester, the major functions of Human Resources will be examined, along with the Human Resource professional’s role in each of those functions. Human Resource Competencies (or, what makes a Human Resource professional successful in the major functions) will be discussed in relationship to different career stages (Early Level, Mid Level, Senior Level, and Executive Level). In addition, the skills, competencies, and individual characteristics that students will be expected to gain by the time they complete the HRM program will be clearly laid out and explained, so that students can learn to manage their own growth and development throughout the program. Students will be provided with the basic skill-set and framework required for the more specialized and advanced concentration courses in the curriculum. Moreover, through the use of readings, lectures, group presentations and real-world case studies, students will gain a basic understanding and appreciation of concepts and issues relating to core HR areas including: Strategy, Talent Management, Total Rewards, Employment Law, Human Resource Development, Employee and Labor Relations, and Risk Management. Students will be expected to learn these basics while developing an awareness of the challenges facing the HR profession today.

Human Capital Analytics

Leading companies are using Human Capital Analytics for workforce reporting and to help make better, more informed decisions about their human capital. There is a continuum of the value that analytics bring to an organization: basic data reporting, benchmarking and advanced reporting, survey analytics and predictive analytics. Organizations are looking for Human Resource professional who can improve their impact on the business by using the latest analytical tools and techniques. In this course we will focus on developing a foundation in statistical techniques and data management using IBM-SPSS. We will explore workforce reporting and the analytics traditionally used to improve decision-making. We will also introduce advanced analytical tools and techniques, such as predictive modeling, which is making it possible for organizations to glimpse into the future and make informed predictions.

Note: This class meets in the MAC lab.

Organization Development & Change

Change has been a constant in organizations since the 1990’s. Organization development (OD) is an evolving body of knowledge, research, and practice that helps organizational leaders take a systematic, planned approach to change that leverages the interdependencies within and external to the organization. Drawing upon its multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary roots in, for example, organizational and industrial psychology, sociology, theories of motivation, learning, and personality, organization development has been successfully used to improve performance, production, effectiveness, efficiency and employee engagement. This course introduces students to the rich body of principals, knowledge, skills that are used to bring about and sustain change in organizations. It highlights the view of organizations as living systems with human dynamics that impact every dimension of an organization and influences the outcome of every aspect of work an organization undertakes. It also focuses on the current realities for organizations, including globalization, virtual offices and multi-cultural workforce. Topics include: systems theory, change models, the use of collaborative consultation, use of self, group dynamics, the role of leaders in change, the role of resistance, data collection and discovery, and interventions.

Organization Development & Change

Change has been a constant in organizations since the 1990’s. Organization development (OD) is an evolving body of knowledge, research, and practice that helps organizational leaders take a systematic, planned approach to change that leverages the interdependencies within and external to the organization. Drawing upon its multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary roots in, for example, organizational and industrial psychology, sociology, theories of motivation, learning, and personality, organization development has been successfully used to improve performance, production, effectiveness, efficiency and employee engagement. This course introduces students to the rich body of principals, knowledge, skills that are used to bring about and sustain change in organizations. It highlights the view of organizations as living systems with human dynamics that impact every dimension of an organization and influences the outcome of every aspect of work an organization undertakes. It also focuses on the current realities for organizations, including globalization, virtual offices and multi-cultural workforce. Topics include: systems theory, change models, the use of collaborative consultation, use of self, group dynamics, the role of leaders in change, the role of resistance, data collection and discovery, and interventions.

Research Process and Methodology

This course is an overview of research methodology in applied settings (e.g., organizations). Over the course of the semester we will cover both qualitative and quantitative approaches to conducting research (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus groups) in organizational settings. Students will develop a conceptual understanding of research design and quantitative analysis options for the consumer of research, learn the appropriate use of vocabulary and interpretation of research findings, and learn how to critique research articles and develop a small-scale proposal. This is an interactive course, where students will share their intellectual passions, collaboratively create ideas, and actively write and/or research during class sessions. This approach allows students to learn hands-on the skills necessary to be competent researchers and scholar-practitioners.

Note: Foundation requirement for all HRM students admitted in Fall 2013 and after.

Strategic Human Capital Development

This interactive, theoretically anchored, and applied course is aimed at understanding the process and practice of developing human capital. It focuses on the strategic development of talent framed within the context of talent leadership. It is anchored in business strategy and views the arena of talent management as a critical means to achieve competitive advantage. As human resource competencies have become a significant competitive advantage both in North America and globally, the pace and intensity of organizational training has increased dramatically. Organization Development/Effectiveness groups must demonstrate not only that their programs provide enhanced employee competencies, but that those competencies are of strategic value to the organization. Some organizations now include continuous learning, often called the "learning organization", as part of their strategy. As a company's strategies change, and the types of management competencies and profiles need to change as well, Human Resource Development is responsible for this alignment. We will address these and related issues based on the belief that effective development practices are determined by the organizational context in which they occur.

Workplace Ethics

This three-credit core course is required for all MPS students. It will emphasize core values endemic to the professional world, cutting across several disciplines but with a particular focus on the connections between applied ethics and human resources and diversity. Professionals in various fields, such as H.R., diversity, business, and government, will guest lecture and present the students with real-world case studies which gives them the opportunity to apply ethical principles to their work. The Ethics course is required of all MPS students and should be taken in the first semester of study. In addition to other requirements, students must earn a grade of "B" or higher in the Ethics course to qualify for graduation.

Note: This three-credit core course is required for all MPS students. It will emphasize core values endemic to the professional world, cutting across several disciplines but with a particular focus on the connections between applied ethics and human resources and diversity. Professionals in various fields, such as H.R., diversity, business, and government, will guest lecture and present the students with real-world case studies which gives them the opportunity to apply ethical principles to their work. The Ethics course is required of all MPS students and should be taken in the first semester of study. In addition to other requirements, students must earn a grade of "B" or higher in the Ethics course to qualify for graduation.