This course is designed to facilitate your development of an informed appreciation and critical awareness of the issues confronting the fields of Human Resources and Change Leadership as well as trends and innovative practices. The course will provide an overview of the elements and trends related to talent acquisition, talent development, employee engagement, retention, performance management, organization health, and workplace effectiveness. Current trends and practices will shift year-to-year in the HR and Change landscape, but generally this course involves topics of what is changing in HR activities and why, demographic, cultural and generational implications for talent, leadership development, succession planning, use of technology, global applications and strategic and operational service delivery challenges and models.

This course provided the foundational principles and theories required for work in organizational change and development. Students explore the historical and theoretical underpinnings of organizational change, describe the core tools (change models) used to approach change in organizations, and learn to identify what types of can occur in organizations through specific organizational models and frameworks. To lead change effectively, students also develop an understanding their own reactions and resistances to change, as well as principles for implementing change effectively. Students apply this learning through a series of case studies, readings, and hands on activities.

This course provides a foundation in workplace learning & development.  Multiple approaches to learning & development in the workplace will be covered.  Course topics include adult learning & development (learning theories, motivation, multiple intelligences, brain development), learning strategies (transformational learning, experiential learning, action learning, project- based learning, self-directed learning), team learning & development (team dynamics, participatory & democratic learning environments), strategic learning & development (aligning initiatives, measuring results), instructional design (ADDIE, HIL, HPT), and the technological tools (LMS, social media, synchronous and asynchronous learning solutions) to facilitate workplace learning.

To be most successful supporting their internal customers, HR and change leaders need to understand basic concepts of organizations as systems and how all types of organizations operate. This course is an overview of fundamental organization concepts and how HR and Change leaders can partner with other leaders in supporting their functions, strategies and goals. The content will focus on understanding organizations as a collection of functions, systems, and processes that are organized in a particular way to meet a mission.  Students will gain understanding about the choices organization leaders make that help an organization perform effectively, manage competitive forces and align the interdependent primary functions in organizations to contribute to supporting the direction an organization adopts. To understand and effectively partner with unit leaders in organizations, HR/Change professionals must demonstrate an appreciation of what the organization and individual leaders are trying to accomplish and why. This course will view the organization from a systems perspective and through the lens of how HR/Change professionals, working as strategic partners, can bring key perspectives, processes and skills to the design and implementation of effective organization practices.  

This course is focused on understanding the results and organizational outcomes related to HR systems, processes and interventions, the development of measurement systems and basic research designs for impact evaluation and the data and analysis needed for effective change leadership. It’s important in HR & Change Leadership to be able to design valid measures and analytical systems to align with the organization’s strategic objectives and to be able to construct evaluative processes for assessing value and ROI from any HR or change endeavor. 

This course provides a capstone experience to integrate and apply coursework in the MA in Strategic Human Resources and Change Leadership by crafting and implementing a field –based practicum project and engaging in action learning with other graduating MA candidates. The primary focus will be on identifying, contracting, scoping, and designing a practicum project related to a topic area of interest in Strategic HR and change leadership. Students will meet with one another and program faculty/ faculty advisors to explore processes, interventions, challenges and learning by engaging in facilitated discussion. Course readings will help students and faculty identify lessons learned about self-as-strategic business partner or change leader and ways in which these roles can be executed effectively.

HRDO609 Consulting & Partnering (3 credits)
The purpose of this course is to teach students to become effective consultants and business partners in helping client organizations address problems, lead change, and improve business results.  Students will explore the role of a consultant as an authentic partner and what it means to be as authentic as possible at all times with the client, and attending directly, in words and actions, to each stage of the consulting practice.   Students will learn about the importance of ethical practices, building strong partnerships, being able to confront and speak the truth, navigating the organizations and the use of one’s self as an instrument for change.

HRDO 610 Managing Conflict (3 credits)

HRDO 612 Facilitating Groups (3 credits)
In this course students will explore theory and perspectives around facilitating groups.  Students will learn useful facilitation skills including framing and designing group sessions, creating the appropriate group environment, encouraging participation, and raising issues in an effort to lead the group to reach its objectives.  This course will also examine the nature of group facilitation, the ethics and values involved, and the role and responsibilities of the facilitator.  Students will also explore the practice of facilitation by identifying the knowledge and skills required of facilitators and discussing group dynamics, processes, and key challenges.

HRDO 615 Strategic Planning (3 credits)
In this course you will focus on the strategic planning cycle and processes used in public, private, government, and non-profit organizations.  Starting with the organizational challenges and issues you will learn ways to capture key learning and implications.  You will examine methods used in prioritizing the organizational issues and solutions that will have the greatest impact on organizational effectiveness and performance.  You will also learn how to work with senior leaders to design and frame interactive planning sessions and discuss roles and responsibilities in planning as well as understanding the value of vision, mission, core competency, and culture in driving strategic alignment.

HRDO 616  Coaching Leaders (3 credits)
This course focuses on developing a coaching approach to leadership, both personally and within organizations. Distinct from mentoring or management consulting, coaching approaches involve specific standards, practices and skills. Students engage in exercises, discussions and action learning and learn models and techniques to develop their coaching competence. Students identify strengths and areas for improvement in the coaching practices within their organizations and understand their own coaching presence and style by practicing skills such as deeply listening to coachees/clients, asking powerful questions, building awareness, and giving direct feedback.

HRDO 618  Group Dynamics & Team Effectiveness (3 credits)
In this course, students will explore what it means to work in and lead groups, the core unit of interaction and analysis in all organizations. This will be accomplished through student experiences in and outside the classroom, by developing an understanding of the theoretical concepts used to study group dynamics and teamwork and by applying learning to scenarios, cases and real world experiences. As the workplace becomes more diverse and global, it is even more imperative that we understand how to work effectively in groups and teams.