Developing Quality Human Resource Professionals: Identifying the Appropriate: Undergraduate Curriculum, Applying Human Resource Competencies, and Validating Human Resource Competencies

Developing Quality Human Resource Professionals: Identifying the Appropriate: Undergraduate Curriculum, Applying Human Resource Competencies, and Validating Human Resource Competencies

We believe that HRM education is embarking on a major transformation. By being cognizant of and responsive to the concerns of organizational leaders and established human resource professionals, we believe that educators can have a positive impact on the contributions of new practitioners entering the field. In this chapter, we examine the key elements of a successful undergraduate educational program in human resource management. We discuss ways that students can effectively learn and demonstrate their competencies to potential employers who are hiring for an entry-level position. More specifically, we focus on the following important issues in undergraduate HRM education: (1) an appropriate [Page 92]undergraduate curriculum for human resource management majors, (2) the value of an internship as part of the learning experience, (3) the advantages of being an active member in a student chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and (4) the benefits of having majors prepare for and take SHRM's “Professional in Human Resources” certification exam as part of their educational process.

The questioning of the status of human resource management education is really not a new topic. Herbert G. Heneman, Jr. and others in the early 1980s questioned the appropriate educational background for individuals entering the HRM field. The issue arose at that time because the nature of the field was shifting from the study of labor-management relations, that is, primarily union-management relations, to employee relations that include both union and nonunion employment relationships (Heneman, 1999). This shift was due in part to the decreasing percentage of the unionized labor force and to the implementation of new management practices and a changing employment relationship.

So why are professionals and educators once again questioning the status of HRM education? As the new millennium gets underway, American business finds that it is witnessing significant changes in the employment relationship due to a variety of operating problems. Changes in the employment relationship are once again requiring human resource educators to examine the role human resources will play in the strategic direction of business and consequently the educational background required of human resource professionals to be active partners in the strategic decision-making process. We believe that, once again, human resource education is going through a major transformation that can have a positive impact on the human resource field.

The field of human resources faces serious challenges as it attempts to deal with a dynamic and often hostile business environment. As organizations face an increasingly competitive marketplace, management is analyzing all facets of the organization to reduce operating costs. Because labor cost makes up a significant percentage of most organizations' operating costs, it is an area that constantly comes under scrutiny. It has traditionally been the responsibility of the human resource department to design and implement an employee relations program that will enable the organization to recruit, develop, and retain the best employees without significant concern about other business issues—a silo approach.

...