A Human Resource MBA That Fits Your Schedule

If you gravitate toward HR roles in companies, consider adding our HR concentration to your MBA. We’ll help you transition from merely supporting a company to partnering in its profitability.

Whether you’re planning a work-life balance event, or considering how to attract the best candidates for a new position, you never want to lose sight of bottom line business values: what’s the budget, and how do we measure the returns on our investment? The combination of your MBA and this concentration will enhance your value as an HR professional because you’ll understand—and employ—the business principles that make your company thrive. 

AU's faculty members are established leaders in the state’s human resources community, from the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) to the state’s Chamber of Commerce.  You’ll benefit from our faculty members’ decades of experience and extensive professional network. Through this nine-credit concentration, you’ll study senior-level HR paradigms in compensation management and talent acquisition as well as current issues in human resource management. The three courses of this concentration are offered online:

Compensation Management

You’ll learn about compensation and benefit programs offered by organizations in different industries.  Our review will include a historical perspective on compensation through current trends and practices in compensation and benefit management. We’ll examine policies related to base pay, incentive pay, job analysis, and job and performance evaluations.  We’ll look at compensation based on knowledge, skill, performance and seniority in detail. We’ll also study employer-sponsored retirement and health insurance plans and other benefits from a cost-benefit analysis. The course will also cover components of an executive compensation plan from short- and long-term perspectives.

Talent Acquisition

This course will provide sourcing strategies for attracting talented candidates who meet required job specifications and include validated job-related screening devices.  The course will begin with workforce planning and forecasting of staffing needs. Targeted strategies of recruitment sources will also be identified.  Appropriate metrics will be developed for the recruitment and selection process.  This course will incorporate staffing needs assessments.  Job analysis will be devised to formulate job descriptions, to properly slot jobs in a compensation structure, and to manage performance. The course is designed to cover legal implications of recruiting, testing, and interviewing to meet business needs. Current software of talent acquisition will be reviewed.  An examination of executive search firms will also be conducted to review their effectiveness through a cost-benefit analysis.

Current Topics and Issues in Human Resource Management

This course will explore information that’s evolving in HR management and trends that are reshaping the profession. We’ll discuss best practices in HR management from technology and globalization to workforce strategies. Special topics may include HR analytics, HR information systems, employment law and public policy, learning management systems, social media, corporate security, mobile applications, work-life balance, employee retention and engagement, corporate ethics and career mapping.