Business: Human Resources

The Human Resources Department is increasingly important function to most corporations. In a growing economy, human resource specialists have the challenging of recruiting and retaining high quality workers. In the high technology sector, the ability to attract and keep the best scientists and engineers in the market may be the key to the overall success of the firm. In hard economic times, human resource specialists try to minimize expenses and reduce the human costs associated with downsizing. They design compensation programs, negotiate for such fringes as health care and day care, and manage diversity in the workforce. A student with an interest in human resources may also want to consider the certificate programs in Race and Ethnicity or in Gender.

In Human Resources, you need the following skills:

Organizational sociology is the study of what determines the survival and growth and actions of organizations. Human factors are critical to all three of these. There is a substantial literature on how the management of people within organizations determines overall firm efficiency. Human resources personnel need to be aware of the organizational consequences of their policies.

Courses that teach about organizational sociology include:

SOCI 335: Sociology of Organizations
SOCI 322: Industrial Sociology
SOCI 415: Sociology of Education

See also the following sections for other useful course suggestions:

Business: Strategic Leadership (specifically the sections on the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, and Gender and Family)
Business: International Trade