Online Human Resources Certificate Curriculum

The Starting Your Program course is designed to help you make a smooth transition to Penn Foster, including learning how to use all the tools and resources that are available to you. The goal is to help you become a confident, independent learner.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Further express your goals and expectations
• Navigate the Penn Foster learning environment, including your Student Portal
• Describe what it takes to be a successful online learner
• Identify your preferred study aids and learning styles
• Determine personal financial goals
• Practice some important study and time management skills
• Access and use helpful resources, such as the Penn Foster Virtual Library, and various help features

In the business world, people are sometimes put into management situations when they really don’t understand what management is all about. Although some are able to step into a management position and handle it naturally, others find the responsibilities to be overwhelming. Management courses are a must. For those proficient in managerial positions, management courses can help improve their skills and gain a better understanding of their new responsibilities. For those who are overwhelmed by a new management position, or who strive to secure a management position, management courses help by presenting concepts and ideas to build new skills.

This course is divided into lessons that discuss the foundations and principles of management, planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. As you read the textbook, try to relate the material to your own experiences. If you don’t have any management experience, try to put yourself in the place of your manager and relate the material to those experiences.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Summarize the functions of management and the basic steps in various planning processes
• Explain how to make effective decisions as a manager and a leader
• Describe the fundamental elements of an organization’s structure and the components of an organization’s competitive environment
• Explain principles for setting goals that motivate employees, why companies develop control systems, and why teamwork is beneficial
• Analyze why diversity is a critical organizational and managerial issue, and describe the criteria for technology decisions and managing change

Welcome to your Human Resources Management course, which is designed to introduce you to the field. Your textbook's learning objectives, found at the outset of each chapter, are meant to introduce you to basic concepts, theories, and perspectives related to effective human resource management. Further, your text includes a wealth of case studies and features that will help you understand practical problems and applications of human resource management principles. If you're seriously thinking about a career in human resource management, you should take advantage of these extra features, even when they aren't assigned.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Describe the elements of human resource management, including labor considerations, regulation, and management of workflow
• Explain how companies should prepare for and implement HRM to hire new employees and create training programs
• Identify the aspects of employee, career, and turnover management
• Summarize how employees are paid, including legal requirements, performance-based pay, commissions, salaries, and benefits
• Describe other HRM functions including collective bargaining, labor relations, global HRM, and building a high-performance organization
• Explain key aspects of the field of human resource management

The course highlights important points of compensation in contemporary work environments. Throughout your studies, you'll learn about different forms of pay, compensation strategies, competitive pay models, and performance evaluation and management techniques. You'll also learn about different laws surrounding compensation and global pay systems. At the end of this course, you'll complete an essay that asks you to take all you've learned throughout your studies and analyze several different job postings that cover these concepts.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Explain the factors and methods included in compensation strategies
• Describe how to evaluate employee performance and motivate workers using compensation strategies
• Explain how unions, laws, and special groups affect compensation
• Discuss labor regulation locally and globally
• Compare job postings for different pay models

This course will introduce you to the many different elements that comprise employee benefits. The knowledge you gain from this course will help your career as a benefits specialist. It will also help you understand the history, and many of the governmental issues, concerning benefit programs today. When you complete this course, you’ll understand the full employee benefit-planning process.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Analyze the fundamentals of employee benefits
• Point out the types and purposes of group insurance
• Categorize the benefits and purposes of group medical insurance
• Distinguish the purpose of group dental insurance and other group insurance benefits
• Differentiate the various types of plans associated with retirement
• Categorize the types and benefits of profit-sharing plans and other similar plans
• Apply your knowledge on employee benefits for evaluating the benefit packages of three similar companies