Human Resource Management

Profession

Renowned specialist Michael Armstrong defines human resource management (HR management) as a strategic and consistent approach to managing the organization's most valuable assets — the people working in it, who individually and collectively contribute to achieving its goals. After all, only people are able to see the opportunities and properly manage all the resources of the company and lead it to its goal. Therefore, human resource management specialists (HR managers) are in demand on the labor market more than ever.
Initially, the functionality of a specialist in this field of management was reduced to administration: hiring staff, personnel records management and the formation of remuneration. But the rapidly changing business environment requires that human resource management initiatives are based on and integrated into business strategies.
Modern HR managers are specialists at the strategic management level who develop a strategy for human resource management, build internal communications, form corporate culture, HR brand, are engaged in personnel adaptation, evaluation and development, career planning, stimulation, team building, coaching, managing cultural diversity – this is not a complete list of functions, assigned to HR managers today.
In the conditions of changing the organization of work caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the transition to a remote format of work of many employees of companies, HR managers have a special mission – to preserve the organization as a whole, strengthen its corporate culture, uniting people into a strong team working to achieve a common goal, despite the remoteness, and increase employee involvement in work, feelings of their involvement in the results of the organization's activities.
Research by Gartner agency says that future HR managers should think big, be computer literate, respond quickly to changes and be attentive to the needs of the company's employees in order to find and retain the best of the best.
“In order to attract and retain smart people at work, it is necessary to provide them with the opportunity to communicate with other smart people,” Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft.
“Today, a lot of people create products, not companies. The company is a living organism. You should want to build an organization where everyone feels like a team member, knows that the company understands their role,” — Esther Dyson, American entrepreneur, investor.
“You can have the best strategy and the best building in the world. But if you haven't captured the hearts and minds of the people who work with you, none of your ideas will come to life,” Rene West, President of Luxor and Excalibur Hotel.
Interesting facts about HR:
— Involved employees are 87% less likely to leave their organization than those who report that they do not share the values of the corporate culture.
— Although the average interview duration is 40 minutes, 33% of the 2,000 managers surveyed indicated that they know within the first 90 seconds whether they will hire this candidate or not.
— 54% of employees say that in their current company they are supported by a strong sense of community.
— 93% of recruiters view the candidate's profile on social networks.
— A candidate in blue clothes has a better chance of being hired.
— HR managers consider Tuesday to be the most productive day of the week.

Educational Process

The educational process is designed in such a way as to form a set of knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for a modern specialist in human resource management.
The curriculum includes a group of compulsory courses aimed at the formation of professional competencies, and also assumes the possibility of flexible curriculum by choosing elective courses based on the individual interests of students in the field of future specialization.
Students of the specialty “Human Resource Management” study the most promising management technologies in the framework of such courses as “Human Resource Management”, “Strategic Management”, “Project Management”, “Change Management”, “Management Theory”, “Organization Theory”, “Personnel Development”, “Talent Management”, “Personnel policy and personnel planning”, “Personnel Evaluation”, “Cross-cultural Management”, “Leadership”, “Team Building”, “Economics and Labor Organization”, “Time Management”, “Lean Manufacturing”, “Image Management”, “Stress Management”, “Corporate Social Responsibility”, “Social Partnership”, etc.
During the course students perform many practical tasks, for example, develop questionnaires and conduct interviews, playing the roles of a recruiter and a candidate, compile and analyze resumes, build professional charts, evaluate employees using modern techniques, design careers, etc.
When applying for a job, graduates of the specialty “Human Resource Management” are ready to participate in strategic initiatives of companies, developing strategies for human resource management; to recruit and adapt new employees in the company, reducing stress levels; to evaluate and form individual employee development programs based on the results obtained, building their careers and planning career growth. The organization of employees' work, the formation and management of teams, including remote ones, is also included in the list of skills of graduates of the specialty. It is important for graduates to be able to work in conditions of cultural diversity, to understand the differences in the values of representatives of different cultures and the rules of interaction with them, which is relevant for working in international companies.
A high level of training is ensured by the fact that theorists with extensive knowledge are involved in the educational process, more than 75% of whom have a scientific degree as well as representatives of the business community with rich practical experience.

Practice

Study within the specialty “Human Resource Management” harmoniously combines theory and business practice, which is necessary for the formation of managerial competencies of an HR manager. Therefore, internships on the basis of commercial and government organizations are an integral part of the educational process.
During the internship, students gain invaluable practical experience by taking part in the analysis of questionnaires and conducting interviews with real candidates, participate in welcome trainings that promote the adaptation of new employees in the organization, evaluate employees based on tests, interviews, 360 degree techniques and business games.
Students are also asked to participate in business process improvement projects, for example, in the project of introducing an HR bot into the selection process of candidates or the project of developing a special mobile application to improve the personnel assessment procedure, in particular, the assessment of staff involvement.
The main places of internship are large international and national companies of various spheres and sectors of the economy that are interested in recruiting graduates of the specialty “Human Resource Management”.
Increasing the practical component is carried out through numerous internships and master classes from market leaders and future employers. The topics of the master classes are very diverse, including: “Self-presentation for those who are looking for a job” by coach and career consultant Svetlana Poroskova; “How the Japanese perceive foreigners: features of communication and behavior in negotiations” by Lyudmila Omelchenko, cultural critic, Japanese translator of the public broadcasting Corporation Japan Broadcasting Corporation, editor of the news agency MIA “Russia Today”; “Strategic Management in US Public Administration” by Professor D. Schultz, Hamplin University, USA; “Humanising Business” by Evgenia Rigini-Brand, British graphic designer and co-founder of Attitude Creative studio.
In addition, students can study at universities in Europe (in the UK, France, Italy, Poland, etc.), South Korea and China.

Career

The high responsibility assigned to human resource management specialists has changed their role in the management system of organizations in recent years. Today, the heads of HR departments are included in the top management of organizations, carry out activities at the strategic management level. Therefore, companies are fighting for the opportunity to attract the best graduates of the profile “Human Resource Management” with the potential for career growth and professional development to their ranks.
Our graduates are ready to work in managerial positions in various functional departments of HR departments of production, trade, service organizations, consulting companies, banks, non-profit and charitable organizations. They are able to go through all the steps of the career ladder — from HR specialist to HR director — and take a place at the strategic management level.
Career growth is accompanied by an increase in wages, which is difficult for managers to limit. It all depends on the career ambitions, dedication and hard work of the specialist, as well as the size and characteristics of the company's business.
Our graduates already work in various organizations in different countries of the world: Domodedovo, Unilever, P&G, Nike, Coca-Cola, Nestle, UNIQLO, Danone Unimilk, Gazprom, Rosneft, Lukoil, Gazpromneft, Sibur, RusAl, Sberbank, Severstal, Baltika, 3M Russia, X5 Retail Group, Cherkizovo, Ingostrah, Uralchem, M.Video, McDonald's, Dixie, Magnet, L'Etoile, Medtech, E&Y, PWC, IBM, SAP AG, Oracle and many others.