HRMT 300 (Human Resource Planning) is a three-credit course for senior level undergraduate students. It examines the practice and theory of human resource (HR) planning in Canadian workplaces. This course has no prerequisites, though ADMIN 232 (Introduction to Management) is recommended. HRMT 300 is not available for challenge.
Human Resource Planning is made up of three units (Introduction to Strategic Human Resource Planning, Human Resource Forecasting and Planning, and Strategic Options and Evaluations for Human Resource Planning), and requires two essay assignments weighing thirty percent each, one multiple-choice quiz worth twenty percent, and a final examination weighing twenty percent. To receive credit for HRMT 300, students must complete and submit all three assignments, pass the final examination with a grade of at least fifty percent, and achieve an overall course composite grade of at least fifty percent. The final exam for this course must be taken online with an Athabasca University approved invigilator at an approved invigilation centre.
Dr. Saud Taj started working at Athabasca University on July 1st, 2016 and has been the coordinator for HRMT 300 since September of 2016. Alongside HRMT 300, he also coordinates HRMT 387 (Strategic Human Resource Management). I asked about his experience, and he said, “I graduated from the University Of Glasgow (UK) in 2014 with a PhD in Strategic/International Human Resource Management and spent the first three years of my academic career teaching as a Lecturer of Human Resource Management at Glasgow Caledonian University (UK). I am an expert in the field of ‘Employer Branding’ and ‘Employee Engagement’ and have been researching these phenomenons throughout my academic career. Hailing originally from a small city in Pakistan called Quetta; I started my career as a Customer Services Representative working for a telecom multinational operating in my home town. Due to my interest in teaching and learning, I joined a local public sector university, University of Balochistan, as a part-time lecturer of business and management in 2006. I wanted to build a career in academia, but I knew I had no way to survive until I earned a doctorate degree. Therefore, I started working toward it and was eventually successful in earning funding for PhD degree that resulted in my travel to Scotland to study a master’s degree at the University of Glasgow followed by the PhD.”
He continues, “I have always been very fond of playing cricket and wanted to become a professional cricketer, but, due to the unavailability of facilities in my home town, I decided to quit the sport and focus on my education to build a sustainable career. My wife is grateful I never became a sportsman because of the immense amount of sole travelling involved in it. My parents live in Pakistan and I have a young family and live with my wife Tabin and our 3 children; my gorgeous girl Saerene, and sons Muhammad, and Umer here. We chose to settle down in Canada due to the rich and peaceful family life this beautiful country has to offer. At the birth of our first child, Saerene, my wife and I went through a lot of emotional jerks that brought forth the philanthropist inside us and resulted in the creation of our on-demand delivery business called ‘Vdropp’ in 2017. The company is a ‘Social and Community Enterprise’ that aims at creating opportunities for our communities and bringing convenience to peoples’ lives with everything delivered to their door at affordable price. We intend to divert 50% of the company’s profits towards social and charitable causes specifically to help pregnant women and educate young children in poor countries. The young business is currently operating in four cities across two countries, Pakistan and Canada.”
Dr. Saud Taj explains HRMT 300 as “a very interesting course as it develops students’ foundation about planning the human resources of a firm. Being the most important asset of any company, it is extremely important to plan the entire process carefully. The course establishes and promotes the idea of HR being a strategic partner of the firm, thus elevating its status from being ‘just another department’ so that managers give it the importance it deserves, particularly in terms of planning the entire business. Students also get to learn the processes and techniques involved in human resource planning. The course also involves studying HR from an international perspective and the impact of mergers and acquisitions, which is a very common business phenomenon today.”
When asked to describe the structure of Human Resource Planning to students, he begins “HRMT300 is a very balanced course in terms of its structure and assessments. The course is divided into three units with a number of lessons in each of them. These individual lessons correspond to the textbook chapters so it is easier for the students to navigate through the entire course without any difficulty. The first unit establishes the fundamental building blocks of strategic HR with an introduction to the concepts and their links to human resource planning, how trends and issues are identified, and how organizations determine whether implementation of strategies, policies, and plans are successful.”
Dr. Taj continues, “The second unit focuses on the process of human resource forecasting and planning, thus enhancing students’ understanding about how the entire planning process is executed. The third and final unit of the course focuses on the strategic aspects of human resource planning with particular attention towards the international context of human resource planning.”
He concludes that “The assessments have been designed with careful consideration to students’ feedback toward earlier versions of the course. The course has 3 assignments (two theoretical and one multiple choice) followed by a final exam (multiple choice). Students are given a choice in the two theoretical assignments so they can choose to answer the question that is more appealing to them.”
As for what type of work ethic students will have to have to be successful in this course, he explains that “The course is not difficult at all. Of course, it comes with its own challenges, but these can be overcome with a carefully planned study schedule which the student will have to follow in order to smoothly sail through the course. In my opinion, it is a very interesting course.”
Dr. Saud Taj believes that “This course will strengthen students’ general understanding about HR and its planning process. Students will gain ideas about how to tackle with the HR function and will become better business planners.”
Whether HRMT 300 is a degree or program requirement of yours, or the topics discussed above seem to be of interest to you, this course will have you learning interesting material surrounding the topic of human resource planning.
