I want to be an HR manager. What are some things I need to look for in the curriculum while applying for MBA HR management courses at different B-schools? - Sahitya Srinivasan
There are two clusters of HR management — transactional HR and transformational HR — that you will encounter as you prepare yourself for a career in HR. What you seek in a curriculum would largely depend on your primary interest between the two. Transactional HR is largely operational HR that covers all HR transactions, HR processes and is primarily about you being efficient and process-driven. Transformational HR on the other hand is more strategic HR that covers behavioural, psychosocial and organisational dynamics.
As both are known to be equally cognitive and rewarding as a career, it can be an interesting choice to make. All popular academic curriculum strike a balance on courses that cover both genres. However, you may want to assess the comparative loading of courses and topics from both clusters. If you do pick up an operations-centric curriculum, look for balancing it with electives from the strategic HR cluster, and vice versa.
Along with the curriculum balance, it would be good to also look at the faculty profile for the mix of academicians and faculty from the industry. Most importantly, choose campuses after looking through their current alumni. Your career is going to be built through your alumni network, so observe where the alumni are working today and see if the companies or the work they are part of aligns with your aspirations