HRL 500: HR Strategy, Operating Models, and Global Workforce

The HR function itself is an organizational system that can be designed well or poorly, and the leaders who design it well are the ones who treat HR as a strategic partner to the business rather than an administrative function reporting to it. This course examines how organizations structure their HR function, including centralized versus decentralized models, the HR business partner model, centers of excellence, shared services, and outsourcing decisions, and how those structures shape the function's ability to deliver strategic value across geographic and cultural contexts. Students apply strategic and diagnostic frameworks to assess HR function maturity and operating model fit, evaluate HR's role as a strategic business partner, examine the design choices required to manage a global or multi-jurisdictional workforce, and analyze how inclusive infrastructure is built into the HR function from the ground up rather than added as an afterthought. Students complete the course with an HR Function Analysis of an organization of their choice that becomes one of three foundation deliverables they integrate into their Strategic HR Plan in HRL 530.