Hi
I am software engineer working for perot systems .
I wanted to know if an MBA is absolutely necessary to get into the HR line or do companies recruit engineers as HR managers ?
What are the skillls u would be looking for when you recruit HR managers ?
Please help ,
Smitha

From India, Bangalore
This is my personal view:
Becoming a HR Manager is not with MBA degree, its all with you, how you are with people, You need to be a good motivator, decision maker, but they do look at your experience etc, If you have led a group as Team leader or as a project manager etc will add value. If not MBA, you can take up short term diploma courses on HR.

From India, Bangalore
ENGINEER OR MBA for HR ROLE.

FIRST, review the activities / roles/ competencies.

HR MANAGER'S ACTIVITIES, ROLES, COMPETENCES.

1. HR MANAGER'S ACTIVTIES.

The activities carreied out by HR MANAGER will vary widely

according to the needs of the organization, the context within

which they work and their own capabilites.

SERVICE

As a broad guideline, the HR provide services to the organization

-human resource planning

-recruitment / selection

-employee development

-reward systems

-employee relations

-health/safety management

-staff amenities

-salary administration

-personnel administration

etc etc.

GUIDANCE

To varying degrees, HR MANAGERS provide guidance to the

management, like

-recommendations on HR STRATEGIES

-culture change

-approaches to the improvements of process capability

-performance management

-reward management

-HR policies/ procedures

etc

ADVICE

HR managers provide advice to line managers, and management

in general

-recruitment advertising

-selection short lists

-training needs

-health/ safety

-handling people / problems associated

-industrial relations

etc etc

2. ROLES

As we digest the activities, it leads us to the ROLE OF

HR MANAGER.

HR MANAGER plays different roles.

BUSINESS PARTNER ROLE.

-share responsibility with their line management for the success

of the business and the running of the business.

STRATEGIST ROLE

-contribute to the long term / strategic organizational issues like

*people selection

*people requirement

*people development

*organization development

*quality of worklife

etc

INTERVENTIONIST ROLE

-proactively contributes to the change management, people

management, team development, new technology introduction

etc etc

INTERNAL CONSULTANCY ROLE

-acts as a management consultant on HR ISSUES working

alongside the line managers.

MONITORING ROLE

-monitors the implementation of HR policies / procedures.

3. COMPETENCIES.

The analysis of the activities and the roles leads us to

the question

WHAT ARE THE COMPETENCIES REQUIRED FOR A

SUCCESSFUL HR MANAGER?

The suggested competencies are

-initative

-personal effectiveness

-human relations handling skills

-leadership skills

-professional knowledge of HR

-adding value through people development

-continuing learning

-strategic thinking capability

-influencing

-negotiating skills

-interpersonal skills

-business / culture awareness

-service delivery

-communication [ oral/ written ]

-presentation

etc

THIS LEADS TO THE QUESTION,

irrespective of your background [ engineer/economics/commerce]

DO YOU NEED A MBA to be an effective HR LEADER.

It is not a "must" , but

YES, it is useful and provides a good foundation on which

you can build a HR CAREER.

IN ADDITION, YOU MUST ALSO CONSIDER THE ENTRY POINT,

AT THE POINT OF INTERVIEW

DO THE EMPLOYERS PREFER MBAs.

TO THIS , I CAN ALSO ADD

WHO MAKES YOUR CAREER?

IT IS YOU.

GOOD LUCK

REGARDS

LEO LINGHAM

HR MANAGER'S ACTIVITIES, ROLES, COMPETENCES.

1. HR MANAGER'S ACTIVTIES.

The activities carreied out by HR MANAGER will vary widely

according to the needs of the organization, the context within

which they work and their own capabilites.

SERVICE

As a broad guideline, the HR provide services to the organization

-human resource planning

-recruitment / selection

-employee development

-reward systems

-employee relations

-health/safety management

-staff amenities

-salary administration

-personnel administration

etc etc.

GUIDANCE

To varying degrees, HR MANAGERS provide guidance to the

management, like

-recommendations on HR STRATEGIES

-culture change

-approaches to the improvements of process capability

-performance management

-reward management

-HR policies/ procedures

etc

ADVICE

HR managers provide advice to line managers, and management

in general

-recruitment advertising

-selection short lists

-training needs

-health/ safety

-handling people / problems associated

-industrial relations

etc etc

2. ROLES

As we digest the activities, it leads us to the ROLE OF

HR MANAGER.

HR MANAGER plays different roles.

BUSINESS PARTNER ROLE.

-share responsibility with their line management for the success

of the business and the running of the business.

STRATEGIST ROLE

-contribute to the long term / strategic organizational issues like

*people selection

*people requirement

*people development

*organization development

*quality of worklife

etc

INTERVENTIONIST ROLE

-proactively contributes to the change management, people

management, team development, new technology introduction

etc etc

INTERNAL CONSULTANCY ROLE

-acts as a management consultant on HR ISSUES working

alongside the line managers.

MONITORING ROLE

-monitors the implementation of HR policies / procedures.

3. COMPETENCIES.

The analysis of the activities and the roles leads us to

the question

WHAT ARE THE COMPETENCIES REQUIRED FOR A

SUCCESSFUL HR MANAGER?

The suggested competencies are

-initative

-personal effectiveness

-human relations handling skills

-leadership skills

-professional knowledge of HR

-adding value through people development

-continuing learning

-strategic thinking capability

-influencing

-negotiating skills

-interpersonal skills

-business / culture awareness

-service delivery

-communication [ oral/ written ]

-presentation

etc

THIS LEADS TO THE QUESTION,

DO YOU NEED A MBA to be an effective HR LEADER.

It is not a "must" , but

YES, it is useful and provides a good foundation on which

you can build a HR CAREER.

From India, Mumbai
wow

tht was nice mr leo...now wenever i need to telll some HR ILLITERATE abt HR...il show thm ur post...

n smitha.....i think mr leo n pramod are absoultely right....i second thm ....i actually third thm...but u get the point na. :D

ok..this is wt i feel......do u watch the apprentice...they have this season on the book smarts vs the street smart.....i have seen only 2 episodes so far n in both...the ppl woh did not have a degree have won...they have made it for themselves......i m waiting to watch the remaining episodes.... welll comin to the point.... i wld say i think its passion .... u dint need a degree to make u smart......u need SKA - skill knowledge and attribute...

n a lil bit of passion ... but ther may be companies who will be stuck on degrees...so do a correspondence course or somethin na.....or a diploma from wellinkars.....

i wish u luck ...may u be a good HR manager... :wink:

HR + ENGINEER ...thts a nice combo....i think ul prosper in IT companies

PS - these r my undergrad views.....i may be wrong...anyway...good luck n let us know wt u end up doin...

From India, Mumbai
Smitha, MBA in HR would be an added advantage, you can correlate a lot of HR subjects in a better manner. You would definitely have an edge over others

Hi Smitha,
I dont think having an MBA is a must. But for an engineer who necessarily must have subordinates to lead, you need a formal knowledge of basic principles in HR or personnel management.
Thus, obtaining an MBA degree may then be an indication that you have really undergone a formal training in the art of managing people towards achieving organizational growth.
yemiadegbola

From Nigeria, Lagos
I think an MBA could be an added advantage. But there are no hard and fast rules. You make your own rules. Its like u can get a number 10 by 5+5, 5*2, 15-5......what I mean to say is that there is no perfect formula to do something. If you know what you want, just pluge into it. You cant keep waiting for the perfect tools(MBA) to begin something( HR ). Start where you stand.
From India, Mumbai
Education can give you knowledge about an area and thus can change your thinking and view. You can think more deeply if you have a knowlege of a subject
but for an effective HR Manager, more than education is your "Sense", You might have seen many stupid Managers "without sense and logic" but with a good MBA degree
DhiruBhai Ambani was a man with great vision and sense, without formal education.

From India, New Delhi
Hello Smitha:

>I wanted to know if an MBA is absolutely necessary

to get into the HR line or do companies recruit

engineers as HR managers ?<

Why recruit an engineer for an HR manager position? Would we recruit an HR professional with no engineering knowledge to be an engineering manager? I hope not.

>What are the skills u would be looking for when you recruit HR managers?<

There is a body of knowledge that almost all engineers don't possess. Obtain the knowledge prior to the job search.

An engineer should earn an MBA if she has any desire to manage a department, a division, or a business. Earning an MBA does not mean you'll be a good manager but it does mean you'll have the knowledge to be effective. There is huge difference between have the knowledge and having the talent to be an effective manager. Talent doesn't come from a book.



I also recommend an MBA for engineers who want to understand the business of engineering. By the way I am a business consultant, professional engineer and possess an MBA. The MBA program was far more interesting and challenging than my undergraduate and graduate engineering studies.

From United States, Chelsea
A company may not like to place engineer for the job of HR managers but as in today organizations specially where CMMss are implemented you will see employee cross department function participation like RMG and SDG.
so a person may devote more percentage of his/her in different depts based upon requirement if not able to be a full time HR manager that i'm sure he or she may not like to ???
Umalme

From India, Delhi
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