Which of the topics presented to you thus far in this course has been most difficult to understand? Why?
The hardest part of this course and this entire degree program for me has been that I am not from an HR background, as for the last two decades, I have been working in the Aircraft Maintenance field in the Air Force. I have to correlate HR concepts to my Air Force experience, which sometimes makes things challenging. The most difficult concept to understand so far had to be week one when it came to discussing PA and its relation to HR, as I did not understand what PA is.
Which of the topics presented thus far in this course has been most interesting and important to you? Why?
Personally, the most interesting and important concept presented so far was Herzberg's Motivational Theory in regard to employee satisfaction. Employee Engagement and Disengagement were interesting to me as well. Both of these concepts hit home as after almost 20 years of performing the same job at different levels, I am experiencing dissatisfaction and disengagement in my current role. These concepts also helped me understand job satisfaction and engagement levels that people working for me may be experiencing.
What are your recommendations to make this course better?
There were a few concepts I wish we would have touched on a little more, such as Performance Feedback and Federal Employment Laws. I am well versed in how these concepts are employed in the military; however, I would like to know more about their applications in the private sector.