The American University of Beirut’s Business Faculty is now offering a human resources management specialization, both at the undergraduate and MBA levels. It is the first such specialization in the region. EXECUTIVE spoke with professor Imad Zbeeb, who is overseeing the launch.
Why are you launching this specialization?
I realized, after doing some studies and research in Lebanon and the region that human resources management is not being taught in the right way. There is a need in the region for strategic human resources management skills. As part of several studies, we interviewed top managers in different institutions and organizations – in the banking, manufacturing, and other sectors – and we realized that human resources management, in many cases, doesn’t get its fair share of attention, and that those who are in charge of personnel departments do not have formal human resources management training.
How will it be implemented?
Here at AUB, we offer, of course, BAs in business administration, and management was one of the concentrations. We decided to break the management concentration down into clusters, to provide more specialties – and human resources management is one of them. So now, those who choose management as a concentration can pick either human resources, or entrepreneurship, as a cluster. For the human resources management cluster, we have designed a number of courses, such as employee development, training, compensation, human resources management and strategic human resources management.
At the graduate level, the management concentration has been divided into organizational behavior and human resources management.
What has the response been?
Many students and employees have shown an interest. Feedback from employers and AUB alumni suggests that a high number feel a human resources management concentration is a very good idea. Students are realizing that a general degree in management is not going to be very marketable, so they want specialties – human resources management, production operations management, or strategic management. They know how important these specialties are. My target, at the undergraduate level, is to have 125 to 130 students specializing in human resources management. At the graduate level, I’m expecting every year somewhere between 25 and 30.
How do you market the course to students?
We raise awareness during basic, core courses like management and marketing. That is when students are ‘shopping’ for concentrations. And we invite guest speakers from the private industry who provide more insight into the importance and relevance of human resources management. Students’ awareness is also raised during their Junior year internship, when they realize the importance of a company’s human resources department.
Does this move reflect a desire maintain your alignment with US university programs?
Yes. Many of us here at the School of Business received our education abroad. Many of us have come from the United States. I spent 19-plus years in the United States, teaching in the areas of management. I chaired a department of management at one of the universities I taught at. So, we brought this American mindset with us. Many of our courses are interdisciplinary in nature. We follow the American system of education, in most cases. In addition, most of us here provide consultancy services to the private sector in the region. And those of us who were in the States, apply our American experience. So yes, we do integrate all of the practical needs that we have learned to respond to into our courses, and they are in alignment with what is being taught now in the United States.
How did you prepare for its implementation?
In addition to our experience in the field, we visited the websites of some of the world’s most prestigious universities and checked their curricula. And then we came up with what we feel is a very solid human resources management model. So, it’s basically a combination of our skills here at the School of Business – especially in the department of management, marketing and entrepreneurship – and the research we did on what is being taught and how it’s being taught.
Do you expect other universities in Lebanon and the region to follow suit?
Yes, and it would be healthy. The country and region are in need of such programs. It would be a compliment to us, not a threat.
How has the lack of human resources management skills affected the productivity of companies in Lebanon and the region?
The issues of employee development, training and motivation have suffered. For example, Lebanese companies don’t invest very much in training. They don’t realize how important training and development is. In the area of salaries and compensation, there is no structure. Employees don’t know about many issues within the company. Awareness, commitment, all of these are lacking.
How do you see the program developing over the next few years?
At some point, we would like to have a degree in human resources management – both a BA, and an MBA. Many schools in the States offer such degrees. This would require more courses, more electives, and more faculty, and this requires time and resources. We would need at least 10 different courses in human resources management.
I would also like to start a human resources management chapter on campus; something like the “Society for Human Resources Management.” These are American and international organizations.
Is there a possibility the program may not generate enough interest to survive, or evolve into a degree?
There is no risk of that. Our faculty is highly qualified. AUB has a very fine reputation in the region. We’re going to promote the cluster now, and the program later, very, very aggressively. There is demand for human resources management skills in the region. We will be contacting employers to tell them that we have this concentration. Our graduates will be our ambassadors in the future. We’ll do whatever it takes. All you need is: need, awareness, and commitment – and we have all of that.
