Human Relations
Technically, this section of my portfolio website was a class assignment in the Human Relations capstone. I have decided to include it, though, because I am proud of the work I did throughout my various Human Relations courses. I did not need to take any of the classes under this major, but I decided it would provide me with a good background on both teamwork and leadership.
Despite not being an HR major or minor, I dove in to the assignments and tasks as if I was. I even became the team lead for the capstone’s group project, something my team would joke about since I did not even need to take the class yet became one of the people in charge.
Human Relations focuses on how people interact with one another and the reasons behind those interactions. It helps us understand how to work more effectively with others. Everyone engages in Human Relations daily, often without even realizing it. The environment we are in can influence these interactions, as well as our upbringing and personal perspectives. Prejudices and biases can also shape how we treat others. Human Relations helps explain these factors, including why some interactions may be negative. It offers guidance on how individuals should be treated.
What is HR?
What is the difference between Human Relations and Human Resources?
Human Relations studies how people interact with one another with the goal of using information to build positive and productive relationships or workplaces. At its core, Human Relations focuses on understanding behavior, communication and group dynamics with the goal of creating an effective work environment. Human Relations prioritizes the idea that people are individuals with various emotions and needs, and that these must be addressed in order to improve cooperation and performance. Human Relations focuses on developing communication, interpersonal, leadership and conflict resolution skills. Human Relations is crucial for employee satisfaction, productivity and organizational culture.
Human Resources is the function within an organization that focuses on management. Human Resources focuses on hiring and training. Human Resources is a structured system that manages people and their roles within a given organization. Human Resources revolves around the idea that employees are an asset. Training and development are among the top priorities in Human Resources, as opposed to communication and emotions in Human Relations. Human Resources has more of a rigid structure, with a focus on policies, systems and the management of employees. Human Resources is policy and structure driven.
Service Learning is learning through action. By engaging in service, we gain experience interacting with people whose circumstances differ from our own. It pushes us beyond our comfort zones and gives us the opportuntiy to make a meaningful impact on the community around us. Service Learning helps develop important skills such as planning, research, verbal and nonverbal communication, and leadership. At its core, it is about collaborating with others to improve the community, making it valuable not just for the individual, but for everyone invovled. Service Learning plays a significant role in deepening one’s understanding of their community.
My service learning project revolved around food insecurity. My group saw a need in the Norman community, so we partnered with City Care, a homeless shelter in Norman. This shelter does not have a kitchen, so our provision of food was more than a kind gesture, it was a necessity. We provided dinner five times at the shelter, and the meals included salad, warm food and dessert. On the nights when we did not have a meal plan, we still served the community in other ways. We helped organize the shelter’s closet and filled the outdoor mini food pantries around the city. This experience taught me how to be a better leader and communicator, and it also taught me that even the smallest gestures can make a difference in the community around me.
What is Service Learning?
Projects and Papers
A lot of my assignments in Human Relations have revolved around teamwork and self-reflection. As seen below, presentations and papers have been a large part of my completed projects.
I took courses in Human Relations as electives, but I quickly decided that I wanted to continue taking the courses and learning more.
“Teaching Time” was one of our group presentations designed to provide our classmates with beneficial information surrounding a selected human relations term. My group decided to focus on listening for our presentation, so we researched various tips and tricks to become better listeners and shared them with our class.
Another big assignment from my courses in Human Relations was my research paper done on a topic that related to my future career. I want to work in athletics, so I researched and explained evidence surrounding sexism in sports. This paper allowed me to gain a new understanding of what I might face as a woman in sports. I also created a presentation addressing the issues women in sports face.
One of the most meaningful projects I worked on was performing and presenting on Random Acts of Kindness. For this project, I baked cookies and handed them (along with kind notes) out around campus with my group. We then presented on what we did and tied it to various Human Relations concepts.
Other projects and papers that have provided me with good experiences were the various reflections in my Service Learning class. The project I led focused on Food Insecurity, and most of my assignments from this class involved thinking about my experience in more strategic and reflective ways.