State Laws and HR Functions

State Laws and Human Resource Functions

• Enactment of state laws has significantly contributed to the growth and importance of human resource functions.
• Laws require extensive record keeping and reporting, leading to increased workload and additional staff for human resource departments.

Key Areas Influenced by Legislation

• Equal employment: Organizations must comply with laws regulating this area to avoid costly consequences.
• Compensation: Compliance with laws regulating compensation is crucial to avoid unfair salary structures and promotion decisions.
• Safety: Legislation has a significant impact on safety regulations in the workplace.
• Labor relations: Organizations must comply with laws regulating labor relations to avoid penalties and lawsuits.

Importance of Consistency in Human Resource Policies

• Consistency is crucial in compensation and promotion decisions to ensure equity within the organization.
• Human resource policies help maintain consistency and fairness in decision-making processes.
• Without HR department coordination, salary structures tend to become uneven, and promotion decisions may be unfair.

Course Overview

• The course uses the primary textbook "Essentials of Corporate Finance" by Ross, Westerfield, and Jordan, fourth edition, McGraw Hill Publishers.
• Reference books include "Introduction to Finance" by Lawrence J. Gitman and Jeff Madura, and "Foundations of Financial Management" by Stanley B. Block and Geoffrey A. Hirt.

Course Contents

• The course covers eleven topics:
  • Financial Environment
  • Financial Statements, Taxes, and Cash Flows
  • Time Value of Money and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
  • Valuation of Stocks and Bonds
  • Net Present Value and other Investment Criteria
  • Capital Investment Decision
  • Risk and Return
  • Cost of Capital
  • Leverage and Capital Structure
  • Raising Capital
  • Working Capital Management
  • Dividends

Finance: A Quick Look

• Finance encompasses four basic areas:
  • Business Finance
  • Investments
  • Financial Institutions
  • International Finance

Business Finance

• Addresses three key questions:
  • What long-term investments should the firm engage in?
  • How can the firm raise the money for the required investments?
  • How much short-term cash flow does a company need to pay its bills?

Investments

• Deals with financial assets such as stocks and bonds.
• Covers three key issues:
  • Pricing Financial Assets
  • Associated Risks and Rewards
  • Determining the best mixture of financial investments
• Career opportunities in investment include:
  • Stock Brokerage
  • Portfolio Management
  • Security Analysis

Financial Institutions

• Businesses dealing in financial matters, including:
  • Banks
  • Insurance companies

International Finance

• Covers international aspects of corporate finance, investment, and financial institutions.