Tom Russell is a junior in the school of business administration at a large midwestern university. Tom, who is an honor student, hasn’t fully decided what his major should be. He has considered majoring in management, but just can’t get excited about the field; it seems to be too general. Tom’s first course in management did appeal to him; however, this was largely because of the professor. Tom decided to talk to this professor about his dilemma. The following conversation occurred:
Tom: Professor, I would like your advice on selecting a major field of study. Right now, I just don’t know what to do.
Professor: Tom, just let me say that you are making an important decision, and your concern is justified. How many courses have you taken in the School of Business Administration?
Tom: Only your introductory course in management, a basic course in marketing, and a statistics course, I do know that I don’t want to major in statistics!
Professor: How about majoring in human resource management? Tom: I don’t think so. That is basically a staff job that can’t really lead anywhere. Professor: Hold on, Tom, I think I’d better tell you a little more about human resource management.
Questions
1. If you were the professor, what would you tell Tom?
2. Specifically, what future trends do you see that might help persuade Tom to major in Human Resource Management?