A running theme over the past few months has been Zombie HR.  Ben Eubanks has written "10 Reasons to Hire Zombies."  Doug Shaw made his own contribution with "Zombie HR." Jay Kuhns wrote last week that "Service Zombies are not World Class."  Today, Dwane Lay staked his claim with "The CDC and the Zombie Apocolypse."

Coincidentally, the University of California-Santa Barbara has taken a new approach to the zombie discussion:

About 800 students showed up to The Hub at 8 p.m. for the second annual Zombie Debate hosted by Associated Students’ Program Board to hear six professors argue why their area of study would be most valuable in surviving a zombie attack.

This year, the participants were Walid Afifi of Communication, Rusty Busto of Religious Studies, Tamsin German of Psychology, Glenn Beltz of Engineering, Candace Waid of English and Comparative Literature, and the newest champion, John Latto of Biology, whose prize was bragging rights.

Each professor used a different tactic to sway audience members, ranging from Afifi’s use of digital maps to show where zombies had attacked and Twitter feeds to get updates on what was going on, to Busto surprising the audience by pulling out a chainsaw to prove his point that the Religious Studies Department employs the necessary tools.

Missing from the debate was the perspective of a professor of human resource management were invited to the debate.  So, why might HR be uniquely suited to handle a zombie attack?

1. Experience  - HR professionals have spent many years dealing with employees whose dedication and passion have long since disappeared.
2. Knowledge - Given the private discussions they have with many employees, they know where those bodies are buried and can act accordingly.
3. Being a Credible Activist - By delivering results with integrity and sharing information, they can build relationships of trust with our new zombie overlords.

So, have at it folks...why would studying HR provide you with an advantage in dealing with a zombie attack?