MB 110: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SPRING SEMESTER, Monday 1:00 3:00 or by appointment. Office is at 22 Stone Avenue.

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1 MB 110: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SPRING SEMESTER, 2008 INSTRUCTOR: Prof. Brad Harrington, Executive Director Boston College Center for Work & Family 22 Stone Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA Website: (preferred) Phone: Office hours: Monday 1:00 3:00 or by appointment. Office is at 22 Stone Avenue. Course meetings: Mondays, 3:00-5:30, Cushing 333 Text / Materials: Denisi and Griffin, Human Resource Management (Available from BC Bookstore) Additional Course Readings Available on Blackboard Vista COURSE OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES In recent years, much has been written about the profound changes in the workplace and the composition and needs of the workforce. The employer-employee contract has been dramatically altered as organizations have moved from practices of lifelong (or at least long-term) employment to a free-agent approach to managing their workforce. This has led to many changes in the nature of human resource management as employees have adopted a career model which is increasingly organization-independent. Human Resources Management can refer to both a functional area (the HR department) and the activities of leadership that directly relate to the management of the workforce (i.e. what Douglas McGregor called in his classic work the human side of enterprise. ) This includes a very broad range of activities including HR planning, recruitment and selection, training, performance management, rewards systems, legal and ethical issues, and diversity. It also encompasses organizational systems and activities that include strategic planning, organizational communications, building and sustaining organizational culture, and individual and organizational development. Human resource management is impacted by many factors including the state of the economy, the labor market, the industry the organization operate in, the organization s strategy, philosophy, values and mission, its orientation toward its human resources, and the skills and competencies needed to for the organization to compete successfully. By the end of the course, students should have: A detailed understanding the many and complex factors that impact an organization s human resource strategy and initiatives An understanding of the main activities and priorities of an organization s HR function. A deeper level of insight into how an organization s HR offerings reflect the organization s mission, values, and strategy and are the basis of its competitive advantage. 1

2 MAJOR DELIVERABLES The major assignment and deliverables for the semester are: Tests: Over the course of the semester, two one-hour tests will be administered that will assess your knowledge and understanding of the key concepts covered in the text. These tests will be primarily short answers and / or multiple choice. HR Director of You, Inc. As you know - or will learn over the course of the semester - we are all selfemployed. What this means is that over the course of your career, you will need to be skilled at managing all aspects of HR for yourself plan your future, find appropriate jobs, assess your skills and training needs, know how to work in a diverse environment, and deal with continuous and disruptive change. This final paper will require you to develop a plan for how to ensure that you are employable, effective at marketing yourself, and skilled in the task of on-going development. Readings and participation: Every week there will be assigned readings that should be completed thoroughly. You should understand the content such that you are able to intelligently participate in class discussions. For more detailed information on how class participation will be evaluated, see the Class Participation section at the back of the syllabus. Optional Paper: If you feel your overall grade for the class could be enhanced by including another assignment into your portfolio, you have the option of writing a 4-6 page paper (double spaced) which explores a specific HR topic. Suggested topics and further details appear in the back of the syllabus. GRADING Grades will be determined as follows: Test #1 25% Test # 2 25% Final Paper 30% Class Participation 20% Total 100% All students are expected to understand the university s policy about academic integrity; it can be found at - integrity. Any violations of this policy will result in student s receiving penalties prescribed by the university. The library s Web site provides a list of writing resources to assist students in citing sources. These resources can be found at 2

3 DETAILED CLASS OUTLINE AND WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS Class number, Date, topic(s) 1/14/08 Class 1: Introduction and the Challenges facing HR Class agenda Introduction to course Instructor and class introductions Review of syllabus Video: In Good Company Discussion on dynamics of current business environment 1/21/08: No class Martin Luther King Day 1/28/08: Class 2 The Role of Human Resource Management Overview of Human Resource Management Major functions of HRM The Legal Environment Video: The Sins of the Fathers Case discussion: Sexual abuse and the Catholic Church Assignments due No required readings Read text: Chapter 1: The Nature of Human Resource Management Read text: Chapter 2: The Legal Environment Read: Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church 2/4/08 Class 3: The Global Environment 2/11/08 Class 4: The Competitive Environment; Analyzing Organizational responses Global Issues in HRM HR in international organizations International assignments HR & Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Strategy and HRM Human Resource Strategy McKinsey s 7-S Approach to Organizational Analysis Video: Imagine - HP Health Care Business and the Case for IIM Read text: Chapter 3: The Global Environment Read: Corporate Social Responsibility Pays Off Read: The Role of HR in Corporate Social Responsibility Read text: Chapter 4: The Competitive Environment Read: Peterman, Waters, and Philips, Structure is Not Organizations Read: The Case for Integrated Information Management 2/18/08 Class 5: HR Planning and Organizational Form & Structure 2/25/08 Class 6: Test 3/3/08: No class Spring Break 3/10/08 Class 7: Recruitment and Selection HR planning information Rightsizing and labor force adjustments Organizational Form and Structure Test 1 Sources of recruits The selection process Legal issues in staffing Read: Chapter 5: Information for Making HR Decisions Read: Chapter 6: Organizational Form and Structure Read: No required readings Read text: Chapter 7: Recruitment and Selection Read: TBA 3

4 3/17/08 Class 8: Diversity and Inclusion What is Workforce Diversity Dimensions of Diversity Managing Diversity in Organizations Read text: Chapter 8: Managing the Diverse Workforce Read: Brooks, The Identity Trap from the NY Times Read and prepare: Thomas: Diversity as a Strategy 3/24/08 No class Easter Monday 3/31/08 Class 9: Total Rewards and Performance Management 4/7/08 Class 10: The New Careers & Career Development; 4/14/08 Class 11: Workplace Health and Well-Being and Organizational Work- Family programs Compensation Strategy Wage & Salary Administration Benefits Performance Appraisal System 4/21/08 No Class Patriots Day 4/28/08 Class 12: HR as Change Agent: Organization Learning and Organization Development 5/5/08 Study Day The New Protean Career The Strong Interest Inventory Corporate Training and Development The Global Leaders Study Worker Health and Wellness programs Work-life challenges Flexible Work Arrangements Video: Hedrick Smith: Balancing Work & Family Facilitating organizational change Organizational Learning Systems Total Quality Management Test 2 Read text: Chapter 9: Compensation and Benefits Read text: Chapter 10: Performance Appraisal, pages Read text: Chapter 14: Incentives and Performance Based Rewards and Performance Management and Feedback pages Complete: Interview with Significant Others (2x) Read text: Chapter 10: The Nature of Careers, Pages Read text: Chapter 14, Training and Development, pages Read text: Chapter 12, Safety, Health and Well-Being pages Read text: Chapter 14: Alternative Work Arrangements, pages Read: Executive Briefing Series: Creating a Culture of Flexibility Optional reading: Get a Life Complete: Peak Experience Activity Read: Harrington, What is Organization Development? Read: Argyris, Teaching Smart People How to Learn 5/12/08 Pass in final paper: HR Director of You, Inc. 4

5 DETAILED INFORMATION ON PROJECT AND WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT FINAL PAPER: HR Director of You, Inc. As you know and will learn over the course of the semester, we are all self-employed. In spite of the fact that many or most of you will likely be working for an organization upon completion of your degree, eventually you will come to the realization that (a) primarily you are working for yourself and (b) therefore you need to be your own HR Director. What this means is that you will need to be skilled at managing all aspects of HR for yourself planning your future, finding appropriate jobs, assessing you skills and training needs, working in a diverse environment, dealing with continuous and disruptive change. This final paper will have you develop a plan for how best to ensure that you are employable, effective at marketing yourself, and skilled in the task of on-going development. Over the course of the semester, you will be given short assignments / exercises (2-4 pages) to complete. These will include for example: Creating 5 or 10-Years Out plan that identifies where you hope your career and life will lead you (The Ten Years Out Exercise) Thinking about what have been some of the high moments in your life up to this point (the Peak Experience Exercise) Assessing your skills, strengths, and weaknesses (The Interview with Significant Others) Completing an interest inventory that clarifies how your interests match with a variety of career options you might consider (The Strong Interest Inventory) Identifying the characteristics of an ideal future employer (The Ideal Employer Activity) At the end of the semester, you will be expected to turn in a final paper, with these attachments which is front-ended by a narrative describing how you will serve as HR manager for yourself. In the narrative section, you should describe: Section 1: What specifically did you learn from doing each of the different exercises? What insights / lessons did you learn from completing the Ten Years Out exercise, the Strong Interest Inventory, etc? Section 2: Your overall impression of what the activities in total might suggest about you career, your skills, interests and passions, etc. Section 3: Finally, since you are the HR Director of You, Inc. what things do you need to do to make yourself a more effective professional? Do you need to gain greater clarity of what work you want to do or what kind of employer you might want to work for? Do you need to re-align your career thinking to bring it more in-line with your interests? Are there new skills you need to develop? Further details for this paper will be provided during the course of the semester. This assignment will be due on May 12, 2008 (but can be turned in on May 5 th if it is ready.) 5

6 OPTIONAL PAPER: CONTEMPORARY HR ISSUES This paper will ask you to look carefully at a critical, contemporary issue in the HR arena. It may be a controversial issue that is presently receiving a high level of attention in the media or political discourse or it may be an area that organizations and their HR functions are currently addressing - where innovative programs are being implemented to address important workforce challenges. The goal is to research the issue so that you can present a reasonable assessment of what is occurring in this area and if it is controversial, what are the two sides of this issue. 1. What had led to the current situation? For example, why have organizations outsourced jobs or begun to offer work-life benefits? 2. What are the organizational responses that are occurring in this arena? 3. Are the responses that you have surfaced in your research effective? For example, are flexible work arrangements and work-life initiatives really helping employees achieve greater balance or are they merely window dressing? You can locate information about these critical issues and innovative practices in trade publication (HR Magazine, Diversity, etc.), business journals and magazines (Harvard Business Review, Business Week, Fortune, etc.), books, and / or newspapers (e.g. The Wall Street Journal) as well as on relevant web sites. The challenges, issues, and initiatives that I would suggest you consider include the following: HR Function Staffing Diversity Total Rewards Labor Relations Health and Wellness Work-Life Innovative Practice or Critical Issue 1. Immigrants and their impact on Low-Wage Jobs 2. Global Outsourcing of Jobs 3. Generational Diversity 4. The Aging Workforce 5. Rising Executive Compensation (and wage disparity between executive and their workers.) 6. The Crisis of Escalating Health Care Costs 7. The Hollywood Writers Strike 8. Organizational Strategies to Helping Employees Handle Workload and Stress 9. New Generation Male Workforce: Breadwinner and Father This deliverable can be submitted at any point in the semester but no later than April 17, The grade you receive will be factored in as a fifth grade along with your tests, final paper, and class participation. 6

7 GRADING CRITERIA FOR CLASS PARTICIPATION Students are expected to participate in and help shape the learning environment in this course. Students should come prepared for each class by reading the assigned chapter(s) from the text, preparing any assigned cases, and being generally informed about management issues (through regular reading of Fortune, Business Week, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, or other reputable business magazines or newspaper sections). You will be evaluated based on your level of high quality, frequent participation. Here are some general guidelines about grading for participation: Excellent Participation (A): Volunteers relevant information from reading and personal experience, while also accommodating the needs of others to participate Provides information that moves the discussion forward rather than reiterating what others have said or sidetracking the discussion Asks timely questions for clarification or further exploration of the topic at hand Demonstrates excellent ability to apply, analyze, and synthesize course material Demonstrates willingness to take risks in attempting to answer questions that the class finds challenging Misses class only for an unavoidable emergency Good Participation (B): Participates regularly and voluntarily in class discussions Offers comments that are useful and relevant to topics being discussed Demonstrates ability to apply, analyze, and synthesize course material Misses classes rarely Fair Participation (C): Participates in class discussion when solicited Offers comments that are relevant to topics being discussed Attends class regularly, but misses more than others Poor Participation (any of the following) (D): Participates in discussion occasionally and reluctantly Offers comments that are often irrelevant, inaccurate, and not useful Misses class frequently Unacceptable Participation (any of the following) (F): Fails to participate, even when solicited Offers comments that are inappropriate Offers comments or behaves in ways that are distracting or disruptive Misses class regularly 7