MHR 305: Human Resource Management A Strategic Approach Fall 2011 Instructor Dr. Jean A. Grube 4250B Grainger Hall Office Hours: T & R 1-4 and by appointment Email: jgrube@bus.wisc.edu Phone: 262-1893 (office don t leave messages) Phone: 217-1525 (cell okay to leave messages) Lectures Lecture 1: TR 11:00, 2120 Grainger Lecture 2: TR 12:05, 2120 Grainger Discussion Leader Kate Geier 1290 Grainger Hall Email: kgeier@wisc.edu Phone: 617-913-7284 (cell okay to leave messages) Office Hours: T & R 3-4:30 and by appointment Discussion Sections Disc 301: F 8:50, 2167 Grainger Disc 302: F 9:55, 2167 Grainger Disc 303: F 11:00, 2167 Grainger Disc 304: F 12:05, 2167 Grainger Disc 305: F 1:20, 2167 Grainger Course Objectives The mission of Human Resource Management (MHR 305) is to provide a solid conceptual, analytical, and skillbased foundation to support a future career as an HR professional, general manager, or individual contributor in a wide variety of organizations and industries. After completing this course, students should be able to: 1. Understand what the human resource management function does and why it is critical for employee, managerial and organizational effectiveness. 2. Apply a "strategic HR perspective" to effectively diagnose HR problems in relation to the larger organizational and external environmental context. 3. Develop effective HR policies and systems to support the achievement of employee, managerial, and organizational objectives. 4. Develop effective action plans for resolving common HR problems 1
Course Structure Lecture There will be two, fifty-minute lectures each week. The purpose of lecture is to provide a conceptual foundation to will help students to understand HR processes, objectives, and contemporary trends and challenges. Lecture content will be based on a mix of the textbook and material from outside sources. The PowerPoint presentations used in lecture can be downloaded from the course website - Learn@UW. (Note: students must attend the lecture for which they are registered.) All assignments will be posted to the Learn@UW website on a weekly basis. There will also be readings assigned and these will be posted to the website. Students are responsible for checking the website regularly for posted assignments. Discussion Section There will be one discussion section each week. The primary purpose of discussion is to analyze, apply, and evaluate HR concepts, principles and methods presented in lecture. This may involve the use of case studies, article analyses and various experiential exercises. Regular attendance and active participation in discussion section is essential for helping students to do well on examinations and in the course, in general. Please note that examinations will contain questions based specifically on discussion section activities and that 15% of your course grade is based on your participation in discussion section. Textbook Fundamentals of Human Resource Management; 4 th edition. This textbook may be purchased from the textbook stores on campus. A copy of the textbook will be placed on reserve in the Business Library. In addition to the print book for sale in the bookstore, the required text for this course is available online in a CourseSmart ebook. A subscription to a CourseSmart ebook is about half of the printed book price (of course there is nothing to sell back at the end of the semester). Within the ebook, you can print, highlight and take notes and search for key terms. To learn more about going green this semester and choosing an eco-friendly ebook option, visit www.coursesmart.com and search for this course s required text. Connect McGraw-Hill Connect is a web-based assignment and assessment platform that gives students the means to better connect with their coursework and with their instructors. Students must register for Connect (instructions are posted to the MHR305 course homepage). Students are required to complete weekly assignments. Assignments will be posted to the Connect websites on Friday and due the following Thursday. Examinations There will be one midterm exam given on Thursday, October 27 th at 7:15-9:15 pm. The exam will consist of multiple-choice and essay questions. The exam will be balanced between conceptual and application and test material from lecture, discussion section, the textbook and other assigned readings. It is worth 15% of your final grade. Final Exam The final exam will include all material since the midterm as well as some material from the first part of the semester. The final exam is worth 20% of the final grade. An alternate exam will be given for students who have a documented, direct exam conflict or three exams in the 24 hour period surrounding the final exam for this course. Students Working with the McBurney Disability Center If you are a student working with the McBurney Disability Center and you are entitled to special testing accommodations, please do the following: 2
1. Submit a copy of your visa to your TA by September 29 th. 2. Complete the necessary paperwork (from McBurney) so any necessary accommodations can be made. This must be done one week prior to each exam. Academic Misconduct The University of Wisconsin has expressed increasing concern about academic misconduct. As instructors, it is our responsibility to investigate all incidents in which one or more students engage in behavior that may constitute academic misconduct. The most common form of academic misconduct involves students who "cheat" on examinations by copying the answers to exam questions from another student or by using unauthorized materials (e.g., notes) during an exam. During all exams administered each semester, exam proctors will identify any students engaging in suspicious behavior (e.g., exposing their exam for others to observe, looking at another student's exam). After the exam is over, the student(s) exams will be examined and a formal investigation may proceed. This will involve holding a formal meeting with the student(s), the instructor, teaching assistant, and the Chair of the Management and Human Resources Department. Based on this meeting, disciplinary action may be taken against the student. Serious acts of academic misconduct may result in the student(s) involved receiving a failing grade in the course or even expulsion from the University. The bottom line - do not engage in behaviors during an exam that would raise questions regarding academic misconduct. Case Studies Students will be required to analyze two case studies and work in groups of three. Students will be required to purchases these cases from the Business School Copy Center. Each case costs approximately $6. Due to copyright laws, even if you work in groups, each student must purchase his or her own copy of the case. Lecture Participation Attending lecture is not mandatory; however, participation through I-clicker counts for 15% of the course grade. The I-clicker system takes attendance and allows students to answer questions during the lecture. Questions are based on lecture, readings posted to the website or textbook readings. Points will not be given in the first week so that students can become familiar with the I-clicker system. After the first week, students can earn 6 points for each class. Two points are given for just attending lecture. If your clicker malfunctions during class or you forget your clicker, you must notify the instructor to receive attendance points. In addition, the instructor brings extra clickers to class that students can borrow. Students must register their I-clickers. Instructions for I- clicker registration are posted on Learn@UW. Discussion Participation Participation in discussion section activities will be worth 15% of your course grade. This score is assessed by your TA based on his evaluation of your attendance and the quality of your involvement in discussion section activities. The specific participation grading standards will be discussed in the first discussion session. Authorized Absences 1. Excused absences will not have an adverse effect on a student s discussion participation grade unless he/she demonstrates a consistent pattern of missing classes. 2. Reasons that constitute an authorized absence are strictly limited to job interviews, official university events (e.g., student organization field trips or university athletic events), religious holidays, and personal 3
illness. Note that weddings and Bar Mitzvahs are considered to be religious holidays under this policy. Unauthorized Absences 1. Reasons that do NOT constitute an authorized absence include, but are not limited to: family affairs (e.g., special gathering, birthday parties, etc.), other social events, non-emergency-related doctor's appointments, and conflicts with part-time job schedules. IMPORTANT: If you are going to miss discussion section for a reason other than illness, you must e- mail your TA by noon on Thursday and provide him with a detailed explanation of your reason for needing to miss discussion that week. If the reason for missing is an illness, e-mail your TA no later than 8:00 a.m. on the day of the discussion section. 3. Students who miss discussion section with an authorized absence will be given a written discussion makeup assignment that must be e-mailed to their TA by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday after the missed discussion section. Grading The general grading standards for this course are shown below. Percentage Correct on a Given Exam or Assignment Approximate Letter Grade 92.5-100% A 87.5 92.4% AB 82.5-87.4% B 77.5-82.4 BC 72.5-77.4% C 67.5-72.4% D Below 67.4 F Final course grades will be based on the following elements: Course Element Midterm Exam #1 15% Final Exam 20% Case Studies (& other assignments) Case 1 Case 2 Connect exercises Percent of Grade 12.5% 12.5% 10% Discussion Participation 15% Lecture Participation 15% 4
Date Week Lecture Topic Textbook Reading Week 1 Class 1 Introduction to Human Resource Chapter 1 T 9/6 Management (HRM) R 9/8 Class 2 Trends in HRM Chapter 2 F 9/9 Disc 1 Week 2 Class 3 Strategic Human Resource Reading: T 9/13 Management R 9/15 Class 4 Strategic Human Resource Management F 9/16 Disc 2 Week 3 Class 5 HR Legal Environment Chapter 3 T 9/20 R 9/22 Class 6 HR Legal Environment F 9/23 Disc 3 Week 4 Class 7 HR Legal Environment T 9/27 R 9/29 Class 8 HR Legal Environment F 9/30 Disc 4 Week 5 Class 9 Work Analysis and Design Chapter 4 T 10/4 R 10/6 Class 10 Work Analysis and Design F 10/7 Disc 5 Week 6 Class 11 Guest Speaker: Rob Britton T 10/11 R 10/13 Class 12 Planning and Recruiting Chapter 5 F 10/14 Disc 6 Week 7 T 10/18 Class 13 Guest Speaker: Mickey Durmick- Nestles R 10/20 Class 14 Selecting Employees Chapter 6 F 10/21 Disc 7 Case 1 due Week 8 T 10/25 Class 15 Selecting Employees R 10/27 Class 16 MIDTERM EXAM 7:15-9:15 PM NO CLASS F 10/28 Disc 8 NO DISCUSSION Week 9 Class 17 Training Employees Chapter 7 T 11/1 R 11/3 Class 18 Performance Management Chapter 8 F 11/4 Disc 9 Week 10 Class 19 Performance Management T 11/8 R 11/10 Class 20 Separating and Retaining Chapter 10 Employee F 11/11 Disc 10 Week 11 Class 21 Pay Structure Chapter 11 5
T 11/15 R 11/17 Class 22 Pay Structure F 11/18 Disc 11 Week 12 Class 23 Recognizing Employee Chapter 12 T 11/22 Contributions with Pay R 11/24 Class 24 Happy Thanksgiving! F 11/25 Disc 12 No Discussion Week 13 Class 25 Benefits Chapter 13 (pp. 383-390) T 11/29 R 12/1 Class 26 Collective Bargaining & Labor Relations Chapter 14 F 12/2 Disc 13 Case 2 due Week 14 T 12/6 Class 27 Collective Bargaining & Labor Relations R 12/8 Class 28 Creating High Performance Organizations F 12/9 Disc 14 Week 15 Class 29 Creating High Performance T 12/13 Organizations R 12/15 Class 30 Wrap up F 12/16 Disc 15 Chapter 16 FINAL EXAMINATION Wednesday, 12/21/11 @ 7:45-9:45 AM! Room to be announced 6