MIS 44091 Fall 2012 Knapp

KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

SEMINAR IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

MIS 44091—FALL 2012—Section #001—Call #15716     

MONDAYS, 6:35-9:15 PM, SATTERFIELD 121

Instructor:       Dr. Deborah Knapp

Office:              College of Business Administration, BA A424

Telephone:       330.672.1147 (mobile: 330.283.6081)

E-mail:             dknapp1@kent.edu —the best way to get a quick response!

Office Hours:  Mondays, 4:30-6:30pm, Wednesdays, 12:15pm-3:15pm or by appointment

MATERIALS

Case Law and Readings

These documents represent the core issues of the course. Careful reading of the case law and various academic deconstructions of cases is critical to your success in this course (cases/readings available on BLACKBOARD).

Course Notes

Other course materials (e.g., lecture outlines and notes, syllabus) will also be available on BLACKBOARD (you may access BLACKBOARD using your FlashLine account).  

COURSE PREREQUISITES

PREREQUISITE: M&IS 24163 Principles of Management and M&IS 34180 Human Resource Management (students that do not have the proper prerequisites risk being deregistered from the class).

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to provide current and practical information in the area of employment law as it relates to human resource management (HRM) in organizations. To that end, various cases based on actual organizational situations will be examined and the case law utilized to determine the actions required of the organization. Emphasis is placed on techniques and approaches that are currently being applied to solve employment law problems in business organizations. Through lecture, class discussions, and in depth case law analysis, we shall consider the contribution of employment law management to short- and long-term organizational functioning.  Moreover, as practitioners/researchers in the field of HRM, a strong familiarity with employment law and the ability to understand the application of various laws that affect HR development within organizations is critical.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The fundamental purpose of this course is to provide the student with an increased understanding of the content and processes involved in the management of employment law issues.  Upon completion of the course, a student should be able to:

1. Comprehend the principles of various employment laws applicable to HR functioning in organizations as laid down by legislation and as interpreted by the courts.

2. Understand the direction of emerging issues in employment law in the coming decade.

3. Understand how to make economic use of legal counsel for an organization.

4. Analyze how understanding various employment laws can mitigate the organization’s exposure to liability.

COURSE OVERVIEW

This class is devoted to ensuring that you learn about employment law and the critical cases that determine compliance. Part of that learning process is required course work: e.g., reading assigned material, completing assignments in and out of class, participating in discussions and activities during class, working with a group of classmates to complete a case/exercise or lead a class discussion, or reflecting on your work and reporting those reflections to me via oral case discussion, one examination, and a final paper.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Exam

One midterm examination is scheduled for the semester. The exam will cover any readings, handouts, guest speakers, audio/visual media, class discussions, and lecture material. The format of the exam may include multiple-choice, matching, and/or short answer type questions. The exam will account for 25% of your final grade.

Case Evaluation

In depth analysis of case law is an important element of this course. Each week, two to three student groups will present an analysis of an assigned case (each group will present 5 cases during the semester). These cases will account for 30% of your grade. Each group’s presentation must include (cases provided on BLACKBOARD):

1.      The name of the case and the name of the Justice that delivers the majority opinion

2.      The legal theory on which the case is based (14^th amendment, Title VII, etc.)

3.      A summary of the “story” behind the case

4.      A summary of the majority opinion (be sure to include legal precedents and logic behind the decision)

5.      A discussion of the concurring opinions (if any)

6.      A discussion of the dissenting opinions (if any)

7.      Your group’s opinion of the case outcome

Final Paper: In-depth analysis of Supreme Court Case in Employment Law

Student groups will research and write a final paper that provides a history of the US Supreme Court’s decision concerning an employment law case (e.g., identifying lower court cases that led to its hearing of the final case, a summary of the story behind the case, a summary of the arguments/decisions of the court, including the majority decision and any concurring/opposing decisions [be sure to include the Justice’s name for each opinion]). Examples of this type of analysis will be provided by the professor (found on BLACKBOARD).  The final paper will account for 35% of your final grade.

Finally, each group member must complete and turn in the peer evaluation form (found on Blackboard). As explained in detail on the form, peer evaluations will be used in determining grades for individual group members. Students will not receive a grade until the peer evaluation form is completed and received by the professor.

Participation

Students will receive credit for class participation. Obviously, consistent attendance at class is required to earn an acceptable grade for class participation. Each individual will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of her/his participation during class sessions. To receive an acceptable participation grade, you must be consistently knowledgeable concerning all assigned readings and you must actively participate in class discussions. Also, each group may wish to create a discussion board and post various threads/questions to their members. Beginning a thread or contributing to the discussion of that thread will positively impact your participation grade, especially for those of you less comfortable speaking in class. Participation accounts for 5% of your total grade.

Internet Assignment

Students will be expected to find one website that relates to the course and summarize information they find at the site. You may use simple internet searches to find a website or present websites of which you are already aware. You will be asked to share your findings with the class by preparing a one-to-two paragraph summary about the website and present this information to the class. On the assigned day of their presentations, students will remain seated and the instructor will display the students’ websites to the class. Students will describe the websites (e.g., what information can be found on the website, who might use said information, and/or how the information might be used) to the class. Students will provide a TYPED COPY of the summary VIA E-MAIL to the instructor BEFORE the beginning of class on the day it is scheduled to be presented (be sure to include the web address (URL) of the website that you "visit"). The internet assignment is worth 5% of your final grade.

GRADES

Grades will be calculated according to performance on one exam (25%), case evaluations (30%), final paper (35%) participation (5%), and internet assignment (5%).  Final grades will be assigned as follows:

Registration: Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, September 9, 2012 to correct the error.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

Course Withdrawal Deadline: The course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 4, 2012.

GRADUATION

If you are eligible to graduate, it is your responsibility to apply for graduation before the set deadline (May Graduation: Apply before September 15^th August Graduation: Apply before December 15^th December Graduation: Apply before March 15^th). If you apply after the deadline you will be assessed a $200 late fee. Please see your academic advisor as soon as possible if you are uncertain as to your progress toward graduation. To apply for graduation complete the following steps: 1). Log onto your FlashLine account; 2). Click on the Student Tools tab; 3). Look in the Graduation Planning Tool Box; and 4). Click on Application for Graduation. If an error message appears, you must contact your advisor.

CLASS PROCEDURES

1.   If my office hours are not convenient for you, please feel free to call for an appointment. In addition, the most efficient way to communicate with me is via e-mail. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the electronic messaging capabilities made available to you by the university!

2.   Please tell me about any problems you are having while there is still time to do something about them!

3.   Each student must turn in an original piece of work (copies of the work of others will not be accepted; however, you may work together on your group assignments).

4.   Attendance at class is expected. If you miss a class, YOU are responsible for obtaining lecture notes and other material from another student. DO NOT ASK TO BORROW MY NOTES! To succeed in this course, you must complete your reading assignments and attend class. Also, please DO NOT E-MAIL/CALL ME with questions such as “what did I miss?” or “will we be doing a case tonight?” If you cannot attend class, reread the beginning of class procedure #4. Moreover, missed classes will negatively affect your participation grade (it IS possible to receive a failing participation grade). Finally, before you are tempted to ask “What did I miss?” please consider the following (tongue-in-cheek) responses to said query:

o  Nothing. When we realized you weren't here we sat with our hands folded on our desks in silence, for the full two and a half hours.

o  Everything. I gave an exam worth 40 per cent of the grade for this term and assigned some readings due today on which I'm about to hand out a quiz worth 50 per cent.

o  Nothing. When you are not present how could something significant occur?

o  Everything. Contained in this classroom is a microcosm of human existence assembled for you to query, examine, and ponder. And you weren't here.

5.   Major grammatical or spelling errors on any written work could result in a significant penalty with respect to the grade you receive. Carefully proof your papers for errors (you may even want to have a friend read your work). Also, try reading your work aloud. Doing so will assist you in quickly identifying awkward phrases and poor sentence structure. Use grammar and spell check!

6.   Do not come late to class in order to complete an internet assignment or finish an exercise/ assignment. If this is the case, the assignment will not be accepted. Moreover, coming to class shortly before dismissal will result in a significantly lower participation grade.

7.   You must use the internet, World Wide Web, and BLACKBOARD to communicate with me and receive an acceptable grade. Much of the on-line content (e.g., readings, assignments) is on BLACKBOARD. Moreover, BLACKBOARD will be used in conjunction with the McGraw-Hill “Connect” website (this is the publisher of your text book). You must update your FlashLine account as this is the e-mail address to which I will be sending all class correspondence.

8.   A few words on the culture and climate of our class: Occasionally, our discussions may veer from a direct path as your fellow students may have questions or interests that appear to be related only tangentially to the topic being discussed. However, these discussions are important to our exploration of course content (and universal learning) and therefore, I ask that you are respectful of your fellow students’ desire for increased knowledge. Everyone (including me) can benefit from such improvisation. I insist this class be conducted in an environment wherein questions, comments, and intellectual interaction are encouraged. Moreover, I expect class members to treat their fellow classmates with courtesy, civility, and respect. Finally, I have attempted to create a course that will be both fun and informative. However, please do not mistake the levity that will characterize much of our time together as an indication that this is not a meaningful, important course. I take my responsibility as your professor seriously and I expect you to take your responsibility as a student seriously.

POLICY ON ACADEMIC HONESTY

Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.   In addition, it is considered to be cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/ for more information on registration procedures).