M&IS 44195 Spring 2008 DuBois
Advanced Topics / PRACTICUM IN HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
BAD 60095 / M&IS 44195, Spring 2008
Wednesday 6:15-8:45
INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Cathy DuBois
Office: BSA A412
Phone: 672-1157; 672-2448 (fax; be sure to use a cover page)
E-mail address: cdubois@kent.edu
Office hours: Tuesday & Thursday 10:30-1:00 (or by appointment)
FOCUS/PURPOSE of the course
This course was designed for students with an undergraduate HRM minor or an MBA HRM concentration, to provide a bridge between your HRM coursework and the world of HRM practice. In this course you will do work that is much like the self-directed, continuous learning that will be required from you on an ongoing basis in the workplace, but you will do so under the guidance of the professor and with the support of specified project groups. Upon completion of this course students will much to discuss in a job interview, as well as a useful entry on your resume. Potential employers should be intrigued by your experiences, and you will be more prepared to work in the field of HRM.
PROJECT GROUP DESCRIPTIONS
Students have two general options for project work this semester. The option for practical HRM work is project work to support the implementation of online learning at Kent State University. The second option is to prepare for the PHR certification exam, which will entail a short course in staffing, performance appraisal, and labor relations, as well as review of all other areas of HRM.
COURSE FORMAT
This course will be much more like a work project than like a usual university course. Class time will be used for whatever tasks are necessary at each stage of the project, and what we do during class will vary each week. You will do research outside of class weekly, which will provide the basis for our discussions and work during class. You will do both individual research work and group project work. Students will work in self-managed teams throughout the semester, with a designated group leader.
Each student should expect to spend a minimum of 5 hours each week outside of class, and more than that to earn an A in the course. Each week you will leave class with a completed Goal / Activity form, on which you will have outlined your goals and tasks for the week. Each student is responsible to fill out a form each week, with goals and activities identified prior to leaving class, and the remainder filled in as the week progresses. Use these forms to track time spent, task progress, important resource information, roadblocks, etc. Bring completed forms to class each week for discussion (i.e., bring forms for every week to class each week.)
Team Leaders
Team leaders will be selected at the beginning of the semester. I’ll ask for volunteers to supply their credentials and reasons for wanting to take on this position. The team leaders play an essential role in the success of this course. I can’t be with all teams at once, so they are conduits for information – communication is much more effective among the whole group with the use of team leaders. There is extra work involved in being a team leader, but it’s a great opportunity and makes a nice entry on your resume!
Instructor Role
As the instructor I will provide overall structure for the course, as well as intellectual guidance. For project work I will primarily serve as a catalyst. That is, you can expect me to function in a manner similar to a manager in a work setting. I will provide the support necessary to ensure the nature of the project is understood, and I will provide goal clarification and guidance throughout the semester. I will also explain concepts and procedures as needed. However, I will not tell you specifically what to do at each step of the project, nor will I actually do the project. The output will be what you create. I’ll continually review what you create and provide feedback, and you will use that feedback as well as your own knowledge and ideas to create project outputs. I do reserve the right to make final edits where necessary, but the need for this should be minimal.
Final Products
All deliverables and presentations for project work must be complete by the last week of classes. Finals week will be reserved for completing your report.
Two things are certain:
1) the project must be of excellent, professional quality, and
2) all outputs must be completed by the end of the semester.
READINGS
You will not be given any specific readings, but expect to do lots of reading for this course. A great deal of organizational, internet and library research will be required of all students to seek additional information that will be relevant to the project. Again, much student initiative will be necessary here, and students will need to share what they have learned with one another.
REQUIRED NATIONAL SHRM or ASTD MEMBERSHIP
You will not purchase a text for this course, but you are required to purchase a student membership in the National Society for Human Resource Management or the American Society for Training and Development. Proof of your membership must be submitted to the professor no later than January 30. Your membership will make valuable resources available to you that you will use throughout this course, and beyond this course.
ATTENDANCE
We have only 14 weeks to work on and complete this project. Because coordination of the various group efforts and communication about deliverables for this project are done during class time, it is absolutely imperative that you attend class. The implications for missing class in this course are very different from other courses. In most other courses, the only implications are personal – a potential loss of learning for you as a student. In this course, missing class will have negative implications for others who are depending on your inputs, on meeting timelines throughout the project, and even on the quality of the project we deliver to the organization.
Because a great deal of work will be accomplished each week in the project teams, your contributions will be missed if you are absent. If you must miss class, you must contact me or your group leader before class (by phone, e-mail, in person, etc.). Your attendance will be excused only if you have a university-approved reason.
Note: If you have more than 2 excused absences, or if you have any unexcused absences, you will not receive an A in the course.
GRADING
Semester grades will be based on:
Peer evaluations (20%): Since you will work in self-managed teams throughout the semester, your team peers will be well informed about your performance. Students will provide written feedback to other students, as well as a number grade.
Team Leader evaluation (10%): Your Team leader will review your goal sheets on a weekly basis, and be highly knowledgeable about your contributions and initiative. The Team leader will provide written feedback to students, as well as a number grade.
Instructor evaluation (70%): The instructor will evaluate the quality of the final product, and will recognize individual contributions to the whole.
Project Contributions 40%
Attitude / Conscientiousness 20%
Goal/Activity sheets 20%
Final Report 20%
For Team Leaders, the percentage split will be: Peer evaluations 20%; Instructor evaluation 80%.
I will use +/- grades for this course. Assignment of final grades will most likely be: 92+ A, 90-91 A-, 88-89 B+, 82-87 B, 80-81 B-, 78-79 C+, 72-77 B, 70-71 C-, 68-69 D+, 60-67 D, 0-59 F. I reserve the right to curve these final grades, up or down, based on overall class performance.
Note: expectations for graduate students are higher than for undergraduate students, but grading components are the same.
FINAL REPORT
You will write a final report that summarizes your experiences in this course. The report should be 10-15 pages (double spaced; not counting cover page) and should contain the following sections in paragraph form (please use subheadings!):
- Your project
- Brief definition of your project
- Your role in your team
- How your team functioned (communication, timeliness, initiative, etc)
- Your contributions to the project
- Work you did, outputs you created*
- References* you used during the project
- HR content* that you learned from this project
- What could have been improved
- in project outputs
- in your performance
- What you learned about yourself from this project
- Your personal goals, as well as additional insights
- Related goals for your future development
* items should be written about in general categories; each of these should have corresponding detailed lists, single spaced, in the appendix.
Please do some meaningful introspection throughout this course about your role in the group and what it takes to work synergistically and effectively in a group. Specify one or two personal goals at the beginning of the semester for your personal development through this project. Discuss these in the section ‘What you learned about yourself’.
A notebook is required. Place the report in the front of the notebook, followed by your Goal/Activity sheets in sequential order. If any goal sheets are missing, considerable points will be deducted from your grade. Be sure to use high quality, professional writing, as a portion of your grade will be linked to the quality of your writing.
Report due date: May 7, by 5 pm (I must receive hard-copy by that time)
How to succeed in this course:
Please note that both the quality and the quantity of your contributions are critical. Doing a lot is not sufficient; you must do a lot well. Similarly, doing a little well is not sufficient; you must do a lot well, on a consistent basis, throughout the course. Our semester will be much more enjoyable and productive if everyone strives for excellent work.
If your personal goal is to do less than A quality work (that is, you would be satisfied with a B or a C), that is fine – but please be honest about this up front with your group members so that work can be shared accordingly.
Performance Definitions for Grade Assignments
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A
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Exceptional Performance
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Performance is significantly above expectations on a consistent basis.
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B
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Exceeds Expectations
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Performance is clearly and frequently above what is required.
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C
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Meets Expectations
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Performance is dependable and meets the minimum performance standards.
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D
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Marginal |
Performance is deficient in particular areas. Improvement is necessary.
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F
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Unsatisfactory
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Results that are achieved are generally unacceptable and require immediate improvement and attention.
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A FINAL WORD ON INITIATIVE
This class is structured very differently than usual academic courses. Keep in mind that it is the responsibility of each individual student to make sure s/he is contributing each week throughout the semester. You will not necessarily be given a specific assignment just for you each week. Therefore, you must take the initiative to make sure you know what your own contribution will be each week, and make sure that you are consistently contributing to the project and keeping up with the project schedule.
It is your responsibility to make sure that your ideas are heard throughout the semester, both with respect to project direction and team functioning. No one can address your needs if you don’t communicate them clearly. The culture of this class will be very supportive, so you should feel comfortable communicating honestly throughout the semester. If for any reason you don’t feel supported, please speak to your team leader or to me about this immediately so that we can maintain a functional work environment throughout the semester.
If you are unsure of what you are to do at any time, it is your responsibility to speak up and find out what needs to be done. Discuss this first with your team, then with the project leader(s), then with the instructor. If you find that you are not very busy with this course, you are probably not doing what you should be doing! Finally, please be timely in your work. Project schedules will be set, and must be adhered to rather rigidly in order to complete the project during the semester.
KSU SHRM membership:
All students are expected to join KSU SHRM. Meetings occur on Wednesdays at 5:00 in BSA A404. You are encouraged to attend meetings, and to participate in Akron SHRM events.
supplementary PROJECT WORK
Should the projects for this course be completed in advance of the end of the semester, and no more project work remains to be completed, you will be given supplementary projects to complete as part of course requirements. Details on this will be provided only if the extra projects are necessary. Course grading requirements will also change, and that information will be distributed with the project information.
