MIS 34180 Spring 2010 Astakhova

M&IS 34180 Section 004 Call #14545

Human Resource Management

Fall 2009

Class meeting:  R, 6:15 p.m. – 8:55 p.m., BSA 110

Instructor:  Marina Astakhova , Graduate Assistant, BSA A422,

E-mail mastakh1@kent.edu

Office Hours:  or by appointment

Textbook

Kleiman, L. S. (2009). Human Resource Management: A Managerial Tool for Competitive Advantage (5^th Edition). US: Cengage Learning

 Course Prerequisites

M&IS 24163 Principles of Management (students that do not have the proper prerequisites risk being deregistered from the class).

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to provide you with a foundation in Human Resource (HR) management.  HR management is primarily concerned with systems for: making decisions about the people assets of the organization (e.g., hiring and compensating), developing those assets (e.g., evaluating, training), and supervising the relationship between those assets and the organization (e.g., maintaining employee morale, designing jobs and teams).  The goal of HR management is to contribute to organizational success by such means as increasing the efficiency in the use of resources, maintaining legal compliance, enhancing the motivation and commitment of employees, and providing a strategic competitive advantage.

 The course will combine lecture, class discussion, cases, exercises, textbook reading, and projects to expose you to HR management theory and research findings, give you an opportunity to apply some of these ideas to your own work experiences and management practice. 

Course Objectives

Overall Course Objectives are to:

(1) Develop an understanding of the major HR management needs of most organizations.

(2) Develop a familiarity with alternative HR systems designed to address those needs, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

(3) Gain an awareness of the technology underlying the HR systems, so that the range of quality can be understood.

(4) Develop an appreciation for basic HR decisions.

Plan for the Course

The course uses eight different types of pedagogy:

1. Concept Quiz. I will start each class with a short major-concepts-overview. I will selectively name up to 5 concepts from the previous lecture(s) and/or chapter(s) and will ask you to give brief oral definitions to them. A complete definition will demonstrate your understanding of the concept and will help you to earn you an extra credit (See the section “Opportunity Shop for Extra Points”).

2. Traditional lectures. A lecture will follow a concept quiz. These lectures will be accompanied by PPT handouts posted on vista.kent.edu.

3. Discussions.  Active participation is also important to ensure that the concepts in the course are properly understood and integrated.  Comments and questions will nearly always be welcome during a class meeting, but special times will also be designated during each topic where discussion will be the primary means of instruction.  The active involvement of all students is expected during discussions.  Participation can take many forms, including asking questions that clarify the class material, making points about the topic based on outside experience, providing insightful comments on the topic based on the learning points in the class, and volunteering for special exercises. Please bring your name card every class session, so everyone will know your name.

4. Readings.  Most readings will be from your textbook as indicated in the course outline. Also, there will be supplemental readings to provide in-depth analyses of selected topics. Supplemental readings will be posted on vista.kent.edu and will be discussed during 3 class sections.

5. Exercises.  There will be several exercises throughout the course.  They are meant to give brief hands-on exposure or practice in key topic areas.  Some may require advanced preparation, but most will be conducted during class.

6. Discussion of HRM-related articles. During the course period there will be 3 in-class discussions of HRM-related articles. You will read a number of professional articles for this course (the information about the articles will be posted on Vista). These articles must be read by a certain date, and all students will be accountable for questions asked in class about these articles. Come to class with main points identified for each article.

7. International HRM Presentation. “International HRM practices” is a section we will cover in this course. In the end of the semester one class session will be devoted to your group presentations on International HRM. A description of the presentation can be found in a separate document.  

8. Group Project.  Groups of 4-5 students will be responsible for submitting a group project and making a presentation to the class. The project serves dual purposes.  First, it is intended to help you learn more about particular HR management topic of your choice. Second, it will help you learn to work more effectively in groups.  A great deal of time and effort will be required for this assignment.  One class session will be reserved for your group work.  A description of the project is in a separate document.

8. Quizzes.  There will be brief quizzes covering the required reading material for a given week. The quizzes will be posted on vista every Friday and will be due by Sunday midnight. Each quiz will consist of 6 one-point multiple-choice questions. You can take a quiz at any time during the period specified above. However, once you started the quiz you should complete it because there will be no option to save it and return to it. Approximately 10 quizzes will be given during the semester.  

9. Exams. Three multiple choice exams will be given during the semester. The exams are closed-book, closed-notes, and not cumulative. Exam questions will be drawn from textbook and supplemental reading assignments, lectures, class discussions, cases, and exercises. Exams are to be taken at the scheduled time. If you miss an exam due to a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, death in the immediate family), a make-up exam will be provided (you will be required to provide an official university excuse to be eligible for a make-up exam). If you do not provide a legitimate excuse, no make-up exam will be granted. Make-up exams are essay format.

10. Evaluations.

I will ask for mid-semester and final self-evaluations for your class preparation/participation.  Please keep track of how frequently you come to class prepared, the number of classes you miss, and have a good idea of how frequently you participate in class, as well as the quality of your participation.  Failure to submit these forms on time will result in a 10 point subtraction from your earned class participation/preparation grade.

Your will also need to summit a group member evaluation form each time you have completed a group project (there will be two group projects during the semester). 

11. Opportunity Shop for Extra Points

During the semester you can earn extra points which will be added to your final grade. Below are the options of how extra points can be earned. You can take an advantage of any or all of the options:

Grading

The grading scale is predetermined to ensure that you always know your grade in the class.  Grades will be based on the absolute standard below, and will not be curved. Extra points (if any) will be applied to the final grade. Grading will be based on the following factors and weighting:

-          Exam 1                                                                              15%

-          Exam 2                                                                              15%

-          Final Exam                                                                        15%

-          Quizzes                                                                              10%

-          Discussions of HRM-Related Articles                              10%

-          Exercises                                                                           10%

-          International HRM Group Presentation                            10%

-          Final Group Project                                                           15%

Scale for final letter: A (93-100); A- (90-92); B+ (87-89); B (83-86); B- (80-82); C+ (77-79); C (73-76); C- (70-72); D+ (67-69); D (63-66); D- (60-62); and F (Below 60).

Preparation and Participation

Students are expected to come to class prepared by studying the readings assigned for that day and reviewing their notes from previous classes.  Students should expect to allocate three hours of outside work for each hour of class on average over the semester.  Although there will be some week-to-week variation, the course is designed so that workload should be fairly even throughout the semester, as long as students do not procrastinate.  Please see the professor if adjustments are necessary due to conflicts with other classes.

Attendance at every class is expected. Moreover, your regular attendance may help earn extra points.  

Course Withdrawal Deadline

The course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, April 4, 2010.

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, January 31, 2010 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. 

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 www.kent.edu/sas <http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/> for more information on registration procedures). 

Course Outline*

 * I reserve the right to modify this schedule according to the needs and progress of the class.