Human Resource Management
James Madison University
Overview
As a business leader in high technology, service delivery, information, public service, the arts, old-fashioned manufacturing or any business, you have a high dependence upon employees. Managers and workers today are highly skilled, expensive to train, and hard to find. Without these people, food isn’t cooked, parts are not assembled, information stops, and your bottom line finds bottom. All businesses and organizations are comprised of people. Managing the human element of any group is the key to productivity and goal achievement. With knowledge, you can motivate, excite, avoid legal traps, and make work fun.
The goals of this course are to: 1) introduce you to the basics of administration of the human side of business, 2) create a knowledge of best practices with practical application, 3) provide a background in the internal and external environments affecting HR including legal and social issues, and 4) provide you career knowledge of the field of Human Resource Management. Material will be presented in lecture format, multimedia, assessments, and behavior models. You will be required to participate in class presentations, research, small group exercises, Internet research, and maybe even activities in front of fellow students. The majority of the course will be in a lecture format.
Course Materials
The required text for this course is:
Managing Human Resources, 3rd Edition by L. Gómez-Mejía, D. Balkin, and R. Cardy (ISBN: 0-13-011333-6). eHRM by M. Gowan is a workbook for assignments (ISBN: 0-13-091283-2). The course has a Web site and the book has a related Web site that will be utilized. Additional handouts will be presented during the class and information will be posted on the JMU web site.
Contact Information
Instructor: Mr. Bob Eliason
Office: Room 645, Zane Showker Hall
Office Hours: MWF or by appointment
Office Phone: (540) 568-3025
E-mail: eliasorg@jmu.edu
JMU Web Site: http://falcon.jmu.edu/~eliasorg/HRM
Text Web Site: http://www.prenhall.com/gomez
Internet Access, E-mail, and Video
You must obtain an e-mail address and have Internet access for this course. This does not mean that you have to have a computer or an Internet ISP account. Internet access can be found at the library and the campus computing labs. Contact the Help Desk at 568-3555 if you have questions or problems. A list of the computer lab sites can be obtained from the Help Desk. You will be required to provide your e-mail address by the end of the first week of the course. It is your responsibility to frequently check the web site and e-mail.
Portions of the course will be videotaped for use by the Instructor, for placement on the course’s web site, and for student use. Since you may be filmed, you will be asked to sign a comprehensive release form. Access to the web site videos will require QuickTime™ software (Mac 9, X/Win95, Win98, Win2000) which can be downloaded for free from http://www.apple.com/quicktime.
Exams and Assignments
EXAMS
There will be two exams given during the semester. Exams must be taken during and completed within the exam period. If you cannot make an exam, contact me immediately. Do not wait until the night before the scheduled exam. Do not claim that you couldn’t reach me; use the phone, voicemail, or e-mail. Without prior notice and the approval of the Instructor, you will receive a grade of zero (0) if you fail to take the exam at the scheduled time. Under exceptional circumstances, there may be one make-up exam. Failure to take the make-up exam when arranged will result in an exam grade of zero (0) for that exam. Most exams will be multiple choice and true/false. Short answer and essays may be used. Exam One will be on Chapters 1 to 8 and Exam Two will cover Chapter 9-16. Both will also include readings, presented class content, videos, handouts, and related web content. If you desire a passing grade, you must keep ahead on the readings, take comprehensive notes, review periodically, and grasp concept and detail.
HRM PLAN
You will assemble a comprehensive human resources plan during the semester. It will serve as a portfolio of documentation that you will prepare related to all aspects of the practical side of managing people. Included in this plan will be copies of forms acquired and created, employee documents such as a job description, and letters of communication including a letter of termination. This plan will be assembled in and outside of the classroom. You will provide a simple 1-inch, three-ring binder with six dividers (with pockets) for your plan. It will be returned at the end of the course for your future use.
CASE EXERCISES
Managing people is an activity more than a subject matter to be read. The concepts presented in the text and in lectures will be applied through a set of case exercises. These three exercises are found on the web site. Follow the link to the cases and then answer the questions or complete the worksheet provided. You must complete the specific cases and questions assigned and no credit will be given for work not assigned. Spelling and grammar errors will reduce your grade. Answers to the case exercise questions can be found in the text, your lecture notes, and through educated reasoning. Think beyond the direct answers found in the text since these are complex cases. These may be used in class or as part of your participation grade.
INTERNET ASSIGNMENTS
Technology is heavily used in the HRM field. The Internet is also a source of a great amount of quality material related to the field. You will be given two assignments to research on the Internet. These "Internet classes" will begin with a brief introduction in the classroom followed by group or individual work using Internet access outside of the lecture hall. One assignment may be reserved for individual research as a class substitute for a foul weather cancellation.
All written assignments will be turned in at the start of the class in which they are due. Assignments arriving late will receive a grade of zero (0). If ill, have someone else bring your work in for you. Only in the most grave and extreme circumstances will this be waived.
Grading
| Exam #1 |
100 points
|
| Exam #2 |
100 points
|
| HRM Plan |
100 points
|
| Case Exercises |
100 points
|
| Internet Assignments |
50 points
|
| Attendance |
50 points
|
| Total |
500 points
|
Extra credit points are available. Course grades will be based on the points you earn (no plus or minus grades):
| A range |
465.0-500 points
|
C+ range | 385.0-399.9 points |
| A- range |
450.0-464.9 points
|
C range | 365.0-384.9 points |
| B+ range |
350-399 points
|
C- range | 350.0-364.9 points |
| B range |
300-349 points
|
D range | 300.0-349.9 points |
| B- range |
299 or below
|
F range | 299.9 or Below |
Class Schedule (approximate order of classes; subject to change)
See your syllabus for exact dates:
|
|
||
| Introduction - Syllabus, Human Resource Management | ||
| Chapter 1 - Human Resource Tools, Planning | ||
| Chapter 2 - Work Flow, Job Analysis, Job Descriptions | ||
| No Class - Martin Luther King Holiday | ||
| Job Descriptions, Core and contingency workers | ||
| Chapter 3 - Legal Environment | ||
| HRM laws | ||
| Chapter 4 - Diversity and barriers to diversity | ||
| Sexual Harassment, Promoting diversity | ||
| Chapter 5 - Recruitment, Finding employees, Interviewing | ||
| Mt. Washington Hotel/Bretton Woods Resort Case Study | ||
| HR planning for recruitment | ||
| HRIS | ||
| Chapter 6 - Right Sizing: layoffs and terminations | ||
| Layoff criteria, Outplacement services; HR Manager Report Due |
||
| Chapter 7 - Performance appraisal, objective measurement | ||
| Group appraisal, communication | ||
| Chapter 8 - Training: content, process, outcome | ||
| Training groups; Exam Review | ||
| Training outcomes | ||
| EXAM One (Chapters 1-8) | ||
| Modern career concepts - LaBier and Feller | ||
| Chapter 9 - Career development | ||
| Chapter 10 - Compensation models | ||
| Spring Recess | ||
| Careers on the Internet | ||
| Job Evaluation | ||
| Group Computer Time | ||
| Chapter 11 - Rewarding Performance, Pay for Performance | ||
| Executive compensation | ||
| Presentation; Internet Assignments Due | ||
| Chapter 12 - Benefits, major types and characteristics | ||
| L.L. Bean Case Study | ||
| Retirement | ||
| Chapter 13 - Employee Relations | ||
| Communications channels | ||
| Publishing basics | ||
| Chapter 14 - Employee Rights and Discipline | ||
| Respecting employee rights quiz | ||
| Discipline Systems and issues | ||
| Chapter 15 - Organized Labor; Case Exercises Due | ||
| Organized Labor | ||
| Chapter 16 - Occupational Safety and Health | ||
| Exam Review, OSHA | ||
| HRM Netstuff, Inc. application | ||
| Exams | ||
Attendance
You are expected to attend class. Attendance will be taken at each class and failure to attend will reduce your course grade. If you come, you get points. If you don't come, no matter what reason, you will not get points. There are no "excused" absences so you do not need to apologize, be embarrassed, submit notes from your doctor, coach, or parent, or beg for mercy. You must attend at least 80% of a class to get credit for attending that class.
Beyond attendance is participation. You are encouraged to be active in the lecture hall, provide ideas and examples, question the content, ask questions, and even speak without raising your hand. Take advantage of this Internet site developed for this course as well as resources that can be found from reliable web sources.
Classroom Behavior
As in any professional environment, your performance and presentation are important. You will be expected to arrive on time and be ready to work. Food and drink may be quietly consumed during class. No cooking or barbecuing, please. Disruptions such as leaving the room, receiving cell phone calls, and pager tones are not welcome. Reduce the sound of laptops or PDAs, which you are welcome to use. Although not recommended, audio recordings may be made but are restricted to personal use only and are not to be distributed, published in any format, or duplicated without written permission.
This is a unique course since much revolves around the participation of the students. You are encouraged to be informal, humorous, argumentative, willing to challenge, and open to new ideas. Sarcasm will be heavily utilized. If I challenge you or politely rib you, it is because I like you, think you have something to contribute from the interaction, and can handle it. I will call on those who are quiet because they have much to contribute. You will not be judged if you don't have the answer, can’t recall it immediately, nor have a wrong answer. I will try to make the material come alive, interesting, and even fun. The course is a lot of work with a lot of reading and assignments. We have valuable material to cover. Spread the work out evenly over the semester. Come to class ready to learn some valuable skills.
You will be held to the standard of the JMU honor code.
