College of Extended Learning
Employee Benefits and Services
INSTRUCTOR:
PHONE:
LOCATION:
EMAIL:
Kalyan S Chakravarty
818.677.2435
SH221
Kalyan.chakravarty@csun.edu
TERM:
COURSE:
TICKET:
UNITS:
Spring 2008
XHRM 908
18337
3.0 CEUs
CLASS MEETINGS: Tuesdays from 7 to 9:50 pm. February 12 – April 22, 2008
Course Description:
You will explore the use of benefits and services as a means of attracting and retaining
employees, which should match your company's vision. You will review the history and
philosophy of benefits and services to learn why this area has become so competitive. You will
learn to create and administer a benefits and services program, develop and deliver it to attract,
nurture and retain talent in an organization. Recent innovative approaches to benefits and
services adopted by companies shall be presented for analyses and discussions.
Themes:
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History and philosophy of benefits and services
Retirement, Health and Life Insurance
Paid Time-off from work, Accommodation and Enhancement Benefits
Creation and administration of benefits and services programs
Linking benefits and services to other areas of HRM
Topics:
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History, philosophy and competition
Design/pricing fundamentals
Pensions
Welfare plans/strategies (life, medical, dental, vision)
Cost control
Employee Services
Administration
Legal issues
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The learning objectives are:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
Understand the history of benefits
Understand benefit challenges employers face
Describe various welfare benefits and pension plans
Describe different benefit pricing strategies
Acquire skills to develop benefits and services
Analyze benefit packages
Describe ways to use benefits and services to attract and retain employees
Describe benefits and services relative to total compensation
Textbook:
Joseph J. Martocchio, 2007
Employee Benefits: A Primer for Human Resources Professionals,
3rd edition (2007), ISBN: 0073381292
Students should preferably have access to people in their respective organization,
who are willing to share data related to employee benefits and services exclusively
for academic purposes.
Course Work:
Quizzes (3) *
Group Project
Class Debate
Final Exam
Punctuality, Attendance, Participation
20pts
25pts
20pts
25pts
10pts
Total: 100 pts
*Quizzes:
Three pre-final quizzes of 10 pts each are scheduled to assist you in the preparation for the final
exam. The first is open-book. The best two quiz scores will be counted and the lowest will be
discarded. However, in the unlikely event that you miss a class with a quiz or are unable to take
one of the quizzes, the other two scores will be counted toward your final score.
Group Project
Students will form groups of five or less, and each group will conduct an in-depth analysis of one
Firm (a different one for each group). They will collect all relevant data, as much as feasible, on
employee benefits and services, welfare benefits, retirement, health, life insurance, and pension
plans, benefits pricing strategies, etc., pertaining to the firm and analyze them critically while
applying the knowledge and skills gained in the class. The aspects to be covered should include:
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(1) History, philosophy and key purposes of the firm in matters of
benefits and services offered;
(2) Types of employee benefits, both legally required and the
discretionary ones, and their implications;
(3) Different insurance plans and their critical appreciations;
(4) Critically examining different payments for time not worked;
(5) Strategic recommendations of the group based on their analyses.
The outcome of the paper should be a better understanding of the practices of the firm and the
ability to understand broad issues relevant to management of benefits and services in general.
Each group will then make a formal presentation of the analysis in the class, with each member
of the group getting an opportunity to deal with a section of the presentation. The total time
allotted for each group will be thirty minutes. Further details shall be provided later in the course.
The completed report must be turned in on the day the group makes its presentation.
Class Debate:
This is a college level course. All students are expected to actively participate in the Debate.
Students are expected to be thorough and discriminating in the selection of articles for
presentation. The Debate is a collaborative effort and requires group meetings and consensus
on information to be used during the Debate. More details shall be provided later.
The class project is a debate on Nationalized Healthcare. It is essential to understand the health
crisis that our nation faces and to discuss, analyze and present alternatives to minimize the
rising number of uninsured and under-insured, as well as, the cost of healthcare.
Grading:
Letter grades will be given for final course grade. Any grade less than a C will not count toward
completion of the certificate program.
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
Below 60
A- to A
B- to B+
C- to C+
D- to D+
F
Attendance:
You are expected to attend each class meeting. In the unlikely event that you must miss a
meeting, you are accountable for the course material and class activities missed. Please notify
the instructor in advance to make arrangements to make up this work. Missing class-meetings
could result in an adverse effect on your grade. You must attend at least 80% of the class
meetings in order to receive credit for the course. If you find you are unable to continue in the
course, you must officially withdraw by notifying CSUN Extension in writing. In the event CSUN
is not notified of your withdrawal, you will receive an F for the course.
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Note:
The reading and homework schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
Should any changes be necessary, every effort will be made to communicate them quickly to
current students. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure he or she has the current
schedule.
Confidentiality of class discussions must be respected by all the students.
You will be expected to read all assignments before class and be prepared to participate
during the lecture portion each week. The book contains information critical to the class.
Assigned readings will be supplemented with supporting lectures.
Timetable
SESSIONS
2/12
2/19
2/26
3/4
3/11
TOPICS, TASKS, READINGS
Housekeeping, Course Introduction,
Clarifying Mutual Expectations;
Introducing Employee Benefits
Readings: Chapter 1
The Economics of Employee Benefits
Regulating Employee Benefits
Readings: Chapters 2 & 3
RETIREMENT, HEALTH, and LIFE INSURANCE:
Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
Health Insurance Programs
Readings: Chapters 4 & 5
RETIREMENT, HEALTH, and LIFE INSURANCE:
Employer-Sponsored Disability Insurance and Life Insurance
Structured Guidelines for Class Debate and Group Project
Readings: Chapter 6
Quiz 1
RETIREMENT, HEALTH, and LIFE INSURANCE:
Government- Mandated Social Security and
Workers’ Compensation Programs
SERVICES:
Paid Time-Off From Work
Readings: Chapters 7 & 8
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Timetable
SESSIONS
3/25
TOPICS, TASKS, READINGS
SERVICES:
Accommodation and Enhancement Benefits
Class Debate and Group Project - Update
Readings: Chapter 9
Quiz 2
4/1
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS: DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION, and
GLOBAL ISSUES:
Employee Benefits System
Non Plans for Highly Paid and Executive Employees
Global Employee Benefits
Readings: Chapters 10, 11 & 12
Preparatory Work for Class Debate and Group Projects
4/8
4/15
Quiz 3
CLASS DEBATE
GROUP PROJECT: PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS
4/22
GROUP PROJECT: PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS
FINAL EXAMINATION