MOR 471 – Managing and Developing People
Human Resource Management (HRM)
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Syllabus – Fall 2012 – M/W Noon to 1:50 pm
Professor:
Office:
Robert B. Turrill PhD
Bridge Hall 303D
Office Phone: (213) 740-0732
Office Hours: Tuesday 2:30 to 5:30 pm, & by appointment
E-mail:
robert.turrill@marshall.usc.edu
Course Description
This course is directed toward two audiences: 1) those individuals who wish to become general
managers and need to integrate their knowledge of how to manage human resources for strategic
advantage; and 2) those individuals who may be potentially human resource professionals and wish
to know more about the activities of the human resource function. Treating human capital as a
strategic resource demands an approach that recognizes the strategic positioning of the organization
within a competitive and increasingly global environment where there are many diverse groups of
stakeholders, and where the development and deployment of talented employees requires a
partnership approach within the organization.
Learning Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
To understand how successful companies manage human capital to compete more
effectively in a dynamic environment.
To understand the changing context of “talent management” within organizations.
To understand how to align human resources activities with the strategy and goals of the
organization.
To understand how key partnerships within the firm are critical to managing the selection,
development, and deployment of organizational participants.
To understand more effective ways to manage individual and collective performance for
greater organizational and individual growth.
To understand the full range of human resource management activities to select, develop,
deploy, and compensate members of the organization within a legal and thical
organizational framework.
To understand “best practices” of the firms seen as the “best organizations to work for.”
Required Materials
Text: MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES, Susan Jackson , Randall Shuler, and Steve
Werner, South-Western Cengage Learning, 11th ed., 2012.
Course Reader – Cases (available in the Book Store)
Prerequisites and/or Recommended Preparation:
BUAD 304 is recommended as preparation.
MOR 471 – Syllabus – p. 2
Course Notes:
1. Course requirements are designed to keep you prepared and involved in the daily case
discussions and other activities of the class. Your attendance, preparation, and
participation are essential to contribute to the success of the course for all involved.
Attendance will be recorded each day, and you are expected to be present the entire class,
and on time, to receive credit for attendance. Excessive absences (more than three) will
negatively affect your final grade in the course. Each absence over three may reduce your
course grade by one-third of a grade, e.g., from a B to a B-.
2. During case discussions and presentations of material by the instructor, guest speakers,
individual students, or student teams, laptops and tablets should be closed and all electronic
devices, including phones should be turned off.
3. Power point presentations will be posted on Blackboard under “content.” Students are
expected to keep up with posted “assignments,” and “announcements” as well.
Grading Policies:
1. Each graded assignment will be evaluated on a 10-point scale where 9-10 is an “excellent” analysis,
case, or project. This allows for everyone to do well on any particular assignment, e.g., the team
project.
2. At the end of the semester, final grades represent how you perform in the class relative to other
students. Final course grading will be in accordance with the policy of the Marshall School of
Business, which is an average of 3.3 gpa for an elective course. Your final course grade is based on
the total of the weighted percentage of all assignments in relation to the other students in the class,
achieving an overall class ranking based on your performance.
3. Peer evaluation will be available for team use to adjust team case and project grades based on
individual member contribution and performance within the team.
4. Assignments must be submitted on the day they are scheduled, and case assignments cannot be
submitted late because we will discuss the case the day it is due. All case assignments and team
project assignments must be submitted in hard copy. Make-up exams will not be scheduled unless
there is a confirmed emergency or illness, and this also applies to other written assignments.
Graded Assignments:
Exams:
Mid-term exam (text and class material)
Final exam (case based exam)
15%
20%
Team projects:
Organization analysis
(written analysis and presentation in class during last week)
Team case analysis and presentation
(Each team will select one of the scheduled cases to write-up
and present in class, and lead the discussion the day the case
is scheduled in the syllabus.)
Individual assignments:
Interview of a HRM/Manager (may be done in pairs)
Written case notes (select 5 of the assigned cases)
Class participation and preparation
20%
10%
10%
15%
10%
Total
100%
MOR 471 – Syllabus – p. 3
Final drop date for the course and attendance at the first two class sessions:
The final drop date for the course with a grade of “W” is the end of the 12th week of class,
November 16. You may be dropped from the class if you do not attend the first two
sessions of the class. Please let me know if you cannot attend these first two classes.
Retention of graded coursework:
Final exams and all other graded papers not returned to the student will be kept for one
year after the end of the fall semester.
Statement for Students with Disabilities
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with
Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved
accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in
the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday
through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776. For more information visit
www.usc.edu/disability .
Statement on Academic Integrity:
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty
include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual
work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to
protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work
as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. SCampus, the
Student Guidebook, (www.usc.edu/scampus or http://scampus.usc.edu) contains the University
Student Conduct Code (see University Governance, Section 11.00), while the recommended
sanctions are located in Appendix A.
Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for
further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be
found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/ . Failure to adhere to the academic conduct
standards set forth by these guidelines and our programs will not be tolerated by the USC Marshall
community and can lead to dismissal.
Emergency Preparedness/Course Continuity:
In case of a declared emergency if travel to campus is not feasible, USC executive leadership will
announce an electronic way for instructors to teach students in their residence halls or homes using
a combination of Blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technologies.
Please activate your course in Blackboard with access to the course syllabus. Whether or not you
use Blackboard regularly, these preparations will be crucial in an emergency. USC's Blackboard
learning management system and support information is available at blackboard.usc.edu.
MOR 471 – Syllabus – p. 4
Course Format: We will use a variety of learning activities, including lecture, discussion, case
analyses, team activities, self-assessment, guest speakers, and experiential exercises to enhance the
learning experience. Some interviewing and other field research activities will be assigned to gain
greater knowledge about different approaches to the management of people and performance and
the various professional activities performed by the human resource management function.
Course Outline and Assignments: You are expected to have read the assigned reading in the text
as indicated in the following schedule. Each week there is a case assigned for class discussion.
You will select five of the 13 cases to write-up and submit notes (no more than three double-spaced
pages of notes) responding to the posted questions. The schedule may change as we assess our
progress throughout the semester, and additional assignments may be made. We will have several
guest speakers representing different industries and different activities of human resource
management (their schedules may change as well). Cases are in the Reader.
Week
Date
Topic
1
Aug 27
Introduction to the course
29
2
Sep 3
5
3
Sep 10
12
4
Sep 17
Taking a strategic approach to HRM
6
Understanding the environmental context
Read Ch 2
Case 2 – Cisco Systems
Meet in the ELC in JKP 301
Read Ch 3
Aligning HR with the organization
Case 3 – Verizon Comm.
Begin presentations of Fortune “100 Best Companies”
Guest speaker
Read Ch 4
Case 4 – Staffing Wal-Mart
Meet in the ELC in JKP
Read Ch 5
26
Conducting job analyses
Case 5 – 3M’s Leadership
Oct 1
Oct 8
10
8
Read Ch 1
Case 1 – Men’s Wearhouse
Sep 24
3
7
No assignment
Labor Day holiday
The legal context of employment
5
Assignments
Oct 15
17
Guest speaker
Recruiting and retaining employees
Guest speaker
Read Ch 6
Case 6 – Microsoft
Read Ch 7
Selecting employees
Case 7 – Employment Selection
Interview with an HR/manager paper due
Meet in the ELC in JKP
Training and development
Read Ch 8
Case 8 – Art and Practice/Learning
MOR 471 – Syllabus – p. 5
Week Date
9
Oct 22
24
10
Oct 29
31
11
Nov 5
7
12
Nov 12
14
13
Nov 19
21
14
Nov 26
28
15
Topic
Guest speaker
Assignments
Read Ch 9
Measuring performance and feedback Case 9 – Morgan Stanley (2 cases)
Meet in the ELC in JKP
Understanding total compensation
Guest speaker
Read Ch10
Mid-term exam
Read Ch 11
The effect of performance pay on motivation Case 10 – Harrah’s
Guest speaker
Providing benefits and services
Meet in the ELC in JKP
Read Ch 12
Case 11 – Lotus Development
Read Ch 13
Thanksgiving Holiday
Workplace safety and health
The role of unions
Dec 3
Team project presentations
5
Team project presentations
7
Team written projects due
14
Final exam – 11:00 to 1:00 pm
Case 12 – Workplace Safety at Alcoa
Read Ch 14
Case 13 – Sprint (A)(B)
Course evaluation