COURSE SYLLABUS
MGMT 304: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
California State University, Chico
Spring 2013
Professor:
Office:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Office hours:
Dr. Suzanne Zivnuska
309 Glenn Hall
898-6570
szivnuska@csuchico.edu
Tu/Th 8:00-9:30, 1:45 – 2:45, and by appointment
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
This course surveys human resource management issues and skills needed for effective
performance by every manager and employee. The focus of the course is on methods
of recruiting, hiring, developing, evaluating, rewarding, and disciplining employees in
order to attract and retain the best possible workforce in any organization. Rights and
responsibilities for employees and organizations will be addressed.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Human Resource Management (HRM) is a fascinating field of study because the field
focuses on an organization's most important asset--its people. In this class, you explore
the importance of HRM principles and procedures from three perspectives: yours, a
manager's, and an organization's.
Many of you may be asking a very important and legitimate question: “Why do I need to
learn about HRM?” As an individual, you’ll need to make the most of your career—HRM
can provide you with important clues on how to do that. As a manager or business
owner, you’ll need to know how to hire, develop, and retain the most talented people you
can find—HRM teaches you that. From an organization’s perspective, HRM provides
companies with strategic advantages (such as expertise on staffing global and virtual
operations) and reduces risk (such as lawsuits for unlawful practices).
Based on these three perspectives, the course learning objectives are as follows. By the
end of the semester successful students will:
 Understand HRM’s contribution to organizational effectiveness and employee
quality of work life.
 Understand how HRM is performed within organizations.
 Know how to diagnose and resolve organizational problems by applying HRM
principles.
 Improve your personal effectiveness within organizations through the knowledge
and application of HRM principles.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
The format of the class will consist of lectures, discussions, cooperative teamwork,
cases, experiential exercises, and a simulation. Lectures and discussions will not
necessarily cover the same material as the text but will focus on clarifying and
supplementing it. Because true learning occurs only when the learner is an active
participant in the learning process, your active participation in this class is essential and
expected. Participation includes preparing for class, contributing to class discussions,
asking questions, and fully contributing to individual and team activities. Cases,
exercises, and the simulation will be used to emphasize certain managerial concepts
and make the course material more relevant and understandable.
REQUIRED READING
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2011). Fundamentals of
Human Resource Management, 4th ed.
Knowledge Companion. (2008). Managing human resources: An educational
simulation for university and organizational learners. Purchased at
www.thehrsim.com. The simulation costs about $40 and is required of each
student.
Ellsworth, B., & Higgins, J. A. 2010. English Simplified, 12th ed.
College of Business. 2005. Avoiding Common Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, and
Style Errors. Posted on Vista.
College of Business. Writing Rubric: Guidelines for assessment. Posted on Vista.
I also suggest you read and practice the learning tips offered by Dr. Marc Siegall at the
website: http://www.csuchico.edu/~msiegall/magic.pdf.
The syllabus, class handouts, and additional readings will be available on Vista. Please
check the website daily for new announcements, materials, and updates.
SUPPLEMENTAL TEXTS
I have a variety of other human resource textbooks in my office for anyone who is having
difficulty with the textbook reading assignments. If you think you would benefit from a
different writing style or approach to a particular topic, please feel free to come by my
office hours or make an appointment and I will be happy to share these resources with
you.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
INDIVIDUAL WORK: EXAMS & QUIZZES 80%
You will be asked to complete exams and quizzes individually (as described below).
Please note that the weighted average of all exams and quizzes MUST BE A PASSING
GRADE (60% or better) for you to pass the course. If you do not earn a passing grade
on the individual work in this class, your final course grade will be the average of your
individual work.
Exams 70%
These exams are opportunities to demonstrate your knowledge of and ability to
apply course concepts. There are two midterm exams during the semester,
which may include multiple choice and/or short answer questions. Each midterm
is worth 20% of your final course grade. The third exam is a cumulative final
exam worth 30% of your final course grade. All exams cover material from the
texts, handouts, class lectures, class discussions, case analyses, learning
activities, and guest speakers. In preparing for the exams you are responsible
for all assigned material even though not all of the material will be lectured on or
discussed during class.
For each exam you need to bring a scantron #882 and a #2 pencil. Exams may
be taken only on the scheduled day and time; no make-up exams are offered.
If you miss an exam, you will earn a zero on it.
Quizzes 10%
Two quizzes will be given during the semester covering material from the Human
Resource Management Simulation. Details about these quizzes will be given
when we begin the HRM Simulation later in the semester.
TEAM WORK: HR SIMULATION 20%
The simulation will be completed in assigned teams. It will be critical that you
practice excellent leadership and communication skills with your team members.
The purpose of the simulation is for you to apply what you’ve learned about HRM
by making the type of decisions an HRM executive might in a medium-sized
organization. Your grade on the simulation is based on several different
performance criteria. The first deliverable is a written report about your strategy
for the simulation and a working plan for your team. It is written as a team, and is
worth 5% of your course grade. The second deliverable is an oral report about
the results of the simulation and what you learned. It is given as a team, and is
worth 10% of your course grade. The third component of your simulation grade
is based on your team’s rank at the end of the simulation and is worth 5% of your
total course grade.
Additionally, each individual student’s performance will be evaluated by his/her
peers. The team will aggregate each team member’s scores into a final peer
evaluation grade. I will then multiply your team grade on the final report and
presentation by your peer evaluation grade. For example, if your team earned
95% on your strategic plan, and you earned 90% on your peer evaluation, your
personal grade for the strategic plan would be 90*95=86. Attendance from all
students is required on the final day of peer evaluations; absence on this
day will result in a zero on your peer evaluation grade.
More about the simulation project will be provided in a separate handout.
ASSESSMENT
Your written work in MGMT 304 is assessed for the thoroughness with which you apply
the text and lecture materials, your organization, your clarity, and the overall quality of
your writing. Therefore, both the content and the mechanics of your writing are assessed
as part of the grading process. More than two errors (spelling, typographical, or
grammatical) on any out-of-class written assignment will reduce your grade on the
assignment. Please refer to the College of Business Writing Rubric (posted on Vista) for
specific expectations regarding your written work.
Final course grades are based on your performance on all of the course assessment
tools throughout the semester. Your catalog defines each letter grade as quoted below.
I have also expanded a bit to explain my own perspective on what each grade means.
A = Superior Work: "achievement so outstanding that it is normally attained by
relatively few students." In addition to the requirements for a B, A work must
demonstrate originality – a creative, surprisingly good performance from
beginning to end.
B = Above Average Work: "achievement clearly better than adequate
competence in the subject matter/skill, but not as good as the superior
achievement of students earning As." In addition to the requirements for a C, B
work must demonstrate thorough analysis of the problem, a satisfactory solution,
judgment and tact in presenting the solution, good organization, and appropriate
writing style when the solution is presented in writing.
C = Adequate Work: "achievement indicating adequate competence in the
subject/skill. This level will usually be met by a majority of the students in the
class." C work demonstrates satisfactory analysis of the problem, judgment, tact,
organization, and writing style but nothing particularly good or bad.
D = Minimally Acceptable Work: "achievement which meets the minimum
requirements of the course." D work is characterized by the presence of a glaring
defect in an otherwise acceptable paper or by generally inadequate treatment or
judgment.
F = Unacceptable Work: "achievement that fails to meet the minimum
requirements of the course." F work demonstrates coverage only of essential
points, poor organization, offensive tone, careless handling of the mechanics of
written language.
Because a grade of “C” generally means adequate work usually met by a majority of
students in the class, the class average will probably be in the “C” range. You may use
the following grade distributions as a guideline in determining how you are doing in the
class (standard rounding procedures apply -- .5 rounds up, .4 rounds down):
A
AB+
B
93 - 100%
90 – 92%
87 – 89%
83 – 86%
BC+
C
C-
80 – 82%
77 – 79%
73 – 76%
70 – 72%
D+
D
F
67 – 69%
60 – 66%
0 – 59%
COURSE POLICIES
1. Disenrollment
Students who miss the first class meeting without prior notification will be automatically
dropped.
2. Commitment, Rigor, and Expectations
To succeed in this course, plan on spending at least two hours studying outside of
class for every lecture hour we spend in class. For example, we will be meeting for
two and a half hours/week, so you will need to plan on spending at least 5 hours each
week reading and outlining your chapters, reviewing vocabulary words, reviewing your
notes, and working on extra assignments. Thus, you can reasonably expect to dedicate
about 8 hours/week to this course, and probably more during exam time or when you are
working on class projects. Keep this rule of thumb in mind when enrolling for your other
classes, making work and family commitments, and planning your extra-curricular
activities. The Student Learning Center on campus offers regular workshops on time
management and study skills.
You may sometimes wonder why a professor is demanding. There are three major
reasons. First, in order to grow intellectually and professionally we all need to stretch.
Second, university policy demands rigor on the part of faculty and students. In part,
university policy states: "Academic rigor consists of dedication on the part of students
and faculty to the pursuit of academic excellence, including discipline of mind and
disciplined behavior, intellectual honesty, decorum and civility." The third reason is very
practical: employers demand it. I want to help prepare you for excellence in your career,
so I set high standards.
3. Academic Honesty
Please become familiar with the University’s policy on academic integrity (see page 51
of the University Catalog). Absolute academic honesty is expected in this class. As a
reminder, plagiarism (cheating) is the intentional or unintentional presentation of another
person’s ideas as your own. Some examples of academic dishonesty are insufficient
citation of external sources in a project; copying authors of web sites, books, or articles;
copying other students’ projects or homework; copying examples in the textbook;
collaborating with others on assignments other than team projects; copying other
students’ exam answers; revealing exam questions to other students or exam files;
signing in other students on attendance rosters.
In any instance of plagiarism (intentional or unintentional), you will be referred to Student
Judicial Affairs and risk one or more of the following: failure on the assignment, failure in
the course, and/or suspension from the University.
Additionally, the University’s policies on withdrawal, incompletes, and UW grades will be
followed. Please refer to the University Catalog, pp. 155-160.
4. Advice
Nothing stated by the professor should be regarded as legal advice or financial advice.
Rather, the purpose of all exchanges between professor and student, regardless of the
location of such exchanges, is to further the objectives of this course.
5. Class Attendance
I expect your regular attendance and active participation in class. Class will begin and
end at the designated times. Any student who engages in disruptive or non-participating
behavior (headphones, cell phones, pagers, private conversations, reading the
newspaper, sleeping, etc.) will be penalized up to five percentage points off their final
grade.
6. Grades
If you believe that a graded assignment deserves a different grade than what you
earned, you may request a re-grade. Your request must be in writing, be professional in
tone and style, and be attached to the original graded assignment. Appropriately
referencing the text, lecture notes or other relevant materials, to support your argument.
Re-grade requests must be made within a week of receiving a graded assignment. If
you have a legitimate argument, I will re-grade the assignment.
7. Preparing For Class
Please bring your textbook and all extra materials (see Vista) to each class meeting.
Come physically and mentally ready to commit your full attention and energy to our
learning environment.
8. Copies of Work
Always (1) keep copies of the work you turn in and (2) retain the work you receive back.
If a question arises, a copy of your work solves the problem.
9. Contacting me
Please feel free to stop by my office hours, call me on the phone, or email me with any
issues you need to discuss. The sooner I am aware of any problems you may be
having, the sooner a solution can be developed and the more likely you are to succeed
in this course.
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability or chronic
illness, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during
office hours. Please also contact Disability Support Services (DSS) as they are the
designated department responsible for approving and coordinating reasonable
accommodations and services for students with disabilities. DSS will help you
understand your rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act and
provide you further assistance with requesting and arranging accommodations. If you
are registered with DSS and want to make arrangements to take your exams there,
please let me know as soon as possible.
10. Change
Because it is impossible to predict precisely how a semester will progress before it
begins, changes to the content, weighting, and/or sequencing of assignments may
occur. In short, this syllabus and the accompanying Course Schedule is subject to
change at any time.
COURSE SCHEDULE
MGMT 304: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Dr. Suzanne Zivnuska
California State University, Chico
Spring 2013
Check Vista and read all assignments BEFORE CLASS. Come to class prepared with
hard copies of all posted exercises and activities.
Week 1: January 28
Session I
Introduction & HR Ethics
Session II
HR Environment & Strategy
Ch 1
Ch 2
Week 2: February 4
Session I
Diversity & Equal Opportunity
Session II
Safety & Job Analysis
Ch 3
Ch 4
Week 3: February 11
Session I
Planning & Recruitment
Session II
Selection: Process & Job Applications
Week 4: February 18
Session I
Selection: Tests, Interviews, & Decisions
Session II
Review & Integration
Ch 5
Team Assignments
Ch 6, pp. 174 – 189
Ch 6, pp. 189 – 203
Week 5: February 25
Session I
From the Trenches: Shelby Stack, Gallo Wine
Exam 1
Session II
Week 6: March 4
Session I
Training
Session II
Performance Management
Week 7: March 11
Session I
Performance Management Day 2
Session II
Compensation: Structures
Ch 7
Ch 8
Review Ch 8
Ch 11
Quiz 1 due before class
March 18 - 22 SPRING BREAK – NO CLASSES
Week 8: March 25
Session I
Compensation: Incentives
Session II
Compensation: Benefits
Week 9: April 1
Session I
Employee Exit
From the Trenches: Guest Speaker
Session II
Ch 12
Ch 13
Ch 10
Week 10: April 8
Session I
Review & Integration
Exam 2
Session II
Week 11: April 15
Session I
Simulation
Session II
Deliverable 1 due
Quiz 2 due before class
Developmental peer
feedback due
Simulation
Week 12: April 22
Session I
Simulation
Session II
Simulation
Week 13: April 29
Session I
Simulation
Session II
Simulation
Week 14: May 6
Session I
Simulation
Session II
Simulation
Week 15: May 13
Session I
Presentations
Session II
Presentations, Review & Integration
Peer evaluations due
FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE
9:30 Class: Tuesday May 21, 12 – 1:50 p.m., GLNN 214
12:30 Class: Tuesday May 21, 2 - 3:50 p.m., GLNN 302