Course Syllabus
MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
Honour Code
The University of Fredericton recognizes that its fundamental academic mission is in the
provision of higher educational opportunities for aspiring adult students to obtain advanced
levels of knowledge that will aid them in the attainment of career objectives and lifetime goals.
As mature and responsible members of our University, students are expected to respect the
rights and privileges of others, and to promote an academic community environment, which
proactively embraces knowledge and enhances learning. In acknowledgement of commitment
to the academic mission of the University of Fredericton, students engaged in this course have
previously indicated their obligation to abide by the following Honour Code:
I pledge, that as a student of the University of Fredericton, I will uphold all Policies on Students
Conduct and Academic Honesty (for reference to policies go to Policy A3.0 on the University
website). Specifically, this pledge includes not cheating, plagiarizing, or using inappropriate or
dishonest means to undertake or complete anything I do for a grade, program, or graduation
requirement. This also includes providing unauthorized assistance to, or participating in
inappropriate collaboration with, others. I understand that this is a privilege and it is my
responsibility to uphold actively this honour system. Furthermore, this pledge signifies that I
will treat others with respect, as I expect others to treat me.
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
Course Introduction
Welcome to Strategic Human Resource Planning!
In today’s competitive business environment, the study of Human Resource Management
(HRM) has never been more important. It is through people that organizations gain their
competitive advantage. It is through the management of people that organizations can sustain
itself” (Mathis, Jackson, and Zinni, 2008). Indeed, human capital is an organization’s only
sustainable competitive advantage. How we manage that intellect is critical to the success of
an organization. The challenge goes beyond recruiting, selection, training, and compensating
employees. It is also the capturing and sharing of knowledge and skills; that tacit knowledge
that provides internal best practices. Hiring the best is not enough. We must lead the best to
maximize their contribution while treating them with dignity and respect.
A significant challenge for human resources is being a strategic player. It is increasingly
important that HR professionals understand their organization’s business, their objectives and
strategies, their competitive market, and how they can add value to senior management.
Likewise, it is important for managers to understand the critical role that HR policies and
practices play in the success of the organization.
While this course is grounded in research and presents concepts, it goes further to offer
practical applications through a progressive case study, other cases, and discussion threads.
Your reading will be supplemented by dialoguing your ideas and experiences with other
students, while applying concepts to cases and the realities of organizational life.
You do not need to be in HR to find value is this course. In reality, every manager is an HR
manager. Every manager of people must deal with HR-related issues. So, whether you are in
HR, or in line management, or an owner of a company, this course will be a resource to you. If
you are an employee of an organization, you are the recipient of HR policies and practices. You
will find value as you gain an understanding of how these policies and practices impact you.
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
The Focus of Human Resource Planning: Teamwork and Collaboration
The changes in organizations and the global competitive environment have necessitated that
HR take a more central and strategic role. We will pay special attention to these important
changes in this course, examining their implications for HR, and for our own working lives.
By the end of this course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of the main aspects of
HRM. Some of the more significant content of this course is discussed below:
•
HR’s strategic contribution to organizational effectiveness including strategic factors
affecting HR, strategic HR planning, and evaluating the effectiveness of HR
•
Staffing the organization, including the legal aspects of staffing; diversity; equal
employment; discrimination; job design and job analysis; recruiting with consideration of
supply and demand for labor, sources, and methods; and interviewing techniques
•
Training and developing human resources including linking training to strategy and the
design process
•
Compensating human resources including forms of pay and benefits
•
Employee relations including health, safety, and security issues; employee rights and
discipline; and union – management relations
By the end of this course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of HRM and the
implications of HRM for organizational and managerial success.
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
Your Professor
Greetings! My name is Julius Demps II and I am very
excited to serve The University of Fredericton!
As an academic, I have taught a number of courses in
the areas of Management, Leadership and Human
Resources across traditional undergraduate, adult
degree, M.B.A., Executive M.B.A. and doctoral programs
both on ground and online. I am currently serving as a
full-time Professor of Management and Department
Chair at a university in Florida. I have also served on such university committees as Teaching
Excellence, Chairperson for the Student Alumni Advisory Committee, Executive Business
Committee, Graduate Committee, and currently serve as a University Sexual Harassment/Title
IX/Civil Rights Investigator. In previous years I have also served as the Co-Director of the
Leadership Center in our College of Business.
I have worked professionally as a Human Resources Generalist and have served as a
consultant to several Fortune 500 companies in Florida. I deliver seminars and teambuilding
activities, which provide insight into some of the primary issues that affect business
organizations. My goal is to “plant seeds” which help individuals reflect upon how they are
affected by their own behaviors and how those behaviors impact the world around them.
I am a huge advocate for students and work closely with the student life and athletics
departments at my university as a mentor, guide, and recruiter as they are my primary passion.
In terms of formal education, I hold a Bachelor of Science in Sociology with a minor in Business,
a Master of Arts in Human Resources Development, and a Ph.D. in Education – Specializing in
Organizational Leadership.
My research interests are studies involving the evaluation of the perceptions of employee
salary reductions and organizational downsizing with integrity.
My personal interests are martial arts, science fiction, and jazz music.
Julius Demps II
Email: julius.demps@ufred.ca
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
Learning Objectives
This course presents a comprehensive study of human resource management (HRM) and its
role in the organization. Students will be able to:
•
Determine the strategic role HRM plays in organizational success
•
Assess the value HRM provides to organizations
•
Identify and explain aspects of HRM that are becoming increasingly important for
today’s organizations and employees
•
Identify the legal aspects of HRM in general and for their organizations
•
Analyze HRM-related challenges/issues facing students in their field, generating
strategies and tactics for solving these issues, and apply the concepts to their jobs
•
Apply knowledge gained in the course to the diagnosis of problems in written cases and
their work situation
•
Offer constructive feedback to peers regarding their HRM ideas
•
Effectively collaborate with a virtual team to produce quality results
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
Course Expectations
vClass Sessions
These live sessions will be held as per the dates and times stated on the Master Table.
Students are expected to be present and participate in each vClass session. These sessions
will last for approximately 120 minutes. It is expected that you engage others and make
substantial comments demonstrating understanding and/or application of the concepts under
discussion
Threaded Discussion Boards
The Discussion Board Exchange is a course wide assignment forum. Students are required to
post an initial response and then contribute at least two entries for each week in response to
student postings. The instructor begins the dialogue by posting questions or statements that
are associated with the course, specific lessons within the course, and/or associative business
events. Students respond by entering a thought-provoking question(s), unique answers or
alternatives, interesting related insights or experiences, challenging thoughts, objective
reaction to another student’s entry, and/or a provision(s) of excellent references/case
studies/research reports/etc. (citing sources).
In-depth responses of 150 to 200 words are considered to be substantive. Posts should not
just simply state agreement or disagreement. Explanations as to why you agree or disagree are
required in order to receive full credit. Utilizing outside reference materials to support your
positions is strongly encouraged. Your initial response to the posted discussion should be
made by end-of-day Friday at 5:00 PM ET, in order to give others an opportunity to respond.
To clarify, you are to:
1. Make your initial, substantial response to each threaded discussion. If there are two
discussion questions, respond to both.
2. Respond to a minimum of two other students’ responses for each threaded discussion.
So, if there are two threaded discussions, you will need a minimum of four responses. As
always, these responses are to be substantial in nature.
Note: Your initial response is due Friday, 5:00 PM ET and your responses to others are due
Sunday at 11:55 PM ET
Required Readings
The weekly Required Readings should be read prior to the scheduled weekly vClass. They are
listed as required and recommended to assist students in prioritizing their workload and in
preparation for vClass discussion. Some weeks have hefty reading assignments, and students
will want to plan ahead to manage their workloads. Required means just that. All required
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
readings are from the course text or will otherwise be provided in the course Reference
directory/materials.
Office Hours
There are times when you may want to ask the professor a question or have an assignment
explained. I will like to hold a designated office hour on Wednesday evenings from 8:00 PM
9:00 PM ET. You can reach me at my email and Skype address – julius.demps@ufred.ca
and I will do my best to respond within 24 hours.
Program Standards
High standards of honesty and ethical behaviour are important to our program. All assignments
submitted, other than those designated as “team”, must be the students’ own work. Teamwork
is meant to be equal efforts by all group members.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is taken seriously as a form of stealing. Plagiarism occurs when a writer uses the
words or ideas of others as if they were his/her own words. It can be easily avoided by always
acknowledging the use of another’s exact or paraphrased words/ideas with a proper citation
and reference of the source. Today’s plagiarism detection software programs are extremely
effective and widely used as a “stage one” screening device in the process of grading written
assignments; detected plagiarism will result in an automatic “failing” grade for the course.
Students are strictly prohibited from uploading the following to any website outside of the
University of Fredericton:
Course documents
Essays/assignments
Answer keys
Responses to quizzes/exams/discussion questions
Quiz/exam/discussion forum instructions or questions
Any other material(s) contained within the University of Fredericton’s online campus, including
all courses and/or other virtual spaces to any site outside of the university’s online campus,
regardless of whether the student is the author of these course documents or not.
Students found posting course information, documents, materials, assignment
responses/information (or any other materials contained therein), etc. to any website outside of
the University of Fredericton will be subject to the university’s policies on Academic Honesty,
Student Code of Conduct, Copyright, and Intellectual Property. Students who post to these
websites should be aware that they may be in breach of privacy and/or confidentiality of their
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
professor and/or their fellow students by posting any group materials and/or materials that
they have not written to an outside website. As such, students will be subject to the University
of Fredericton’s policies on Academic Honesty, Student Code of Conduct, Copyright, and
Intellectual Property (please refer to the UFred Academic Policy Manual under Policies and
Forms in the online campus for further information).
Course Progress Inquiries
If students are unsure of whether or not they are on track with their progress in their course(s),
they should contact their professor.
Usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Assignments
Students can utilize AI, such as ChatGPT, as an educational tool for assignments. However, it is
important to adhere to the following guidelines when using this technology:
Academic Integrity: It is crucial to maintain academic integrity when using AI technologies for
assignments. Students should clearly acknowledge any AI-generated information received
from large language models (LLM) like ChatGPT and properly attribute the generated content.
Plagiarism, whether from human or AI sources, is not acceptable and can have severe
consequences.
Sourcing: When using information obtained through AI, students must independently verify the
accuracy of this information using authoritative, academic sources. Students should always
properly cite their sources in APA style. Note that AI can make up references that are not real.
It is important to verify every reference and all information provided by AI.
Originality: While AI can be a valuable tool for brainstorming ideas or gathering preliminary
insights, all submitted work must be original. Students may use AI as a tool to inspire and
enhance their thoughts, not as a substitute for their own analysis and interpretation.
Ethical Usage: It is important to use AI ethically. Avoid any misuse that may be harmful,
offensive, or inappropriate. Remember that the tool is a representation of data and does not
possess its own consciousness or emotions. As such, AI can be used to help spark ideas, but
students need to write the assignment deliverable in their own words using their own thoughts.
If a student has used AI to generate content, it must be cited.
Consultation with Professors: If a student is unsure about the use of AI technologies for their
assignments, they should consult with their professors or academic advisors. They can provide
guidance specific to a student’s situation, ensuring they stay within the established policies
and guidelines.
Remember, the purpose of assignments is to enhance students’ understanding, critical
thinking, and problem-solving skills. Properly using AI can complement a student’s learning
journey, but it should never replace genuine effort and engagement with the subject matter.
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Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in academic penalties in accordance with the
university’s academic honesty policy. We ask that students explore this technology
responsibly, using it as a supplementary resource to broaden their understanding and facilitate
their learning.
Approach to Learning
This course will incorporate faculty facilitation of content knowledge and its applications.
Student achievement of course objectives is evidenced by text-based discussions, individual
written work, and teamwork. Through individual and team projects, students practice and
refine learned skills and evidence application of knowledge for evaluation and grading.
Assignments and Late Assignments
All assignments are listed and explained in the Master Table and Course Deliverables. It is
expected that all work will be of a professional quality including spelling, grammar, and citing of
sources.
Post your work to the appropriate Assignment Drop Box page, or the weekly forum (for
Threaded Discussion topics) under the Lesson Assignment Posting for that week. Threaded
discussions in the weekly forum are to be completed during the assigned week. The
assignments and submission posted/submitted will be what is graded. So, if you have
questions about an assignment, ask before submission. Threaded discussions in the weekly
forum are to be completed during the assigned week.
Course policy: A 10%-point penalty per day will be assessed for all late or incomplete work. An
assignment is considered late if it is sent to the instructor after 9:00 am (ET) of the Monday
morning when the assignment was due. Late assignments not turned in within 72 hours after
due date will receive a grade of "0".
Threaded discussion comments posted after the Monday deadline will receive a grade of 0.
Feedback
As a student, you are entitled to timely feedback on all of your work. Feedback is critical to
improvement. It is my intent to have feedback to you within seven days from the due date.
Feedback will be provided electronically on the work submitted electronically.
Attendance
The course emphasizes group interaction to enhance learning. If a student is absent from a
vClass or does not fully participate in the discussion forums, benefits received through class
involvement are lost. Students are allowed three vClass absences during the course (course
grade may be affected). Students missing a vClass must listen to the recorded session and
submit a written response to the questions posed during that session. The submission must be
made within the week of the missed vClass. The participation grade for a missed vClass that
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
has been made up is up to 90%. vClasses not made up will receive a grade of 0. Since
assignments are sent electronically, assignments are still to be submitted when due even if the
vClass is missed. Late assignment penalties apply.
Participation
Students are expected to participate in each vClass (40% of participation grade) and in the
online threaded discussions (60% of participation grade). Your response to the threaded
discussions should add value to the discussion. In-depth responses of 150 to 200 words are
required. It is expected that you engage others and make substantial comments demonstrating
understanding and/or application of the concepts under discussion. This is a major part of your
participation grade. I expect your quality posting and in-depth responses to a minimum of two
other students’ postings in addition to your own posting (see Discussion Board Exchanges
above for more details). These two areas comprise your participation grade.
Teams
Teamwork provides students with an opportunity to develop and refine teamwork skills while
demonstrating mastery of subject content. There will be one or more team projects, including a
team presentation. Team members are expected to fully participate in the team project(s) and
take an active part in the presentation.
Team members have the responsibility to determine their project schedules and team member
assignments.
American Psychological Association (APA) Standards and Guidelines
The APA 7 Style and format is a set of rules developed to assist and support reading
comprehension in the social and behavioural sciences.
“APA Style provides a foundation for effective scholarly communication because it helps
writers present their ideas in a clear, precise, and inclusive manner” (American Psychological
Association, 2019, para. 1).
Unless their professor states otherwise, students should use 1” margins, double line spacing,
12-point Times New Roman font, and APA 7 headings for all assignments and reports.
References
American Psychological Association. (2019). About APA Style. American Psychological
Association. https://apastyle.apa.org/about-apa-style
Privacy and Confidentiality
One of the strengths of this experience is that students can draw on the wealth of examples
from their organizations and personal experiences in class discussions and in their written
work. However, it is imperative that students not share information that is confidential,
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
privileged, or proprietary in nature. Students must be mindful of any contracts they have
agreed to with their companies.
End Course Evaluation
All students are to submit a completed Course Evaluation Form. This form will be available on
your course page during the last week of the term, and must be submitted by an announced
date/time which will indicate access closure to the course. These Evaluations are critical to the
University of Fredericton, in that they provide you with the platform to express your opinions
and experiences concerning several aspects of the course taken. This valuable feedback is
reviewed each term by the Dean’s Office for the consideration or adoption of needed revisions,
future technological improvements, and/or specific enhancements in course quality.
Grading Philosophy
At the University of Fredericton, we are focused on professional development whereby each
student has an opportunity to evolve as a professional and/or leader. To evolve, one must
master new knowledge – but one must also demonstrate an ability to listen, to develop one’s
personal credibility to a point where one’s considered and stated opinions are heard and
respected, to engage in constructive and positive discourse about contentious issues, to
contribute substantively and positively to your current team’s assignment, and to contribute
meaningfully to decisions about your organization’s future. For these reasons, the degree
earned is not simply about the mastery of content – it is also about full-fledged development as
a professional and/or leader.
Thus, a grade for a particular course is much more than a reflection of demonstrated new
knowledge - it is also a reflection of our assessment of the candidate’s potential to assume a
professional and/or leadership role in an organization. To assist this process of professional
evolution, within each course the University exposes students to vClass seminars and debates,
the Discussion Forum, group projects, and a peer evaluation system that altogether permit
students to evolve, and showcase their evolution. Thus, by incorporating evidence from all of
these venues, the grade awarded is a reflection of how the professor and peers have
perceived not only the student’s mastery of new knowledge, but also mastery of professional
conduct.
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
Grading Procedure Deliverable Values
Four Individual Writing Assignments
30%
Weekly Seminar Participation and Threaded Discussion
Forums
20%
Individual Reflection Paper
25%
The Sports Board Unlimited Progressive case
25%
Grading Scale
Letter Grade
Points
A+
98 – 100
A
94 – 97
A-
90 – 93
B+
87 – 89
B
84 – 86
B-
80 – 83
C+
76 – 79
C
70 – 75
F
0 - 69
Note: Peer evaluations will be used in calculating your team project grades and will impact your
course grade.
Note: The Gradebook is for informational purposes only. As not all deliverables used to
determine your final grade for a course may be present within it, please adhere to the final
grade notice sent from University of Fredericton at the end of your course. For questions about
your grades on assignments, quizzes, exams, etc., please contact your Professor.
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
Course Materials
Required Text
Belcourt, M.; Singh, P.; Snell, S.; & Morris, S. (2019) Managing Human Resources (9th ed).
Nelson
ISBN-13: 978-0-176-79805-5
Resources
(Case Studies, Exercises, Additional Readings, Forms)
•
Progressive case with four parts is contained within this Syllabus, Course Deliverables
•
Case studies are included in the textbook package; any others will be posted on the
class site
•
Supplementary readings are provided online as electronic files within the course
•
See the Course Outline for details regarding required cases and supplementary readings
•
Resources - Please see individual Lesson pages for all other required/non-required
reading and forms
Harvard Business Course Pack
In certain weeks of the course, you may need to access your article readings through the
Harvard Business course pack available on the Harvard Business Publishing website.
Please click the following link to access the course pack:
https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/858081
harvrd.edu/import/658822
Please note that you will need to create a free account in order to access the course pack.
Some of the articles within the course pack may require a small fee (approximately $8.00 USD)
in order to access them.
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
Course Deliverables
Individual Assignments (non-graded)
Peer Evaluations (not graded)
Each team member will complete a peer evaluation on a team assessment instrument for the
evaluation of his/her team members. This information is used to adjust individual contributions
to team projects. Confidentiality regarding the identity of all respondents will be maintained. In
instances where a student makes a formal appeal based on the peer evaluations, summary
comments may be made available to the student.
Course Evaluation (by student, mandatory from every student; not graded)
All students are to submit a completed Course Evaluation Form to the Administrative Office.
The Course Evaluation Form will be provided during the last week of the term and must be
submitted by an announced date/time which will indicate access closure to the course. Results
of the Course Evaluations are withheld from the course instructor until his/her final grades have
been filed with the University’s Administrative Office. These Evaluations are important in that
they provide you with the opportunity to express your opinions and experiences concerning
several aspects of the course taken; which may ultimately contribute to the consideration or
adoption of needed revisions, future technological improvements, and/or specific
enhancements in quality
Individual Writing Assignments (30%)
Individual assignments are three to four-page papers that deal in specific content. Students
are to follow the guidelines to ensure they earn maximum credit.
Lesson 2: Equity and Diversity in Human Resources Management
Write a three to four-page paper identifying 4 or 5 of your organization’s discrimination
policies. Based on your organization’s discrimination policies, explain a situation where there
was a discrimination complaint. To what extent was the policies followed? What were the
outcomes and impact on the organization’s internal morale and image? Also, identify your
organization’s diversity strategy and how it has provided your workplace with a competitive
advantage.
Lesson 4: Expanding the Talent Pool: Recruitment and Careers/Employee Selection
Write a three to four-page paper on the recruitment and employee selection process in your
organization and address the following: (a) Does your organization prefer a “hire from within”
strategy?; (b) If not, how does this affect employee morale?; (c) If so, has this been harmful or
beneficial? What is your rationale? (d) Discuss the interviewing process within your
organization (i.e. individual or group/team interviewing). How does the organization determine
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
“best fit”? (e) Try to assess what percentage of your organization’s workforce is domestic vs.
global. What dominant skills sets do global employees in your organization bring to the table?
Lesson 6: Performance Management
Write a three to four-page paper identifying and discussing strengths and weaknesses of your
organization’s performance management system. Include in your discussion how you would
improve the performance management system at your company.
Lesson 8: Managing Compensation/Pay-For-Performance: Incentive
Rewards/Employee
Write a three or four-page paper on the system your organization uses to determine the pay for
jobs. How effective is this system? What is your rationale?
Threaded Discussion Boards and vClass Participation (20%)
To clarify, you are to:
1. Make your initial, substantial response to each threaded discussion. If there are two
discussion questions, respond to both.
2. Respond to a minimum of two other students’ responses for each threaded discussion.
So, if there are two threaded discussions, you will need a minimum of four responses (to
two students per questions for a total of four responses to other students). As always,
these responses are to be substantial in nature.
Note: Your initial response is due Friday, 5:00 PM ET and your responses to others are due
Sunday at 11:55 PM ET
Individual Reflection Assignment – (25%)
This assignment is intended to stimulate your thinking about the conceptual and pragmatic
aspects of the assigned readings and discussions, and their implications for your own
managing human resources. There will be one written reflection assignment covering major
concepts from the course.
For each of the assigned areas (total of 7 sections) below, you are to: take the major concept,
explain it, reflect on the concept and then apply that concept to your leadership role and your
organization.
•
•
•
•
•
Section 1: Strategic Role of HR in the Organization
Section 2: Job Analysis and Safety
Section 3: Staffing Systems
Section 4: Performance Management
Section 5: Training and Talent Management & Development
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
•
•
•
Section 6: Compensation
Section 7: The Legal Environment and Diversity & Inclusion
Last section- Lessons Learned: this discusses final discussion on your specific learning’s
from the text, discussions, readings, etc. This should be two pages in length.
The paper covers 7 sections plus the lessons learned. Each section chapter reflection should
be 1.5 pages in length plus 2 pages for lessons learned. The lessons can be around the text,
vClasses and threaded discussions, teaming, personal insights, etc. You are to follow APA
style. Total length of the paper should not exceed 12 pages of content
Your papers should not be simply a paraphrasing of the assigned readings. Instead, your
reflection should be your thoughts and opinions on the readings, the extent to which they
conflict with or corroborate other reading you have done or experiences you’ve had, the extent
to which they have some utility for you (e.g., conceptual development, application potential),
and so forth. Based on this, discuss the insights have you developed about yourself and how
you execute your leadership role. You are also encouraged to explicitly reflect on the reading in
the context of your own HRM related leadership experiences (present or past job/organization,
social clubs, volunteer roles), applying this material as appropriate to probe and explain critical
incidents you have experienced, their relationship to your HRM related leadership role, and
insights into your personal learnings. The final 2 pages of the paper should include what have
you learned from the reading topics, debated positions, other related discussions, vClasses,
teaming, threaded discussions, etc.
While you are required to explicitly focus on the assigned course reading, you are free to draw
on other readings -- from other courses, your job, academic readings – to support the critical
reflection on the application of the concepts. This supplementary support will create a robust
transfer of learning framework to support each chapter and lessons learned reflection. The
assignment is meant to stimulate your thinking of both the conceptual and pragmatic/applied
aspects of the assigned course readings.
Team Assignments
Team Charter (non-graded)
The Team Charter provides the structure for organizing and managing team interactions for the
assigned team projects. Critical parts include contact information, project tasks with
accountabilities, goals, ground rules, and conflict resolution.
Progressive Case Study (25%)
The Sports Board Unlimited (fictitious)
Learning Objective(s):
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
The case is designed to help the student think through issues associated with developing
and sustaining an HR department to support a company facing multiple HR issues. The
student will be able to:
- Align HR initiatives with corporate strategy
- Develop initiatives to address the current external situation
- Develop a complete HR organization structure with roles and responsibilities and
then adjust the structure to support The Sports Board Unlimited
- Develop a basic staffing plan
- Develop a basic talent development plan
- Determine and support a pay and benefits plan
- Determine future HR requirements
Note: Students will need to draw on their experience and conduct research beyond their text.
Case Overview
You are hired as the HR Director for The Sports Board Unlimited (fictitious) which
manufactures and sells sporting equipment for the consumer market. Their products
include paddle boards (new through an acquisition), surf boards, wake boards, knee
boards, snow boards, skateboards, water skis, and snow skis. They sell through
distributors but are also developing a growing on-line presence so consumers can buy
direct.
The sporting goods industry is highly competitive and the company historically followed a
market penetration strategy (using greater marketing efforts to increase market share in its
current markets). Now, they are looking to expand their products and just acquired a firm
making paddle boards. While continuing to improve current products and develop/acquire
new products to be a market leader (product development strategy), they emphasize
growth, innovation, and the development/modification of new products. To respond to the
competitive market and meet customer changing demands, they must be flexible, and have
a flat, and more decentralized organizational structure.
The Sports Board is located 45 miles from a more major metropolitan city with a couple
two-year colleges, a trade school and one university. Given their type of product portfolio,
they are close to a large inland lake. The current unemployment rate is 12.1%. The issue of
the pandemic is a major contributor to the area high unemployment rate. Even with the
pandemic, sales for most products remain strong as consumers use the outdoor sports as a
way to safely move beyond some restrictions.
The owner and President is committed to keeping the organization local and more familyoriented. The Sports Board has either mainly hired friends or promoted within, many of
which are unskilled workers and not trained for their positions. However, the situation is
changing. As the infection rate rises, many employees are not able to come to work. For
production, working from home is not an option. This has resulted in the need to remake the
work environment to ensure safe working conditions. Also, as technology changes, many
workers need to develop new skills to support new production methods as well as some
managerial/administrative workers being able to work from home.
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
Several local companies including The Sports Board have experienced recent labor issues.
The racial demographic makeup of The Sports Board is 78% white, while the local labor
market population is approximately 41% minority. Promotions to management have been
based on seniority/tenure. There is a growing minority population that has not been
accepted into the community. The President and four managers are white males. The only
female supervisor works in the customer service department. All other management
positions are filled by white males. Lately, The Sports Board has been hiring more
millennials resulting in three generations (millennials, Gen Xers and baby boomers) with
differing values and motivators. This has resulted in communication issues, conflict
between the employees of different generations and between management and these
employees. This has resulted in lower job satisfaction, productivity and increased turnover
even in these demanding times. To add to this, The Sports Board only offers the legally
required benefits, which millennials feel is inadequate.
Given the current situation, production workers are demanding premium pay and safer
working conditions based on their fear of contracting COVID 19.
The Sports Board currently employs 241 employees, not including HR but does include
employees from the acquisition. Prior to the acquisition the workforce totaled 176. Due to
increased product demand and the addition of some new products, output needs to be
increased by 37%. New product development must be accelerated to maintain a
competitive advantage. Marketing (including new product development) and Sales
continues to sell products to an expanding market, but the effort has been mostly through
sales professionals. All of the employees in manufacturing (including quality control),
customer service, and operations (responsible for shipping and receiving – distribution,
including raw materials, components parts and finished goods inventory; and maintenance
and cleaning) have a minimum of a high school education or GED. Some skills training
courses are provided by the company. Refer to the organizational chart (Figure 1) for more
details.
The recent acquisition has resulted in some duplication of functions, most notably in the
areas of HR, accounting/finance, marketing and production. While some individuals and
their skills would need to be retained, the redundancy needs to be addressed. In addition,
the sale of knee boards has plummeted as consumer interests have shifted resulting in the
dropping of this product.
Part 1: Designing the HR Department
A. Explain the concepts of organizing and organization design. Develop a complete HR
department, indicating each HR unit. For each HR unit, provide typical
roles/responsibilities and job titles. Provide a typical organization chart of a typical HR
department, not for The Sports Board.
B. Given the size of The Sports Board, indicate which jobs you would combine to reduce
the number of employees in HR. Provide new job titles and organization chart for The
Sports Board HR department. Given this change, indicate the total number of staff for
each HR area.
C. Indicate what HR practices are required to support the corporate strategies.
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
D. Given the recent acquisition, which jobs will you retain? Which jobs will you eliminate
due to redundancy? What criteria will you use to determine who will be terminated?
E. Prepare a 15-minute presentation including discussion on your HR organization for The
Sports Board
Part 2: Developing the Talent Acquisition and Retention Plan
A.
Developing the talent acquisition and retention plan. Given the increase in demand,
how many people will you need to hire and in what functional areas (manufacturing,
operations, customer service, marketing and sales, finance/accounting, and HR).
B.
Indicate your rationale for the hiring in each area. Consider turnover. Identify factors
that could be causing turnover. Identify the costs of turnover.
C.
Indicate the type of interviews you would conduct and why.
D.
Develop strategies to recruit the appropriate applicants, including sources and tools
for recruiting and selection. What is the role of social media in recruiting? Identify
possible areas and types of discrimination in the acquisition process. What steps
would you take to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce (management and
staff)?
E.
What can you do to retain current employees? What are the benefits of retention?
F.
How will you assess the effectiveness of your recruiting efforts?
G.
Given the current situation, what actions will you take to ensure a safe work
environment?
H.
Prepare a 15-minute presentation including discussion.
Part 3: Developing a HRD plan
A. Develop a human resource development (HRD) plan. The Sports Board does not have a
formal training program. Given their current situation and the fact that promotions were
due to seniority, your plan should address the needs of:
1. New employees
2. Current employees (for current and future jobs according to any career path)
3. Management group (supervisors and managers)
4. Specifically, how will you address the generational issues?
5. How will the working from home and remote management skills be addressed?
B. Address the following in your training design process in your paper:
1. Identify the difference between training and learning and development. How will
each be met?
2. Needs assessment: How will you conduct a needs assessment (method and
instruments)?
3. How will the training content be developed or secured?’
4. How will the training be delivered (classroom, intra-net, blended, self-study, etc) and
by whom (internal, external)? What is your rationale for your decision? Explain your
criteria for making your decisions.
5. How (process and instruments) will you evaluate the effectiveness of your program
at all four levels?
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MBA 5045 – Strategic Human Resource Planning
C. Prepare a 15 minute presentation including discussion.
Part 4: Developing a Compensation Plan
A. Develop a progressive (more current, appealing, or advanced) yet competitive (as it
relates to other companies seeking to hire employees) compensation (pay and benefits)
plan to address the employee issues and make the company more competitive to
support recruiting and retention. Traditionally, The Sports Board has paid only minimum
wage and the legally required benefits. Consider the following:
1. Your position relative to other companies. Will you meet, lead, or lag the local
market? Will this be the same for all positions? What is our rationale?
2. Identify alternative pay methods and indicate some advantages/disadvantages of
each.
3. What benefits will you offer, including those legally required? What are the costs of
those benefits? What is the rationale for offering those benefits?
4. Outline a communication plan taking into consideration the various audiences that
must be informed.
5. Given the current situation will you pay a premium for essential workers? If so, how
much and for how long?
B. Prepare a 15 minute presentation explaining your compensation plan.
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