OS 554
SPECIAL TOPICS IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Spring 2008
PROFESSOR:
OFFICE HOURS:
PHONE:
Dr. Mary E. Graham
Tu/Th 3:45-5:45pm
W 2:30-4:30pm
and by appointment.
315-268-6431
OFFICE:
CLASS:
379 Snell Hall
Tu/Th 2:30-3:45pm, Snell 175
E-MAIL:
WEBSITE:
graham@clarkson.edu
www.clarkson.edu/~mgraham
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
 To expose students to the operations of firms in various industries.
 To promote student understanding of how firms manage their human resources for strategic purposes.
 To facilitate student understanding of the field of human resource management as a system of
recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management and employee
discipline programs, reward systems and the motivation of employees, employee relations and
union/management issues.
 To enhance student understanding of the conceptual foundations pertaining to the management of
employees.
 To develop students’ presentation and interpersonal skills.
COURSE OUTCOMES. By the end of the course, students should be able to …
 Analyze the human resource management challenges facing organizations in various industries.
 Effectively and professionally discuss HR and business issues with organizational representatives
and student peers.
 Generate potential solutions to the human resource management challenges facing organizations.
 Facilitate learning and discussion among student peers.
 Conceptualize human resource management as a system of people management activities that can
be used for strategic purposes.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS / GRADING & EVALUATION:
Case write-ups (4/7)
Case presentation
Trip prep or debrief
Trip attendance
Group Project
Participation
Total
40%
10%
5%
5%
30%
10%
100%
A: 90%-100%
B+: 86%-89%
B: 80%-85%
C+: 76%-79%
C: 70%-75%
D+: 66%-69%
D: 60%-65%
F: below 60%
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NOTES REGARDING GRADING:
1) Assignments are to be submitted in class on the date due. Late assignments will be penalized
10% for being submitted up to 24 hours late, and 20% for more than 24 hours late. All
assignments must be received by the last day of class.
2) Appeals policy: You may question any grade the professor assigns in writing to that professor
within one week of receipt. You will receive a written response from the professor within 1
week.
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES:
I will add .5 point to your final course grade if you join Clarkson’s student chapter of the Society
for Human Resource Management (SHRM). I am also offering .5 point for attendance at SHRM
events (not a regular SHRM meeting) – please write a paragraph telling me what you learned
from the event. The final extra credit opportunity is .5 if you submit an additional case write-up
beyond the 4 required write-ups. Maximum extra credit available: 1.5 points.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Students should familiarize themselves with Section IV of Clarkson’s Regulations, which
contains Clarkson’s Policy on Academic Integrity
http://www.clarkson.edu/studentaffairs/regulations/iv.html :
“Clarkson values personal integrity. Matriculation at Clarkson carries with it the obligation that a
student will not claim as his or her own, the work of another, or any work that has not been
honestly performed, will not take any examination by improper means, and will not aid and abet
another in any dishonesty.
Violations of the Code of Ethics are regarded as most serious offenses and render the offenders
liable to severe disciplinary action. Alleged violations of the Code of Ethics are dealt with
according to the section on the Academic Integrity Committee.”
Additional information on plagiarism can be found at Duke University’s web site:
< http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/plagiarism.htm >
REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS:
1) Primary text: Nkomo, S.M., Fottler, M.D., & McAfee, R.B. 2008. Human Resource
Management Applications (6th Ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western. 978-0-324-42142-2.
2) Supplemental text: Introductory HR Text or Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B., &
Wright, P.M. 2007. Fundamentals of Human Resource Management (2nd Ed.). Boston: McGrawHill Irwin. ISBN: 0-07-293425-5.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
CASE WRITE-UPS (40% of course grade; 10% for each write-up)
You are responsible for reading and preparing notes on all assigned cases from the Nkomo et al.
book. However, the case write-ups are required for only 4 of the 7 cases. In the write-up, respond
to the questions at the end of each case in a maximum of 3 double-spaced, typed pages. Be sure
to include some technical analysis of the HR activity involved by consulting an introductory HR
textbook. The case write-ups are individual assignments that should reflect your independent
analysis and opinions.
CASE PRESENTATION (10% of course grade)
Groups of 2 or 3 students will be responsible for preparing and presenting one of the cases. You
are permitted to do a write-up (see above) for the case presented. Outside research is required.
Please present to the class in the following format:
A) Case Summary (30-45 minutes)
1) Industry background of the company.
2) Key issues in the case.
3) Detailed technical information on the HR activity(ies) in the case. For example, if the
case addresses pay system issues, you should review the pay-setting process in
organizations, including job evaluation, market pay rates, forms of compensation, and
fairness issues, among others. Also be sure to discuss any relevant employment laws.
B) Discussion facilitation (30-45 minutes). Begin by sharing your answers to the case questions,
and then invite comments or alternative perspectives. Also encouraged are a discussion of
key issues not raised by the questions and how the case relates to previous cases and course
topics.
TRIP PREPARATION OR DE-BRIEF (5% of course grade)
There will be 4 field trips and/or guest speakers in OS554 this semester. For each trip or speaker,
the case presentation groups (see above) will either prepare the class for the trip or facilitate a
discussion after the trip. Trip preparation should include information on the industry, company
history and facts, size and location, whether the firm is publicly traded or privately held, and
directions to the site. Trip debriefing should begin with your thoughts and analysis of the trip,
followed by facilitation of a group discussion.
TRIP ATTENDANCE (5% of course grade)
The “trips” are a critical component of the course. You are encouraged to attend all trips and you
are required to attend at least 2 of the 4 trips. After a trip, please submit a 1-page thought piece
regarding what you learned on the trip.
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GROUP PROJECT (30% of grade)
The group project requires a 7-page written report (memo, executive summary, and supporting
arguments) to a CEO who has not considered using human resource management as a source of
competitive advantage previously. Dr. Graham will assign a publicly-traded company to your
group to provide a company context for the assignment. The project also requires a 15-minute
presentation to the CEO of the company to persuade him or her to consider your
recommendations.
The project will be done in groups of 4-5 students. It consists of the following deliverables:
Draft 1 – Written Project Report (Tues., 4/1)
Draft 1 – Presentation Outline & Slides (Tues., 4/15)
Project presentation (Tues., 4/22)
Final Written Project Report (Tues., 4/29)
5%
5%
10%
10%
CLASS PARTICIPATION (10% of course grade)
I will judge your class participation using the following criteria:
1) Quality of participation. Quality is the extent to which you offer key insights on class
topics and readings, relate your comments to the topics at hand, relate current topics to
previous topics or material from other classes, and your level of preparation.
2) Quantity of participation. Quantity is the extent to which you offer appropriate
comments on a regular basis. This criteria also considers the extent to which you listen,
respond to, and build upon others’ comments.
3) Attendance. Absences reduce opportunities for you to learn from the professor and your
classmates, and they prevent us from learning from you. Absences will negatively affect
your participation grade.
4) Classes missed due to religious observances are not counted as absences, provided that
the professor is notified, and that the student completes any work that was missed. Note
that this attendance policy is a “no-fault” one. That is, I am not interested in why you are
absent unless it is due to a religious observance or there are extenuating circumstances
(e.g., major illness or problem) that will cause you to miss multiple classes. Classes
missed at the beginning of the semester, even if they occur prior to your registration for
the course, count as absences.
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OS 554 – Special Topics in Human Resource Management
Spring 2008 Course Schedule
Date
Topic
Thurs., 1/10 Introduction
To Prepare for Class:
Due
Tues., 1/15
HR as a source of
competitive advantage
Thurs., 1/17 HR credibility & status
Read Hammonds, 2005
article
Read Kouzes & Posner, 2005
article and Pierson, 2008
chapter
The HR Function of Harrison Case write-up
Tues., 1/22 CASE – HR importance
Brothers Corporation, Text
pp. 9-13
Thurs., 1/24 Top HR professionals; New Read: Welbourne & Cyr,
issues in HRM
1999 article and IBM
blogging policy
Surfing the Internet on
Case write-up
Tues., 1/29 CASE – New issues
Company Time, p. 264
Read: Dutton et al., 2001 and
Thurs., 1/31 Top management support
Lockwood, 2006 articles
Biases and prejudice
Read Hill et al., 2006 article
Tues., 2/5
and Segal, 2007 article
The Ethical Selection
Case write-up
Thurs., 2/7 CASE – Integrity Motors
Dilemma at Integrity Motors,
pp. 144-145.
Tues., 2/12 NO CLASS
Thurs., 2/14 Video: Rosie the Riveter
Tues., 2/19
CASE – Diversity
Thurs., 2/21 HRM and Labor Unions;
Guest speaker prep
Tues., 2/26 Guest Speaker: Martha
Phillips
Thurs., 2/28 Guest speaker debrief;
CASE – Safety
Tues., 3/4
CASE-Selection
Thurs., 3/6
In-class Exercise:
Compensation
Managing Diversity: Johnson Case write-up
Chemical International, pp.
23-30.
Read Graham & McHugh,
2008 chapter
Disaster Preparedness, pp.
Case write-up
242-243
Selecting Patient Escorts, pp.
Case write-up
120-122
WageSim, pp. 205-209;
Developing a Wage
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Structure, pp. 223-224
Tues., 3/11
CASE
Thurs., 3/13 In-class exercise: Training &
Development
Tues., 3/18- NO CLASS – Spring Break
Thurs. 3/20
Tues., 3/25 Field trip prep; Project work
time
Thurs., 3/27 Field trip: TBA
Field trip debrief
Tues., 4/1
Thurs., 4/3 System Factors in HRM
Field trip prep
Tues., 4/8
Thurs., 4/10 Field Trip to Rochester:
TBA
Tues., 4/15 Field Trip debrief
Thurs., 4/17 No class: Project meetings
w/ Dr. Graham
Tues., 4/22 Final project presentations
Thurs., 4/24 Course summary & evals;
Project work time
Tues., 4/29 Final Written Project due
The Overpaid Bank Tellers,
pp. 195-196.
Case write-up
First Draft – Final
Written Project
Project presentation
outline and slides
Case Write-Up
Final Written
Project
Note: The course schedule is likely to be re-arranged as field trips are finalized.
AVAILABILITY OF COURSE DOCUMENTS
Slides for each class will be posted on the course website prior to class (www.
clarkson.edu/~mgraham). The journal articles for OS 554 are on reserve at the Clarkson
University library (ERC) in an OS554 binder and, except as noted, they are available online from
the Clarkson library in the ABI/Inform database. A list of articles required for the semester is
below:
1/15
1/17
1/24
Hammonds, K.H. 2005. Why we hate HR. FastCompany.com, Issue 97, pp. 40-47.
a) Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. 2005. Leading in cynical times. Journal of Management
Inquiry, 14: 357-364.
b) Pierson, D.A. 2008. Human resource professional success. In V.G. Scarpello (Ed.),
The Handbook of Human Resource Management Education: 397-406. Los Angeles:
SAGE Publications. [available in hard copy only]
Welbourne, T.M. & Cyr, L. 1999. The human resource management executive effect in
initial public offering firms. Academy of Management Journal, 42:616-629.
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1/31
2/5
2/26
a) Dutton, J.E., Ashford, S.J., O’Neill, R.M., & Lawrence, K.A. 2001. Moves that matter:
Issue selling and organizational change. Academy of Management Journal, 44: 716-736.
b) Lockwood, N.R. 2006. Maximizing human capital: Demonstrating HR value with key
performance indicators. HR Magazine, 51(9): S1-S11.
Graham, M.E. & Mchugh, P.P. 2008. Labor stakeholder views of HR professionals. In
V.G. Scarpello (Ed.), The Handbook of Human Resource Management Education: 315330. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications. [available in hard copy only]
a) Hill, E.J., Mead, N.T., Dean, L.R., Hafen, D.M., G, R. Palmer, A.A., & Ferris, M.S.
2006. Researching the 60-hour dual-earner workweek. The American Behavioral
Scientist, 49: 1184-1203.
b) Segal, J.A. 2007. Woman in the moon. HRMagazine, 52(8): 107-114.
Welcome to OS554!!
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