Human Resource Management
Psyc 441 & Orgb 401
Spring 2009
Monday & Wednesday, 15.30 - 16.45, CAS Z – 48
Instructor
Office
Phone
e-mail
Office hrs
Asistants
: Prof. Dr. Zeynep Aycan
: SOS 210
: ext. 1353
: zaycan@ku.edu.tr
: Mo. & We. 17.00-18.30 or by appointment
: Gökçen Erder & Hilal Şen
Overview and Objectives
In the era of globalization, effective management of human resources emerges as one of the
key factors for competitive business advantage. Ultimately, business is conducted with and through
people. Lack of recognition of human factor can be a significant barrier to the implementation and
success of business venture. Human resource management (HRM) is especially critical in the context
of developing economies such as that of Turkey's.
This course will help develop the knowledge and skills needed to manage personnel in
business organizations. There are four main objectives in this course:
a. to develop awareness of the pervasive role personnel management plays in business
organizations,
b. to develop familiarity with issues and range of activities related to HRM,
c. to show that human element in management is every bit as important as the technical,
financial or operational aspects of a business venture,
d. to demonstrate that management of human resources is not only the responsibility of the
human resource specialist, but also an activity that every manager must engage in.
Requirements & Evaluation
Participation in class discussions: In this course, participation does NOT mean attendance; it
means ‘meaningful contribution to class discussions’. The following criteria will be employed in
evaluating your participation.
a. Quality of your participation: Bringing new and interesting perspectives to the attention of the
class; giving relevant and interesting examples (preferably from your own experiences);
questioning and challenging the course materials or HRM practices that are explained in case
presentations.
b. Quantity of your participation: Participating as much as possible, but not dominating the class
discussions. To give everyone a fair chance of participation, the instructor reserves the right to
allow someone else, instead of you, to talk or to ask to wrap up your point if it is too lengthy.
c. Quality of your listening: Listening attentively; not talking with each other during lectures and
case presentations.
d. Manner of discussion: Making constructive criticisms; expressing your disagreements in a
respectful manner; not being argumentative or cynical; not trying to be the ‘winner’ of the
discussion; being able to say ‘you are right; I was wrong’ or ‘good point; I haven’t thought
about it myself’.
Mini tests: There will be 5 mini exams to test your knowledge. The tests will be comprised of
multiple-choice, true-false and fill-in-the-blanks questions. The lowest grade will not be dropped from
the overall grade.
Applied projects: You will be required to put your knowledge into practice by doing field
work. You will conduct applications in four areas: job analysis & competency modeling; design of a
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structural interview; design of a performance appraisal; and design of a training & development
program. You will work in groups of two in these projects.
Theory-Practice Fit Analysis (T-P Fit): At the end of each topic, we will discuss the way in
which the HR function that we studied is being practiced in Turkish business organizations. You will
be divided into groups of 3 to work on each HR function. You are required to visit a business
organization (public, private, foreign joint venture or non-profit) and examine the particular HR
function in that organization. You are expected to conduct interviews with HR professional(s) and/or
collect data from employees through observations, interviews or surveys. At the end of your
investigation, you will present your case and produce a written report, which should include the
following parts.
a. A brief introduction of the company you visited, sector and industry within which it
operates, organizational chart (if available), workforce characteristics, number of branches and
employees working for the company, its mandate and future targets, its internal and external
environmental demands, and so on.
b. Description of the role and the structure of the HR department in the company (if any).
Who conducts HR functions if there is no such department?
c. Presentation of your method of investigation (e.g., how many employees you interviewed
with, etc.).
d. A detailed description of the way in which the particular HR function is practiced in the
company.
e. An assessment of appropriateness of practices related to the particular HR function.
f. Recommendations and suggestions to improve the company's particular HRM practice that
you investigated.
g. If possible, reactions of HR professionals to your report.
Your typed report should be between 8-10 pages (with a font of 10 or 12 cpi) excluding the
appendices (e.g., interview excerpts, questionnaires, references, tables and charts etc.).
Evaluation
1. Class participation
10%
2. Case analysis (T-P Fit)
25%
3. Applied Projects (equally weighted)
27.5%
4. Mini tests (equally weighted)
32.5%
Course Materials
Dessler, G. (2006). Human resource management: International Edition (11th Ed.). New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
All other readings can be found under courseware.
Academic Honesty
Honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals. Students and faculty adhere to the
following principles of academic honesty at Koc University.
1. Individual accountability for all individual work, written or oral. Copying from others or
providing answers or information, written or oral, to others is cheating.
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2. Proper acknowledgment of original author. Copying from another student's paper or from
another text without written acknowledgment is plagiarism.
3. Student or project group activity is effective and authorized teamwork. Unauthorized help
from another person or having someone else write one's paper or assignment is collusion.
Course Contents
Date
Class
February 9, Monday
Opening Class: Course objectives, administrative items
February 11, Wednesday
Issue: The changing role of HRM; Chapter 1
February 16, Monday
Issue: The strategic role of HRM; Chapter 3
Video: HR Heroes
February 18, Wednesday
Issue: Cross-cultural approaches to HRM: Focus on Turkey
Readings under courseware.
Aycan, Z. (2006). Human resource management in Turkey. In P.Budhwar & K. Mellahi (Eds.). Managing
human resources in the Middle East (pp. 160-180). New Jersey: Routledge.
Aycan, Z. (2005). The Interplay between Cultural and Institutional / Structural Contingencies in Human
Resource Management Practices. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16 (7), 1083-1121
February 23, Monday
Issue: Human Resource Planning; Chapter 5
Mini test – 1 (chapters 1 & 3; cross-cultural approaches)
February 25, Wednesday
Issue: Job Analysis; Chapter 4
March 2, Monday
Issue: Job Analysis (con’t); Chapter 4
March 4, Wednesday
Issue: Competency modeling; Chapter 4
March 9, Monday
Issue: Recruitment; Chapter 5
March 11, Wednesday
Issue: Employee testing & selection; Chapter 6
Mini test -2 (chapters 4 & 5)
March 16, Monday
Issue: Employee testing & selection (con’t); Chapter 6
March 18, Wednesday Issue: Interviewing candidates; Chapter 7
Exercise: CV or interview?
March 23, Monday
Issue: Interviewing candidates (con’t); Chapter 7
Video: The right-fit
March 25, Wednesday Guest Speaker
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March 30, Monday
Issue: Performance management; Chapter 9
April 1, Wednesday
Issue: Performance appraisal; Chapter 9
Mini test – 3 (chapters 6, 7 & 9 (performance management))
April 13, Monday
Issue: Performance appraisal; Chapter 9
April 15, Wednesday Issue: Managing careers; Chapter 10
April 20, Monday
Issue: Managing careers (con’t); Chapter 10
April 22, Wednesday Guest Speaker
April 27, Monday
Issue: Training & development; Chapter 8
April 29, Wednesday Issue: Training & development (con’t); Chapter 8
May 4, Monday
Issue: Compensation; Chapter 11
Mini test – 4 (chapters 8, 9 & 10)
May 6, Wednesday
Issue: Pay-for-performance; Chapter 12
May 11, Monday
Issue: Benefits & services; Chapter 13
May 13, Wednesday Issue: Employee relations; Chapter 14
Mini test – 5 (chapters 11, 12 & 13)
May 18, Monday
Issue: Employee health and safety; Chapter 16
May 20, Wednesday Issue: Employee health and safety; Chapter 16
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