UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA
College of Business
MNGT 341.401
Human Resource Management
Summer II 2008
MTWRF 800-950a OC 2017
Dane M. Partridge, Ph.D.
OC 3066C
465-7085
465-1044 (fax)
dpartrid@usi.edu
http://business.usi.edu/dpartrid/
Office Hours:
MTWRF 100-300p
and by appt.
INTRODUCTION
This course provides an introduction to human resource management, which is concerned with
selecting, compensating, developing, and motivating an organization's most valuable asset -- its
human resources. Upon completion of this course, students should be better able to …
 Develop and implement HR strategies and practices that can help an organization
achieve a sustained competitive advantage
 Explain factors influencing employee motivation that are within management’s control
 Understand the legal environment impacting HR, particularly equal employment
opportunity requirements
 Identify practices that will contribute to the effective management of diversity within an
organization
 Make staffing decisions that maximize the recruitment and selection of talented
employees
 Use performance appraisals to manage and develop employee performance
 Determine when employees need training and the most appropriate type of training
given the circumstances
 Establish a compensation system that is internally consistent and externally competitive
 Develop pay-for-performance plans that are appropriate for different levels in an
organization
 Design a benefits package that supports the organization’s compensation strategy
 Understand the organization’s balancing of management rights and responsibilities and
employee rights and responsibilities
 Understand union organizing, collective bargaining, and grievance administration
 Develop safety programs to effectively manage traditional and emerging safety and
health issues
 Develop HR policies and procedures appropriate to differing national cultures
Note: MNGT 201: Survey of Management or MNGT 305: Principles of Management is the
prerequisite for this course.
READINGS
Students should obtain the following book:
Gomez-Mejia, Luis R., David B. Balkin, and Robert L. Cardy, Managing Human Resources,
5/e (Prentice-Hall, 2007).
Note also the textbook web site: http://www.prenhall.com/gomez.
Copies of the text should be available for purchase in the Bookstore. Any other assigned
readings will be available from the instructor’s website or the Rice Library online databases.
Supplements to the course outline and reading assignments may be distributed during the
session.
Much of the information about trends in management that you will obtain as a manager will
come from business periodicals, such as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Fortune. It is
important to learn how to read these sources quickly and critically. As you do so, you should
keep in mind the following questions: (1) What is the “story” that the article is telling? And (2)
What kind of evidence does the article use (should we believe the article’s conclusions)?
COURSE REQUIREMENTS, METHODS OF EVALUATION, AND RESPONSIBILITIES
In addition to the required reading, there will be four exams and a number of individual and
group exercises. Any assignments turned in late will be penalized by 50 percent (and any late
assignments must be submitted no later than one week following the original due date). Any inclass assignment missed due to absence must be submitted within one week.
Grading will be determined on the basis of the following weights:
Exams
Exercises
60% (4 @ 15% each)
40%
Regular attendance is recommended, as the required readings and class meetings are
intended to be complements, not substitutes. The required reading is the foundation for the
course; the class meetings will build on that foundation. On the exams, students will be
responsible for both material covered by the readings and material discussed in class. Students
are expected to keep up with the required reading, as assigned, and to come to class prepared
for discussion. Students are reminded that under the credit hour system a three-credit class
requires on average six hours of outside preparation per week during the academic year; during
a summer session, this would translate to 18 hours per week. While research indicates that the
average U.S. college student spends less time in outside study and class preparation than the
instructor might expect, when full-time students devote only part-time effort to their coursework,
less-than-desired outcomes may well result.
Students often observe that they would like their classes to “better relate to the real world.” For
students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to actual work environments students
have responsibility for active, rather than passive, involvement in the learning process. The
instructor’s role in active or experiential learning is to serve as a facilitator of student-directed
learning, rather than being the provider of teacher-directed instruction. Some have called this a
shift from “teaching by talking” toward “learning by doing.” The responsibility for learning is
borne by the learner, while the teacher makes resources available and helps the learning
process. This instructor’s primary objective with respect to this course is that students will acquire
knowledge, skills, and abilities that will make them more competitive in the job market and more
effective members of the organizations they join upon graduation.
As one college president has put it, “[I]t isn't enough just to learn -- one must learn how to learn,
how to learn without classrooms, without teachers, without textbooks. Learn, in short, how to
think and analyze and decide and discover and create…. [W]hile mastery of specific content is
important, we want our graduates to learn how to think critically and creatively, express
themselves coherently, work collaboratively, and develop a global consciousness…. A college is
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not a trade school. A college education ultimately must be designed to help students develop
the skills needed to become lifelong learners, capable of finding new information, evaluating it,
and using it in both the real world and the world of the mind.”
Further details of these requirements and grading procedures will be discussed in class as is
necessary. Students are encouraged to stop in during office hours to talk about any problems or
suggestions you may have concerning the course, about careers, or just about management or
things in general. If the scheduled office hours are inconvenient feel free to make an
appointment.
WHAT (SOME) PREVIOUS STUDENTS HAVE LIKED LEAST…


“Calling on people to answer questions – this can put students in very uncomfortable
situations”
o Exams aren’t optional, projects aren’t optional, why should participation be
voluntary?
“Groups – at least let students pick their groups”
o One doesn’t usually have the luxury in industry of picking one’s co-workers –
you’ve got to develop project management skills for all sorts of settings and
colleagues…
Student Rights and Responsibilities: Academic Misconduct
Truth and honesty are necessary to a university community. Each student is expected to do his or
her academic work without recourse to unauthorized means of any kind. Both students and
faculty are expected to report violations of the expectations of academic honesty. USI policies
and regulations governing the conduct of students and the procedures for handling violations of
these policies and regulations are found in the USI Bulletin and on the Dean of Students' website
(http://www.usi.edu/stl/index.htm).
SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (SHRM)
SHRM (www.shrm.org) is the leading voice of the human resource profession, representing the
interests of more than 210,000 professional and student members from around the world. SHRM
provides its membership with education and information services, conferences and seminars,
government and media representation, online services and publications that equip HR
professionals for their roles as leaders and decision makers within their organizations. For students
interested in a career in human resource management, the single best strategy to follow is to
join the award-winning local student chapter of SHRM, become active, and network (e.g.,
through the Evansville-Area Human Resource Association) (http://www.ehranet.org/) .
THE INSTRUCTOR
DANE M. PARTRIDGE -- Associate Professor of Management; B.A., Michigan State University; M.S.,
Cornell University; Ph.D., Cornell University. Dr. Partridge's primary teaching and research interests
involve human resource management and labor relations. His research has been published in the
Journal of Collective Negotiations in the Public Sector, the Employee Responsibilities and Rights
Journal, the Journal of Labor Research, and the Denver University Law Review. Current research
areas include the effect of pay structures on worker attitudes and gender differences in
perceptions of sexual harassment. Dr. Partridge has presented management development
programs on topics including employee involvement in quality improvement and managing
workforce diversity. Dr. Partridge has also taught at Virginia Tech, Radford University, and Roanoke
College, and has received several awards for teaching excellence.
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COURSE OUTLINE, TENTATIVE SCHEDULE, AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
1. INTRODUCTION (6/17, 6/18)
 Gomez-Mejia et al., ch. 1.
 SHRM website exercise, HRNews Online
(http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/)
 Case 1.3: Managers and HR Professionals at Sands Corporation: Friends or
Foes?
2. GOVERNMENT REGULATION, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, AND MANAGING DIVERSITY (6/19, 6/20,
6/23)
 Gomez-Mejia et al., chs. 3-4.
 Level 1 Case 6: An Ethical and Legal Dilemma
 Level 1 Case 12: Discrimination at Gemco, Inc.?
 Integrative Case: Diversity Planning at Colorado Aerospace (handout)
 Case 4.1: Making Time for a Baby
 Case 4.3: Conflict at Northern Sigma
3. JOB ANALYSIS (6/24)
 Gomez-Mejia et al., ch. 2.
 Level 1 Case 14: How Flexible Is Too Flexible?
 Level 1 Case 29: Temps on the Team
 EXAM I (6/25)
4. RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, AND STAFFING (6/26, 6/27)
 Gomez-Mejia et al., chs. 5-6.
 Case 5.5: Clone or Complement?
 Level 1 Case 18: Making the Grade at Grade 1 Tools
 Level 1 Case 34: Wanted: Enthusiastic Employees to Grow With Growing
Minds, Inc.
 Management Skills Builder: Improving the Exit Interview Procedure (handout)
 Case 6.2: Employment-at-Will
 Case 6.4: Turnover Redux
 Case: Managing Outplacement at Rocky Mountain Oil (handout)
 Level 1 Case 3: A Layoff at Wilson Industrial
 Integrative Case: The Aftermath of a Layoff (handout)
 Staffing Exercise (handout)
5. HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (6/30, 7/1)
 Gomez-Mejia et al., chs. 8-9.
 Case 8.1: Training Before Employment
 Case 8.3: Ethics Training
 Case: Team Training at Coca-Cola (handout)
 Level 1 Case 33: Virtual Teams: A Special Case for Team Training?
 Case Study: “When a New Manager Stumbles, Who’s at Fault?” Harvard
Business Review (website)
 Level 1 Case 13: Family Versus Career – And a Company Caught in the
Middle
 EXAM II (7/2)
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6. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL (7/3)
 Gomez-Mejia et al., ch. 7.
 Case 7.1: Rank and Yank
 Level 1 Case 8: Changing the Appraisal System at Southeastern University
 Case: USI College of Business Faculty Evaluation System (website)
 Integrative Case: A Morale Problem at Stellar Systems, Inc. (handout)
7. COMPENSATION (7/7, 7/8, 7/9)
 Gomez-Mejia et al., chs. 10-12.
 Case 10.3: An Academic Question
 Case 10.5: A Challenge at Antle Corporation
 Case 11.2: Loafers at Lakeside Utility Company
 Case 12.1: Employees Are Paying Increasingly Larger Shares of Their HealthCare Benefit Costs
 Case 12.2: Employee Retirement Savings in 401(k) Plans Collapse at Enron
 Case 12.3: Keeping Workers’ Compensation Costs Under Control
 Case 12.4: Managing Employee Benefits with Fair Procedures
 Integrative Case: A Compensation Dilemma at Textron, Inc. (handout)
 EXAM III (7/10)
8. EMPLOYEE AND LABOR RELATIONS (7/11, 7/14, 7/15, 7/16)
 Gomez-Mejia et al., chs. 13-16.
 Case 13.2: Employers That Give Holiday Parties for Employees Are Exposed to
Risks
 Case 13.3: Casual Dress at Digital Devices
 Case 14.1: Do Religion and Business Mix?
 Case 14.3: Stealing a Smoke, Losing a Job
 Level 1 Case 7: An Unexpected Problem
 Case 15.3: When Is a Team a Union?
 Case 15.4: Recognizing and Avoiding Unfair Labor Practices
 Level 1 Case 32: Union Avoidance at Sid’s Market
 Case 16.1: Workplace Bullying
 Case: The Guy’s a Nut: Managing Irrationality in the Workplace (handout)
 Case: The Controversy Over Domestic Partner Benefits (handout)
 Integrative Case: HIV at Work: To Disclose or Not To Disclose (handout)
9. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (7/17)
 Gomez-Mejia et al., ch.17.
 Case 17.1: Managing Human Resources in a European Context
 Case 17.3: Two Sides to Every Story
 Case 17.5: Are Culture-Specific HR Policies a Good Idea?
 FINAL EXAM: Friday, June 18
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