MGMT 7250 -- STRATEGIC HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT Instructor Dr. Kelly Mollica Fogelman College of Business & Economics kmollica@memphis.edu (901) 678-5010 (office) / (731) 234-1524 (cell) 302 Varnell-Jones, UM Lambuth Campus Required Readings Wayne Cascio, Managing Human Resources: Productivity, Quality of Life, Profits, 9 th ed, McGraw-Hill. Additional readings (cases and articles) to be provided. Course Description & Objectives This course is for general managers and business professionals who are not specialists in human resource management. The theme of this course is that an organization can build a competitive advantage through hiring and effectively managing a talented workforce that successfully executes the organization s strategy. This course provides executive MBA students with an overview of theories, research, and practice in managing human capital in business organizations. Course topics are covered by interactive mini-lectures, assigned readings and cases, in-class and online discussions, and student presentations. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to: partner with HRM professionals to implement strategic human capital management practices in a business organization develop skills necessary for strategically recruiting, selecting, training, developing, evaluating, compensating, and retaining employees in business organizations identify human capital management problems and strategic solutions to those problems in business organizations using critical thinking skills understand the legal and ethical issues in managing human resources A secondary objective is to provide you with opportunities to improve important managerial and professional skills: written communication, oral communication, critical thinking, and teamwork. Instructional Philosophy & Expectations of Students Both the instructor and the students are responsible for making this course a positive learning experience. How much you desire to learn from this course is, however, your choice. My teaching style involves mostly discussions, case analysis, and team exercises, with minimal lecture. My goals are to facilitate in-class discussions of course material, integrate course material in a manner that MGMT 7250 Fall 2013 (revised) Pg. 1
allows you to gain a sense of mastery of the topics covered, and promote critical thinking with respect to major topics in strategic HRM. I expect that you will have completed all assigned readings prior to class and that you are prepared to discuss the readings in class. Assignments Strategic HRM plan ** Additional instructions on the Strategic HRM plan are provided in a separate handout.. Your team will submit a 10,000 word strategic HRM plan. The word limit includes the title page, onepage executive summary, main text, and a minimum of 10 reference citations. The purpose of this to give you an opportunity to apply your knowledge of strategic HRM. There are four parts to the strategic HRM plan. (1) Identify an actual strategic HRM problem in one of your organizations (you are encouraged to consult with an HR manager/ executive in your organization). (2) Briefly summarize current academic and non-academic literature related to the problem. (3) Provide a recommended strategic solution to the problem in your organization. Your solution must be firmly grounded in the academic and non-academic HR management literature that you reference throughout your plan. (4) Discuss potential advantages and disadvantages of your recommended solution in the context of gaining a competitive advantage in business organizations using strategic human capital management practices. Strategic HRM plan topic proposal must be submitted to me no later than August 15 Written strategic HRM plan due September 28 I will grade your team's strategic human capital management business plan using the following criteria: relevance of content; clarity and completeness; quality and variety of sources cited; structure and organization; length to contribution ratio; spelling, grammar, and punctuation; professionalism; adherence to guidelines/format stipulated in this syllabus. The plan's overall grade is the grade that each team member receives for his or her paper assignment. I may assign differential grades to team members based on peer evaluation results. Oral presentation of strategic HRM plan Each team will present their strategic HRM plan orally to the class. The presentation should be approximately 30 minutes, including questions and answers from the audience. It is each team's responsibility to determine the precise content of their presentation. At minimum, however, each team must provide a summary of their plan's title, nature of their organization's HRM problem, relevant academic literature, relevant non-academic literature, recommended strategic solution/approach to their problem, and potential advantages as well as disadvantages of their recommended solution/approach in the context of gaining a competitive advantage in business organizations using strategic human capital management practices. All team members must participate in the presentation. Oral presentations on September 28 Final Exam The final exam will be take-home and open-book. The purpose is to evaluate your understanding of key course concepts. Your responses (in total) will be approximately 1200-1500 words. I will provide more details in a separate handout at least one week prior to the due date. Final exam due October 5. MGMT 7250 Fall 2013 (revised) Pg. 2
Grading Final course grades are assigned based on your performance on the following: strategic HRM plan (100 points), oral presentation of strategic plan (20 points), in-class participation (50 points), and final exam (30 points). The total number of possible points for this course is 200. Final letter grades are assigned based on the total number of points you earn as follows: Points Grade 180-200 A 160-179 B 140-159 C 120-139 D 100-119 F Course Policies I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus, course schedule, and/or assigned readings with reasonable prior notice to students. Class attendance is mandatory. I understand that students occasionally must miss class due to legitimate work-related or personal reasons. If you must miss a class, I trust you that it s for a very good reason (i.e., I do not need any sort of written excuse or proof of why you missed), but I consider missing more than one entire class to be a significant problem that will result in a lowered in-class participation grade. I will not accept extra credit work from students who are unhappy with their final course grade, nor will I offer students the opportunity to submit extra credit work. I reserve the right to assign you a lower grade than your teammates on the team project if it is obvious that you have not contributed your fair share of the work. I do not tolerate free riders. Expectations for academic integrity and student conduct are provided by the Office of Student Conduct (www.memphis.edu/studentconduct). I expect you to be aware of these guidelines and conduct yourself accordingly. I do not tolerate cheating or plagiarism, and I will accept no excuses for dishonest behavior. By taking this course, you agree that your written assignments may be submitted to Turnitin.com, or a similar electronic detection method for the purposes of detecting plagiarism. Blatant plagiarism will result in a failing grade and may be reported to the University for further action. If you have questions or concerns about your performance, grades, or other class-related issues, it is your responsibility to initiate a discussion with me in a timely manner. If there is a course-related problem that I need to be aware of, let me know immediately so that it can be addressed or corrected if possible. Do not wait until the end of course, when it s too late. I welcome criticism and feedback offered in a respectful and constructive manner, and so should you. Reasonable and appropriate accommodations will be provided to students with disabilities who present a memo from Disability Resources for Students (www.memphis.edu/drs). MGMT 7250 Fall 2013 (revised) Pg. 3
Course Schedule / Readings / Deadlines (Pickwick) Class #1 Mon Aug 12 Introduction to strategic HRM Cascio: Ch. 1 - Human Resources in a Globally Competitive Business Environment Cascio: Ch. 2 - The Financial Impact of Human Resource Management Activities Class #2 Tue Aug 13 Integration of human resources with business strategy; HRM from a systems perspective Cascio: Ch. 5 - Planning for People Case: Beer & St. Clair, ARISE: A Destination-for-a-Day Spa, Harvard Business School, 2012. Class #3 Wed Aug 14 EEO and legal environment of HRM; managing diversity Cascio: Ch. 3 - The Legal Context of Employment Decisions Cascio: Ch. 4 - Diversity at Work Case: Ely & Vargas, Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services, Harvard Business School, 2006. Case: Ely & Vargas, Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens & Co., Harvard Business School, 2006. Class #4 Thu Aug 15 Strategic HRM plan topic proposals due Recruiting & staffing Cascio: Ch. 6 - Recruiting Cascio: Ch. 7 - Staffing Article: Fernández-Aráoz et al., The Definitive Guide to Recruiting in Good Times and Bad, Harvard Business Review, 2009. Article: Weinstein, The Psychology Of Behaviorally-Focused Resumes on Applicant Selection: Are Your Hiring Managers Really Hiring the 'Right' people for the 'Right' Jobs? Business Horizons, 2011. Case: Ellis & Coates, Jennifer Gaston, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2007. MGMT 7250 Fall 2013 (revised) Pg. 4
Course Schedule / Readings / Deadlines (Memphis) Class #5 Sat Aug 24 Online Discussion # 1 Due Performance management Cascio: Ch. 9 - Performance Management Article: Craven et al., Can a Positive Approach to Performance Evaluation Help Accomplish Your Goals? Business Horizons, 2010. Article: Netessine & Yakubovich, The Darwinian Workplace, Harvard Business Review, 2012. Case: Bingham & Beer, Performance Management at Vitality Health Enterprises, Inc., Harvard Business School, 2012. Class #6 Thu Sept 5 Online Discussion # 2 Due Employee training & development Cascio: Ch. 8 - Workplace Training Cascio: Ch. 10 Managing Careers Article: Martin & Schmidt, How to Keep Your Top Talent, Harvard Business Review, 2010. Case: Groysberg et al., Development and Promotion at North Atlantic Hospital, Harvard Business School, 2011. Class #7 Sat Sept 14 Online Discussion # 3 Due Compensation & benefits Cascio: Ch. 11 - Pay and Incentive Systems Cascio: Ch. 12 - Indirect Compensation: Employee Benefit Plans Article: Nohria et al., Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model, Harvard Business Review, 2008. Article: Pfeffer, Six Dangerous Myths About Pay, Harvard Business Review, 1998. Case: Simons & Mahoney, Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service, Harvard Business School, 2011. Class #8 Thu Sept 19 Online Discussion # 4 Due Ethical issues in HRM Cascio: Ch. 14 - Procedural Justice and Ethics in Employee Relations Case: Eccles et al., Foxconn, Harvard Business School, 2012. Class #9 Sat Sept 28 Oral presentations of strategic HRM plans Written strategic HRM plan due Final exam due Oct 5 MGMT 7250 Fall 2013 (revised) Pg. 5