THE HELLER SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
HS254
Human Resource Management
Fall 2016
Professor Jody Hoffer Gittell / Class: Tuesdays 9:00-11:50Schneider 206
/ Office Hours: Tuesdays 12-2:00
Course Description:
In this course we will develop a new approach called Strategic Relational HRM. You will work with a team throughout the semester to develop an HRM Handbook for an organization you are familiar with, based on principles of Strategic Relational HRM.
Human resource management is often seen by outsiders as being about compliance - the place where "fun goes to die." At the same time, it's seen by insiders as a strategic partner that is critical to any organization's success. In this course we will consider both the strategic and compliance roles of HR, as a set of tools that can help organizations and their stakeholders to achieve their desired outcomes. We will focus on the following HR practices:
Strategic Relational HRM
· High performance work systems
· Job analysis and design
· Recruitment and selection
· Performance evaluation and supervision
· Training and development
· Pay and benefits
Compliance and Regulation
· Wage and hour regulation
· Equal employment opportunity
· Occupational health and safety
· Employment at will/wrongful discharge
· Workplace privacy/dignity/autonomy
· Workplace ethics/whistleblowing
Change Management and Transformation
· Work/life balance and wellness
· Layoffs and job insecurity
· Diversity and cross-cultural management
· Conflict resolution systems
· Labor/management partnerships
Each of the three types of HR practices involves a different mindset and skill set on the part of HR, and different implications for organizational leaders who are the internal customers for HR.
After taking this course you will be able to participate in designing and implementing these HR practices.
We will use background readings and a series of cases that illustrate both successes and failures with the design and implementation of HR practices. To practice design and implementation skills we will use case discussions, Management Memos, an HRM Handbook that you and your team will develop throughout the semester for a real live organization.
We will take advantage of the experience of class members. So, where relevant, please feel free to bring your own experiences and illustrations into these activities. Throughout the course we will consider how what we are discussing differs across countries. Students with global experiences are encouraged to bring this knowledge into the classroom. The employment relationship in the U.S. is different in many respects from other countries, so it is important that as managers we appreciate these differences in how human resources might be framed differently in other cultures. To be effective at managing human resources, it is important to explore how, why, and under what circumstances various approaches work. Your experiences, both positive and negative, are a valuable source of data for this learning.
MBA Learning Goals:
In this course, we address five of the MBA Learning Goals – Mobilizing and Developing Capabilities; Achieving and Managing Diversity; Social Impact Management; Communication and Collaboration Skills; and Integrative Skills.
Mobilizing and Developing Capabilities. Workers are the primary resource of most organizations, and their support is critical for achieving the mission. At the same time, organizations often work under budget constraints. In this course we explore how well-designed and well-implemented HR practices can help to motivate workers as well as build their skills and manage their performance.
How do HR practices motivate and develop capabilities? While traditional HR practices are designed to develop people as individuals, there is increasing evidence that people act not only as individuals but also as members of communities. In this course we draw upon the theory of relational coordination, which shows how relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect help organizations to achieve their desired outcomes. We will learn how to design human resource practices that develop not only individual skills and individual performance, but also relational skills and collective performance.
Achieving and Managing Diversity. To do this well requires attention to staff diversity along dimensions such as gender, race, religion, socioeconomic background and sexual orientation. Organizations like other social networks tend to be self-replicating, and unless a deliberate effort is made, the same types of people tend to be hired and promoted over and over again. This course addresses strategies for breaking this pattern to achieve staff diversity goals, and strategies for mobilizing the capabilities of a diverse workforce.
Social Impact Management. HR management can also help you and your organization to achieve social impact. Treating workers well can be viewed as a fundamental social responsibility of any organization, and as a starting point for achieving the organization's broader mission. As Milton Friedman famously stated: "The best social program is a good job."
Communication and Collaboration Skills. Case discussions, management memos, simulations and team presentations will help you to develop the communication and collaboration skills needed to successfully design and implement HR practices.
Integrative Skills. To manage human resources strategically requires attention to multiple MBA disciplines, for example:
· organizational behavior to promote leadership approaches that develop high levels of engagement and relational coordination across employee groups
· strategic management to use employee capabilities as a source of competitive advantage, and to align employee behaviors with strategic organizational goals
· financial management to enable investments in human resources and protect those investments over time
Course Requirements:
Requirement / % of Total GradeManagement Memos / 40%
HRM Handbook / 40%
Thoughts and Questions / 10%
Attendance / 10%
Management Memos. You will prepare 4 management memos during the semester regarding 4 of the cases assigned for class. Two should be submitted in the first half of the course, and two should be submitted in the second half of the course. In each memo you will:
1) Play the role of a manager or employee in the organization, or a consultant to the organization
2) Identify who you are writing to - e.g. employees of the organization, top management team, a particular employee, a particular manager, chair of the board, or any other stakeholder or group of stakeholders
3) Analyze the situation, identifying the interests of relevant stakeholders
4) Propose actions based on your analysis
Memos should be 3 pages plus any exhibits you wish to include.Memos are due at the beginning of the class in which the case will be discussed. Memos will be graded using the template below.
Management Memo - Template for Grading / Possible points / Points awardedAnalyze Situation
Consistent with case facts / 10
Draws upon course readings and concepts / 10
Analyzes the interests of relevant stakeholders / 10
Analyzes HR practices for their internal consistency, and ability to achieve desired performance outcomes / 10
Propose Actions
Builds logically on your analysis / 10
Draws upon course readings and concepts / 10
Addresses the interests of relevant stakeholders / 10
Addresses the implementation process / 10
Presentation
Logical sentences and paragraphs / 10
Spelling and grammar / 10
Total / 100
HRM Handbook. During Class 1, you choose a team to work with. Your team will select a focal organization to use throughout the course, to propose the design of each HR practice. You may request feedback from the professor during the semester as needed. In Class 12 your team will submit your HRM Handbook. You will have 15 minutes to present an overview of your HRM Handbook, and 5 minutes to take questions from the class. HRM Handbooks will be graded using the template below:
HRM Handbook Based on Principles ofStrategic Relational HRM / Possible points / Points awarded
Title Page
Name of Organization
Names of Team Members
Introduction
· Relational map for your organization to illustrate coordination challenges they are facing
· Your organization's desired performance outcomes
· How HRM can make a difference
· Which job(s) this Handbook will focus on and why
· Interdependencies with other jobs that must be managed to achieve desired performance outcomes / 10
Relational Job Design
· Your principles for job design
· Proposed job description(s), including both content and context / 8
Recruitment and Selection for Teamwork
· Your principles for recruitment and selection
· Proposed recruitment and selection process / 8
Performance Management for Shared Accountability
· Your principles for performance management
· Proposed performance management process; role of supervisors and others / 8
Training and Development for Teamwork
· Your principles for training and development
· Proposed training and development program / 8
Pay and Benefits for Shared Rewards
· Principles for pay and benefits
· Proposed pay and benefits / 8
Diversity and Cross-Cultural Management
· Your principles for achieving and managing diversity
· Proposed diversity policy - how it plays out in recruitment, selection, training, evaluation, compensation / 8
Work/Life Balance
· Your principles for work/life balance and wellness
· Proposed work/life and wellness practices / 8
Conflict Resolution Systems
· Your principles for conflict resolution
· Proposed conflict resolution system / 8
Labor/Management Partnerships
· Your principles for employee representation and labor/management partnerships
· Proposed partnership strategy / 8
Job Security and Layoffs
· Your principles for job security and layoffs
· Proposed job security and layoff policy (different from firing people - you can address firing as final step in performance management and/or conflict resolution) / 8
Conclusion
· How these HR practices work together to support the employee capabilities needed (both individual and relational) for the organization to achieve its desired performance outcomes / 10
TOTAL / 100
Thoughts and Questions. By midnight the evening before each class, please submit your Thoughts and Questions about the readings on line - no more than a couple of sentences (you'll find the link in LATTE). Some of these will be shared in class to help jump start our class discussion. Students will receive 10 points for each Thoughts and Questions post. If you posted for 90% of the classes you would receive a grade of 90% for Thoughts and Questions.
Classroom Participation: The single most important purpose of this course is to give students the chance to learn some human resource management concepts and to use them to develop coherent, integrated approaches to solving actual management problems. Although some of this material is best presented in didactic format, a great deal of the learning in this class is expected to occur during classroom discussions of cases prepared prior to class. As is true in practice, there will often be no single 'correct' answer to a given case. However, you will always be expected to be technically correct and accurate in your analyses.
Each student is expected to contribute to learning by engaging in large group discussions, small group discussions, role-plays and simulations. Your contribution does not depend on only the frequency of your comments, but rather their quality - the ability to draw on course materials and your own experience productively, the ability to advance or sharpen in-class discussion and debate, the willingness to take risky or unpopular points of view, the use of logic, precision, and evidence in making argument.
Comments that move the group discussion forward or that offer fresh insights or thoughtfully unique approaches to the material are the most valuable. Comments that re-cast some aspect of the case or exercise under analysis or that call attention to overlooked but relevant details are also valued. Participation that merely re-states the facts of the case, while sometimes helpful at the beginning of discussion, is the least valuable.
Be prepared to present and/or discuss any assignment during class.
Your contribution also depends on the professionalism of your conduct - your punctuality, preparedness, and ability to show respect to all class members and their contributions.
Attendance: Students will receive credit equivalent to an ‘A’ for each class attended. The final attendance grade will be derived by multiplying the percentage of each student’s attendance by the possible total of 10 points. For example, if a student attended 90% of the classes s/he would receive an ‘A’ for that portion of their grade, or 9 points. THERE ARE NO EXCUSED ABSENCES: an absence simply means that no credit will be earned for attending that class. Advance notification of a planned absence is appreciated but not mandatory.
Laptops and internet may be used during class only for purposes directly related to class. Those who wish to use laptops for class purposes are asked to sit in the back section of the classroom to avoid distracting others.
Course Reading: We will use a textbook called Human Resource Management: A Managerial Tool for Competitive Advantage (4th or 5th edition), by Lawrence S. Kleiman (available online at atomicdog.com). We will also read The Southwest Airlines Way: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance, by Jody Hoffer Gittell (available in paperback and online editions on Amazon), and Shaping the Future of Work: What Worker, Business, Government and Education Leaders Need To Do For All To Prosper by Thomas Kochan (pre-publication copy available on LATTE). All other readings are available on LATTE and Harvard Business Online (http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/52523964).
HRM Information Sources. Web links that can be used to find information on HR topics include:
· DOL.gov (U.S. Department of Labor)
· ILO.org (International Labour Organization)
· SHRM.org (Society for Human Resource Management)
· LERA.org (Labor and Employment Relations Association)
Provisions for Feedback: Management Memos will be returned to you within two weeks of submission with detailed feedback.
Academic Integrity: Academic integrity is central to the mission of educational excellence at Brandeis University. Each student is expected to turn in work completed independently, except when assignments specifically authorize collaborative effort. It is not acceptable to use the words or ideas of another person - be it a world-class philosopher or your lab partner – without proper acknowledgement of that source. This means that you must use footnotes and quotation marks to indicate the sources of any phrases, sentences, paragraphs or ideas found in published volumes, on the internet, or created by another student. Violations of university policies on academic integrity, described in Section 3 of Rights and Responsibilities, may result in failure in the course or on the assignment, and could end in suspension from the University. If you are in doubt about the instructions for any assignment in this course, you must ask for clarification.