MGMT 3362 Human Resource Management Course Syllabus Spring 2016 (Interactive Video) INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION Instructor: Marco E. Garza, PhD Office: Business Administration 222D (Edinburg Campus) Office Hours: Phone: E-mail: Available upon request 956.240.4544 (Mobile) -- Please no calls after 7:00 PM (Only in case of emergency) Please review How to successfully take this course towards bottom of this syllabus for more communication details marco.garza@utrgv.edu Generally I will respond to emails within 24-48 hours of receiving them. If I plan to be away from my computer for more than a couple of days, I will let you know. Online support: Center for Online Learning, Teaching, and Technology (COLT) Support Hours: Monday Thursday 7:30 AM 7:00 PM Friday 7:30 AM 6:00 PM Special Note: Not available on weekends (Plan ahead!) Email: colthelp@utpa.edu Phone: (956) 665 5327 or 665 5267 Required Text: Dessler, G. (2015). Human Resource Management (14 th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Course Objectives: 1. Understand the relationship between business strategy and strategic human resource management. 2. Gain knowledge of recruiting, selecting, evaluating, compensating, and training and developing employees. 3. Be aware of various employment-related laws and regulations. Grading Policy & Activities Description Type Quantity Points Each Total Points Exams Individual 4 100 400 Discussions Individual 2 100 200 Case Study Group 1 100 100 Team Paper Group 1 200 200 Team Presentation Group 1 100 100 Total >>> 1,000 A = 90-100% B = 80-89% C = 70-79% D = 60-69% F = Below 60% 1
Missed Exam/Late Assignment Policy 1. Only under rare situations will I give make-up exams or give extensions on due dates on other assignments. If an emergency arises (e.g., hospitalization, death in the family) please contact me as soon as possible. 2. Students are expected to attend the class on time and display appropriate class behaviors (including no private talking among students, no use of cell phones, and no internet surfing during the class time). Early leaving from the class should gain permission from the instructor. Violation of the above rules will lead to administrative removal from this class. 3. Cheating and plagiarism are unacceptable in this class. Students who are found to cheat in exams or plagiarize in assignments will receive 0 as the score for the exam or the assignment. 4. Students will receive 25 points extra credit for joining the student chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and attending the majority of the meetings and organization activities. 5. If a student has or believes he/she has a disability, he/she may wish to self-identify and require appropriate accommodations. He/she can do so by providing documentation to the Office of Services for Persons with Disabilities (OSPD), Emilia Ramirez-Schunior Hall Rm. 100. TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE* The syllabus and course schedule are subject to change at the discretion of Professor. Date Topic 01/20 Distributing and explaining the syllabus, group assignment 01/27 Chapter 1 & 3 02/03 Chapter 2 02/10 Exam 1 Recruitment & Placement 02/17 Chapter 4 & 5 02/24 Chapter 6 & 7 03/02 Chapter 6 & 7 Training & Development 03/09 Exam 2 03/16 Spring Break { No Class } 03/23 Chapter 8 & 9 Compensation 03/30 Exam 3 04/06 Chapter 11 & 12 04/13 Chapter 15 04/20 Exam 4 04/27 Group Presentations 1 & 2 05/04 Group Presentations 3 & 4 2
Discussion Posts: In order to help you keep active with the content and engaged with fellow students in this online class, students will be required to make posts of substance by posting your response to the provided reflective questions. These questions will vary from questions from our textbook, to responses to relevant videos provided in the weekly modules, etc. In addition to providing your posts, please read/respond to at least two others other classmates posts and expand on the discussion. You will be graded not only on your post, but you ability to provide relevant comments on others posts. Please do more than, I agree comments. The follow up response should be a solid paragraph. ONLINE ACTIVITIES/DISCUSSION MECHANICS: The quality of the discussion, conclusions, and student learning experience will depend on what the students select to put into it in terms of reading, preparation and discussion. I expect this contribution to be of the highest caliber in order for the class to learn from one another, using their knowledge and experience for the benefit of everyone involved. The typical entry for a post is 200-500 words, and we can use this as a rough guide. Actual size limits may be imposed if deemed necessary in order to have some order and avoid posts that are too long (or too short). More importantly, we must think about the quality of the post. The following rubric should be helpful to think about the quality and will be used as a grading format. It is a good idea to insert lines and spaces in your posts, or even use bold/italics/color if you want to emphasize your own points to the instructor and to each other (the current version of BB erases spaces if copied and pasted from word, but these can be inserted after the paste it is a good idea to write and save your work in word and then cut and paste since crashes do happen). Grading Rubric for Online Activity Entries Elements in D-F C-B A order of importance Content Response attempts to answers the major Response answers the assignment question with questions, but has some only minor digressions. digression. At the end, the questions are not answered in their entirety. There are some arguments supported by the text, There is appropriate and sufficient use of the text, paired with some support from experience. Paper shows that the student read and understood, but but they are too limited. may not be able to apply the readings to their full extent. Successfully analyzes the case/reading and answers all or almost all of the questions. It integrates insights from the text and individual experience. Conceptual and experiential support is offered and makes sense. 3
Analysis & Critical Thinking Structure Mechanics Response exhibits limited higher-order critical thinking and analysis. The entry shows limited understanding of the material. Generally unclear. Often wanders or jumps around. Repetitive. There are few or weak transitions, and each paragraph may not support a major point. Lacks an introduction and/or ends abruptly. Mechanics and format errors. Problems with grammar. The entry is ambiguous and is affected in readability. Response generally exhibits higher-order critical thinking and analysis. The entry shows some original thought, but mostly copies or repeats arguments without sound personal arguments (a very good summary of the reading) Generally clear and appropriate, though occasionally wanders into unrelated points. The introduction and conclusion only summarize the major points of the case/entry and may seem repetitive. May have a few unclear transitions, or a few paragraphs without excellent flow. Minor errors. Demonstrates strong understanding of accepted rules of grammar, punctuation, manuscript formatting. It is readable. Response exhibits strong higher-order critical thinking and analysis/synthesis. Entry shows original thought that uses and goes beyond the text/case. Evident, understandable, structure. A solid introduction that presents the issue and piques the reader interest, and a strong conclusion that integrates the entry and also leaves the reader wanting to know more. Excellent transitions from point to point. Virtually free of errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Academic Honesty in the discussions: Some of the discussions will be open and you may be able to see what other people have written before your initial post. You are required to present your own thoughts, opinions, and ideas in your initial post and to comment on other people s thoughts, opinions, and ideas in any subsequent posts. The BB environment makes it tough to limit visibility of discussion posts. So, you may be able to read other people s work to comment on it. Please see the note on academic dishonesty below. If you think or feel one of your classmates has copied your work or someone else s, please report it to the instructor. Entries can and will be checked and paired to the book and to one another for plagiarism using Plagiarism Software. You are encouraged to collaborate and discuss the readings with each other at any time. However, you should do your own work for the posting! If commenting or using someone else s point, acknowledge their contribution and yours (e.g. Student X said Y, my opinion on this point is Z). Problems with plagiarism will be dealt according to University rules and students engaging in plagiarism are likely to receive penalties ranging from an F in the assignment, the course, to expulsion from the University. (See other note on Academic honesty below) Group Collaboration Mechanics: Students will be assigned to different small groups throughout the semester. In this manner, they will be required to engage in collaboration activities in the BB environment, including chat rooms, wikis, and teleconferencing. Chat room work may be associated with a required blog and an individual grade will be assigned. 4
Group Activities/Project 1. Overview of group formation and group management Students will be assigned randomly by the instructor to groups. Each group will elect a leader, who is expected to fulfill the following responsibilities: Keep a record of attendance of group members Organize group activities inside and outside the classroom Report problems in the group to the instructor A group leader will be compensated with 15 points extra credit for extra group work in the class. A group leader is expected to attend every class during the semester. If he/she is absent due to uncontrollable reasons, he/she should designate a group member as his/her proxy for that particular class. A group leader who fails to fulfill the afore-mentioned responsibilities will be replaced and will lose the 15 points extra credit. Timely submission of group assignments in each class is expected. No late work will be accepted. Students contribution to group work will be rated. Contribution is more viewed as the effort that each group member inputs in the final product of the group work. Evaluation of students contribution to group work At the end of the semester, students will evaluate each of their group members contribution to group assignments and group presentation by using the following form: In the normal case, a student s contribution level will be obtained by averaging his/her group members ratings of his/her contribution. If a student believes his/her contribution is underrated, that student has the right to appeal to me. I, the student and his/her group members will have an appeal meeting, where the student should describe in front of me and other group members what he/she has done to contribute to the group work. After that group members will give another rating of this student contribution to the group work anonymously. Based on the group members ratings and my own observation, I will make the final decision regarding this student s final rating of his/her contribution to the group work. My decision will be final. 2. Group Presentation The following is a list of statements on some of the most controversial HR issues. Each group is required to choose one statement from the list as the presentation topic. In the presentation, each group needs to: 1) state whether the group agrees or disagrees on the statement they choose to present on, 2) present adequate evidences to support the group s position, and 3) answer questions from the audience. Performance evaluation: Each group is expected to do their presentation within 25 minutes (with last 5 minutes as the Q & A time). Evaluation criteria are as the following: 5
1. Adequacy and accuracy of evidences 2. Logic of arguments 3. Ability of handling questions from the audience. Mandatory Course Evaluations Mandatory Course Evaluations period (Apr 15 May 6): Students are required to complete an ONLINE evaluation of this course, accessed through your UTPA account you will be contacted through email with further instructions. The evaluation window closes at 11:59 pm on May 6 th, the last day of Spring classes. Students who complete their evaluations by May 6 th will have priority access to their grades. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: If you have a documented disability (physical, psychological, learning, or other disability which affects your academic performance) and would like to receive academic accommodations, please inform your instructor and contact Student Accessibility Services to schedule an appointment to initiate services. It is recommended that you schedule an appointment with Student Accessibility Services before classes start. However, accommodations can be provided at any time. Brownsville Campus: Student Accessibility Services is located in Cortez Hall Room 129 and can be contacted by phone at (956) 882-7374 (Voice) or via email at accessibility@utrgv.edu. Edinburg Campus: Student Accessibility Services is located in 108 University Center and can be contacted by phone at (956) 665-7005 (Voice), (956) 665-3840 (Fax), or via email at accessibility@utrgv.edu. ATTENDANCE: Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes and may be dropped from the course for excessive absences. In an online format, students are required to consistently participate by completing all assignments in a timely manger. UTRGV s attendance policy excuses students from attending class if they are participating in officially sponsored university activities, such as athletics; for observance of religious holy days; or for military service. Students should contact the instructor in advance of the excused absence and arrange to make up missed work or examinations. SCHOLASTIC INTEGRITY: As members of a community dedicated to Honesty, Integrity and Respect, students are reminded that those who engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and expulsion from the University. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, plagiarism, and collusion; submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person; taking an examination for another person; any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student; or the attempt to commit such acts. Since scholastic dishonesty harms the individual, all students and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced (Board of Regents Rules and Regulations and UTRGV Academic Integrity Guidelines). All scholastic dishonesty incidents will be reported to the Dean of Students. SEXUAL HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION, and VIOLENCE: In accordance with UT System regulations, your instructor is a responsible employee for reporting purposes under Title IX regulations and so must report any instance, occurring during a student s time in college, of sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, domestic 6
violence, or sexual harassment about which she/he becomes aware during this course through writing, discussion, or personal disclosure. More information can be found at www.utrgv.edu/equity, including confidential resources available on campus. The faculty and staff of UTRGV actively strive to provide a learning, working, and living environment that promotes personal integrity, civility, and mutual respect in an environment free from sexual misconduct and discrimination. COURSE DROPS: According to UTRGV policy, students may drop any class without penalty earning a grade of DR until the official drop date. Following that date, students must be assigned a letter grade and can no longer drop the class. Students considering dropping the class should be aware of the 3-peat rule and the 6-drop rule so they can recognize how dropped classes may affect their academic success. The 6-drop rule refers to Texas law that dictates that undergraduate students may not drop more than six courses during their undergraduate career. Courses dropped at other Texas public higher education institutions will count toward the six-course drop limit. The 3-peat rule refers to additional fees charged to students who take the same class for the third time. 7