AREC 325: Personnel Management in Agriculture

Online Fall 2017

Instructor: Dr. Greg Perry

Email:

Phone: 970-491-5540

Technical Support
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Course Prerequisites

All students should have completed Principles of Microeconomics (AREC 202) prior to enrolling in the course. Some experience with spreadsheets will also prove useful.

General Overview:

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an introduction and overview of human resource issues pertinent to agribusinesses and farm operations. The course is divided into six sections: (1) Foundational principles, (2) Professionalism, (3) legal issues, (4) hiring new employees,(5) compensation and benefits, (6) managing the workplace, and (7) bargaining and negotiation.

Course Outcomes:

Students will be able to

  1. Understand the role of a leader and manager in a business organization.
  2. Be able to communicate effectively in the workplace.
  3. Understand what business professionalism is and how it is applied in the workplace.
  4. Understand important legal issues governing employment, particularly in agribusinesses.
  5. Be able to design a job search process that is efficient, effective and leads to a diverse pool of candidates.
  6. Identify appropriate and legal ways to compensate employees.
  7. Be familiar with and able to design a benefits package for employees that meets their needs and is cost effective. The benefits package includes health insurance, retirement, vacation and sick leave, disability insurance and other benefits.
  8. Be able to design and implement an effective process to evaluate employee performance.
  9. Understand how to deal with common problems in the workplace, including absenteeism, turnover, opportunities for employee growth, dismissal, and conflict between employees.
  10. Explain and use distributive and integrative negotiation methods in single and multiple party situations, particularly in dealing with employee issues.

Grading:

As a student enrolled in this course, one of your responsibilities is to submit course work by the due dates listed in the Course Schedule. With that said, I take my role as your instructor very seriously, and, in fact, I care about how well you do in this course and that you have a satisfying, rewarding experience.

I will be teaching the on-campus version of this class simultaneously with the on-line version. I will have a teaching assistant to help me get materials graded and back to you in a timely fashion. My commitment is to respond individually to the work you submit in this class and to return your assignmentswithin seven (7) days of when it was submitted. I will have your exams graded within 14 days of when they are submitted. If something unforeseen happens to keep me from meeting these deadlines, I will keep you informed of my progress and make every effort to return your work with feedback as soon as I can. Be aware that sometimes assignments do get lost into the submission process, so be sure and keep a backup copy just in case.

The breakdown in grades is as follows;

  1. Exams (60%). Three exams will be offered during the semester, each worth 20% of the total grade. Each exam focuses on the material covered since the last exam, none of the exams are comprehensive.
  2. Class assignments (40%)A main objective of the class is to give students some opportunities to reflect on or apply the concepts taught in class. Hence nearly half of the total points in the class will be tied to these 18 assignments. A list of the specific assignments and due dates is provided at the end of the syllabus.

Options for Exam Proctoring:
This course requires that all exams are proctored. Proctors are individuals who administer the exam process following the guidelines provided by Colorado State University to ensure academic integrity.
In accordance with Colorado State University OnlinePlus proctoring guidelines, you have options for having exams (print-based or online) proctored for this course. All options require you to submit aProctor Identification Format least two weeks prior to the first date the exam is available. All three exams are provided on Canvas so please be sure that you have a secure link to the internet before taking an exam.

Proctoring Options:
Work with an eligible proctor external of Colorado State University. Your proctor selection is subject to approval. Please review the eligibility guidelines found on the OnlinePlus Proctoringwebsite when selecting an external proctor. Any costs incurred due to using an external proctor are your responsibility.

Take the exam at an OnlinePlus facility in Fort Collins or Denver; please review the contact information found on theOnlinePlus Proctoringwebsite.

Use ProctorTrack, an online proctoring service, which requires a webcam and microphone. Schedule an exam with ProctorTrack at least four days before you need to take your exam. The cost for using ProctorTrack is included in the cost of the course.

It is your responsibility to select an eligible proctor, schedule exams with your proctor, and abide by all rules for bringing only appropriate materials into the testing area. Mobile or other electronic taking any exam. Appropriate identification includes: driver’s license, CSU Student ID, passport, or other government issued photo identification. If you have any questions or concerns about proctoring, contact OnlinePlus at .

Make Up Policy
Assignments are docked 10% of the total grade for each day they are late. An assignment is considered a day late even if it was submitted one minute past the day and time due. Assignments will be due at 5:00 pm Mountain Time on the day indicated. Assignments turned in more than a week late will be assigned a zero grade. Exams will be made available for the entire week of the exam. The exam needs to be taken in the time set aside or the student will receive a zero grade.

Academic Integrity Policy
This course will adhere to the CSU Academic IntegrityPolicies and Guiding Principlesas found in the General Catalog and theStudent Conduct Code. Academic integrity is conceptualized as doing and taking credit for one’s own work. Violations of the university’s academic integrity standards include, but are not limited to:
Cheating—includes using unauthorized sources of information and providing or receiving unauthorized assistance on any form of academic work or engaging in any behavior specifically prohibited by the faculty member.
Plagiarism—includes the copying of language, structure, ideas, or thoughts of another, and representing them as one’s own without proper acknowledgment.

Unauthorized Possession or Disposition of Academic Materials—includes the unauthorized selling or purchasing of examinations or other academic work; stealing another student’s work; unauthorized entry to or use of material in a computer file; and using information from or possessing exams that an instructor did not authorize for release to students.
Falsification—includes any untruth, either verbal or written, in one’s academic work.
Facilitation—includes knowingly assisting another to commit an act of academic misconduct.
At a minimum, violations will result in a grading penalty in this course and a report to the Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct Services.

CSU Honor Pledge
Academic integrity lies at the core of our common goal: to create an intellectually honest and rigorous community. Because academic integrity, and the personal and social integrity of which academic integrity is an integral part, is so central to our mission as students, teachers, scholars, and citizens, I will ask that you affirm the CSU Honor Pledge as part of completing your work in this course.While you will not be required to affirm the honor pledge, you will be asked to affirm the following statement at the start of your exams:
"I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance."
Further information about Academic Integrity is available at CSU’sPracticing Academic Integrity.

oCall theCSU Help Desk at 970-491-7276orEmail Help Desk Support
You must have speakers installed and working properly on your computer before beginning the

Textbooks:

The textbook used in this class will be:

Perry, Gregory M. Managing People, Managing You: An Agribusiness Handbook. Copies are available in the bookstore for $69.25

Course Schedule

Date / Topic / Book Readings / Assignment
Week 1 / Introduction / Preface
Leading Agribusinesses / 1 / Assignment #1
Week 2 / Managing Agribusinesses / 2
Communication & Professionalism / Chap 3, pp. 1, 8-20
Chap 4, pp 1-3, 6-8, 9-15 / Chap 3: Question 4
Chap 4, Question 6
Week 3 / Introduction to Ethics / Chap 5, pp 1-13
Obstructions to Ethical Behavior / 5 pp. 1-13
Week 4 / Case Studies of Ethical Behavior / Handout / Chapter 5: Questions 1-2
Discrimination, Harassment / 6
Week 5 / Labor Issues in Agribusinesses / 7 / Assignment #4 (discussion board)
Exam #1 / 75 minute exam
Week 6 / Guest Speaker – Jon Slutsky / Reflection
Other Employment Laws / 8 / Chapter 6: Questions 2-3
Chapter 8: Questions 1-2
Week 7 / The Hiring Process / 9
Compensation / 11
Week 8 / Health Insurance Introduction / Chap 12 pp. 1-7
Insurance: Deductibles, Caps, etc / Chap 12, pp 8-15 / Chapter 12: Questions 1-3
Week 9 / Affordable Care Act / Chap 12, pp 15-21
Retirement Plans / 13 / Chapter 13: Questions 1-2
Week 10 / Other Employee Benefits / 14 / Assignment #9
Evaluating Performance / 15
Week 11 / Exam #2 / 75 minute exam
Absenteeism and Turnover / 16 / Chapter 16: Question 1
Week 12 / Creating Great Employees / 17
Guest Speaker #2 – Bill Rupp / Reflection
Week 13 / Disciplining & Firing Employees / 18 / McDenny’s Restaurant (conference call)
Dealing with Conflict in Workplace / 19 / Conflict Resolution (conference call)
Week 14 / Bargaining / 20
Negotiating / 21 / Development Negotiation
Week 15 / Group Negotiations / 22 / Group Negotiation (conference call)
Cognitive Biases / 23 / Chapter 2: Question 2
Week 16 / Final Exam

Assignments for AREC 325

Assignments represent nearly half the grade in this class. They are an opportunity to think about and apply the principles discussed in class. Each assignment is given in the following table, along with the possible points for each and the due date. Unless otherwise indicated, each assignment is due at the beginning of class on the date indicated. Assignments turned in late are docked 10% for each day late. Assignments more than a week late are assigned a zero.

Assignment / Points / Due Date
Assignment #1 / 40 / 8/29/17
Chap 3: Question 4; Chap 4: Question 6 / 20 / 9/12/17
Chapter 5: Questions 1-2 / 30 / 9/19/17
Assignment #4 / 25 / 9/26/17
Reflection on Guest Speaker #1 / 15 / 9/28/17
Chapter 8: Questions 1-2
Chapter 6: Questions 2-3 / 25 / 10/3/17
Chapter 12: Questions 1-3 / 30 / 10/19/17
Chapter 13: Questions 1-2 / 25 / 10/24/17
Assignment #9 / 35 / 10/31/17
Chapter 16: Question 1 / 30 / 11/7/17
Reflection on Guest Speaker #2 / 15 / 11/14/17
McDenny’s Restaurant (posted on Canvas) / 15 / 11/14/17
Conflict Resolution (conference call) / 25 / 11/16/17
Development Negotiation / 20 / 12/5/17
Group Negotiation (conference call) / 30 / 12/5/17
Chapter 23: Question 2 / 20 / 12/11/17
Total / 400