The University of Texas at Arlington

Graduate School of Business Administration

Department of Management

Management 5340

Strategic Human Resource Management

Dr. Gary C. McMahan Spring 2005

Office Hours and Communication: Phone: 817.272.3862

Office: Business Room 224 Fax: 817.272.3122

Course Intent: To provide the MSHRM graduate business student with an understanding of managing people and the people function in organizations. I will provide materials in many different forms to help the student integrate major managerial and human resource concepts, strategic human resource management concepts, as we explore the role of managing people at work. This is not a training course in HR; however, I will attempt to provide both theoretical and practical ideas, cases and applications.

Objectives of the Course:

During the course, the successful student will make progress toward attainment of the following objectives:

1.  Become familiar with the human resource management process and its key elements:

a.  Organization and human resource function goals and strategies

b.  Human resource planning and analysis

c.  Employee staffing – recruitment and selection

d.  Organizational career management – training, performance management and evaluation, and rewards/compensation

e.  Employee retention and turnover – psychological contract

2.  Understand that human resources are an asset (investment) to be developed rather than a labor cost to be expensed

3.  Comprehend the strategic fit of HR and the organization

4.  Recognize the applicability of HR practices to organization success

5.  Become acquainted with managerial decision-making through the study of HR problem situations

6.  Develop greater skill in decision-making, particularly in human resource problem situations through emphasis on:

a.  Observing and becoming sensitive to potential problem situations

b.  Diagnosing problem situations

c.  Identifying and stating a problem(s)

d.  Selecting a course of action from a set of alternative HR solutions

e.  Implementing and monitoring a chosen course of action

7.  Develop a personal philosophy of human resource management that will enable one to perform effectively as a manager

Course Readings:

Mello, Jeffery A., 2006. Strategic Human Resource Management, Second Edition. Thompson/Southwestern Publishers. UTA Bookstore should carry this textbook.

Smith, Shawn, JD., & Mazin, Rebecca, 2004. The HR Answer Book: An Indispensable Guide for Manager’s and Human Resource Professionals. American Management Association, Publisher. Available through www.amazon.com or your normal destination for book purchases.

Additional readings are assigned from time to time. Students are responsible for any readings assigned during the course.

The HBS cases and readings for the course are as follows:

Corey, A Note on Case Learning (9-899-105)

Gittell & O’Reilly, Jet Blue Airways (9-801-354)

Holland, The Portman Hotel Company (9-489-104)

O’Reilly & Caldwell, Cypress Semiconductor A (HR-8A)

Klein & Garvin, PPG: Self Directed Work Force (9-693-020)

McManess & Sucher, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (9-601-163)

Beer, Conducting a Performance Appraisal Interview (9-497-058)

Further contact information:

Harvard cases can be purchased at the educational rate from Harvard Business School Publishing. Contact information is as follows:

Phone: 1-800-545-7685 or 617-783-7600 (outside U.S. and Canada)

Fax: 617-783-7666

Email:

Web: http://caseclassroom.hbsp.harvard.edu

Mail: Harvard Business School Publishing

60 Harvard Way

Boston, MA 02163

Attendance, Participation, Value-Added, and Group Involvement: Students are required to attend class and participate in a positive, learning manner to classroom discussions. If you are absent from a class meeting please make plans with a fellow student or your case group members to get notes or handouts from the session you miss. A group evaluation of each individual’s contribution may be used at the discretion of Dr. McMahan.

Evaluation: Each student will be evaluated on the following scale:

Participation/Group Involvement/Case Discussions 20%

Group Case Presentation and Analysis 30%

Exam - Mello textbook readings 20%

Course Report - Smith & Mazin analysis 30%

TOTAL 100%

Grading Format: For the most part a traditional format of 90-100 A; 80-89 B; 70-79 C; below 70 F is followed. Dr. McMahan may also institute a “natural break” for grading purposes at the end of the term in determining a student’s final grade.

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Group and Individual Case Preparation: Please read A Note on Case Learning prior to beginning your case analysis. There is no “one best way” to analyze a case. After reading the above material, design your own process for case analyses. You will most likely improve on your design as your group works through cases and we discuss them in class. Key Words: well-written, typed, double-spaced, interesting, cover page, creative, and real. The Group analysis should go above and beyond the Case Briefing Sheet to be discussed later in this syllabus.

Each group will hand in a written cases analysis within a few sessions of the session they present their assigned case to the class. My expectation is that the case group assigned to a particular case, will present an overview of the case and then engage the class in a discussion of the case. All students should be prepared to discuss the case, but particularly the group or groups assigned to lead a given case.

Groups will be formed on the first full session of class. Once formed, groups should set meeting and information sharing arrangements, task assignments, and completion procedures. Management of the case group process and its output are the responsibility of the group. Task and role assignments, group control functions, and leadership are to be determined by each group. Members of each group should agree early in the term as to the level and quality of acceptable performance of individuals and the group. Dr. McMahan will not intervene in these matters unless extremely significant problems develop within the group. The product must be delivered and the “show must go on.”

Exam: The exam will be objective in format and primarily covering the text chapters. Focus on comprehending what you are reading in the MELLO textbook when preparing for the exam.

Course Report: The HR course report is an individual assignment. It should be based on the HR strategy, policies, programs, practices, and processes and the business model and strategies of an organization (the one where you work may qualify). It may require one or more interviews with the Chief HR Executive, or other persons with considerable knowledge of the firm’s business strategies and HR function. If you do interview a HR executive, you can ask questions (obtain information) that focuses on the following:

  1. What is the role of the human resource function/department in the firm?
  2. To what extent is the human resource staff/department/chief HR officer involved in strategic organizational decisions?
  3. How is performance of the HR function (and chief HR officer) measured?
  4. What was the most difficult organization problem faced by the HR department in the last two or three years? How was it resolved?
  5. What are some of the most pressing HR issues faced by the organization today? Why?
  6. What are key HR practices/programs/processes that comprise each link of the HR process?
  7. How do these key practices/programs/processes enhance individual/organizational performance and strengthen the psychological contract?
  8. How can key HR practices be changed and/or improved?

In preparing your report you can focus on a particular organizational strategy and trace its impacts/implications through the HR process. Assess the effectiveness of the HR practices and indicate the shared roles of HR professional and line manager. Obtain copies of forms/documents such as a job description, employee selection scoring template, performance evaluation forms, organizational career management or succession plan, exit interview schedule, and any other item that helps to explain the employee-employer psychological contract.

The report should be approximately 12-15 pages, exclusive of exhibits, and presented in a narrative form with headings and sub-headings. The report will be evaluated primarily in terms of content, but 20 percent of the report score will be allocated to organization, compositional quality (style, spelling, grammar, and syntax), and appearance (typed or word-processed, headings and sub-headings, etc.) The paper should be turned in no later than the night of the scheduled final (see university schedule for actual date) under my door Room 224 Business Building. If two of you work for the same business organization, you can work together to obtain information. However, each of you must prepare a different individual HR report.


References and Periodicals:

The following is a partial list of references and publications available through the UTA Campus Library and in most cases, directly online. Also, the largest American professional organization in the HR field is the Society for Human Resource Management. It has over 100,000 members and can be found at www.shrm.org. With a membership in SHRM you can access vast amounts of information about human resource management. HR Magazine is published by SHRM.

Periodicals

Academy of Management Journal

Academy of Management Review
Academy of Management Executive
Academy of Management Learning & Education
Administrative Science Quarterly
Business Horizons
California Management Review
Compensation Review
Fortune
Harvard Business Review
Human Resource Management
Human Resource Management Review
Human Resource Planning
HR Executive Review, The Conference Board
HR Magazine
Industrial and Labor Relations Review
International Journal of Human Resource Mgt.
Monthly Labor Review
Organization Dynamics
Personnel Psychology
Sloan Management Review
Strategic Management Journal
Training and Development Journal

The Bureau of National Affairs and Commerce Clearing House publish considerable material on all aspects of human resource management. These organizations release HR information on a daily basis through numerous publications that focus on HR policies and practices, compensation and benefits, safety and health, and many other areas.

The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Business Week are three excellent publications for very current business data and information, including human resource management.

Case Briefing Sheets: Attached to this syllabus are briefing sheets for the assigned cases. Each briefing sheet provides a list of questions which student will answer during case discussions. If you miss a case discussion, or appear to Dr. McMahan as unprepared, you must provide written answers to the briefing sheet questions as a substitute. This substitution can be used only once.

Schedule of Classes, Cases, Text Readings, Quizzes, and Exercises

The following is a schedule of cases, quizzes, reading assignments, and exercises. While efforts will be made by Dr. McMahan to relate text readings, case discussions, videos, other readings and lectures, the student is ultimately responsible for learning and integrating the course content and completing course requirements.

The text consists of relatively short, focused chapters and readings (reprinted articles). Read the reprinted articles along with the chapters.

HR in Alignment and HR Heroes are videos made available by the SHRM foundation. Portions of each video will be shown during several case discussions. Conducting a Performance Appraisal Interview is not a case; it is a special note with helpful information in conducting an employee performance review.

Session/Date / Topic / Text Chapter / Case/Exercise/Video / Due Dates
1 1/19 / Introduction
2 1/26 / HR and the Organization / 1 / Form Case
Groups
3 2/2 / HR Process / 2 / HR Alignment
4 2/9 / Strategic Management / 3 / JetBlue / Group ____
5 2/16 / Strategic HR / 4 / HR Heroes
6 2/23 / HR Planning / 5
7 3/2 / Job and Work Design / 6 / Portman Hotel / Group ____
8 3/9 / Staffing: Recruitment and
Selection / 8 / PPG Self-Directed / Group ____
9 3/23 / Training and Org. Development / 9 / Ritz-Carlton / Group ____
10 3/30 / Performance Management / 10 / Cypress / Group _____
11 4/6 / Compensation / 11
12 4/13 / Retention & Turnover / 12
13 4/20 / Exam
14 4/27 / Global Human Resources / 14
15 5/11 / Course Report - Room 224 / Slide report under door / Course Report

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More on the Course Cases:

Although not designed nor developed together, some attempt has been made to relate the textbook readings with each case. Some chapters may be helpful in analyzing the cases; others may not yield much help. Each case has integrative aspects which we will build upon as we work through the cases.

Case Relevant Textbook Chapters

Jet Blue: 1, 2, 3 plus integrative aspects

Portman Hotel: 6, plus integrative aspects

PPG: 5,7,10 plus integrative aspects

Ritz-Carlton: 9, plus integrative aspects

Cypress: 6, 12, 13 plus integrative aspects

THE FINE PRINT

NOTE: This Course Schedule is subject to change. The reading assignments are not necessarily tied to the topic for that specific evening. The goal of the case/lecture/video/discussion format is not to cover everything in the chapters to any degree. The graduate student is responsible for the material in the book in addition to all lecture, discussion, video, group, and case material.


INDIVIDUAL LOG/RECORD OF EVALUATIONS/SCORES

MANAGEMENT 5340

Spring 2005

STUDENT ______

Requirement Weight Score

Participation/Value-Added 20% _____

Case 30% _____

Exam 20% _____

Course Report 30% _____

Course Grade _____


MANAGEMENT 5340

Spring 2005

Student Case Group Information Sheet

GROUP HR NAME ______

Member Name / Email Address
1
2
3
4
5


MANA 5340

JETBLUE AIRWAYS: STARTING FROM SCRATCH

Briefing/Assignment Sheet

(Or questions to organize and guide discussion)

This case is concerned with how an entrepreneurial venture can develop a successful business model by emphasizing elements that can be a source of competitive advantage. The challenge faced by JetBlue is to grow the firm and its operations at a reasonably rapid rate without unduly taxing its various resources and damaging its key assets. The following questions can be used to frame your analysis and guide class discussion:

1.  How is JetBlue similar to or different from Southwest Airlines?

a.  Consult the Mello textbook on performing a comparative analysis

2.  If you owned and/or managed a venture capital fund would you invest in JetBlue? Why or why not?

3.  What are the key features (or potential success factors) of JetBlue’s business model?

4.  What is your evaluation of the degree of alignment of the corporate strategy (and business model), HR practices, and organization values and culture of JetBlue? Refer to the Mello text.

5.  Is the objective of remaining union-free realistic and how important is being non-union to the business model and HR practices and systems?