YORK UNIVERSITY
WINTER 2013
HUMAN RESOURCES PLANNING
AP/ADMS 3430/HRM3430, Section M
Wednesdays, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Location : ACE 011
HUMAN RESOURCES PLANNING
Course Director: Galina Boiarintseva
Office: Atkinson Building, School of Human Resources Management
Office Hours: by appointment
E-mail:
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This course provides students with an understanding of the personnel planning process, including the needs, methods, uses and risks and future trends in human resources planning. Prerequisite: AP/HRM 2600 3.00. This course will provide a general overview of common approaches in the field of Human Resources Planning and will help you understand the planning processes used by HR professionals as part of an organization’s overall strategy. We will discuss concepts such as business and HR strategies; the environmental factors that influence HR planning; assessing HR supply and demand; the HR implications relating to downsizing, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions; succession planning; the use of IT in HR planning; outsourcing and other emerging issues in strategic HR planning.
COURSE MATERIALS
Belcourt, Monica and McBey, Kenneth, Strategic Human Resources Planning, Fourth Edition, Nelson Series in HRM, Nelson Education Ltd, Toronto, 2010
Course website, accessible via York University Moodle.
Additional materials to consult for practical application of concepts learned from text: Various HR publications, The Economist, The Globe and Mail, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News,
COURSE STYLE & FORMAT AND GENERAL COMMENTS
As per previous course directors’ suggestions, we will utilize interactive discussions in class in addition to formal lectures. Class participation is crucial both to your learning and retention of information, and is strongly related to the professionalism component of your final grade for reasons described below.
I encourage relevant interruptions and questions at any point during any class, and am available by e-mail regularly to address any questions or concerns that you may not want to raise in class.
COURSE EVALUATION
Professionalism* 15% *See below and attached.
Mid-term test: 30%
Group presentation/paper: 35%
Final exam: 20%
MID-TERM EXAM:
A mid-term exam will be held during class on Wednesday, February 13th ,2013. You must attend the mid-term since there will be no other alternative dates to write a make-up exam. If you miss the mid-term exam for a valid reason (as set-out in York policies), then the value of the mid-term will be added to the value of your final exam, making your final exam worth 50%. If you do not have a valid reason for missing the mid-term exam, you will get a mark of zero. The mid-term exam is a closed-book exam covering materials covered in class. You will be advised of the format in advance.
GROUP ASSIGNMENT:
The group assignment is worth 35% and has three components: a written paper (20%), a presentation (10%) and peer evaluation (5%).
Group Formation: You should form groups of 5-6 people no later than January 24th, 2013. A list of all members in your group, with full names and student numbers and e-mail addresses) must be submitted to me by then via email. In the subject line you must indicate your group name and course number (3430). During this calls we will decide the presentation dates for each of the groups.
The group presentation is important and will be marked on criteria such as clarity, visual aids, logic and flow, and the ability to answer questions on the project content, etc.
Please note that for the written paper, the key elements are logic, grammar, syntax, spelling and the ability to support your argument/thesis in the paper. More information on this will follow.
The purpose of this group assignment it to study and present your findings relating to a current Human Resources Planning issue within a particular organization. You will select both the organization and the topic to be covered. Although you are free to choose the organization and how you learn about its HRP issues, one suggestion is to browse https://www.iveycases.com/ and select a case that is of interest to you. You need NOT cover an entire case; instead, cover one or two main issues relating to Human Resources Planning. You can also gather information from the news/press, journals, managers and employees, your own experiences, etc. At least one week before your scheduled presentation, you must e-mail to me a copy of any case or other background material you have used to prepare this assignment. In short, this project should include the following:
- The organization your group is investigating.
- Explanation of the issue the organization is dealing with.
- Your recommendations/plan on how to improve the situation. This is the KEY to a good mark.
- It is important to focus on the specifics not generalities.
Written Paper: Your group written paper should be no more than 10 pages, excluding the list of references and appendixes (Arial or times new roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, with 1” margins). You should cover at least the following in the paper.
· Details of the issue that could include an introduction to the organization and issue, purpose of the study, importance to HR, etc.
· You must have at least 10 reference sources on the subject.
· Recommendations for the organization(s) on how the organization(s) can improve/manage the issue.
You must also include a list of articles cited and any sources used, using the MLA style. You should also include the name of your topic, each group member’s full name and student number. Your paper will be evaluated on style (grammar, etc.) and content (the extent and quality of your research, analysis, and recommendations). This paper must be handed to me in the evening of your presentation.
Presentation: Not all members of your group are required to present, although all should be in attendance. Subject to any concerns raised in the confidential peer evaluations (see below), all group members (including those who do not actually present) will generally receive the same mark for the presentation component. Due to time constraints, the presentation will be limited to approximately 20 minutes and about 10 minutes for a question and answer period. It is a good idea to assign back-up presenters if you are unsure of your ability to attend that particular class.
Please note: Due to scheduling conflicts, no new dates to do your presentation will be assigned if you are unable to present on the assigned date, and you will receive a zero if you do not present as scheduled.
Each group member must individually hand in a short, CONFIDENTIAL, typed evaluation of the project and of the contributions of their group members. Each person will place their evaluation in a sealed envelope. Each evaluation should contain your name and the proper names of each group member and their student number. There will be a form provided on the course website.
FINAL EXAM:
The final exam will be held during the last class on April 3, 2013. More details will follow later, but the exam will be cumulative, covering all material from the semester.
COURSE ORGANIZATION
*NOTE: Class schedule may be changed at the discretion of the Course Director.
Have your name displayed in large dark writing that I can see from the front of the room and bring that to every class.
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COURSE CONTENT:
Date / Topic / Chapter / Class Presentations / Cases/ReadingsJanuary 9, 2013 / Introduction to the course: Discussion on course outline and performance evaluation.
Strategic Management / Chapter 1
January 16, 2013 / Aligning Human Resources Strategy
Environmental Influences on HRM / Chapter 2
Chapter 3 / Article: “Talent Management for the Twenty-First Century”
Article:” Building a Well-Networked Organization”
January 23, 2013 / Job Analysis / The HR Forecasting Process / Chapter 4 & 6 / Case:“Sunoco Products Company (A): Buliding a World-Class HR Organization”
January 30, 2013 / HR Demand/Ascertaining HR Supply / Chapter 7 & 8 / Article: “Developing Your Leadership Pipeline”
February 6, 2013 / I.T. for HR Planning / Chapter 5 / Case: “Goodwin Sporting Goods”
February 13, 2013 / Midterm exam on Chapters 1- 8
February 20, 2013 / READING WEEK
February 27, 2013 / Succession Management / Chapter 9 / Presentations
Group 1 and 2 / Case: “Making the HR Outsourcing Decision”
March 6, 2013 / Downsizing and Restructuring / Chapter 10 / Presentations
Group 3 and 4 / Article: “Doing Layoffs Right”
March 13, 2013 / Strategic International HR / Chapter 11 / Presentations
Group 5 and 6 / Case: “Yola: Managing Multiple Challenges”
March 20, 2013 / Mergers and Acquisitions / Chapter 12 / Presentations
Group 7 and 8
March 27, 2013 / Outsourcing
Evaluation of HR Programs and Policies / Chapter 13
Chapter 14 / Presentations
Group 9 and 10 / Exam Review
April 3, 2013 / Final Exam-Cumulative
Marks for Professionalism vs. Participation
Part of the course mark will be based on professionalism.
The attached article “Professionalism Marks vs. Participation Marks: Transforming the University Experience”[1] serves as the basis for the decision to award marks for professionalism in this course.
Practically-speaking, some of the things that will count towards this component of your final grade include (but are not limited to) the following:
· Attending class and being on time
· Having your name clearly displayed in a large, dark font so I can read it from the front of the room
· Paying attention in-class, not using BlackBerrys, iPhones or other electronic devices
· Being prepared for class, having done all of the assigned readings, and being prepared to speak when called upon, often randomly
· Not eating your dinner in class
· Participating in class discussions with meaningful contributions
· Asking pertinent questions
· Carefully following all instructions relating to classes, assignments and exams
· Handing-in your work on-time (or early)
· Respecting other students
This is not a kindergarten class and it is not my intent to “police” you. However, professionalism is extremely important in the real world, and what better training than to begin now! To be clear, you will not fail this course by missing classes, but if you regularly miss class with no valid reason, this will certainly impact your professionalism mark, the same way regularly missing work with no valid reason would certainly impact your career.
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[1] Wells, Elizabeth A. "Professionalism Marks vs. Participation Marks: Transforming the University Experience." Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching: The Evolving Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. 1. Ed. Alan Wright, Shannon Murray, Margaret Wilson. Windsor: 2008. 115-118. Print.