Description
Why is it important to study human resources management (HRM)? People are behind organizational successes and failures. To foster successes and learn from failures, the effective management of people plays a fundamental role. Moreover, effective people management is what drives other functional areas of an organization, such as finance, marketing, accounting, customer service, operations and sales to work at its best, thus leading the organizations to achieve its goals. Managing people effectively is not only the job of people working in the human resources department, but an indispensable competency for everyone in business. For instance, a manager who has a clear job description of the position he/she wants to fill can better partner with the human resources department for hiring the best candidate. Recruitment, compensation and talent management are only some of the steps within an employee`s `life-cycle´ in an organization which have to be managed effectively in order to ensure that employees and organizational needs are fulfilled so the business as a whole can operate effectively. Only by understanding the perspectives of management, HR and the employee, and by aligning HR policies adequately, can an organization´s work force be successfully managed. This understanding can also boost sustainable competitiveness by enabling motivation, retention and commitment. This course will introduce major topics related to Human Resources Management through a three-fold perspectives on the impact of HRM: 1) the strategic role of HRM from a management perspective, 2) the functional role of HRM as a department to establish HR policies and 3) the personal impact of HRM issues on employees. The HRM course is also designed to apply knowledge to your personal goals, such as the application process for internships, giving effective feedback and mapping your own professional goals, as well as organizational expectations about your work. The greater your awareness and competencies on the field of human resources, the more effective you will be in your professional endeavors and the better you will contribute to the success of your organization.
Type Subject
Primer - Obligatoria
Semester
Second
Course
1
Credits
3.00
Previous Knowledge
Objectives

1. To understand the importance and role of the major HR issues in an organization
2. To understand the challenges for management and HR departments in different types of organizations or different economic circumstances
3. To critically evaluate the success of HR policies from multiples perspectives
4. To identify the role of employees to the success of HRM
5. To apply the knowledge to the participants´ personal goals (e.g. application process for internships, etc.)
6. To develop basic skills that will help participants in their initial career steps in organizations
7. To approach learning through a process-oriented perspective in which not only the outcome is evaluated (e.g. grade on the exam) but also the process (e.g. contributions in class, teamwork)

LEARNING GOALS
At the end of the course participants will be able to
- Understand the importance and role of the major HR issues in an organization
- Critically evaluate the success of HR policies from multiples perspectives
- Understand the challenges for management and HR departments in different types of organizations or different economic circumstances
- Understand the challenges for management and HR departments under varying economic circumstances
- Apply the knowledge to the participants´ personal goals (e.g. application process for internships, etc.)
- Develop basic skills that will help participants in their initial career steps in organizations
- Competencies to be developed through the different learning activities of the course
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Communication
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Empathy

Contents

CONTENT SUMMARY

- HRM: Why does it matter?
o A framework for HRM
o Environmental factors

- Job position
o Job analysis
o Job design and planning
- Recruitment
o Job publication
o Selection
o Hiring
- HR Marketing
- Talent Management
o Performance evaluation
o Training and Development
o Succession Planning

- Compensation and Benefits
o Compensation systems
o Benefits and services, incentives and rewards

- Safety and health

- Labor relations
o Employee representatives and organizational unions
o Internal employee relationships
- International HRM
o Expatriate management
o Managing Diversity

- Separation

- Other HR issues
o New technologies and HR policies
o Effectiveness of HR policies

Methodology

The learning experience is based on a range of teaching methods that fosters experiential learning or, in other words, learning by doing. Throughout the course, exercises are designed to produce experiences that re-create the phenomena of different HR-related situations (e.g. practicing selection interviews or other role plays). During their project work, student teams will apply the course content to a real example of their choice and share their reflections during class. You are expected to critically listen to the contributions of your fellow students and if you disagree, explain why your viewpoint differs. A hands-on approach is crucial throughout the course with out-of-class readings, assignments and exercises; teamwork activities, assignments and exercises; individual and group presentations; in-class activities, exercises and discussions.

Evaluation

REQUIREMENTS, EXPECTATIONS, AND ASSESSMENT
Since this class is, in effect, an attempt to learn about human resource management but also develop and practice your human resources management skills, we expect you to treat this course like you would a job. As the managers of this class, we assume that the people we are working with are good, hard-working and intelligent people who are capable of meeting the requirements of this job. So, be prepared for each class session, be an active contributor to the success of the class, attend the presentations of your colleagues and be punctual.
EVALUATION
The course grade will be based on the following point breakdown:
20% Quality participation, attitude, daily in & out-of-class effort with exercises and activities, rich feedback provided & proof of readings assigned
20% Project work presentations (Midterm & Final)
20% Project work report (Final)
10% Peer review
30% Final Exam

RETAKE POLICY:

Point breakdown for the retake exam:

40% Written exam
30% Oral Presentation
30% Exercises and activities to be submitted

Grade will not be higher than 5.

Evaluation Criteria
Basic Bibliography

Readings:

Compulsory readings for the course are taken from:
Mondy, R. Wayne; Noe, Robert M.& Premeaux, Shane R., Resource Management, 7th edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999
Any additional readings will be provided on the online platform.
Further complementary reading suggestions are:
Jackson, T., International HRM: A cross-cultural approach, London: Sage, 2000.
Legge, Karen, Human Resource Management: Rhetorics & Realities; Anniversary Edition (Management, Work & Organizations), Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
(in Spanish) Dolan, S. L., Schuler, R. S., Jackson, S., & Valle Cabrera, R. (2007). La Gestión de los Recursos Humanos: Cómo atraer, retener y desarrollar con éxito el capital humano en tiempos de transformación. McGraw-Hill.

Additional Material

In addition to the cases we will be discussing in class, I will provide you with a number of readings from time to time. Additional readings or assignments will be handed out in class. You may also be requested to search for particular readings in the library databases.

Recommended textbooks

Susan E. Jackson, Randall S. Schuler & Steve Werner: Managing Human Resources, South Western, ISBN-13: 978-0-324-57967-3; ISBN-10: 0-324- 57967-5
R. Wayne Mondy, Human Resources Management, 11th ed., Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2010
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management by Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright. McGraw-Hill Irwin