UNIT 1. Human Resource Management in Perspective

Part A. The Environment of Human Resource Management

1. HR Is Dead, Long Live HR, Shari Caudron, Workforce, January 2003

Business conditions are changing, and people in the human resource field must find new ways to be relevant to organizations or be faced with the prospect of becoming irrelevant in a rapidly changing environment.

2. The State of the Human Resources Profession in 2003: An Interview With... MORE Dave Ulrich, Rich Vosburgh, Human Resource Planning Journal, Volume 26, Issue 1, 2003

Dave Ulrich has been an active leader of the human resource community for many years. This interview was conducted just prior to Ulrich’s three-year sabbatical to do missionary work for his church.

3. What Is an Employee? The Answer Depends on the Federal Law, Charles J. Muhl, Monthly Labor Review, January 2002

You may think you are hiring a consultant or an independent contractor, but according to federal law, it may be an employee. Does it make a difference? You bet!

4. Good As Gone, Marianne Kolbasuk McGee, Information Week, September 8, 2003

The job market in the U.S. economy has been down for the past several years and outsourcing jobs to third world countries has been the order of the day. The result of this is employees simply trying to hold on to their jobs. But that may be changing.

Part B. Human Resources and Corporate Strategy

5. 7 Steps Before Strategy, Bruce N. Pfau and Bonnie Bell Cundiff, Workforce, November 2002

Over the past decade there has been much emphasis on the role of human resources in contributing to the organization’s strategy. But HR professionals must not lose sight of their basic functions in their efforts to be included in the strategic planning for the organization.

6. Strategic Human Resources Management in Government: Unresolved Issues, Jonathan Tompkins, Public Personnel Management, Spring 2002

Strategic human resource planning in government is different from the private sector. This article addresses those differences and how they alter that function.

Part C. Americans with Disabilities Act

7. Unquiet Minds, Aliya Sternstein, Forbes, November 10, 2003

Many adults suffer from attention deficit hyperactive disorder. Organizations and individuals are learning to deal with it, but it takes time, effort, and understanding.

8. The Devil is in the Details, Thomas Clark, Contemporary Long Term Care, January 2004

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a difficult law to follow and is often at odds with local ordinances. The details of the act and its implementation are the subject of this article.

9. The ADA’s Next Step: Cyberspace, Suzanne Robitaille, Business Week Online, July 28, 2003

The ADA was passed prior to the explosion of the internet. Applying the ADA to the internet and making it more friendly to the disabled will be the next frontier.

Part D. Sexual Harassment

10. Not In My Company: Preventing Sexual Harassment, Jim Mulligan and Norman Foy, Industrial Management, September/October 2003

Sexual harassment can result in huge problems for an orgainzation that are preventable. Such charges cost time, money, and reputation. Even if you win—you lose!

Part E. 9/11 and the War on Terror

11. The Aesthetics of Security, Ray A. Smith, The Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2003

In an age of increased security concerns, building additional security into the building is one way to address these issues.

12. Aftershocks of War, Linda Wasmer Andrews, HR Magazine, April 2004

Veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflict will be returning to their civilian jobs. Bringing these men and women, who have seen war, back to civilian life will not be an easy task.

UNIT 2. Meeting Human Resource Requirements

Part A. Job Requirements

13. Too Old to Work, Adam Cohen, New York Times Magazine, March 2, 2003

Allstate Insurance decided to change the way it sold insurance, This change affected 6,400 agents. Almost all of them were over 40. These agents have filed a class action age discrimination lawsuit.

Part B. Human Resource Planning, Selection, and Recruitment

14. Can You Interview for Integrity?, William C. Byham, Across the Board, March/April 2004

What are some of the ways you can find out if a job applicant is honest? Here are some useful interview questions and techniques you can ask and use.

15. Does HR Planning Improve Business Performance?, Bill Macaleer and Jones Shannon, Industrial Management, January/February 2003

What are some of the ways that human resource planning can improve business performance and enhance profitability? This article explores that relationship and some of the myths surrounding HR and strategy.

Part C. Human Resources Information Systems

16. Tomorrow’s World, Carol Glover, People Management, February 26, 2004

New software in human resources is providing the ability to enhance productivity, performance, and corporate governance. These tools will make managing people easier and more efficient.

UNIT 3. Creating a Productive Work Environment

Part A. Motivating Employees

17. Getting Happy With the Rewards King, Leslie Gross Klaff, Workforce, April 2003

Motivating employees has always been a concern of organizations, but what works best? Will money or small rewards and praise do the trick?

18. Who Needs Superstars?, Adrian W. Savage, Across the Board, March/April 2004

Superstars are great if you have them. But, if you have them, then they need the right environment to flourish. The best race car in the world will not win a race on a course designed for SUV’s.

Part B. Facilitating Communication

19. The “Write” Way to Enhance Business, Dawn Josephson, Walls and Ceilings, March 2003

Sometimes writing might be considered a lost art in communicating, but it is often of paramount importance and the one method of communication that may best represent you.

20. In Praise of Boundaries, Harvard Business Review, December 2003

Miss Manners is a syndicated columnist on etiquette. This is an interview on business etiquette and what people should and should not be doing in the office.

21. Fear of Feedback, Jay M. Jackman and Myra H. Strober, Harvard Business Review, April 2003

Many people are afraid to have a conversation with the boss concerning their performance, but some conversations are necessary. Getting and using feedback on job performance is a necessary component to success in one’s career.

UNIT 4. Developing Effective Human Resources

Part A. Training Employees

22. What to do About E-dropouts, Allison Rossett and Lisa Schafer, Training and Development, June 2003

The internet and other forms of electronic media have been proclaimed as the future of learning. But, not all learners have been successful with this style of instruction. What to do about it is the subject here.

23. Who’s Next?, Susan J. Wells, HR Magazine, November 2003

Organizations need to develop people for leadership positions. How to do that and selecting the people for the positions is the topic in this article.

Part B. Career and Staff Development

24. Competitive Global Job Market Strains Employees, Fred Maidment, Fairfield County Business Journal, March 22, 2004

The economy is changing rapidly, fueled by technology and outsourcing to developing countries. Employees must take responsibility for their careers and develop their skills or risk becoming just another commodity.

Part C. Performance Appraisal

25. Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives, Sydney Finkelstein, Fast Company, July 2003

Unsuccessful executives have certain things in common as Sydney Finkelstein points-out. Unfortunately, many of these same characteristics that eventually make them unsuccessful are admired in American industry.

Part D. Diversity in the Workplace

26. Equality’s Latest Frontier, Diane Cadrain, HR Magazine, March 2003

Transgender issues constitute the latest frontier in non-discrimination. Sexual identity is now at the forefront of equal employment opportunity issues in the workplace.

27. Limits to Diversity?, Melissa Master, Across the Board, November/December 2003

Diversity in the workforce and equal opportunity for all is certainly a good thing. But, it is not a cure for everything that ails the human resources of a business.

28. The Draw of Diversity, Stacy A. Teicher, The Christian Science Monitor, November 10, 2003

Diversity is a good practice for employers to engage in. But, diversity is a human resource practice and does not contribute directly to the bottom line of the organization.

UNIT 5. Implementing Compensation, Benefits, and Workplace Safety

Part A. Managing Employee Compensation

29. Plastic Paychecks, Elayne Robertson Demby, HR Magazine, April 2003

Employers are constantly looking for ways to cut expenses. One area of expense that all employers face is processing payroll. A way to reduce the expense would be to deposit the pay in a credit-card account.

30. Merging Compensation Strategies, Susan J. Wells, HR Magazine, May 2004

When companies merge, one of the programs that needs to be reconciled is the compensation system of each organization. This may not be as easy as it sounds, especially when considering benefits, bonuses, retirement, stock options, and all the other forms of compensation.

Part B. Incentive Compensation

31. Top Pay for Best Performance, Steve Bates, HR Magazine, January 2003

Rewarding the top performers in a company is a key way to motivate them and other workers to become top performers. Additional merit raises over time can make a real difference in the annual compensation of an employee.

32. Ten Steps to Designing an Effective Incentive Program, Bruce Bolger, Employment Relations Today, Spring 2004

What needs to be in place for an incentive compensation program to be effective in motivating employees? The steps in designing a program to answer that question are provided by Bruce Bolger.

Part C. Executive Pay

33. Executive Compensation: Are Some Paid Too Much?, Fred Maidment, Journal of Pension Planning and Compliance, Winter 2003

In 2001, new records were set for CEO compensation. Yet, the stock price, sales, and corporate profits of many of these executive’s companies plummeted, resulting in layoffs and wage-freezes for the rank-and-file employees.

Part D. Health and Safety

34. Employers May Face Liability When Domestic Violence Comes to Work, Stacey Pastel Dougan, Employee Benefit Plan Review, February 2003

Domestic violence is a terrible problem in today’s society and like all problems in society is bound to have an impact on the workplace. Employers need to face up to this and have a policy in place that will deal with it should the need arise.

35. The Most Effective Tool Against Workplace Violence, HRfocus, February 2003

Workplace violence is a growing problem in society. The best way for organizations to deal with this problem is to train their employees so that they will know what to do when the situation arises.

Part E. Benefits

36. The Battle Over Benefits, Sheila Anne Feeney, Workforce Management, November 2003

One of the most contentious battles facing employers and employees is the battle over benefits. Health care, pensions, and other benefits cost employers huge sums of money and there appears to be no limit. Something has to be done.

37. The Cutting Edge of Benefit Cost Control, Fay Hansen, Workforce, March 2003

Employee benefits, especially health insurance, are one of the most rapidly growing costs of almost any organization. However, there are strategies that organizations have implemented that can help to contain these expenses.

UNIT 6. Fostering Employee/Management Relationships

Part A. Dynamics of Labor Relations, Collective Bargaining, and Contract Administration

38. The Barbed Wire Straitjacket, David Bacon, Z Magazine, February 2003

Union organizing is becoming far more difficult as even the federal government uses the labor laws to restrict the efforts of unions to organize and exercise their right to strike.

Part B. Disciplinary Action

39. The ABC’s of Employee Discipline, William Cottringer, Supervision, April 2003

Disciplining an employee at work can be difficult and has certain legal ramifications if not done properly. How to do it properly is the subject of this article by William Cottringer.

40. Three Strikes, You’re Out: How to Play Fair at Firing, Claire Sykes, Office Solutions, March/April 2003

Terminating employees is never something that managers look forward to doing. There are, however, ways to do it that are better than others and actions one can take when the situation starts to deteriorate.

Part C. Temporary and Part-Time Employees

41. Temporary Worker, Permanent Loser?, Michael Rybicki, Newsweek, March 10, 2003

People may hail temporary workers as a boon for organizations seeking to control their staffing and costs, but for the temporary workers themselves, it is somewhat different.

Part D. Ethics

42. Big Companies Teach Business Ethics to Employees, Harold Brubaker, Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, March 26, 2003

With all of the corporate scandals that have surfaced over the past several years, major corporations are starting to worry about the ethics of their employees. They have decided to do something about it by teaching ethics.

43. Accounting for Corporate Behavior, John A. Weinberg, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly, Summer 2003

The economic explanation as to why some executives engage in illegal and unethical behavior and why some are likely to continue to do so, no matter what the laws are or the potential consequences may be, is the subject of this article.

UNIT 7. International Human Resource Management

44. Changes Afoot in EU Pension Regulations, Robert O’Connor, HR Magazine, March 2003

As the European Union moves toward closer economic integration, the labor force is going to be more mobile than in the past. A uniform pension system will be necessary to cover these workers. But, don’t look for it overnight.

45. A People Strategy That Spans the Globe, Carroll Lachnit, Workforce, June 2003

Novo Nordisk is a Danish manufacturer of materials for treating diabetes. It has 15,000 employees worldwide and has won awards from around the world for its human resource efforts.

46. Learning From Our Overseas Counterparts, Paul Falcone, HR Magazine, February 2004

Some people in the U.S. complain about government laws and restrictions concerning employees. Yet, a look outside the U.S. gives a quick education on how things are very different in other countries. Some better, some worse, depending on the perspective.

47. Sexual Harassment in the European Union: The Dawning of a New Era, James M. Owens, Glenn M. Gomes, and James F. Morgan, SAM Advanced Management Journal, Winter 2004

The EU is addressing sexual harassment in an attempt to standardize practices and definitions throughout the continent. This could lead to some societal change in the members.

48. Don’t Settle for Less: Global Compensation Programs Need Global Compensation Tools, Al Wright, Employee Benefit Plan Review, March 2004

Domestic compensation planning is difficult enough, international compensation planning is even harder. Here are some ways to address issues in international compensation.