COURSE DESCRIPTION
Once considered merely interchangeable cogs in the production
machine, people are the driving force behind the success or failure of
the modern organization. This being the case, greater attention and
care needs to be placed on the recruitment, cultivation, and retention
of “good people.” Therefore, Dennis Riley lays the foundation for
our course by stating, “find good people and make it possible for them
to do their best work. Sounds simple enough, but that definition
of personnel administration will lead us to explore subjects as diverse
as the validation of employment tests, protection for employees who want
to criticize their bosses, the legal liability of government to warn citizens
of impending danger, and comparable worth as response to generations of
wage discrimination against American women” (pp. 1-2). These and
other topics are the essence of our course for Spring 2002 – it will be
fun!
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1) to familiarize students with the major federal (some state) employment
laws. This objective will be met primarily through lecture and application
via case studies
2) to provide a basic understanding of several human resource development
techniques including recruitment and selection, training and development,
and performance appraisals. This objective will be met through course
readings and discussion, and through applying what we have read to various
case studies.
3) to broaden our understanding of some current “hot issues” in HR
management. This will be met through assigned readings, cases studies,
and discussion/presentation of student book reviews.
REQUIRED READING MATERIALS
Dennis D. Riley, Public Personnel Administration, 2nd ed., (New
York: Longman, 2002).
Walter D. Broadnax, ed., Diversity and Affirmative Action in
Public Service, (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2000).
T. Zane Reeves, Cases in Public Human Resource Management, (Itasca,
Il: Peacock, 1999).
Selected Chapters from Carolyn Ban and Norma Riccucci, Public
Personnel Management, 3rd ed., (New York: Longman, 2002)
* Ban and Riccucci chapters will be on reserve in the library
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Since this is a graduate course, I feel somewhat uncomfortable
even mentioning attendance. However, for those of you who are new,
it goes without saying that attendance is a must! Since we are all
adults, I don’t anticipate any problems with mandatory attendance.
In a similar vein, we are adults and circumstances often arise making perfect
attendance impossible (sometimes). If something comes up that forces
you to miss class, please let me know so that we can work out alternative
arrangements.
OFFICE HOURS
Normal office hours are MF 3:00-4:00 and Th 4:00-6:00.
However, I am often in my office at other times - - please feel free to
phone or stop by. Furthermore, I am always willing to set up appointments
to meet at other times. The point is, DO NOT HESITATE TO COME AND
TALK TO ME! If you are having any difficulty with the material but
are uncomfortable discussing it in class please see me. The bottom
line is that I want you all to understand the material and to do well in
the course.
EVALUATION
There will be two exams (mid-term and final)
the mid term is worth 100 points
the final is worth 100 points
Each student will prepare and present to class a book review
on a human resource topic of their choosing (with instructor approval)
the book review is worth 50 points (see
below)
There will be written responses to case studies
these will add up to 80 points
preparation and participation (especially discussion leading)
are evaluated
this accounts for 20 points (see below)
Book reviews should be 3-5 pages in length and include the following:
1) a brief summary (do not get bogged down with play-by-play
details)
2) what methods do they employ....are they appropriate?
3) what is your opinion of the book
4) how does the book compare to other works on the same topic
(compare to a couple of other books.....which seems to be better, why?)
copies of the book review are to be handed out in class so that each
member will accumulate a number of resources for future use.
Reviews should be presented with the possibility of discussion in mind.
Discussion leading - Students will take turns acting as “discussion leader” over assigned readings. Each week, we will have a different leader or group of leaders guiding us through the material. When it is your turn to lead, bring discussion questions to be distributed to everyone in class (including me). These questions should not take the form of quizzes or detailed summaries of the reading. Instead, they should be thought provoking reflections on the material which attempt to raise questions and facilitate further discussion and inquiry.
GRADING
A= 90% and above
B= 80-89%
C= 70-79%
D= 60-69%
F= below 60%
COURSE OUTLINE and ASSIGNED READINGS (to be read prior to week assigned)
Week one (1/7)
introduction to the course/ overview of some important employment
laws
Week two (1/14)_____________________________
Chapter one on Riley
Ban and Riccucci Chapter on reserve
cases 15 & 18
Week three (1/21)____________________________
Part one in Broadnax – Representative Bureaucracy
(No class on Monday – Martin Luther King, Jr.)
case 14
Week four (1/28)_____________________________
Part two in Broadnax – Affirmative Action
cases 12 & 13
Week five (2/4)______________________________
Part three in Broadnax – Diversity
(No class on Friday – Lincoln)
case 7
Week six (2/11)______________________________
Part four in Broadnax – Gender
cases 2 & 16
Week seven (2/18)____________________________
Part five in Broadnax – Aging and Disabilities
cases 6 & 27
Week eight (2/25)_____________________________
Chapter three in Riley
(No class Friday – MIG)
EXAM #1 on Wednesday over ch. 1-3 in Riley and Broadnax (entire)
Week nine (3/4)______________________________
Chapter four in Riley
cases 8 & 19
Week ten (3/11) SPRING BREAK
Week eleven (3/18)___________________________
Chapter five in Riley
Fernandez, Lowman, and Rainey Chapter on reserve
cases 11 & 21
Week twelve (3/25)___________________________
Chapters six and nine in Riley
cases 3 & 4
Week thirteen (4/1)___________________________
Chapter seven in Riley
Ban Chapter on reserve
cases 1 & 5
Week fourteen (4/8)__________________________
cases 23 & 29
(No class Wednesday or Friday – conference)
Week fifteen (4/15)___________________________
Chapter ten in Riley
Sims Chapter on reserve
cases 22 & 24
Week sixteen (4/22)__________________________
Chapter eight in Riley
Kellough Chapter on reserve
cases 25 & 26
Week seventeen -- FINALS WEEK
*please note that this syllabus is subject to change at the instructor’s
discretion
University Policies
Learning Disabilities/Physical Challenges Policy
Students with disabilities who require special accommodation
are encouraged to meet with the instructor during the first week of class.
For further assistance or information, please contact the EIU Office of
Disability Services at 581-6583.
Student Assistance
The purpose of both the EIU Counseling Center and the EIU Learning
Assistance Center is to help you obtain maximum educational benefit from
your time here. The support offered enables students to obtain help
for both academic and personal problems. The Learning Assistance
Center (581-6696) can help with individual tutoring for academic needs.
The Counseling Center (581-3413) has a staff available to assist you with
any personal problems which might arise. College can be a very stressful
experience, and I would encourage anyone to take advantage of these services
when they feel the need.
Academic Integrity
The university takes an extremely serious view of violations
of academic integrity. As members of the academic community, EIU’s
administration, faculty, staff, and students are dedicated to promoting
an atmosphere of honesty and are committed to maintaining the academic
integrity essential to the educational process. Inherent in this
commitment is the belief that academic dishonesty in all forms violates
the basic principles of integrity and impedes learning.
It is the responsibility of individual faculty members to identify
instances of academic dishonesty and recommend penalties to the department
chair or college dean in keeping with the severity of the violation.
At a minimum, academic dishonesty will result in a failing grade for this
course.