Course Learning Objectives
The course advances understanding of the challenges of creating workplaces where people can maximize their potential in the context of work and in the interest of various organizational and societal stakeholders. In this course, we learn about the major Human Resources concepts and dilemmas, although the perspective we take is not purely HR management. People management and development is too important to leave it solely in the hands of HR specialists. Managers at all levels need to understand and be sensitive to their employees' needs in order to align, motivate, and reward them effectively. Consequently, managers must be very much involved in how people in their organizations are recruited, evaluated, how they develop, and how they can be rewarded at work.
The course reviews strategies and tools that managers may use and decisions they need to make to bring out the best from the human potential available in great quantities in every organization. The course will reinforce the important role that managers play in designing and implementing talent management practices in organizations. Taking it one step further, this course also seeks answers to questions related to how organizational strategies for managing and developing people (M&DP) affect you as a person who is looking for joy in human relations at work.
Therefore, the course looks at people management and development issues in organizations through three different lenses: (1) organizations, strategies, and tools available to effectively manage and develop people in today's organizations; (2) leaders as active players who set the ground rules for the expected behavior in the organization and who determine the principles of managing people; and, (3) individual contributors (you!) seeking to fulfill your individual needs while aligning them with the requirements of your professional work context.
More specifically, this course has four learning objectives:
- To acquire knowledge and tools related to M&DP
- To enhance your interpersonal and social skills to manage and develop people in organizations
- To display critical thinking and analytical skills to apply M&DP knowledge to understand specific business situations and to make effective decisions related to managing and developing people.
CONTENT
1. Content Throughout the course we will review people management and development issues in today¿s organization. The course will be structured according to major talent-related processes in organizations, such as recruitment and selection, performance management and motivation. We will approach these topics in relation to the practices that the organizations can use to manage these processes, to the role that managers may have in designing and implementing them, and to their impact on individual employees. |
Methodology
This course is highly interactive. We will draw on multiple methods to maximize your learning experience.
A significant part of the course work will be the analysis and reflection of real cases in organizations that deal with M&DP topics. Case studies should be prepared before the sessions, as applicable. Study questions are designed to help you in working through the cases.
Experiential learning that seeks to enhance interpersonal and "soft skills? to effectively deal with people management and development issues will be facilitated by the use of additional questionnaires, role-plays, and other experiential exercises that promote active participation and reflection in on-going discussions.
The course will also draw from various online materials relevant to the topic of M&DP. You will be asked to complete on-line surveys, watch videos, and familiarize yourself with online M&DP-related resources, such as online hiring tools.
Finally, individual and group reflection will be supported by individual and group assignments that seek to deepen understanding in people-related topics covered in the course with real activities from daily professional life. Class assignments will refer to people management and development issues of real organizations, and you are expected to adopt a consulting role to analyze the situations they might face, identify their main challenges and propose potential recommendations for improvement.
Bibliography
A. REQUIRED MATERIALS
Readings (required)
Beer, M. (1997). Conducting a performance appraisal interview. HBS Case No. 9-947-058.
Knight, R. (2017). 7 practical ways to reduce bias in your hiring process. HBS Web Article.
Roberts, M.J. (1993). Note on the hiring and selection process. HBS Note No. 9-393-093.
Robbins, S. P., and Judge, T. A. (2018). Organizational behavior. Chapter 7: Motivation Concepts.
Roberts, L.M., G. Spreitzer, J. Dutton, R. Quinn, E. Heaphy, and B. Barker (2005). How to play to your strengths. Harvard Business Review 83(1): 74-80.
Videos (required)
Watch video: Carol Dweck on the power of believing that you can improve. https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve
Alison Ledgerwood on getting stuck in the negatives (and how to get unstuck):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XFLTDQ4JMk
Watch video by Simon Sinek on how great leaders inspire action:
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
Watch video on reinventing performance management (the case of Deloitte):
https://hbr.org/video/5122969232001/reinventing-performance-management
B. OPTIONAL MATERIALS
Readings (optional)
Bohnet, I. (2016). What works: Gender equality by design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cable, D. M., & Judge, T. A. (1997). Interviewers' perceptions of person-organization fit and organizational selection decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(4), 546-561.
Cardy, R. L., & Dobbins, G. H. (1986). Affect and appraisal accuracy: Liking as an integral dimension in evaluating performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(4), 672-678.
Drucker, P.F. (1999). Managing oneself. Harvard Business Review 83(1): 100-109.
Guillen, L., & Ibarra, H. 2009. Seasons of a leader's development: beyond a one-size fits all approach to designing interventions. Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings
http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/research/doc.cfm?did=43958 (last accessed on April 2, 2015).
Herzberg, F. (2003). One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review 81(1): 87-96.
King, L. 2001. The health benefits of writing about life goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 27(7): 798-807.
Kluger, A. N., & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback intervention on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254-284.
Knight, R. 2015. How to conduct an effective job interview. Harvard Business Review, January 23.
Menon, T., & Thompson, L. 2016. How to hire without getting fooled by first impressions. Harvard Business Review, February 15.
Riegel, D. G. 2015. When your employee doesn't take feedback. Harvard Business Review, November 06.
Robbins, S. P., and T. A. Judge (2015). Chapter 8. Organizational Behavior (16th Edition). Essex: Pearson
Rock, D., & Jones, B. 2015. Why more and more companies are ditching performance ratings. Harvard Business Review, September 08.
Videos (optional)
Watch video by Susan Cain on the power of introverts
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/susan-cain-the-power-of-introverts
Adam Grant on outsourcing inspiration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TmBXKlK6Mg
Dan Ariely on what makes us feel good about our work:
https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_what_makes_us_feel_good_about_our_work
