Course Syllabus –HR5040

Organizational Performance Management

Instructor:

Dr. Sheri Bias, SPHR

Sb4by@virginia.edu

757.593.8499

DrSheriBias@aol.com

Class Description

Organizational Performance Management

HR 5040

This course examines the influence of human performance elements on organizational performance.  Performance management is a systematic organizational process for improving performance by defining, developing, assessing, and rewarding individual/ team performance.   It is an integrated management process that seeks to align individual capabilities, goals and objectives with organization needs, goals, and objectives.  Moreover, it is a process that seeks to ensure that individual performance results are consistent with the organization’s goals and expectations. 

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

·         Identify and describe important human resource situations, events, and processes that managers confront.

·         Identify the key skills and knowledge necessary for effectively managing related human resource challenges.

·         Contribute to succession planning processes by articulating current capabilities, projecting demanded capabilities, and identifying developmental processes to address the differences.

·         Link performance management processes to organizational strategy, goal, and values.

·         Build relationships across the organization to ensure active involvement of higher-level officials in the development of organizational talent

·         Develop individual-tailored performance improvement plans

·         Evaluate the effectiveness of performance-management processes by measuring reaction, learning, behavior change, and return on investment.

Assessment Components – there are four elements of this class that will be assessed as part of your semester grade.

1.           Weekly Reading, Assignments and Forum Postings                        40%

Each Monday morning, your instructor will post “lecture notes” and either a case study or discussion questions related to the assignment.  You will need to read the material in the textbook as well as the weekly notes.  Group Discussion questions for this course are posted under the Forums section of Collab.  Students are expected to participate on at least three (3) different days during the week.  Students will post one original response to the questions or Case Study by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. (EST), and at least two additional responses to at least two other students’ postings no later than Sunday, 11:59 p.m. (EST), of that week.  You may actually make 5-6 postings, but participation only occurred 3 times during the week.

Parameters for a student’s posting should be 300 - 350 words. The purpose of this parameter is to promote writing that is both thorough and concise.  Proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure is expected; must be free of typographical errors.  Points will be taken off any assignment that is not a quality written product. 

Students are expected to add something of substance to the discussion in their responses each week -- this would consist of their perspectives, new ideas, pointed follow-up questions, etc. Please note that both quantity and quality are important considerations when it comes to participation.  Substantive participation includes posting messages that:

§  Add value to the discussion and avoid simply repeating, agreeing with, or answering “yes” or ”no” to peers’ comments

§  Challenge comments in class, including those of the instructor

§  Constructively disagree

§  Ask insightful questions

§  Answer other people’s questions

§  Exemplify the point with real-life events, when possible

§  Make comments that are relevant to the course content and objectives

§  Integrate or apply relevant readings to the discussion

For case studies, initial responses should not exceed 300 – 350 words (counting mechanism exists on Collab).  Excellent case reports will:

§  Correctly identify the major issues in the case

§  Correctly use and interpret case facts

§  Support answers to questions by providing a compelling rationale using evidence from readings and course material.

§  Are well-written with proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure and without typographical errors.

2.           Journal Article Analysis                                                                    15%

Students will be required to read articles from professional journals/magazines (HR Magazine, ER Executive, Harvard Business Review, Workforce Management, Wall Street Journal) that address performance management issues.  They will select one of these articles for extended review, analysis, and reporting to the class.  They will answer:

·         How does this article contribute to our understanding or practice of performance management?

·         What are the important points made in this article?

·         Are your views in sync with the information presented in this article?  Explain.

Articles can be accessed through the U.Va. Online Library. 

3.           Research Paper                                                                                35%

Participants are required to develop a research paper that that builds upon and extends classroom experiences and materials on a selected aspect of performance management.  Guidance on the research paper will be provided at our first class.

4.           Formal Class Presentation of Research                                           10%

Participants are also required to conduct a formal presentation of their research paper.  This presentation should be an engaging sharing of the project’s highlights (not be a reading of the paper).  The last two classes are scheduled as synchronous sessions.  Students will draw numbers to determine on which date they will present.

The presentation will be evaluated on the basis of originality, clarity of communication, and contribution to learning through independent research synthesis.  Additional guidance on the presentation will be provided at our first class.

Required Text (include ISBN, specific edition)

Armstrong’s Handbook of Performance Management, Michael Armstrong, 4th Edition, 2009, Kogan Page, Philadelphia, PA.  ISBN:  978 0 7494 5392 3. 

A Manager’s Guide To Coaching, Brian Emerson & Anne Loehr, 2008, AMACOM, New York.  ISBN:  978 0 8144 0982 4. 

Required Additional Resources and Technical Components

Articles and case studies, as assigned by the instructor, will be posted in the “Resources” section of Collab.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition. (2009).  American Psychological Association. 

·                     Alternatively, guidance can be accessed through http://apastyle.apa.org/, and/or Googling “APA style”.  There is a handy U.Va. editorial style guide at http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/communications/editorial_style_guide.html.

Additional Class Expectations:

My hopes and expectations for this course are that you will engage in lively discussion about the topics, readings, and case studies you will encounter over the course and that this is turn will spark scholarly discussion and broaden our perspectives on the subject matter. My role in this process will be to act as a facilitator, not director, as you progress through the course. I expect each student to take an active role in the class and to interact with other students to facilitate the learning process.  I will occasionally share a personal opinion and interact with the class; I do not expect students to adopt values or opinions that are in conflict with their own. The intent is to learn from one another and to consider the thoughts and ideas of others. Some of which may be very different from yours. This diversity in ideas is what I believe is the strength of the online learning experience.

Real-time Class Assignments

Synchronous classes will be held 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (EST) for the first (Sep 3, 2013) and last two (Dec 2 and 9) classes.  All other classes will be asynchronous.  Students will need to learn how to access the Elluminate function of Collab to participate in the synchronous classes. 

Writing Expectations

Papers should be written in the third person and adhere to the following format:

·         Double spaced

·         Arial or Tahoma 12-point font

·         Page numbers at the bottom

·         Submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the due date to the digital drop box.  Please be sure your name is on the paper.  Directions for how to use the Drop Box can be found in Tutorials.

·         When saving your document, title it as your name and assignment, e.g., Ball, Kathleen – Journal Assignment.

·         Proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure is expected of any graduate student; no typographical errors. 

·         Follow the citation and reference style established by the American Psychological Association (APA), in which case students should follow the guidelines set forth in Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition. (2009).  American Psychological Association.  Alternatively, guidance can be accessed through http://apastyle.apa.org/, , and/or Googling “apa style.”).  There is a handy U.Va. editorial style guide at http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/communications/editorial_style_guide.html.

Points will be taken off any assignment that is not a graduate quality written product. 

Online Etiquette

·         It is important to be polite and professional, whether agreeing or disagreeing with colleagues.

·         Remember NOT to write anything you would not want to see publicly printed; computer messages are NOT absolutely PRIVATE.

·         Since any email message that you write can be (and may be) forwarded to others, students should not disclose trade secrets or company-confidential information as part of this course.

·         In the conferencing format, students will be responding to the entire class (public domain).  If that is not what is intended, students should use email to address one/several students or the instructor (private domain).

·         Since there are no body language cues in the online environment, students should be cautious when using BOLD typeface (which gets attention--is it the type you want?), when using words or phrases that can stereotype people, or when responding to ideas about which one feels strongly. Professionalism at all times is critical.

·         Be sure to give citations for quoted materials or others' ideas, just as one would in hard copy.

·         Be sure to reread your Discussion Question responses before sending, and edit as necessary.

·         At the same time, give other correspondents the benefit of the doubt when their intentions seem unclear. Ask for clarification and always assume the best intentions. Practice patience and courtesy when reading as well as writing online.

Success in Online Education

·         Expect to spend 10 – 12 hours per week on this class.  It is imperative that you complete assigned reading before class.  Give yourself more time to do your online work until you become familiar with the procedures in this classroom.

·         Designate certain times each week that you will work on this course. Plan ahead. Avoid procrastination. It will even out the workload and reduce tension. Take the time you need to absorb material before moving on.

·         Actively participate in Forums. The discussions are set up to help you better understand specific aspects of the course. Taking part in the interchange for that unit will lead to a better understanding of the topic and also contribute to the personality and warmth of the classroom community.

·         Practice an informal but organized, concise, and clear writing style that aids online communication.

·         Create your material (especially if over a paragraph long) offline on your word processor and then open Collab and copy and paste it into the classroom text box. With your word processor, you can compose and edit efficiently and in a more relaxed environment until your material is the way you want it for posting. Remember to use spell check but also that spell check has its flaws. This also provides a backup of your material should you be disconnected while composing or submitting.

·         Do all the work and submit it on time.

Confidentiality

To facilitate communication and learning in this environment, it is very important that class members agree to respect the confidentiality of what has been shared in this class.  Please DO NOT reveal/discuss any personally identifiable information (such as work site, comments about an organization or persons, views of policies, etc.) verbally or by copying the information, without the express permission of the speaker/writer.

Schedule of Assignments

Students/Potential Students:  In transitioning the syllabus to Collab, some of the formatting was altered.  Attached is a Word copy of the syllabus.  Please email me if you have any questions.  I look forward to class, thanks, Dr. B

The Course Overview is attached.