Course: Planning and Staffing - Management 4560 
Course Schedule: Thursday 7:00 - 9:45 in Sam Wilson 343
Professor: Dr. Karen Ann Tarnoff
Office: 120 Sam Wilson Hall
Phone: 439 - 5299 (my office) or 439 - 4422 (management department) 
E-mail: tarnoffk@etsu.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday 3:30 – 6:30, Thursday 4:30 – 6:30; by appointment or drop by
Text: Heneman, Judge, and Heneman (2000).  Staffing Organizations, Third Edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill.

Course Description and Objectives: This course introduces the student to organizational planning and staffing as the cornerstone of all human resource management functions.  Well done, staffing strengthens the organization.  Poorly done, it undermines the organization's performance.  Students will learn techniques and tools (e.g., job analysis) to facilitate effective person/job matches and person/organization matches with a focus on identifying and building the human capital necessary for organizational performance.  Students will focus on both internal and external selection as components of an overall staffing strategy and plan.  Specific emphasis will be placed on relevant laws.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe and discuss the nature of staffing and staffing models;

•  Describe and discuss the effect of economic conditions and labor markets on the staffing process;

•  Explain the impact of specific laws and regulations on the staffing process;

•  Utilize the processes of job analysis and measurement in staffing;

•  Describe and discuss the processes of external and internal recruiting and selection and the role that strategy must play in these processes in order to achieve successful selection;

•  Prepare, as part of a team, a staffing manual including job analysis and full recruiting and selection processes.

Instructional Methods: This class will be conducted in a lecture/discussion format.  It is assumed that all students will have read, for understanding, the materials assigned for each class.  The quality of the educational experience you will derive from this class does not depend solely upon me.  You are not the passive recipient of information.  You should take an active role and, accordingly, are expected to actively participate each class. Participation can come in many forms: questions, comments, responding to questions.  Be creative!!  Bonus points may be given at my discretion for outstanding incidents of participation.  Consistent lack of participation by the class may result in pop quizzes or the assignment of sections of material to specific class members who will then lead discussion.  Similarly, changes to the course schedule may be made at my discretion.  Other changes regarding the syllabus will be made by the class as a whole.  Every attempt will be made to make changes that only benefit students.

Your Responsibilities as a Member of this Class:

•  TO READ AND UNDERSTAND this syllabus - it is the contract for this course to which both you and I will be held;

•   To take an active role in your own learning process and take responsibility for your learning as a paying consumer of this course;

• To attend class.... This is not a correspondence course;

• To come to class prepared - Complete readings on time;

• To not sleep, read, study, or dine during class;

• To prepare assignments neatly and turn them in on time;

• To label assignments and tests with your social security number ONLY;

• To improve your intellectual skills as well as learn factual material;

• To give me feedback on the quality of my teaching techniques;

• To neither cheat nor plagiarize at any time – The ETSU honor code will be strictly enforced at all times.  To that end, you should neither give nor receive any help on any assignment, project, or test inside or outside class without my EXPLICIT PERMISSION.  You should be familiar with the ETSU honor code.  If not, the following is provided for your information.  If you have any questions regarding the honor code, please feel free to ask me. 

       "East Tennessee State University is committed to developing the intellect and moral character of its students.  To that end, all instances of plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic misconduct shall be punished in accord with Tennessee Board of Regents Policy.  Academic misconduct is defined as cheating on coursework, committing plagiarism, and/or giving or receiving unauthorized aid on coursework.  Any knowledge of conduct of this nature should be reported to the proper authorities.  Not reporting instances of academic misconduct represents a fundamental break with honor code policy, and although this offense is not punishable, reflects a callous disregard for yourself, your classmates, and your professors.  Penalties for academic misconduct will vary with the seriousness of the offense and may include, but are not limited to: a grade of F on the work in question, a grade of F for the course, reprimand, probation, suspension, and expulsion.  For a second academic misconduct offense, the penalty is permanent expulsion."  (East Tennessee State University Student Handbook, 1997)

 My Responsibilities as Professor:  

• To teach you the factual material;

• To teach you intellectual skills you can utilize during the remainder of your education and throughout your career including improving your reading comprehension, integrative skills, analytical skills, writing skills, and presentation skills;

• To get to know each of you, so I can best teach the material;

• To empower and motivate you to learn both factual material and additional managerial skills;

• To practice what I preach - to utilize all the management skills I expect you to learn in my management of this class.

Examinations:  There will be three examinations each worth 150 points.  The tests will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and discussion questions.  The final will not be cumulative, but may include questions intended to assess overall understanding of material (i.e., the "big" picture).  Tests will be take home tests that will be handed out one week to be returned the next week AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS.  Students will be allowed to use their own textbook and their own notes ONLY.  OUTSIDE SOURCES (i.e., other texts, journal or magazine articles, other people) ARE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN.  USE OF OUTSIDE SOURCES WILL CONSTITUTE CHEATING!!  STUDENTS MAY NOT CONSULT ANYONE ELSE FOR HELP ON THE EXAMINATIONS.  EXAMS WILL BE MONITORED FOR CHEATING.  Page limits will be imposed for each question and must be strictly followed.  Students must turn in their tests both in hard copy AND on diskette.  Make-up exams will not be given.

Grading: Each test is worth 150 points.  Questions of the day will be worth 5 points each for a total of 50 points.   The team project will be worth 150 points.  You will also be given the opportunity to complete up to 25 points of extra credit.  Extra credit opportunities will vary with respect to their worth and will be assigned as the semester progresses.  Thus, the final grade will be computed based on 650 possible points.  I use this grading scheme so that you can monitor your progress and so that you are in control of your grade throughout the semester.  You should record each grade in the chart provided in this syllabus.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Dates of readings and assignments are subject to change.  All assignments are due at the beginning of class.  All assignments should be double-space typed.  In the working world, your work is your representative.  Its presentation reflects directly upon you.  Therefore, as part of your training here, grammatical and spelling errors will damage your grade; so, please take the time and effort to proofread your work.  Assignments handed in late will be docked one letter grade for each day they are delayed.  If you have a conflict with the date an assignment is due, please come speak with me, so that we can make necessary adjustments.

Questions of the Day: At the beginning of each class in which we will begin a new chapter of material, I will ask a question of the day.  You should purchase a package of 5 by 8 inch LINED index cards on which to submit you answer.  Please label each card with your social security number, class, date, and chapter in the upper right hand corner.  Each question will come from the chapter of reading we will begin that day.  This is designed to reinforce reading the chapter BEFORE class.  If you read before you attend class, you’ll learn more and your grade will reflect it.  Each correct answer will be worth 5 points.  Thus, if you consistently read before you come to class, you can improve your grade up to 50 points!!!!!  If you don’t read before class, your grade will suffer.  Even if you don't know the answer to a question, please turn in a card anyway.

Team Project: Students will be required to work in teams to draft a staffing manual for a specific job of your choosing.  This work is intended to develop your reading comprehension, integrative, analytical, and writing skills.  Show these to me in your work.  Be sure to draw on relevant information from the text.  Papers are to be approximately 15 to 20 pages.  However, these guidelines for the length of the paper are just that - GUIDELINES.  I don’t believe you can do a thorough job in less than 15 pages.  However, if you have more to say, please contribute more than 20 pages.  Do whatever you need to do to provide me with a thoroughly researched well-written paper.  The paper should include a cover page indicating the title of the project, your social security numbers (and not your names), class, and date.  Your staffing manual should include all the components of a real organization's staffing manual (e.g., job analysis, job description, job specification, job requirements matrix, KSAOs, internal and external staffing plans, measures, validation strategies, training, EEO/AA, legal issues and record keeping etc.).  You must form your group by September 5^th and your topic must be submitted to me for approval by September 12^th, so don’t wait to begin this important project!!!  Sloppy work in thought or presentation will damage your grade.  Don’t wait until the last minute to begin!!!

Groups will be required to draft, sign, and turn in a contract detailing the specifics of the group members' requirements of each other.  This exercise is designed to facilitate effective group interaction and excellent group output by requiring members to explicitly discuss, state, and agree to the expectations and requirements for the team’s effort, interaction, and output.  This contract is due September 12^th.

All of the members of each group will also be required to proof read another group’s paper.  Thus, you will be required to furnish your reviewing group with one copy of your paper for each of its members.  This assignment should not be taken lightly because it will be your job to review and critique another group’s work.  This assignment is advantageous in two ways.  First, it will help you refine your reading and comprehension skills while helping another group to improve the quality of their paper and, therefore their grade.  Second, your group’s paper will be improved by the proof reading, review and critique you receive from another group.  This is an important assignment!!  You are scheduled to exchange papers for proof reading on October 24^th.

This group project has been assigned for several reasons: (1) to allow you to learn from and teach each other by exposing you to other's points of view and ways of thinking, (2) to allow you to practice the skills that will be required of you in the working world as you will be required to work with groups, and (3) to provide a laboratory learning experience on the topic of  staffing as it would occur in real organizations.  You are expected and required to be a fully participating member in your group for all assignments.  FREE RIDERS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED by your group or by me.  This means not only that you carry your share of the weight with respect to the work, but also that you are available for meetings and attend them, and that you engage in a cooperative process.  You need to take responsibility for you portion of the group’s effort.  This means that it is your responsibility to check with members regarding meeting times etc.  The excuses “But, nobody called me or told me...How was I supposed to know?” and “They wouldn’t meet when I was available!!” are not excuses and will not be tolerated!!!!  It is your responsibility to see to it that you contribute YOUR FAIR SHARE !!!!  Each individual's grade will be determined in part by peer evaluations.  Groups will have the option of giving direct feedback to unsatisfactory members via a peer evaluation session (which I will mediate).   Communication is important in organizations.  Such situations will serve as a learning laboratory for you to hone your feedback skills.  It will not be my responsibility to inform unsatisfactory team members of their substandard performance.  However, if you have a serious complaint about or issue with a member, please come speak with me and we will set this process in motion together.  If unsatisfactory performance by a problem group member is not resolved by peer evaluation and a feedback session, the group will have the opportunity to fire the problematic individual from the team.  This decision should not be taken lightly as remaining team members will be required to engage in another feedback session where they fire the offender (again, this is good practice for a situation you will surely face during your career).    Students fired from groups will be required either to complete the work alone (with their grade being impacted by their team's peer evaluations of them) or if enough students are fired, individuals will be required to form another group.  Remember, you have no room to complain and whine, if you are not willing to take responsibility for the situation and speak up to require poor performers to improve.  Furthermore, you are doing free-riders no favor by giving them evaluations better than they deserve just because you may not want to harm someone’s grade or risk a confrontation.  It is your responsibility to evaluate group members honestly and in a professional manner.  By not giving accurate evaluations to free riders, you are only reinforcing this behavior which will not be tolerated in the working world and which will impact your evaluation there.

Participation: Participation is a requirement of this class.

Attendance: You are paying for the privilege of attending this class.  Attendance is a requirement for this investment in yourself.  I will not record attendance on a daily basis.  The lecture will contain material not present in the text as well as integrative and analytical material that will be on the exams.  In the past, people who have failed to attend consistently have performed poorly.  Assignments will also be given and due dates sets during class.  Absence is not an excuse for not receiving an assignment.  Note that questions of the day offer a periodic evaluation of attendance.

Extra Credit: I reserve the right to offer extra credit assignments through homework and questions on tests.  These offers, if made, will be available to the entire class.  Generally, extra credit assignments will consist of small sets of questions or small assignments that will be worth up to ten points per assignment.  Extra credit questions on tests will be worth up to five points each.  Demonstration of preparation or understanding beyond that which is expected during class may be rewarded with up to five points of extra credit per incident.  You may earn up to 25 points of extra credit.

Discussion/Study Sessions: Prior to each test, I will be happy to hold study sessions for interested students.  However, these sessions will not consist of me recapping the material or outlining the information on the test.  If you have read this far and thus, have followed my instructions from the first day of class, you deserve your first five points of extra credit.  So, please write your social security number on a 5 by 8 card as per question of the day instructions and submit it to me without saying anything to the rest of class. Individuals should come prepared with specific questions.  In the past, students have found these study sessions quite helpful.  Similarly, I will be happy to meet with any individual to answer questions throughout the semester.

Grading Scale

Please use the following form to keep track of your grade throughout the semester by recording each grade in points as you receive it.

  Course Schedule