POST GRADUATE PROGRAMME IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

AY: 2020-21 TERM: I

TITLE OF THE COURSE: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

CREDITS: 4

Name of the Faculty# Faculty Email Phone Consultation

Room No. Number Time for
students
Prof. (Retd) Kamal Kishore A-103 kamal@iimidr.ac.in 2439515 By appointment
Jain

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Human resource management is a necessary activity in all organizations. Its focal point is people.
People are the lifeblood of organizations. Without them, the best organizations will not be able
to carry out their mission. In the knowledge driven economy, organizations aim to stay ahead of
competition through their intellectual capital. Acquisition, development and maintenance of
these knowledge resources have become a key concern for most organizations today. The
course is, therefore, concerned with major aspects of how an organization deals with people -
how it acquires them, utilizes them, rewards them and, shall there be a need to do so, separates
them.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Key deliverables of the course include,
 Understanding and appreciating the role of HRM in supporting business strategy and the
role of line managers in people management.
 Gain familiarity with the nuances of various HR activities like manpower planning,
recruitment and selection, performance management, training and development,
compensation management and employee engagement
 Acquaint with the current trends, concerns, and dilemmas in dealing with people in today’s globalized
environment.

PEDAGOGY /TEACHING METHODS:

The pedagogy will be a mix of lectures, case analysis and discussion, and role plays.

EVALUATION:
Individual Component Group Component Weightage
Case Analysis and Article summary 20
Project Paper 10
In class evaluation (including CP, quiz and 30
presentations in class)
End Term 40
Total 100%
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:

IIM Indore believes in Academic honesty. Academic dishonesty or misconduct is cheating that
relates to an academic activity. It is a violation of trust between the Institute and its stakeholders.
Plagiarism, fabrication, deception, cheating and sabotage are examples of unacceptable
academic conduct. Please consult the Programme manual for the section on academic
dishonesty.

MODULE I: Introduction to HRM and Strategic Human Resource Management

Module Objective: To sensitize the participants to the significance of HRM in organizations of

today. Discuss the linkage between business strategy and HR practices and examine how HR
practices can contribute to organizational goals.

SESSIONS AND OBJECTIVE

Session 1 Overview of Human Resource Management

Objective To explain the nature of Human Resource Management
Reading Taking on the last bureaucracy – Thomas A Stewart, Fortune, Jan 15, 1996

Session 2: Strategic Human Resource Management

Objective: Understand the linkages between HRM activities and business strategy
Readings: a. Aligning Human Capital with Business Strategy: Perspectives from
Thought Leaders, Harvard Business Publishing, 2002 (B0205D-PDF-ENG)
b. Becker B E, Huselid M A, Ulrich D (2006) Measuring HR Alignment,
Harvard Business Press Chapters (1531BC-PDF-ENG)
Case: Infosys (A): Strategic Human Resource Management (9406010-PDF-ENG).
Module II: HUMAN RESOURCE ACQUISITION

Module Objective: Discusses the various HR activities pertaining to acquisition of talent. This
becomes the first step in the human resource management cycle and has a significant impact on
all downstream HR activities.

SESSIONS AND OBJECTIVE

Sessions 3: Human Resource Planning

Objective: Understand various issues related to demand and supply of manpower.
Reading: Planning with people in mind, D Quinn Mills, Harvard Business Review, July-August
1985 (85414-PDF-ENG)
Exercise In class exercise

Session 4 Job Analysis

Objective: To explain the need and the methods for developing Job Analysis
Reading: Lessem, Y.B.R. (1995). Job analysis: Can it still be applied? Indications for various
organizational levels. International Journal of Career Management, 7(6), pp 3-9.

Case: Moonka Auto: Recruiting salespeople, Atul Arun Pathak & Gyanesh Mishra, Ivey
Publishing (W 16486) Continue is session 5
Session 5: Recruitment
Objective: To understand how to identify a pool of potential employees. Examines concepts
like recruitment yield, cost per hire, recruitment advertisements and other
recruitment sources.
Reading: a. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/08/10/10-ways-
artificial-intelligence-will-change-recruitment-practices/#51167eae3a2c
b. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/06/22/artificial-
intelligence-and-recruiting-a-candidates-perspective/#3df7f5787a88

c. Recruitment advertising: Marketing-HR Interface – Rodriguez,

International Advances in Economic Research, May 2000

Case: Moonka Auto: Recruiting salespeople, Atul Arun Pathak & Gyanesh Mishra, Ivey
Publishing (W 16486)

Session 6: Selection
Objective: To understand the process of making a final choice from among the pool of
candidates. Also examines various issues of selection validity, assessment centers
etc.
Reading: a. Hiring without firing – Claudio Fernandez, HBR, July-Aug 1999 (99403-PDF-
ENG)
b. Note on the Hiring and selection Process Roberts. J. Michael, HBSP, Feb
1993, (393093-PDF-ENG)

Session 7 Campus Hiring

Objective: To explain the challenges faced by recruiters in campus hiring
Case: S G Cowen: New recruits (402028-PDF-ENG)

Module III: MANAGING PERFORMANCE

Module Objective: This module introduces participants to the function of performance

management, rating errors, and performance review.

SESSIONS AND OBJECTIVE

Sessions 8: Performance Management – Introduction and measurement
Objective: Introduces the notion of performance management, its significance and impact.
Rating scales, rating errors, forced distribution etc.
Reading: a. McGregor. D. (1972). An uneasy look at performance appraisals, HBR,
September 1972 (HBR classic) (72507-PDF-ENG)
b. Cappelli, P., & Tavis, A. (2016). The performance management revolution,
HBR, October 2016.

Session 9: Performance Management - 360 Degree

Objective: Understanding how multi-rater systems work.
Reading: When workers rate the boss, McGarvey and Smith, Training, March 1993
Case: Rob Parson, HBSP (498054)

Session 10 Performance Review

 Objective To understand the need for performance analysis and the art of giving and
receiving feedback
Reading Beer, M. 1997. Conducting a performance appraisal interview. Teaching note No.
9-497-058. Boston: Harvard Business School Case Services.

Module IV: Talent Management

Module Objective: This module discusses the critical issues related to employee development,
career development and employee engagement.

Session 11: Talent Management – Employee Development

Objective: Focuses on enhancement of employee skills, training and development programs
Reading:  Glaveski, S. (2019). Where Companies Go Wrong with Learning and
Development. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2–7. H055J1-PDF-ENG
 Kevin Eikenberry, Training and Development: Top 7 Reasons Why
Training Doesn't Produce the Desired Results
http://Top7Business.com/?expert=Kevin-Eikenberry

Session 12 Talent Management – Employee Development

Objective To understand the elements of training design and evaluation including elearning
Reading Rogers, M. (2020). A Better Way to Develop and Retain Top Talent. Harvard Business
Review Digital Articles, 2–6. H05D5G-PDF-ENG
In class Backwoods Mail Order Company
exercise

Session 13 Career Planning

Objective To understand the need for career planning both at the individual level and the
company level

Readings  Clark, D. (2018). What to Do If There’s No Clear Career Path for You at
Your Company. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 16–19. H04J94-
PDF-ENG

 Effron, M. (2018). A Simple Way to Map Out Your Career

Ambitions. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 1–7. H04OB5-PDF-
ENG
Case Thomas J. DeLong, Michael Kernish (2005), Alex Montana at ESH Manufacturing
Co. HBSP 405106-PDF-ENG

Session 14: Employee Engagement

Objective: This module focuses on organizational measures to ensure that employees are
committed to their organization’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to
organizational success.
Reading: Gary Cattermole, (2018) "Creating an employee engagement strategy for
millennials", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 17 Issue: 6, pp.290-294,
https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-07-2018-0059
Case: Zensar: The future of Vision Communities (A), 311024-PDF-ENG,
Module V: REWARDING TALENT

Module Objective: This module focuses on compensation and benefit policies to achieve
organizational objectives by aligning compensation strategy with the organizational strategy
SESSIONS AND OBJECTIVE
Session 15: Job Evaluation
Objective: To discuss the process of designing pay structure with focus on job evaluation

Reading: Burke, Lisa A, Designing A Pay Structure- case study and integrated application
exercises. Student workbook. To be given by the instructor
Case: Marshall and Gordon: Designing an Effective Compensation System, HBSP 9-411-
098-PDF-ENG

Session 16: Compensation – variable pay

Objective: To understand the significance of compensation policies and their impact along
with the role of fixed and variable compensation structures.
Reading: Pepper, A. (2016). The case against long term incentive plans, HBR, October 2016
Case: Sushma Industries: The Gordian knot of compensation, Ivey (9B17C021)

Session 17 Compensation
Objective To decode the CTC as given be various companies
Case When salaries aren't secret, Case, HBR, November 2001 (R0105Z-PDF-ENG)
Exercise Practical discussion on the elements of CTC given be companies and the reasons
thereof

Module: Employee separation and discipline

Objective: To discuss the need and the process of employee separation and maintaining healthy
relationships
Session 18 Employee Separation
Objective To discuss the need for employee layoff and best practices to perform this
unpleasant task
Readings  Siegel, D. (2018). A More Humane Approach to Firing People. Harvard Business
Review Digital Articles, August 2018 H04I9C-PDF-ENG, pp 1-5

 Peterson, J. (2020). Firing with compassion: dos and don’ts. Harvard Business
Review, March-April 2020 pp 135-139, R2002L-PDF-ENG

Role Play Jerry: Supervisor, PON294-PDF-ENG

Jerry: Employee, PON293-PDF-ENG

Session 19 Developing Employee Relations and Discipline

Objective To understand the approaches of maintaining healthy employee relations and

the ways to enforce discipline if required
Reading Peter F. Drucker, They’re Not Employees, They’re People, February 2002, R0202E-
PDF-ENG
Case Rothstein, Lawrence R., The Case of the Temperamental Talent, HBR November–
December 1992, 92608-PDF-ENG
 Session 20 Corporate Best HR practices
Objective To highlight some best corporate HR practices
Exercise Participants’ presentation on their project paper

Please indicate the changes made in the course outline based on the measurement of
assurance of learning (closing the loop)/student feedback:

Please give the details of the book if students need to buy the book: nil
Author Title Publisher Edition Remarks, if
any

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