NOTE: This course code has changed from B 370 to BUS 270. You may occasionally see references to the old course code or title.

Course Description

An overview of human resource (HR) management topics such as diversity, EEOC laws, recruiting, training, performance management, compensation and benefits, motivation, workplace and organizational design, difficult interactions, employee relations, and safety. The course leverages case studies and professional and scholarly articles to gain a better understanding of real-life workplace challenges.

Course Objectives

1. Explain HR management processes from a systemic and strategic perspective.
2. Explain the value of an effective “human resource management” program to businesses.
3. Recommend appropriate policies and practices to maximize human capital potential within a company.
4. Recognize and apply current U.S. laws impacting human resource management.
5. Apply appropriate HR theories and principles to common HR scenarios.

Course Requirements

• No textbook purchase is required for this course.
• All materials are provided for free within the course.
• You will learn from business cases throughout the course. Many of the cases are based on events that happened prior to 2010. Be aware that these cases were intentionally selected because they teach timely and relevant principles that you will need in today's business environment as an HR professional.

Learning Model Architecture

As with all of your other courses at BYU-Idaho, you will have the opportunity to prepare intellectually and spiritually throughout this course. This course follows the BYU-Idaho Learning Model and will give you several opportunities to teach others in the class and share those learning and teaching moments with others. You will also be given opportunities to reflect on what you are learning and to report on your weekly activities. Please remember that you will need to be able to devote 3–4 hours of time for every course credit, or 9–12 hours weekly.

Activities

Weekly activities include:

• Readings
• Questionnaires
• Assignments
• Groups Discussion
• Accountability Quizzes

Other Activities

• Exams
• Doohickeys Problem: you will work on this with your team throughout the semester
• Group peer evaluations
• Discussion Leader writing assignments

Grading Policies

Quizzes (20%) You will have questions following each of the readings.

Accountability Quizzes (20%) You have weekly Accountability quizzes to gauge your preparation.

Other Writing Assignments (5%) You will prepare a case and an interview with an HR professional.

Doohickeys (30%) At the end of weeks 06, 09, and 12 your virtual team will submit work on the Doohickeys Problem. The problems comprise half of your Doohickey category grade, and the group peer evaluations comprise the other half of the category grade.

Writing Assignment—Discussion Leader Only (14%) Twice during the course, you will be assigned the role of team leader. You will submit a writing assignment when you are the team leader.

Final Exam (10%) You will complete a final exam in Week 14.

Mid Course Feedback and Course Evaluation (1%)

These are surveys for you to give anonymous feedback to the University about your instructor and the course.

Grading Scale

Letter Grade	Percentage Range
A	93%–100%
A-	90%–92%
B+	87%–89%
B	83%–86%
B-	80%–82%
C+	77%–79%
C	73%–76%
C-	70%–72%
D+	67%–69%
D	63%–66%
D-	60%–62%
F	Less than 59%

Class Policies

Late Work

Late work is not accepted in this course. However, if you have a serious issue or a major life event that prevents you from turning in your work before the given deadline, please discuss this with your instructor. Approval from your instructor must be within one week of the due date of the assignment.

Group Papers

While group members receive the same grade for group papers, the instructor reserves the right to reduce points for individuals who minimally contribute to papers based on peer feedback or who fail to contribute at all, in which case they will receive a zero for the respective paper(s).

Standard Code of Conduct

Demand the highest ethical standards from yourself. The collaborative and team-oriented nature of this class means  there are many group projects both in and out of class. It is inevitable that you will have opportunities to hand in work that is not your own. Remember when these opportunities present themselves that you are being trusted and challenged to uphold the highest standards of ethical behavior. We want you to learn from your experiences in this class and at BYU-Idaho in general, that you need to be able to trust each other and yourself to make the ethical decision. Accordingly, cheating, plagiarism, and other cases of intellectual dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be referred to the judicial board for review.

Take pride in your work. Business leaders know that everything they present to the public reflects on themselves and their organization. Long-term success comes only to companies and individuals who produce the highest quality products and services and deliver them in a timely fashion. Every paper, presentation, and project is an expression of the pride you take in yourself and your work. Make every effort to write well and meet deadlines, and take the time to make both the format and the content of your work of the highest quality. This may mean writing one more draft, double-checking spelling and grammar, or reviewing overheads and practicing your presentation one more time.

Demonstrate respect for yourself and for others. Managers make decisions and try to convince others to implement them. Thus, if you are going to be a manager, you have to learn how to make others accept and respect you. You must show yourself to be worthy of their respect and show that you respect them. Your professional demeanor sends messages about your leadership ability and level of dedication. You can earn a lot of credit here for doing some very basic things:

1. Be On Time: Professional behavior means being on time for classes, appointments, and meetings. Furthermore, it means staying there once you have arrived. Just as you wouldn't leave the middle of a business meeting in order to get a soda, you shouldn't disrupt a virtual group meeting by leaving in the middle for a drink. Be respectful to your group by waiting to chat or to check your email until after your group meeting is finished.
2. Be Prepared: Unprepared managers have very short careers (or end up in dead-end jobs). To succeed, you need to prepare for each class session. Nothing shows less respect for others than making them wait while you do something you were supposed to have done in advance. If you don’t come prepared and try to fake it instead, you run the risk of looking foolish and wasting everyone’s time with irrelevant comments.
3. Show Respect: Professionalism also means being civil to those with whom you disagree. In business, you will find that you must work with people with conflicting opinions or personal styles. Your ability to work with, tolerate, and effectively interact with these individuals is critical to your success. Finally, you demonstrate a lack of respect for your colleagues or professors when you engage in private discussions while course or business meetings are in progress.
4. Get Involved: Professionalism means keeping up with the discussion. It means making a contribution. However, not everything you say has to be serious. As long as it fits, it’s okay, even desirable, to inject a little humor once in a while. Just make sure you do it in a way that isn’t mean and doesn’t step on anybody’s toes.

University Policies

Students with Disabilities

Brigham Young University-Idaho is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please contact the Disability Services Office at +1 (208) 496-9210 or visit their website and follow the Steps for Receiving Accommodations. Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with students and instructors by the Disability Services Office.

This course may require synchronous meetings. If you are currently registered with the Disability Services Office and need an interpreter or transcriber for these meetings, please contact the deaf and hard of hearing coordinator at +1 (208) 496-9219.

Other University Policies

Student Honor and Other Policies

Please read through the document called University Policies. It gives important information about the following topics:

• Student Honor
  • Academic Honesty
  • Student Conduct
    • Sexual Harassment
• Student with Disabilities
• Complaints and Grievances
• Copyright Notice

Go to the Student Resources module to review further resources and information.

Technical Support 

If you need technical assistance, use the I-Learn Help button located on the left side of your screen to contact the appropriate support center (either BYU-Idaho Help or BYU-Pathway Help).