PGP 2021-2023

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (Elective –Term 6)

COURSE OUTLINE

Credits: 3

Introduction to the course

Most organizations recognize that people are a source of competitive advantage and that the key
strength of a sustainable and profitable organization rests in its ability to retain, manage and develop
its talent pipeline. The operating/business/line managers in organizations play an important role in the
process of human capital development in how they deploy the organization's policies. This course
adopts a General Manager’s perspective and will focus on the line manager’s role in delivering HRM
philosophy, systems, policies, and processes that enable people-related decisions in organizations. The
focus of the course will be to enable the participants to answer two critical questions –
• Why is managing human resources a critical issue for line managers?

• How can line managers engage effectively with HR systems and policies that provide
organizations with a competitive advantage?

The course is intended to engage and foster critical thinking among students on their role as people
managers in organizations. The course outline and the readings assigned for each session are provided.

Evaluation Criteria:
Announced Quizzes (2) 20%
Group Presentation +Report 25%
Class participation 20%
End Term Examination 30%
Compensation & Benefits Assignment 5%

Announced Quizzes:
A total of 2 quizzes will be conducted. The quizzes may consist of multiple-choice questions, short
answers, and short cases. They will be application-oriented. The students will be quizzed on the content
covered in the class and the readings.

Group Presentation:
This assignment is done in small groups of 4-5 members. A copy of the slides needs to be sent to the
instructor before the presentation. The presentation will last for 15 minutes followed by Q&A of 5
minutes. Adherence to time is the most important requirement. There will be a penalty for exceeding
the time limit. A written report of 1500-3000 words also needs to be submitted as scheduled/
discussed. Each group will be assigned either of the following two activities:

1) HRM practice
Select any organization of your choice. Identify one HR policy/practice that exists in your organization
that has had a high impact positively or negatively across stakeholders. Interview the key actors in the
context and peruse the documents if available. Explore the logic behind the practice, how it was
implemented, and assess its effectiveness from a stakeholder perspective. You would be expected to
provide a detailed description of the practice/issue from multiple perspectives and draw upon
theoretical frameworks to analyze the issues more deeply. Conducting primary data collection using
interviews/surveys etc. would be a bonus.
Or,
2) Case & Analysis:
Develop a case based on an organizational change context that impacts the HR dimension. The case
problem or issue could be based on your prior organizational experience or from the popular press. The
case could focus on the human dimension in an internal organizational change process like
restructuring, outsourcing, ERP implementation, TQM implementation or downsizing. It could also
focus on a context like the human dimension in start-ups, in the M&A context, in HQ-Subsidiary, in
organizational decline or IPO. Define the background of the issue that you intend to study, examine the
stakeholder imperatives, the organizational decision-making processes, and how the change was
implemented or the problem was resolved. What were the impacts on the people, their behaviors and
attitudes? Did the intended outcomes occur? What were the positives and negatives associated with
the change?

You are expected to provide a detailed description of the problem from multiple perspectives. The case
description would narrate the events, episodes, intended and unintended consequences, the nature of
decision making and its implications and the resolution of the problem. Kindly assess the solution's
effectiveness and what could have been done differently. You will be expected to draw up on the
theoretical frameworks covered in the course to help you analyse the issue.

Class participation
The nature of the course being reflective and subjective, and open to multiple interpretations, it is
expected that the participants shall attend the course with a spirit of participation. We look for
meaningful participation, and you will be graded on the quality of your participation in discussion
forums.

End Term Examination

The end-term examination will integrate learnings from the course and will be wholly application based.
The examination may be based on a case or multiple small caselets, where students will reflect on
optimal decisions and the trade-offs involved.

Attendance Policy
Attendance is compulsory, and the PGP attendance policy will prevail in this course.

Pedagogy:
The instructional material used for this class will consist of lectures, case studies, exercises, and class
participation.
Session Plan
(Additional Readings will be uploaded on Moodle. The reading and case lists may be revised)

Session 1:
Title: Reframing the HRM discourse: Functional managers as HR managers
Reading:
Article: Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/business/13hire.html

Session 2:
Title: Understanding the Future of Work: Implications for people management
Reading:
Article: Jobs lost, jobs gained: What the future of work will mean for jobs, skills, and wages
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/jobs-lost-jobs-gained-what-the-future-
of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages

Session 3:
Title: Linking HRM and Strategy - 1
Readings:
Groysberg, B., McLean, A. N., & Reavis, C. (2006). Delivering strategic human resource management.
Harvard Business School.
Juul Andersen, T., & Minbaeva, D. (2013). The role of human resource management in strategy making.
Human Resource Management, 52(5), 809-827.

Session 4:
Title: Linking HRM and Strategy - 2
Reading:
Ashkenas, Ron. (2014). Why Managers and HR Don’t Get Along. Harvard Business Review, JULY 31, 2014

Session 5:
Title: Talent Acquisition: Strategy and Significance
Reading:
Ready, D. A., Hill, L. A., & Conger, J. A. (2008). Winning the race for talent in emerging markets. Harvard
Business Review, 86(11), 62-70.

Session 6:
Title: Talent Acquisition: Functioning and Practices
Reading:
Sullivan, John. (2016). 7 Rules for Job Interview Questions That Result in Great Hires. Harvard Business
Review, FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Session 7:
Title: Performance Management: A Managerial Perspective
Reading:
DeLong T & Vijayaraghavan V. (2003). Let’s hear it for B players. Harvard Business Review.

Session 8:
Title: The application of principles of Performance Management
Reading:
Buckingham, M., & Goodall, A. (2015). Reinventing performance management. Harvard Business
Review, 93(4), 40-50.
Case: Worxogo: Nudging for High Performance

Session 9
Title: Learning and Development - 1
Reading:
Developing the Talent You Have: Strategies for Training and Development. Harvard Business School
Press, Excerpted from Hiring and Keeping the Best People.
Case: entomo- Enabling People Experience for the Digital World of Work

Session 10
Title: Learning and Development - 2
Reading:
Garvin, D. A. (1993). Building a learning organization. Harvard Business Review
Activity in class

Session 11
Title: Managing Careers -1
Reading:
Zenger, J. H., Folkman, J. R., & Edinger, S. K. (2011). Making yourself indispensable. Harvard business
review, 89(10), 84-92.

Session 12
Title: Managing Careers -2
Reading: (To be assigned in due course)

Session 13, 14
Title: Benefits and Compensation
Reading:
McCord, P. (2014). How Netflix reinvented HR. Harvard Business Review, 92(1), 71-76.
Case: Sushma Industries

Session 15
Title: Diversity at Workplace
Reading:
Gompers, P. A. and Kovvali, S. (2018). The Other Diversity Dividend. Harvard Business Review
Case: Allegis India- Enabling & Promoting Disability Inclusion

Session 16
Title: Ethics and Employee Relations
Case:
Apple and Its Suppliers: Corporate Social Responsibility by Sun Hye Lee, Kamel Mellahi, and Michael
Mol

Session 17, 18 & 19

Title: Group Presentations

Session 20
Title: Closure
Teaching Faculty:
Debolina Dutta
Professor of Practice, OB & HRM
Email: debolina@iimb.ac.in
Office: B-204/CDS Office