MBA
Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management
BOAH 2401—Organizational Behavior: Leadership and Group Effectiveness—3 credits
The effective management of people
is a critical component of organizational
competitiveness. This course addresses
problems and issues concerning leadership,
interpersonal effectiveness, and challenges
for managers in the 21st century. The
student is prepared to manage himself
or herself and others in a rapidly-changing
global environment. Topics covered include
employee empowerment, teamwork, managing
diversity, cross-cultural management,
personal effectiveness, organizational
change, organizational analysis, decision
making, negotiation, conflict resolution,
power, politics, and influence. Prerequisites:
none.
BOAH 2411—Human Resources for Competitive Advantage—3 credits
This course examines the design
and use of organizational human resources
systems to achieve market advantage.
Emphasis is placed on exploring the
decisions managers must make to obtain
an appropriate number of qualified employees
and to motivate them to achieve organizational
competitive objectives. Participants
examine the influences of changing technologies,
public policy directives, and international
competitive requirements as they affect
decisions relating to staffing, compensation,
employee relations, and human resource
development. Prerequisites: BOAH 2401 recommended.
BOAH 2517—Interpersonal Skills 1—1.5 credits
This course offers explicit training in interpersonal skills, presenting oneself to others, effective verbal and nonverbal communication, persuasion, and the use of interpersonal resources to become an effective manager and leader. Prerequisite: none.
BOAH 2519—Negotiations
1—1.5 credits
Chester Karrass titles his most
recent book In Business as in Life,
You Don’t Get What You Deserve, You
Get What You Negotiate. Negotiating
is an important quality that can improve
your ability to lead and manage effectively.
Effective negotiating requires that
you communicate, persuade, listen, and
empathize. In this class, you will learn
and apply the tools needed to make you
an effective negotiator. You will negotiate
in a variety of situations, including
buyer-seller, employee-manager, and
executive-to-executive. You will also
appreciate how to use teams effectively
to conduct a negotiation. The emphasis
is on understanding your real negotiating
power, how to use it, and how to achieve
mutual gains, or at least find the zone
of possible agreement. Prerequisites:
BOAH 2401.
BOAH 2520—Negotiations 2—1.5 credits
A continuation of BOAH 2519. Prerequisites: BOAH 2519.
BOAH 2521—Staffing Organizations—1.5 credits
This course is designed to develop
an advanced understanding of the process
of attracting and selecting qualified
personnel to implement the organizational
competitive strategy. The staffing function
is examined as a core human resources
activity and a critical organizational
function. Specific topics that are generally
considered include job analysis, theory
and practice of recruitment, predictor
instruments (e.g., psychological tests,
interview, work sample, etc.), measurement
issues (e.g., validation and reliability),
and organizational socialization. The
emphasis is on developing both understanding
possible application and basic technical
competency. Prerequisites: BOAH 2411.
BOAH 2421—Human Resources for Competitive
Advantage—1.5
credits
The effective management of human
resources is critical to sustained competitive
advantage in an increasingly deregulated,
global, and knowledge-driven corporate
environment. This course identifies
the key role of human resources management
in the organization’s effort to create
value and explores its link with competitive
strategy. Environmental and legal factors
that affect decision-making and utilization
of human resources are examined. Special
emphasis is placed on effective organizational
staffing, strategically directed performance
management, and compensation and incentive
systems that focus employees’ efforts
on organizational success. We will also
examine programs and policies that encourage
employee learning and development, facilitate
the use of distributed know-how, and
leverage the associated skill and knowledge
for organizational advantage.The
course will frame the issues and student
learning around the needs of general
middle and senior managers. Prerequisites:
BOAH 2401 Organizational Behavior
BOAH 2522—Compensation—1.5
credits
This course is an exploration of
the basic concepts and methods in managing
organizational pay and incentive systems.
Compensation is viewed as a key variable
in the implementation of organizational
competitive strategy. Topics frequently
covered in this course include pay as
a strategic factor, methods of job evaluation,
compensation policy choices and issues,
pay equity and competitiveness, merit
pay and variable pay systems, administration
of a compensation system, and emerging
compensation and incentive issue. Prerequisites:
BOAH 2521.
BOAH 2523—Human Resources Planning and Strategy 1—1.5 credits
The organizational human resource
system is examined as a key factor in
the development and implementation of
the organizational competitive strategy.
The human resources function is viewed
as a key business partner. The role
of human resources in creating a sustainable
competitive advantage is covered in
detail. Topics often include organizational
factors (e.g., cultures, values) that
impact HR planning and strategy, HR
environmental analysis and competitor
analysis, internal analysis of the HR
system for competitive initiatives,
HR contributions to business strategy
formulation, and the nature and use
of HR strategy. Prerequisites: BOAH
2411.
BOAH 2524—Human Resources Planning and Strategy 2—1.5 credits
This course, a continuation of BOAH
2523, focuses on implementation of HR
strategy and managing key HR issues
that affect the organizational business
strategy. Typically, the topics include
such subjects as human resources forecasting
and planning, HR strategy implementation,
succession planning, facilitating organizational
change, downsizing and restructuring
the organization, and HR aspects of
mergers and acquisitions. Prerequisites:
BOAH 2523.
BOAH 2537—Conflict Resolution in the Workplace 1—1.5 credits
Negotiating or bargaining, individually
and/or collectively is one tool used
to address and resolve conflict in a
mutually acceptable and violence-free
environment. Collective bargaining is
a form of conflict resolution community
identified with unionized settings,
but it is only one form of union participation
in decision making. To function effectively as a business person, manager, or in any professional capacity, having a command of negotiations involving multiple persons and alternative dispute resolution procedures is critical. Understanding how these procedures operate and how they can improve individual and organizational performance is vital to developing a successful business and professional career. By the end of this course, students
will (a) understand the theory and practical
benefits/costs of conflict resolution
techniques; (b) have practiced using
these techniques; and (c) have developed
a conflict resolution policy and program
for an organization (chosen from your
current employment or a “hypothetical”
firm). Prerequisite: BOAH 2411.
BOAH 2538—Conflict Resolution in the Workplace 2—1.5 credits