Cox EMBA

Strategic Human Resource Management (BA 6005)

Syllabus, Spring 2008

Instructor Name: Dr. Miguel A. Quiñones

Office Location: 307 Fincher
Phone Number: (214) 768-3190
e-mail: quinones@cox.smu.edu
Office Hours: By appointment

COURSE MEETING DATES

Friday, January 4
Friday, January 18
Saturday, February 2
Friday, February 15
Saturday, February 16

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

“HR should be every company’s ‘killer app.’ What could possibly be more important than
who gets hired, developed, promoted, or moved out the door? The team that puts the best
people on the field and gets them playing together wins.”

Jack Welch
BusinessWeek 2006

The field of human resources management (HRM) is undergoing tremendous change. The
traditional view of HRM as a purely administrative function is a thing of the past owing partly to the
continued outsourcing of the transactional aspects of the function but also to the growing
importance of talent and other intangible assets. In our increasingly competitive and global business
environment, a firm’s ability to attract, employ, develop, engage, and retain strategically relevant
talent has become one of the primary drivers of success and a major source of their competitive
advantage. Organizations need and demand that their HR leaders serve as strategic partners that can
leverage talent to achieve business results.

The course examines the techniques, policies, processes, strategies, and practices used by
companies and managers to effectively and efficiently leverage their human capital. Students will
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learn how the various “core” areas of human resource management including staffing, performance
management, work and job design, training, and compensation are aligned to accomplish business
objectives. Additionally, because HRM is becoming less of a functional responsibility and more
of manager’s responsibility, the theories and techniques taught in the course are applicable for
many positions in a wide variety of organizations. The goal is that by the end of the course,
students will have a greater appreciation for the importance of human capital for achieving an
organization’s goals.

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

• Ulrich, D. & Smallwood, N. (2003). How leaders build value. Wiley.

• Other course materials are available on Study.Net.

GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS

Grades will be based on your Strategic HRM Exercise report, case analyses and class participation.

Strategic HRM Exercise 50%

Case Analyses 20%
Participation 30%

Strategic HRM Application Exercise. The purpose of this exercise is to give you the opportunity to
apply the concepts learned in this course to your own organization. The exercise requires that you
(1) analyze your organization’s strategy, (2) identify the required capabilities required to execute the
strategy, (3) document current HR policies and practices, (4) determine the degree of alignment
between 2 and 3, and (5) recommend changes to HR policies and practices to improve alignment.
To properly complete the exercise you will have to become familiar with the strategy of your
organization or subunit as well as current HR policies and practices. Thus, effective completion of
the exercise will require that you examine organizational documents and interview key
organizational leaders. You should develop serious recommendations that you can present to
organizational leaders for implementation. A more detailed description of the exercise along with
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Syllabus, Spring 2008
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an outline of the elements for final report will be distributed in class. This assignment can also be
completed in groups.

Case Analyses. Each case has a set of questions associated with it to focus your analysis. You
should read and answer the questions before coming to class. For two of the cases (of your own
choosing) you are to turn in an analysis that addresses the questions for that case. Your report
should be no longer than 3 pages.

Participation. Effective and worthwhile class participation includes contribution of comments that
demonstrate knowledge and integration of course material, building on responses of others, and
critical, but respectful analysis of these comments.

EXPECTATIONS

The classes that I have enjoyed the most are those where students actively participate, contribute
their experiences, and apply the course concepts to solving problems of interest to them. My goal is
to create a learning environment which balances my presentation of material and your involvement
in discussions, cases, and exercises. You are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the
assigned readings.
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Course Schedule

Session 1 (Friday, January 4)

Topics:
• Human resources as a source of competitive advantage
• The changing role of human resources management
• Linking strategy to human capital needs

Readings:
• Ulrich & Smallwood text – Chapter 1: Tangling with Intangibles Knowing the new
Game; Chapter 4: Writing the playbook – Matching strategy to skill.
• Becker, B.E., Huselid, M.A., and Ulrich, D. (2001). The HR scorecard. Chapter 6:
Measuring HR Alignment.

Case:
• JetBlue Airways: Starting from Scratch. HBS # 9-801-354.

Analysis Questions:
1. What are the key success factors for JetBlue?
2. What will it take to execute on their strategy?
3. What role could/should HR play in executing JetBlue’s strategy? What specific practices
and policies should be implemented?
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Syllabus, Spring 2008
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Session 2 (Friday, January 18)

Topics:
• Critical talent metrics
• Human resource analytics

Readings:
• Bassi, L. & McMurrer, D. (2007). Maximizing your return on people. HBR # R0703H.
• Bryan, L.L. (2007). The new metrics of corporate performance: Profit per employee. The
McKinsey Quarterly.
• Schiemann, W.A. (2006). People equity: A new paradigm for measuring and managing
human capital. Human Resource Planning, 29(1), 34-44.

Case:
• Verizon Communications, Inc.: Implementing a human resources scorecard. HBS # 9-
101-102.

Analysis Questions:
1. Describe the use of HR metrics at Verizon prior to the implementation of the HR
Balanced Scorecard approach? How tightly were the metrics aligned with the strategic
objectives of the company?
2. What is your assessment of the process used by the Planning, Measurement, & Analysis
(PMA) group to develop more strategically aligned HR metrics? What were some of the
challenges?
3. What improvements would you make to the system going forward?
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Session 3 (Saturday, February 2)

Topic:
• Attracting, selecting and retaining talent
• The employment value proposition

Readings:
• The battle for brainpower: A survey of talent. Economist, October 7th, 2006.
• McKenzie, A. & Glynn, S. (2001). Effective employment branding. Strategic
Communication Management, June/July, 22-25.
• Nalbantian, H.R. & Szostak, A. (2004). How Fleet Bank fought employee flight. HBR #
R0404H.

• Ulrich and Smallwood text – Chapter 5: Boot camp – Building your talent base

Case:
• Microsoft: Competing on Talent. HBS # 9-300-001.

Analysis Questions:
1. Bill Gates believes that Microsoft’s ability to attract, motivate and retain superior
people is its source of competitive advantage. Do you agree? Why or why not?
2. How effective are Microsoft’s human resources policies and practices? Have the
informal processes of the 1980’s been appropriately adapted to the company’s growth
through the 1990’s? What do you think of Ballmer’s recent changes to Microsoft’s
human resource policies and practices?
3. As of mid-1999, does Microsoft have a problem? Is the rising senior management
turnover inevitable? Is it manageable? What recommendations would you make to
Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates?
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Session 4 (Friday, February 15)

Topic:
• Motivating employees
• Rewards and Incentives

Readings:
• Pfeffer, J. & Sutton, R.L. (2006). Do financial incentives drive company performance?
An evidence based approach to motivation and rewards.
• Kohn, A. Why incentive plans cannot work. Harvard Business Review (# 93506).
• Day, J.D., Mang, P.Y., Richter, A., & Roberts & J. (2002). Has pay for performance had
its day? The McKinsey Quarterly.

Case:
• Harrah’s Entertainment: Rewarding our People. HBS #9-403-008

Analysis Questions:
1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Harrah’s gainsharing program?
2. What advice would you have for Winn about her recommendation to Loveman?
3. How has Harrah’s aligned its HR practices with its strategy?

Session 5 (Saturday, February 16)

Topic:
• Global challenges in managing talent

Readings:
• Rosenzweig, P.M. (1994). National culture and management. HBS # 9-394-177.
• Earley, P.C. & Mosakowski, E. (2004). Cultural Intelligence. Harvard Business Review.
(#R0410).
• Hsieh, T., Lavoie, J., & Samek, R.A.P. (1999). Are you taking your expatriate talent
seriously? The McKinsey Quarterly.
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Case:

• Colgate-Palmolive: Managing International Careers. HBS 9-394-184

Analysis Questions:
1. What is your critical evaluation of Colgate-Palmolive’s International Assignment
Policy? What are its strong points? What weaknesses do you find?
2. What should Colgate-Palmolive do about the growing issue of dual-career families?
3. What should an MNC consider when designing a policy regarding international career
development?