Political Science 3543 (25503):

Public Service Human Resources Management

Prequisite: Junior Standing

Spring 2008 Syllabus: Wednesdays 7:30 - 10:15 PM—LAR 140

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Brett S. Sharp, Associate Professor, is the Director of Leadership Studies at UCO. He has considerable experience as a human resources manager in state and local government. He received his Ph.D. and Master of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science/Public Affairs with a minor in Religious Studies from Oklahoma State University. Dr. Sharp has been certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the Society for Human Resource Management. He is past president of the American Society for Public Administration, Oklahoma Chapter.

            Office Hours:  Mon/Wed/Fri 8:30-9:00 AM or Wed 7:00-7:30 PM (and by appointment)

            Office:            LA 102-J (in Political Science suite)                                      Email:  bsharp@ucok.edu

            Telephone:      (405) 974-5526                                                                       Fax:     (405) 974-3823

            Web Site:        http://www.libarts.ucok.edu/political/faculty/sharp               Classroom: LAR 140

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course will cover the development of human resources management in the public sector along with the theory and philosophy behind public personnel administration. This course offers a practitioner-oriented approach. Through class simulations, conversations with actual HR managers, and case studies, we will look at what a person really needs to know to be a successful human resources manager. We will explore human resources management practices at all levels of the public sector work force. Specific topics include civil service reform, equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, sexual harassment, job analysis, recruitment, selection, public sector labor relations, compensation, benefits administration, training and development, discipline, and risk management. Some time will also be spent on helping students with career preparation.

TEACHING METHODS/LEARNING EXPERIENCES:

This class depends on active student participation and includes several case studies, possible guest speakers, presentations of readings, and other in-class simulations. Classroom questions and discussion are strongly encouraged. Students will attend lectures to orient them to basic concepts and information concerning the practice of public human resource management. Students are responsible, through self-study and reading assignments, to learn relevant personnel concepts and practices. Each student will respond to an ethical human resources dilemma as well as write a research paper related to a public personnel management issue. The student is responsible for retaining backup copies of all homework assignments turned in. Students should be aware that some flexibility is retained in the syllabus to accommodate invited speakers and other learning opportunities. Students should also regularly check the professor’s web site for any class announcements.

EVALUATION METHODS AND GRADING

            Instructor will determine course grades      Grading components include:

            using the following scale:                                         Class Participation                                                   10%

                            90 -100        =         A                                 HR Article/Case Presentation                                  15%

                            80 - 89        =         B                                 Mid-Term Exam                                                      20%

                            70 - 79        =         C                                 Research Paper                                                        25%

                            60 - 69        =         D                                 Final Exam                                                              30%

                              0 - 59        =         F 

Course Schedule - Spring 2008

TEXTBOOK

Berman, Even M., Bowman, James S., West, Jonathan P. and Van Wart, Montgomery. (2006). Human Resource Management in Public Service. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Required]

CLASS ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION

Attendance has its privileges. Class attendance is an important part of succeeding in this class and is expected of all students. Class time provides an opportunity for you to ask questions, clarify issues, and deepen your understanding of the concepts covered in the text. If you are absent, you are responsible for getting any notes, assignments, and schedule changes made on that day. If you come in late, you are responsible for seeing that the attendance record is correct.

Above and beyond the expected class attendance, students are required to complete the readings as assigned (see course schedule) prior to the beginning of the class period. Demonstrated mastery of the assigned readings through class discussion is necessary to earn full participation points.

In addition, students will have another opportunity to earn points by participating in a team project. For purposes of this exercise, the class will be broken up into teams to make their contributions. A significant amount of time in and out of class will be required for completion of this assignments. Further guidance on this exercise will be provided closer to the time scheduled.

 READING ASSIGNMENTS

Readings as assigned on the course schedule must be completed before the date indicated.

REQUIREMENTS FOR HR ARTICLE/CASE PRESENTATION

On various days throughout the semester, class discussion will emphasize a human resource case or reading as arranged with the instructor. Each student will be scheduled to write a brief analysis memo/report responding to an issue or situation as outlined in the reading assigned to him or her. These should be treated as executive summaries and should be two to three pages in length (with additional appendices as appropriate). Each memo will address the competing values inherent in the relevant human resources management case or issue. The student will write these memos as if he or she were a human resources professional. The memo should offer options and make recommendations for the consideration of their direct supervisor, the organization’s chief human resources officer as to courses of action that should be taken in response to the reading. Students are allowed to make reasonable assumptions about scenarios as long as the spirit of the HR reading/case is not violated. Each student will turn in their memo to the instructor on the day that their human resource article or case is scheduled to be presented. Students will help lead the discussion for those ethical issues, trends, challenges, or dilemmas addressed by their respective memos. Students should be prepared to ask their classroom colleagues a series of thought provoking questions to stimulate discussion. This assignment will be graded on quality and clarity of presentation, use of grammar, contribution to class discussion, identification of key issues to be resolved, thoroughness of analysis, and strength of recommendations.

RESEARCH PAPER

Students will write a research paper addressing a contemporary human resources issue in the public or nonprofit sectors. The paper should be between 10-12 pages long and prepared according to an accepted style convention such as Chicago/Turabian or APA. The paper will be graded on topic selection, format, grammar, writing style, organization, content delivery, analysis, research quality, and research documentation.

EXAMINATIONS

There will be two examinations during the semester. The final exam will be comprehensive. These exams may be comprised of essay, short answer, and/or multiple choice questions. Make up examinations will not be offered except for documented emergencies. Even then, an alternate form of the examination will likely be substituted. In case of school cancellation due to weather or other reasons during the scheduled time for the final exam, university policy will be followed in the assigning of grades, which in the past has included the professor’s best judgment to what the student has earned up until that point. Therefore, you should not depend upon the final exam to make up for previously poor grades.

EXTRA CREDIT

Up to five (5) percentage points of the overall total may be earned by attending select events related to human resources management. Typically, one point will be offered for each event. Examples include attendance at one of the sessions sponsored by the OKC Metro Employer Council or workshops sponsored by the UCO Human Resource Society on campus. Other opportunities will be announced in class or can be proposed by students. Also, certain simulations may put extra credit points in play that will not count against the maximum.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

Cheating = Failure (please refer to attached Academic Integrity Statement). Cheating is unacceptable conduct and will result in an automatic grade of “F” for the course, and be reported to Academic Affairs. Students are required to do all of the work for this class on their own. Copying answers to exercises or examinations from anyone constitutes cheating. Allowing another student to copy one’s answers will be treated as cheating. Plagiarism is cheating. A student may discuss exercises with others before preparing his or her own responses, but should only turn in their own work product. Consulting with the instructor about any assignment does not constitute cheating and is encouraged. Also see UCO’s syllabus attachment available at: http://www.busn.ucok.edu/academicaffairs/FORMS/Student Information SheetSPR08.pdf

The Political Science Department of the University of Central Oklahoma is asking all students taking political science courses to read the following Academic Integrity Statement. Our purpose in doing so is to ensure that all our students are aware of what is improper academic behavior.

Academic Integrity Statement

As members of the academic community, students are expected to recognize and uphold standards of intellectual and academic integrity. The Political Science Department expects that its students will conduct themselves honestly. This means, above all, that students submit for credit work that is the product of their own efforts. Principles of academic integrity require that all dishonest work be rejected as a basis for academic credit, and that students refrain from any and all forms of dishonorable conduct in the course of their academic work.

The examples and definitions given below are intended to clarify the standards by which academic honesty and integrity is judged. The list is merely illustrative of some of the more common infractions. It is not intended to be exhaustive. Any question a student has about what constitutes inappropriate behavior should be directed towards their instructor. The rule of thumb to follow is: If in doubt, ASK!

Definitions and Examples

Plagiarism - Plagiarism is presenting another person’s work as one’s own. Plagiarism includes not only the exact use of another’s words, word for word, but also the paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another student’s work as one’s own. The student is responsible for understanding the legitimate use of sources, the appropriate ways of acknowledging academic, scholarly, or creative indebtedness, and the consequences of violating this responsibility. In case of doubt, give a citation of the author you are using. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of one's reliance on other sources is plagiarism. A plagiarized paper will result in a failing grade on the work in question, and perhaps, for the entire course.

Cheating on Examinations - Cheating on examinations involves giving or receiving unauthorized help before, during, or after an examination. Examples of unauthorized help include the use of notes, texts, or “crib sheets” during an examination (unless receiving instructor approval), or sharing information with another student either during or after an examination.

Falsification - It is a violation of academic honesty to misrepresent material or to fabricate information in an academic exercise or assignment (e.g. false or misleading citation of sources, the falsification of the results of experiments or of computer data).

Multiple Submissions - It is a violation of academic honesty to submit substantial portions of the same work for credit more than once without the explicit consent of the instructor to whom the material is being submitted the second time.

Turnitin.com Plagiarism Syllabus Statement: UCO subscribes to the Turnitin.com plagiarism prevention service. Students agree that by taking this course, all required assignments may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted assignments will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com restricted access reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such assignments.

Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com website. Turnitin.com is just one of various plagiarism prevention tools and methods which may be utilized by your faculty instructor during the terms of the semesters. In the UCO Student Handbook, there is a process for contesting any plagiarism allegations against you.

Public Service HR Readings Spring 2008

Article/Case Presentation Schedule