Human Resource Managment

HRM guidelines and topic to discuss
Instructions and Grading Protocol

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I. Examinations will be graded based upon the following criteria:
1. Knowledge and understanding of the assigned readings, mini-lectures and case studies.
2. The ability to integrate knowledge from different sources (grounding answers in readings, mini-lectures, threaded discussions, and individual research).
3. Analysis of materials to reach conclusions and support them in an organized, coherent manner (making a logical argument supported by course readings, mini-lectures, and threaded discussions, as well as outside readings as determined appropriate).
4. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation (examinations must be well-written using APA Sixth Edition format/style – it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the examination is legible).
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II. Length of Exam:

While there is no minimum or maximum page length requirement for this midterm examination, it is suggested that your completed midterm examination will probably be in the range of 8-10 double-spaced, APA format/style pages. Do not repeat the questions with your answers, but appropriately number the questions to be answered so one can identify them. Your exam must be written using the current 6ed,. APA format/style requirements and any use of direct quotes or information from texts, or other sources must be correctly cited so as not to confuse your work with others. The submitted exam must be written in Microsoft Word software and submitted in the assigned drop box within the established time parameters for this week. Remember you are demonstrating your graduate level mastery of the HR materials learned.

Part I: Short Identifications: (25% of final midterm examination grade)

A. Mandatory (Briefly explain the significance of the following terms to public human resource management):
a. Pendleton Act of 1883
b. Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
c. Salary Compression
d. Merit Principle
e. 80 % Rule
f. Unassembled examinations
g. Affirmative action goals versus quotas
h. Rank-in-position versus Rank-in-person
i. Wage and salary surveys
j. Broadbanding

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Part II: Long Essay Questions (75% of total examination grade)

A. Please answer only one of the following from group one:

1. Group One: (Employee Rights & Responsibilities and HRM Context)
a. Assume that you are responsible for preparing a brief orientation session for a group of public supervisors on the subject of employee rights and responsibilities. Please provide an outline in essay form of the key points you believe supervisors should understand with respect to the constitutional rights of public employees.
b. Congress passed the Pendleton Act in 1883. What factors led to the development of support for the passage of the Act? What were the major provisions of the Pendleton Act? What problems with the federal personnel system led Congress to replace the Pendleton Act? What replaced it, and has it been effective? Why or why not?

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B. Please answer only one of the following from group two:

2. Group Two: (Recruitment, Examination, and Selection)
a. Most experts agree that validation is one of the most difficult public human resource management problems. What is validation and why has it become such a difficult HRM problem? What are the different methods available to organizations attempting to validate selection instruments? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches to validation.
b. Conducting job interviews is a tricky business that is bound by the parameters of common sense and public law. Assume that you are a professional HRM manager providing a training session to supervisors in your public organization about how to conduct job interviews. What are legally acceptable questions that can be asked of candidates for a position? What topics are those to avoid? Why?
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C. Please answer only one of the following from group three:

3. Group Three: (Position Management and Compensation)
a. According to your HRM text, “position classification systems are structures that manage, track, and control employment numbers, costs, and levels of positions” (p. 139). From this perspective they are “ultimately a management tool to support compensation systems and control costs” (Ibid). To that end, the two most important tools are job analysis and job evaluation. Define each and explain why they are important to position classification and management.
b. Equity and expectancy theories mandate that policymakers be concerned about more than the absolute amount of money required to fund public service. They must also focus on comparative levels of pay and how these monies are distributed. Discuss the issues of internal and external equity relative to position classification systems.