32476 - Human Resources Development and Leadership

Learning outcomes

This course provides managerial competencies regarding human resource management. At the end of the course, the student is able to: 1) Discriminate between alternative approaches to human resource management; 2) Manage human groups and teams; 3) Carry out individual and group evaluation of human resources; 4) Providing psychological support to human rsources; 5) Manage negotiations; 6) Leadership.

Course contents

1. Taylorism and Human Relations. Historical Taylorism and contemporary Taylorism. The Human Relations school and the dynamics of motivation.roups
2. Groups and Teams. Stages of group development. Group belongingness. Group values and socialization. Groups and teams. Team-building games.
3. Evaluation of Individuals and Groups. The job interview. Selection mechanisms. The Peter principle. The anticipation of selection mechanisms.
4. Psychological Support. Mindfulness. Coaching. Transactional Analysis.
5. Negotiation. Negotiation styles. Negotiation within organizations and between organizations. Intercultural negotiation.

Readings/Bibliography

Lecture notes and videos are available online. All teaching materials are available in English and Italian.

Teaching methods

Lectures and discussions. Group exercises.

Assessment methods

Written exam. Italian is the examination language, but English may be accepted upon request.
The exam must be finished in 1 hour. The exam is composed of 2 sections:

1. Five open questions. Each question can be valued between 0 and 4. Answers should not exceed a length threshold (20-50-100 words, the maximum length depending on the particular question). Anything exceeding the these limits will be ignored. Unreadable text will be ignored. The maximum total evaluation of this section is 20.
2. An essay to be typed at home and delivered on examination day. Length should lie between 1 page and 3 pages. It should concern a practical application of what has been taught and discussed; it should neither repeat abstract concepts expressed in class, nor refer episodes unrelated to the course, but rather embed the concepts received during the course in an empirical context known to the student (students are invited to check that, if they did not attend this course, they would write their essay in a completely different manner). This essay is strictly individual, though it is possible to coordinate with other students so that each essay contributes to a larger project. Some example essays are available online. The maximum evaluation for this essay is 10.

The sum of the marks obtained in the two above sections yields an overall mark between 0 and 30. To this overall mark, 1 further mark is added. If the starting overall mark is 30, honors obtain.
In case of failed exam or rejected mark, students are allowed to keep their essay evaluation for subsequent examination sessions. If section (1) obtains a mark lower than 10, the essay is not evaluated and the student fails.
Students are allowed to reject grades, though rejecting grades higher than 23 may be possibly meaningless. In order to reject a grading, students are expected to communicate their decision within 1 week after grade publication.

Teaching tools

Blackboard. Computer with beamer.

Office hours

See the website of Guido Fioretti