Instructor:  Dr. Don E. Robertson
                               1st floor, Ordway Hall
                               Office Phone: 762-6831
                               Home Phone: 759-9160
                               Office hours by appointment only

Course Description

A study of labor-management relations in the United States with an emphasis on the structure and role              organizations, the collective bargaining functions and processes, and the philosophy and approaches essential to a successful relationship between labor and management institutions.

Objectives of the Course

1. To acquaint students with a general knowledge of the labor movement, unionization and collective bargaining.
2. To acquaint students with federal legislation affecting labor relations.
3. To acquaint students with the collective bargaining process.
4. To provide opportunities to apply theory and procedures into practices through case studies and participation in a collective bargaining exercise.
5. For students to be active participants in class and for there to be a free flow of discussion instead of simply the instructor lecturing and students taking notes.

Required Text

Carrell, Michael R. and Christina Heavrin, Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining, Fifth Edition, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1998

Instructional Activities

These will include lectures, questions and answers, class discussion, small group activities, case studies, guest speakers, videos, oral reports and a simulated collective bargaining exercise.

Lectures and case studies have little meaning unless the subject matter has been carefully studied beforehand. It is expected reading assignments will be read before class and proper preparation for cases has occurred. Detailed consideration of text material is left to the student for study while class time will be devoted to a synthesis of material. Class participation and contributions to class will be heavily weighed in a student's final grade. Questions pertaining to the assigned material will be asked randomly to students during each class. In some cases students may be asked to lead the discussion on a particular topic. Credit will be awarded for acceptable responses and a minus given for unacceptable or unprepared responses. At the end of the semester a student's grade can be raised one letter grade for a pattern on consistent contributions and active class participation. Likewise a student's grade will be lowered one letter grade if there is a pattern of unacceptable responses and a general lack of participation in class.

Written work submitted for credit, including examinations, is expected to be of a professional quality (it should be grammatically correct in construction and spelling, logical and clear and the document neat and well structured). Grades will reflect the professional quality of the papers as well as substantive content.

Exams

There will be three exams, each covering material from the text, class discussion, oral reports and class notes. Examinations will consist of cases, problems and/or essay questions, or short answer questions. Due to the nature of the course and the need to utilize material learned throughout the semester, the case studies will require a comprehensive knowledge of the material studied.

If it becomes necessary to miss an exam, the student should give the professor prior notice.
Exam 1 – February 17
Exam 2 – March 28
Exam 3 – May 10

Assignments

In addition to the chapter assignments, problems and cases may be assigned for homework or for in-class completion. Additional readings may be assigned in The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, or other publications. These articles may be discussed in class and questions about them may appear on examinations. Each student will be responsible for one in-class oral report and three written reports on an article read.

The class will be divided into groups (three or more students) to consider cases and questions associated with the text. Groups will be allowed short periods of time to reach a consensus answer to each question. Individuals will be called upon to present the answer to the class discussion.

Attendance

This is a discussion and participation class; therefore, regular attendance is expected. All absences are recorded, i.e., there are no excused absences for recording purposes. Any absence after three will result in points deducted from your final grade:

4th absence – 2 points deducted
5th absence – 4 points deducted
6th absence – 6 points deducted
7th absence – 8 points deducted
8th absence – 10 points deducted

Any student have no absences will have five percentage points added to his/her end-of-term average. Any student having only one absence will have three percentage points added to his/her end-of-term average.

It is also expected students will be on time for class. Students will receive one-half absence if they arrive after roll is taken. Once the door is closed, do not interrupt class.

Grading

  Exam 1 -   50 points
  Exam 2 -  50 points
  Exam 3 -  50 points
  Class participation - 60 points
  Class activities -  190 points

  Total of 400 points possible

Grading Scale

90% to 100% (360 – 400 points) = A
80% to 89% (320 – 359 points) = B
70% to 79% (280 – 319 points) = C
60% to 69% (240 - 279 points) = D
Below 60% (Below 240 points) = E

Class Activities
 

•  In-class essay of “Collective Bargaining”
• A copy of a collective bargaining agreement will be submitted.
• Interview on the pros and cons of unionization.
• Three library journal/newspaper reports from selected business/management journals.Written summary and brief oral in-class presentation on one article. On-the-job observations may be substituted for some journal reports.
• Assigned case studies.
• Assigned discussion questions.
• Collective bargaining simulation exercise.
• Current even reports.

Late class activity assignments will receive reduced point credit.

Bonus Points

Bonus points can be received during the semester for outstanding contributions to class.
Examples:

•  Insightful questions and/or answers to questions
• Significant contributions to class discussions
• Sharing with the class a current even or management activity from the business sector that highlights a class topic or chapter topic.
• Bringing copies of an article relating to the scheduled class topic and sharing with the class
• Sharing “real life” management experiences in the business/work environment
• Sharing current newspaper articles relating to management topics.

Instructor’s Perrogative

The instructor reserves the right to change any portion of the syllabus he deems necessary and/or for the good of the class, contingent upon unforseen circumstances and/or class progress. However, no changes will be made capriciously or without ample prior notice to the class.

1. Find a recent article (limited to the past three years) from a selected business or management journal.
2. Summarize the article (250 words or less). Do not use the abstract that comes with the article.
3. Write an analysis of the article (250 words or less) describing how the article’s content relates to one or more issues discussed in the text and/or class.
4. Explain (in 100 words or less) the relevance of the article to labor relations.
5. Reports are to be typed.
6. Due Dates: February 24, March 30, April 18
7. Oral presentation dates will be randomly assigned to take place throughout the semester.
8. On the job observations may be substituted by working students for some of the journal reports (to be arranged with the instructor).
a. Student observes work environment to discover the congruity/discrepancy between discussed topics and theories-in-use as practiced in the natural setting of the business organization.
b. Student writes up observations in a journal report.
c. At regularly scheduled class times student reports on findings in his/her organization and compare finding with discussed topics.
d. Student will write up, as well as orally report on, the degree to which various topics are used in organization. When discrepancies between topics and practice are found, the student will analyze why these differences exist.

Academy of Management Executive
Business Horizons
Business Month
Business Week
California Management Review
Forbes
Fortune
Harvard Business Review, Inc.
Interfaces
Management Review
Nations Business
Organizational Dynamics
Personnel Journal
Sloan Management Review
The Wall Street Journal

References to utilize: (Pogue Library-Law Library)

Index to Legal Periodicals
Harvard Law Review
Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) – Collective Bargaining, Labor Relations, Bargaining Reports
American Law Reports