MGMT 4020 Course Summary

Before I get to the issue of the final exam, it may be useful to stop and think a bit about what the course has been about, and what you’ve learned in the last 15 weeks. In particular, I’d recommend you think about what you’ve actually done (in addition to all the knowledge you’ve accumulated). During this course, you’ve actually:

· Conducted a job analysis and written a job description for hiring purposes

· Developed a complete hiring system for a job

· Written and conducted structured, behavioral interviews

· Performed a statistical validation of test and interview data

· Conducted an adverse impact (4/5) analysis

Whether you’re looking for an HR job or a more general management position, you’ve actually done many of the tasks that employers are looking for experience in. Don’t forget to make that point in your interviews!

Final Exam Information

This exam will be a bit different from the first two exams, mainly because there will be enough time to allow for more short answer and essay questions, including a short (~1 page) essay question that will provide more opportunity for critical thinking and integration of material. More specifically, there will be about 20 multiple choice questions, 3 Identification questions, 3 Short Answer questions and 1 essay question, for a total of 40 pts. The balance between questions from the book, lecture (or both) is probably a bit different, with less lecture material that is not also covered in the book and somewhat more material that is in the book but not covered in lecture. I’d say there is also a greater emphasis on broad principles (and interpretation of them) and less on specifics, compared to prior exams. (For some of you, that might translate to somewhat less memorization and somewhat more thinking about the material, though that depends a lot on your typical style of learning.) You will have 2.5 hours, but shouldn’t need more than about 60-90 minutes.

Remember the exam is at 4:30 pm on Saturday 12/15.

Review (~ 10 pts)

· Most questions about High-Impact Hiring will be pretty general, “big picture” questions. The primary exception is Legal issues, which was assigned in exam 1 (HIH chapter 5), but is now relevant again for its treatment of legal issues involving terminations and layoffs (TF chapter 10). Don’t be surprised if one of the questions again asks for your analysis of an applied situation (as in what legal principles or laws would apply).

· I’d also suggest attention to Chapters 1 of Talent Flow; it was covered in Exam 1 with particular reference to performance yield, while the most recent treatment had more to do with flows.

· Professor Mood’s talk about selection in the NFL and with police and firefighters also provided a review of material we previously covered.

Retention (~ 17 pts) Relevant PowerPoints: “Retention”

· Particularly heavy emphasis will be on Chapters 2 and 6. Chapter 2 sets up the notion of adaptation, which is central to the whole book, so be sure you’re comfortable with it. Chapter 6 deals with Workplace factors, which are what managers are most likely to be able to influence, again deserving particular attention. These topics were covered in both the book and lecture, so be sure to pay careful attention to each.

· Chapter 3 will get very light treatment, since its primary role is to set up Chapters 4-6. Don’t forget that what is referred to in the book as the “Turnover Triangle” was referred to as a “Turnover Pie” in lecture.

· Don’t get bogged down in all the figures in Chapter 7; the most important ones are 7.3 and 7.5. Ask yourself how you would use them to help make decisions about managing your employees.

· Don’t forget the “Retaining Talent” article that was assigned. It reviews and complements a lot of the material from Chapters 1, 4 and 6 of Talent Flow, as well as material from earlier in the semester. Could you make recommendations to a manager about what strategies have evidence to support their use as retention strategies?

Managing Outflow (~13 pts) Relevant PowerPoints: “Discipline & Firing” & “Layoffs”

· Roughly equal emphasis on Chapters 8 (Termination), 9 (Layoffs) and 10 (Legal Issues)

· Because of the emphasis in class on the termination exercise and the layoff case, class material only partially overlaps with textbook, so be sure to look at both. For example, the latter part of Chapter 8 deals with the termination processes, something we didn’t talk about in class.

· For Chapter 9, don’t worry about the details of Figure 9.3, as long as you’re comfortable with the concepts it includes.

· A significant portion of Chapter 10 (Legal) is a review of material originally covered in Chapter 5 of HIH (see note above on “Review.”) But also pay attention to the new material that deals specifically with issues related to terminations, including layoffs. (Also note that some of the legal issues specific to layoffs are included at the end of Chapter 9.) Primary emphasis will be on the book, as well as our class discussion of the employment at will case.

Chapter 11 is intended as a capstone/review, and won’t be tested on specifically, but may be useful for getting the “big picture”.

Exam and Course grades will be posted on the course website as soon as they are completed—probably around December 18 or 19.