Organizational Behavior/Human Resources

OBHR 3310 Organizational Behavior (3 semester credit hours) An integrated social science approach is taken to enable students to better understand their work environments and the issues that arise from the complex interplay among organizational members. This course explores theories and concepts derived from diverse fields such as psychology, sociology, economics, and anthropology. The topics include: motivation, attitudes, ethics, communication, leadership, teamwork, power, negotiation, and culture. (3-0) S

OBHR 3311 Principles of Management (3 semester credit hours) This course will introduce students to the connections between areas in management, emphasizing the role that organizational behavior plays in the functioning of the organization. Students will have the opportunity to learn and implement ideas through the use of exercises and case studies. The student will gain useful tools to identify problems in organizations, apply solutions and understand outcomes. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing. (3-0) S

OBHR 3320 Groups and Teams (3 semester credit hours) This course focuses on how groups and teams can be used to maximize organizational success. Students will be introduced to theories and concepts that will allow them to analyze and manage groups in organizations. Topics will include building teams, managing teams, the opportunities and challenges of diversity in teams, managing conflict, and leadership. Practical experience will be developed through the use of exercises, case-studies, and the completion of a team project. Prerequisite: OBHR 3310. (3-0) T

OBHR 3330 Introduction to Human Resource Management (3 semester credit hours) This course is an overview of human resource management. Students will learn theories and practices in many different "core" areas of human resource management including staffing, performance management, work and job design, training, compensation, and labor relations. The course also examines how the human resource function contributes to the company's business strategy and competitive advantage. (3-0) T

OBHR 4090 Management Internship (0 semester credit hours) This course is designed to further develop a student's business knowledge through appropriate developmental work experiences in a real business environment. Students are required to identify and submit specific business learning objectives (goals) at the beginning of the semester. Student performance is evaluated by the work supervisor. Credit/No Credit only. May be repeated if internships differ. Department consent required. (0-0) S

OBHR 4300 Management of Non-Profit Organizations (3 semester credit hours) This course examines the role of non-profit organizations in today's society and discusses the challenges of managing a non-profit both internally and externally concerning areas such as leadership, mission, program planning, budgeting, personnel, marketing, fundraising, volunteerism, and cross-sector collaboration. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing. (3-0) Y

OBHR 4310 Business Ethics (3 semester credit hours) This course examines ethical and socio-political issues and concepts that relate to management in a global business environment. Leaders increasingly need to be aware of potential threats and opportunities in their environments and many stem from value and cultural differences that most managers are not trained to resolve. Prerequisite: OBHR 3310 or OBHR 3330. (3-0) S

OBHR 4331 Compensation and Benefits Administration (3 semester credit hours) This course focuses on how managers can strategically utilize compensation to attract, retain, and motivate qualified employees. Students will gain an understanding of the multidisciplinary theories underlying pay system design and implementation. Attention will be given to principles underlying successful compensation systems, including internal alignment, external competitiveness, and pay-for-performance. Prerequisite: OBHR 3330. (3-0) Y

OBHR 4333 Performance Management (3 semester credit hours) This course examines the continuous process of identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams, and aligning their performance with the strategic goals of the organization. Special attention will be placed on developing performance management systems for small and large, for-profit and not-for-profit, and domestic and global organizations, and in all industry segments. Prerequisite: OBHR 3330. (3-0) T

OBHR 4334 Talent Acquisition and Management (3 semester credit hours) This course focuses on the effective management of the flow of talent into and through organizations. It covers human resource planning, recruiting and selection, career transitions, and other workforce movement. An important goal of the class will be to provide opportunities to develop hands-on skills that are relevant to effectively managing talent flow. Acquisition and development of human resources in organizations and career management for individuals. Some emphasis on using data systems to perform human resource planning, job analysis, recruitment, selection, on-boarding, socialization, career development, succession planning, and withdrawal from work. Prerequisite: OBHR 3330. (3-0) T

OBHR 4335 Training and Development (3 semester credit hours) This course focuses on the effective development of talent within organizations. It covers issues such as training needs analysis, training curriculum design, training delivery, management and leadership development, the role of experience in skills development, and the evaluation of training and development initiatives. The course will equip the student to determine when training is appropriate, what type of training (content and delivery) is needed, when alternatives to training are better suited to meet the organization's objectives, and how to determine the return on investment in training. Prerequisite: OBHR 3330. (3-0) T

OBHR 4336 Labor and Employee Relations (3 semester credit hours) Introduces students to labor relations and collective bargaining; covers the parties (union and management), the legal framework, union structure and administration, the employer role, union organizing, bargaining issues, the negotiation process, grievances and arbitration, and public sector labor relations. Provides a historical overview of the American labor movement, of workers and unions in American society, including the how and why workers join unions, how unions are structured and function, how organizations respond to unions, and how unions and management bargain a contract. Prerequisite: OBHR 3330. (3-0) T

OBHR 4337 HR Analytics (3 semester credit hours) Introduces students to HR analytics: the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data designed to improve decisions about talent and the organization as a whole. The course will prepare students to determine the HR metrics that align with an organization's strategic goals, the characteristics of high quality data, and equip them to find and collect that data. It provides a high-level introduction to common analysis techniques, mistakes to avoid when interpreting data, how to take the results of HR Analytics initiatives and communicate the findings in a compelling manner, and keys to executing the change follow. Prerequisite: OBHR 3330. (3-0) T

OBHR 4338 Managing Diversity in Organizations (3 semester credit hours) This course focuses on the social processes experienced by persons in the workplace as they interact with and work with persons who are different from themselves. The phenomenon of difference can be a source of both destructive and productive outcomes in the work setting. The course will explore the dynamics of difference from the perspective of surface level diversity dimensions (e.g., race, sex, age, ethnicity) as well as deep-level diversity dimensions (e.g., function, religion, sexual orientation, education). Prerequisite: OBHR 3310 or OBHR 3330. (3-0) T

OBHR 4350 Introduction to Leading and Managing (3 semester credit hours) This course will deal with theories and techniques of leadership and management. The course will start with a general overview of major theories on leadership and management. The main focus of this course is on the relationship between individual action and group and organizational performance. Prerequisite: OBHR 3310 or OBHR 3330. (3-0) Y

OBHR 4352 Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (3 semester credit hours) This course explores the theories, processes, and practical techniques of negotiation so that students can successfully negotiate and resolve disputes in a variety of situations including interpersonal and group settings. Emphasis is placed on understanding influence and conflict resolution strategies; identifying interests, issues, and positions of the parties involved; analyzing co-negotiators, their negotiation styles, and the negotiation situations; and managing the dynamics associated with most negotiations. Practical skills are developed through the use of simulations and exercises. Prerequisites: Junior or Senior standing and (OBHR 3310 or OBHR 3330). (3-0) Y

OBHR 4354 Leading Organizational Change (3 semester credit hours) This course will emphasize practical skills required to be an effective change agent. Theories and techniques of planned and transformative organizational change will be discussed, along with topics that include change agent entry in change projects, negotiating role expectations, contracting, diagnostic interviewing and needs assessment, overcoming resistance to change, large group intervention processes, and cross-cultural differences in leadership expectations. Prerequisite: OBHR 3310 or OBHR 3330. (3-0) T

OBHR 4356 Power and Influence in Organizations (3 semester credit hours) This course will examine the role that power plays in organizations and the ways in which influence can be developed and used to increase individual power. Focus will be placed on how individuals can increase their power from anywhere within the organization. Topics will include functions of power, sources of power, assessing power in organizations, and personal influence strategies and tactics. Prerequisite: OBHR 3310 or OBHR 3330. (3-0) Y

OBHR 4358 Transformational Leadership, Ethics, and Social Responsibility in Practice (3 semester credit hours) This is a hands-on course to help students understand how transformational leaders can change the people around him/her to create productive societies with sustainable institutions and practices. This course starts with an introduction to transformational leadership concepts and basic ideas from both western and eastern moral philosophical traditions. Armed with a good understanding of these leadership and ethical concepts students will be given opportunities to work on a real project with one of the not-for-profit charitable organizations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This will not only help them practice what they have learned in the classroom setting but also help the community and practice transformational leadership behavior. Prerequisites: (OBHR 3310 or OBHR 3330) and OBHR 4300 and OBHR 4350. (3-0) Y

OBHR 4361 The Human Resource Professional (3 semester credit hours) This course is designed to prepare an individual with major concepts, theories, laws, workplace situations, and their applications as preparation for the Society of Human Resource Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) exam. Real-life situations that require decision making skills are incorporated into learning modules and study tools to help students better understand, apply, and engage with the behavioral competencies and HR knowledge on the SHRM-CP exam. Module content includes the SHRM competencies, HR Strategy, talent acquisition, learning and development, total rewards, organizational development, employee and labor relations, employment law, global HR, and others. Prerequisite: OBHR 3330. (3-0) S

OBHR 4395 Capstone Senior Project - Human Resource Management (3 semester credit hours) This course is intended to complement theory and provide an in-depth, hands-on experience in all aspects of a real business project. Students will work in teams as consultants on projects of interest to the industry and will be involved in specifying the problem and its solution, designing and analyzing the solution, and developing recommended solutions. The deliverables will include reports that document these steps as well as a final project report, including the challenges faced by the team. Teams will also make presentations. This course focuses on a senior project in which students apply their knowledge to create a strategic human resource plan for an organization. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the strategic options within Human Resource Management functions, and how the functions interrelate and use this knowledge to create a comprehensive HR plan to support the goals of that business. At the end of the semester, students present their HR plan to the organization's leaders. Some lectures will be combined with case study analyses to enable students to explore the various theories of human resource strategy, the subsystems of HR, and how they must be aligned to support strategy execution. Prerequisites: Junior or Senior standing and any four of the HRM core (BLAW 3301 or OBHR 4331 or OBHR 4333 or OBHR 4334 or OBHR 4335 or OBHR 4354). Prerequisite or Corequisite: BCOM 4300. (3-0) Y

OBHR 4V84 Individual Study (1-3 semester credit hours) Credit/No Credit only. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). Instructor consent required. ([1-3]-0) R

OBHR 4V90 Management Internship (1-3 semester credit hours) This course is designed to further develop a student's business knowledge through appropriate developmental work experiences in a real business environment. Students are required to identify and submit specific business learning objectives (goals) at the beginning of the semester. At the end of the semester students must prepare an oral presentation, reflecting on the knowledge gained in the work experience. Student performance is evaluated by the work supervisor. Credit/No Credit only. May be repeated for credit (3 semester credit hours maximum). Instructor consent required. ([1-3]-0) S

OBHR 4V94 Seminar Series in Management (1-3 semester credit hours) Discussion of selected topics and theories in organizational behavior, strategy and international management. May be repeated for credit as topics vary (9 semester credit hours maximum). Instructor consent required. ([1-3]-0) R