Main Content
Syllabus
LER 403: International Human Resource Studies (3 credits)
Overview | Objectives | Materials | Library Resources | Technical Requirements | Assignments | Course Schedule | Grading | Academic Integrity | Accomodating Disabilities | Additional Policies
Overview
This course builds on the foundations of human resource management (HRM) ideas by considering what the HRM concepts actually mean in different countries around the world. As organizations become increasingly international, national cultures and institutions can often stand in the way of a seamless progression of HRM across national boundaries. The extent of globalization today means that we do not have to be an international manager to experience its effects – our domestic organizations are also becoming increasingly diverse as the flow of business, money and people increases across national boundaries.
From a cultural perspective, the course explores how people in different countries see themselves and others around them, and how expectations, values, and beliefs in the workplace can differ. From an institutional perspective, we explore how national level regulations, government intervention, trade union influence, and the respective power of shareholders versus stakeholders all affect patterns of HRM practices in different countries. This builds the foundation for understanding international HRM.
In the next stage of the course, we develop this understanding to explore how multinational organizations deal with international HRM challenges, attempting to balance the need to be both globally competitive and locally responsive. We see these major organizations all around us every day, so it is important to gain an understanding of their impact on society, and particularly the world of work.
Throughout the course, lessons will begin with a description of the learning objectives, along with a brief commentary that introduces and supports the reading assignments. This lesson material will form the basis for individual and, from time-to-time, group work. To help you check your own progress and understanding, there will be regular opportunities to take multiple choice quizzes, and to apply some of your learning to a case study assignment. Later in the course, you will build up an in-depth project paper which will allow you to apply the learning from the course to a more practical situation.
As participants in this seminar, some of you will have had more workplace and/or international experience than others. This experience can bring many rich insights into understanding the practical implications of international HRM. The course will allow you to share your experiences and learn from each other. Where possible, for group work you will be asked to work with others with different areas of expertise to maximize your learning experience.
Course Objectives
After successfully completing this course, you will be able to:
- Comprehend the diversity of HRM in an international context and the key HRM challenges facing organizations operating internationally.
- Define cross-cultural management, comparing the impact of national culture on how individuals react to HRM interventions in different countries.
- Define comparative HRM, comparing the impact of national cultures and institutions on designing HRM policies and practices in different countries.
- Define strategic international HRM, distinguishing the linkage between corporate internationalization strategies and international HRM strategies, and recognizing how multinational organizations manage the global-local challenge.
- Apply the outcomes of all of the above objectives to practical work situations.
Required Course Materials
Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.
Library Resources
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service. The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.
Technical Requirements
| Operating System | Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS), supports most recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems. To determine if your operating system is supported, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
|---|---|
| Browser | Canvas supports the last two versions of every major browser release. It is highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Note: Cookies must be enabled, and pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. |
| Additional Canvas Requirements | For a list of software, hardware, and computer settings specifically required by the Canvas LMS, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
| Additional Software | All Penn State students have access to Microsoft Office 365, including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. |
| Hardware | Monitor: Monitor capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Mobile Device (optional) | The Canvas mobile app is available for versions of iOS and Android. To determine if your device is capable of using the Canvas Mobile App, please review the Canvas Mobile App Requirements. |
Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ)
During the semester you will receive information for completing the Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ). Your participation is an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback on your learning experience. Your feedback is important because it allows us to understand your experience in this course and make changes to improve the learning experiences of future students. Please monitor email and course communications for links and availability dates.
If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.
For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!
Assignments
Key Terms
Several content lessons in the course include a list of key terms. As you progress through the course readings, you can also create a checklist of key terms and definitions where appropriate for each lesson for your own use, to make sure you understand their meanings.
Quizzes
Each content lesson in the course includes a quiz. You may take each quiz only ONCE and graded feedback is immediate. The purpose of the quiz is to ensure you have grasped some of the core concepts of the lesson.
Individual Assignments
- Discussion group assignments: questions will be raised for discussion in the class group, and you will be graded by the instructor on the level of insight in these discussions and the quality of discussion your response generates amongst participants.
- Short essay assignments: you will be asked to submit a short essay in response to a question or activity you have been asked to address. This will be graded by the instructor.
- Case studies: you will be given a short scenario from a company or country setting (either by video, audio, or in text) and will be asked to answer a number of related questions. This will be graded by the instructor.
- Article reviews: you will be asked to read a particular article in depth and then to summarize and reflect upon some of the key arguments and questions the paper is raising. This will be graded by the instructor.
Group Work
For group assignments, you will be asked to work in a small group to prepare your joint submission. The expectation is that within your assigned group, you will take responsibility for a specific aspects of a task which you then need to bring together sequentially with your other group members. Your instructor will award a grade for the group as a whole based on the content of the submission. Please read this helpful information on working in teams and groups.
Open-Book Exam
The exam is open–book and you may use any materials from the course or external sources to complete it, although it must be entirely your own work with no collaboration with others. The exam consists of short-essay questions of 150 words maximum for each. You will be given a week in which to complete the exam.
Project Paper
The final project paper assignment is your opportunity to apply your learning from the course to real world examples in the international HRM field. You will be given case studies from multinational enterprises, and will be asked to comment on different scenarios based on your learning from the course.
You will also be required to submit your paper to TURNITIN before turning it into the instructor. TURNITIN is a program that analyzes content of papers for originality and property citing of sources. It is used in this course primarily to help you identify any problems of excessive or uncited material from other sources. The Instructor Manual available on the TURNITIN Web site provides directions for instructors to follow on setting up a class account, and the Student Manual provides directions for you to access the services via that account. Click on the appropriate links and follow the step-by-step procedures in each manual on Getting Started and Plagiarism Prevention. Your instructor will supply you with the class ID, password and other pertinent information.
Surveys
You will be expected to complete two surveys: the Mid-Course Survey and the End-of-Course Survey. Please take the time to provide as much information as possible, as your input is used to enhance the course for future offerings. Responses to the survey do not affect your grade.
Students please note: The School of Labor and Employment Relations does not view Wikipedia as a valid source for information cited in academic work. It can be a useful tool for quickly finding general information on subjects or as a starting point for research. However, students should not cite Wikipedia as a source in papers, reports, assignments, etc.
*Note: if any assignments are submitted after the scheduled deadline, these will be marked down by half a letter grade for each day that they are late (unless otherwise agreed in advance with the instructor).
Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Undergraduate Courses for additional information about University grading policies.Course Schedule
Note: All due dates reflect North American eastern time (ET).
All activities are due by Sunday, 11:59 pm Eastern time of the week listed unless additional dates are provided in the schedule.
| Readings |
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|---|---|
| Activities |
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Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please go to the Graduation Information on the My Penn State Online Student Portal.
Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
Grading
The World Campus follows the same grading system as the Penn State resident program. The grades of A, B, C, D, and F indicate the following qualities of academic performance:
A = (Excellent) Indicates exceptional achievement
B = (Good) Indicates extensive achievement
C = (Satisfactory) Indicates acceptable achievement
D = (Poor) Indicates only minimal achievement
F = (Failure) Indicates inadequate achievement necessitating a repetition of the course in order to secure credit
| Assignment | Points | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Quizzes |
11 (20 points each) 1 (10 points) |
230 |
|
Individual assignments = short essay, discussion group
|
5 (25 points each) |
125 |
| Individual assignments = case study, article review | 5 (50 points each) | 250 |
| Group Assignments | 2 (75 points each) | 150 |
| Mid-Course Open Book Exam | 1 | 100 points |
| Final Project Paper | 1 | 145 points |
| Course Total | N/A | 1000 points |
| Letter Grade | Points |
|
A
|
930-1000 |
|
A-
|
900-929
|
|
B+
|
870-899
|
|
B
|
840-869
|
|
B-
|
800-839
|
|
C+
|
770-799
|
|
C
|
700-769
|
|
D
|
600-699
|
|
F
|
599-below
|
Academic Integrity
According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity , an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.
Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity ). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for Dean’s List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
World Campus students are expected to act with civility and
personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and
property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all
can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment
of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and
others, as well as a civil community.
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, the Policy on Academic Integrity indicates that procedure requires an instructor to inform the student of the allegation. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If that committee recommends an administrative sanction (Formal Warning, Conduct Probation, Suspension, Expulsion), the claim will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us by going to the Contacts & Help page .
Accommodating Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has resources for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contacts for disability services at every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the SDR website.
In order to apply for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability resources office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability resources office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
Additional Policies
For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
If you have a crisis or safety concern, mental health services are available to you as a Penn State student. Crisis and emergency contacts are available, no matter where you are located:
- Anywhere in the United States: Call the Penn State Crisis Line at 1-877-229-6400 or text LIONS to 741741. You can also contact your local crisis services or hospital for emergencies.
- Outside the United States: Please contact emergency services in your current location. You can also use the International Crisis and Emergency Services listings.
- At University Park: Assistance is available at Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) locations on campus.
- At a Penn State branch campus: You can search for counseling information at your campus.
Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or dependents with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.