Syllabus for HRM-560

INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL AND THE WORKPLACE LEARNER

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Intellectual capital is widely recognized to be a key source of an organization’s competitive advantage.  Knowledge management is an asset of any organization and a source of competitive advantage to attract and retain customers, employees and market share.Intellectual capital can be defined as the amount of valuable knowledge an organization possesses. It can be composed of human capital, structural capital and customer capital. The ability to learn quickly, to spread the knowledge throughout the organization to those who need to know, and to apply that knowledge to meet the changing demands of today’s and tomorrow’s world are the goals of learning organizations. The labels for organizational learning—knowledge management, intellectual capital, intellectual assets, or knowledge capital—are secondary to the realization that organizations must capture, analyze, store and then disseminate the know-how and experience of their employees to sustain competitiveness.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:

1. Participate in an organization’s strategic planning process, interpret the strategic plan of an organization and translate the organizational goals into Human Resources Development strategies.
2. Understand and apply adult learning theories to methods of learning and motivation in organizations.
3. Conduct needs analysis, development objectives, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.
4. Describe the elements of a learning organization and key areas of training in any organization.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbook

1. Effective Training: Systems, Strategies, and Practices, 5th ed., by P. Nick Blanchard and James W. Thacker. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2013)

ISBN-13: 978-0-13-272904-8

1. Learning in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work by David A. Garvin. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press, 2000).

ISBN-13: 978-1-59139-190-6

COURSE STRUCTURE

Intellectual Capital and the Workplace Learner is a three-credit online graduate course, consisting of nine (9) modules. Modules include a commentary study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

1. Module 1: Trends in Workplace Learning

2. Module 2: Adult Learning

3. Module 3: Training Needs Analysis and Competencies

4. Module 4: Training Design

5. Module 5: Training Methods

6. Module 6: Development and Implementation

7. Module 7: Evaluation

8. Module 8: Organization-Wide Training

9. Module 9: Leading Learning

Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments and case analyses, and complete a midterm assignment and a final project. See below for more details.

Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Discussion Forums

This course requires you to participate in eight(8) graded discussion forums. Discussion Board assignments allow interaction with the class. Since discussions are interactive, these activities enable intellectual exchange with one’s peers.

There is also one ungraded but required forum: an introduction forum in module 1.

Case Analyses

You will complete six case analyses. You will read each case and answer the assigned questions.

Written Assignments

This course includes two written assignments, one of which is a personal action plan.

Midterm Assignment

Your midterm assignment consists of answering four questions (from a choice of seven). Each answer should be at least 500 words in length.

Final Project

Your final project builds on the knowledge you have gained throughout the course. Using your own organization as a basis, you will perform an “as is” analysis and a gap analysis, create a  roadmap, and then answer questions.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

1. Online discussions (8)—15 percent
2. Case studies (6)—35 percent
3. Written Assignments—15 percent
4. Midterm assignment—15 percent
5. Final project—20 percent

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., assignments, discussion postings, projects, etc.). Graduate students must maintain a B average overall to remain in good academic standing.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

1. Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.

2. Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.

3. Arrange to take your examination(s) by following the instructions in this Syllabus and the Online Student Handbook.

4. Familiarize yourself with the learning management systems environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.

5. If you are not familiar with Web-based learning be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

1. To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the course Calendar. The Calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting assignments, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking examinations.

2. Check Announcements regularly for new course information.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:

1. Cheating
2. Plagiarizing (including copying and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources)
3. Fabricating information or citations
4. Facilitating acts of dishonesty by others
5. Unauthorized access to examinations or the use of unauthorized materials during exam administration
6. Submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the mentor
7. Tampering with the academic work of other students

Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized assignment, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.

A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.

If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.

Plagiarism

Using someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism.  (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > "Citing Sources.")

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else's. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.