INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION - COURSE MANUAL Bachelor 3 Trimester 8 2017-2018
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INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION COURSE MANUAL Bachelor 3 Trimester 8 2017-2018
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
3rd Year Bachelor
2017/2018
EIGHTH TRIMESTER: WEEK 2 – WEEK 12
TABLE OF CONTENTS
General information .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Course registration ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
Summary of workshop/team registration dates (per course) - Register via SIN-Online! .................................... 3
Master Event................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Admission requirements MSc-programmes ............................................................................................................ 3
Summary of important rules and regulations for BScIBA and MSc students ...................................................... 4
Business Information Management (BAD14) ........................................................................................................... 5
Foundations of Business Law (BAD15) ................................................................................................................... 8
Human Resource Management (BAD11) ................................................................................................................11
Research Training & Bachelor Thesis (BAD10).....................................................................................................17
Curriculum International Business Administration (BSc IBA) – Academic Year 2017-2018 ............................20
Course Manuals give more detailed information about courses within a trimester. They contain the following information per
course:
- course title, course code, number of credits;
- name of coordinator;
- teaching staff;
- contact person, secretariat, room numbers, phone numbers, visiting hours;
- educational form;
- examination form;
- examination regulation;
- examples for examinations;
- aims and objectives of the course;
- extended description of the course content;
- subjects per lecture/workshop;
- required literature: books, syllabus, reader, sheets;
- literature and course content to be examined;
- recommended further reading.
Course Manuals will be available at the beginning of each trimester, for each year of the programme.
Please note: The course descriptions available in this document have been edited. Please refer to the courses’ specific Black-
board pages for the extended version of the course manual text.
1General information
You can download the Bachelor 3 Trimester 8 course manual, schedule, and book list via the RSM IBA Current
Students page (http://www.rsm.nl/current-students/iba). Also be sure to subscribe to all of your trimester 8
courses via SIN. If any changes to the schedule, registration dates, etc. should occur, these updates can be found
in the respective SIN course channels.
Tip: Take the time to peruse the message archive of your courses once a week to make sure you are aware of all
relevant registration dates, schedule changes, etc.
An online course evaluation will be mailed to you at the end of each trimester 8 course. This evaluation will remain
open until the course’s exam date. The day of the final examination you will receive a separate evaluation about the
exam. Please take the time to fill in both of these evaluations; your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated
by members of the IBA teaching staff and programme management.
Course registration
As per the 2015-2016 academic year, registering for a course via Osiris (accessible via MyEUR) will grant you access
to the course’s respective Blackboard page and it will automatically register you for all of that course’s examinations
(with the exception of the re-sit examination, if applicable).
Per 1 September 2015 all first year IBA students will be registered by IBA Programme Management for the bachelor
1 courses in Osiris. Students taking bachelor 2 and bachelor 3 IBA courses can register themselves for their Bachelor
2 and 3 courses. See: BSc IBA Course Registration
Course registration deadlines (via Osiris):
Bachelor 1 Trimester 1 Course registration is done by Programme Management
Bachelor 1 Trimester 2 Course registration is done by Programme Management
Bachelor 1 Trimester 3 Course registration is done by Programme Management
Bachelor 2 Trimester 4 Last day to register: Sunday, 1 October, 2017
Bachelor 2 Trimester 5 Last day to register: Sunday, 4 February, 2018
Bachelor 2 Trimester 6 Last day to register: Sunday, 29 April, 2018
Bachelor 3 Trimester 7 Elective period, no BSc IBA B3 courses
Bachelor 3 Trimester 8 Last day to register: Sunday, 4 February, 2018
Bachelor 3 Trimester 9 Last day to register: Sunday, 29 April, 2018
Re-sit examination registration:
Registration for re-sit examinations is possible via Osiris 35 days before the re-sit examination date up to seven
days before the exam. During this period, registration is free of charge. You can also register at the ESSC (located
in the E-building) during this period. Osiris is accessible via www.myeur.nl.
Registration for a re-sit exam after the deadline
After the official registration deadline, you can obtain a registration form at the Erasmus Student Service Centre
counter. With this form, you may still register up to two working days before an examination, for an administrative
fee of € 20,- per examination. After completing the form and paying the fee, you will receive a copy of the form to
take with you. You should take this copy with you to the examination for which you have registered.
In case this late registration period of 2 working days of the ESSC has passed, students from RSM BSc(I)BA can
still register, but only after paying a € 20,- administration fee via the Examination Board’s Late Registration system.
Be sure to follow the instructions as stated in the system.
SIN-Online channel subscriptions (for timetable information & messages)
To receive all messages published via the SIN course channel, and to access to the course’s schedule in your per-
sonalized online timetable you will need to subscribe to the SIN course channel of all of the courses that you are
taking.
We also recommend that you subscribe to the following SIN channels:
RSM Bachelor 3 International Business Administration - IBA B3 general information channel with messages from
programme management
RSM Examination Board - The RSM Examination Board’s own channel
Tentamenlocaties (Dutch for Examination Locations) - seating assignments for exams in the M-hall are announced
via this channel
IBA Notice Board - where all non-programme related messages for IBA students are posted
2Summary of workshop/team registration dates (per course) - Register via SIN-Online!
Business Information Management (BAD14)
Plenary lectures (no team/workshop registration required)
Please note that a partial test cannot be retaken. The course’s re-sit examination is an
integrated examination covering all of the course’s materials (and is thus worth 100% of the final grade).
Foundations of Business Law (BAD15)
Plenary lectures / workshop (no team/workshop registration required)
Human Resource Management (BAD11)
Group project “HRM Case” – You will be assigned to groups of 5 for this project by Programme Manage-
ment. To participate in the group project you will need to have registered yourself for the HRM courses in
Osiris by 9 January 23:59 the latest.
Please note that you will only be able to participate in the HRM surveys if you have registered for the HRM
course in Osiris by January 9, 2018 23:59 the latest.
Research Training & Bachelor Thesis (BAD10)
The deadline to register for the BAD10 course was 29 November. Team and theme allocation has been
determined and was announced via SIN-online and Blackboard earlier.
Student Advisers
The student advisers’ key task is to support students with their IBA studies. Students may contact one of the stu-
dent advisers for information, advice and/or guidance. The student advisers are familiar with all aspects of the
course programmes and can assist students in making decisions in the fields of study planning, study choices, in-
ternships, exchange, a second study, mediation with regard to examination board issues, etc.
Students who are not able to continue their studies or experience delays, for instance because of personal circum-
stances such as illness, handicap, family circumstances etc., may also turn to the student advisers for personal
advice and guidance. For more information and contact details please consult the following site:
http://www.rsm.nl/study-advice/bachelor-iba/
Master Event
The next Master Event will be held on 27 March, 2018. This event will allow you to visit lectures, workshops and a
general information market about the RSM master programmes. Staff and Master student ambassadors will be
present to answer your questions. To learn more about the RSM Master programmes please visit
http://www.rsm.nl/master/
3rd year Elective choices (Exchange or Internship/Minor + 5 ECTS elective)
For a complete overview see: http://www.rsm.nl/bachelor/current-students/bachelor-iba/bachelor-3/elective-options/
5 ECTS Options: There are a number of different options available to students who chose to do a minor or an
internship and who still need 5 ECTS in order to graduate. For detailed explanations about these options, please
consult the following Current Students page: http://www.rsm.nl/bachelor/current-students/bachelor-iba/bachelor-
3/elective-options/
Elective course from another faculty / university
Language Elective - after successful completion of 2 modules of the same language. See IBA Current Students –
Language Electives for more information.
Questions? Contact IBA Programme Management (ibapm@rsm.nl)
Admission requirements MSc-programmes
From September 2017 onwards there will be additional admission requirements for internal RSM Bachelor students
for all pre-experience master programmes. A recent change in Dutch legislation allows faculties to introduce addi-
tional selection criteria for all master programmes. RSM will take this opportunity to ensure that all students joining
our master programmes are talented, motivated and driven. In turn, this will increase the quality of your education.
3What will change from September 2017 onwards?
To be admitted to one of RSM’s master programmes per September 2017 you need to meet the following criteria:
You must have completed your entire International Business Administration Bachelor programme.
You will need a grade point average of 7.0 or higher (GPABusiness Information Management (BAD14)
Course name: Business Information Management
Course code: BAD14
Course load: 5 ECTS
Term: Trimester 8
Teaching staff: Dr. Tobias Brandt
Coordinator: Dr. Tobias Brandt
Contact: informationmanagement@rsm.nl is the central e-mail address for all questions related to
this course. You can expect a response within two working days.
Course structure: Plenary lectures
Course schedule: Monday 9AM – 11AM (Jan 8, Jan 15, Jan 22, Feb 19, Feb 26)
Monday 11AM – 13AM (Jan 29, Feb 12)
Tuesday 1PM – 3PM (Jan 9, Jan 30, Feb 13, Feb 20)
Examination: Written test part 1 (50%), written test part 2 (50%), Bonus Assignment (optional)
Office hours and contact information
Office hours before/after each lecture and by appointment. For all issues concerning this course, including content-
related issues, questions about the written tests, written test perusal, grades and the bonus assignment, please
use our central e-mail address:informationmanagement@rsm.nl.
Course overview
Rapid changes in information and communication technology (referred to as ICT or IT) and its application over the
last years have caused major changes for individuals, organizations and industries. The Internet, and information
systems and communication technology in general, have radically impacted our personal and professional lives
and challenged our thinking on physical, geographical and industry boundaries, on distance, speed, and communi-
cation, on how we live, work, learn, communicate, compete, collaborate, and socialize. New business models have
emerged, as have new types of entrepreneurship and new forms of leadership. The new elements include manage-
ment practices and views on value creation, globalization and entrepreneurship from established industries such as
manufacturing (think of globalization, outsourcing and open innovation), transport (Uber), or tourism (Airbnb), to
newer and converged industries such as telecommunications and media (Amazon, Apple and Google). This
course, Business Information Management, aims at providing a deeper understanding of the issues, challenges
and opportunities in this area, with a specific focus on creating business value with IT. Understanding the underly-
ing principles is crucial for all aspects of business administration, from marketing to logistics and from strategy to
HR. The course emphasizes an organizational and managerial approach to IT and Information Management. How-
ever, it also focuses on equipping students with basic applied IT-related skills required from business graduates in
today’s job market, including algorithmic thinking and working with databases. The course is offered by the Busi-
ness Information Management group of the RSM Department of Technology and Operations Management.
Learning goals
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
understand the resource-based view on digital business model and explain how resources influence corporate
positioning and competitiveness;
describe the technical foundations of information technology and the Internet;
summarize the role of business processes in an organizational setting and apply a business process modelling
technique;
demonstrate algorithmic thinking by developing basic algorithmic structures in R;
use appropriate methods to model database architectures and to manipulate databases;
discuss high-level developments in database management and the Big Data paradigm;
explain the economic phenomena that affect digital platforms and social networks;
discuss the importance of and threats to IT security;
outline current developments in IT and their possible future impact on business and society.
Course information
As Information Management cuts across all functions and disciplines it is assumed that participants have a basic
grasp of all areas of business administration, including marketing, finance, operations, organizational behavior, hu-
man resource management, and strategic management. Lectures will be supplemented by reading material from
the textbook and other sources.
Structure of the course
The course is roughly divided into two parts. The first part, leading up to the first written test, covers the foundations
of business information management, including business process modelling as well as basic concepts in algorith-
mic thinking and programming. The second part covers database architectures and manipulation as well as more
recent phenomena, such as platform ecosystems and big data.
5Literature
The textbook we will be using for the course is John Gallaugher's (2016), “Information Systems: A Manager’s
Guide to Harnessing Technology”, version 5.0, eISBN: 978-1-4533-7575-4. In collaboration with the publisher, Flat
World Knowledge, we will be offering the textbook in digital format. The "Digital All Access Pass" to access the text-
book will be made available through the Study Store.
The detailed course schedule below will show which chapters are assigned for each session. For lectures that re-
quire additional required materials, these will be announced on Blackboard and will be made available through
Blackboard either as a full-text article or through a library or web link.
Examination dates
Written test part 1: Tuesday, February 6, 2018 9.30-12.30
Written test part 2: Wednesday, March 14, 2018 9.30-12.30
Re-sit written test (an integrated examination covering all of the course’s materials): Wednesday, July 04, 2018,
13.30-16.30
Registration for the course in Osiris will automatically register you for all examinations with the exception of the re-
sit written test. Course registration is possible via Osiris in the first 4 weeks of the trimester.
Registration for the re-sit written test will be possible via Osiris 35 to 7 days before the re-sit. Specific registration
dates for the re-sit written tests are listed on the BSc IBA Examination Schedule, available via IBA Current Stu-
dents (www.rsm.nl/current-students/iba).
Assessment and examinations
The final grade for this course is based on the weighted average of written test part 1 (50%) and written test
part 2 (50%). If a student has participated in the bonus assignment, a bonus of up to 0.5 point is added to this
grade, depending on the grade for the bonus assignment (restrictions apply).
For written test part 1, students need to study the material discussed in classes 1 to 6 (except “Data Manage-
ment”), including the relevant literature. The test consists of MC (3 answer options) and Open Questions.
For written test part 2, students need to study the material discussed in classes 7 to 11 (including “Data Man-
agement”), including the relevant literature. The test consists of MC (3 answer options) and Open Questions.
The bonus assignment is optional and there are no possibilities for retaking it later. You will be able to earn a
maximum of 0.5 points contributing towards your final grade for this course. The final grade for this course will
be capped at 10. Please note that bonus points will only be awarded if the final grade for the course
(without bonus) is at least 5.5. Bonus points are only valid for the current academic year (2017-2018). More
information on the bonus assignment will be made available through Blackboard during the first week.
A partial test cannot be retaken. The course’s re-sit examination takes place on 04 July, 2018. The re-sit is an
integrated examination covering all of the course’s materials (and is thus worth 100% of the final grade). The
test consists of MC (3 answer options) and Open Questions.
Grades received in the current academic year (2017-2018) will not be valid in the next academic year (2018-
2019).
The grades for written test part 1 and written test part 2 will be rounded to one decimal (a 5.45 will become a
5.5, an 8.95 will become a 9.0, a 5.44 will become a 5.4, etc.). The final course grade will be calculated based
on these rounded grades for written test part 1 and written test part 2.
There will be no minimum grade requirement for written test part 1 or written test part 2. This means that even
if you receive a grade lower than a 4.5 on one or both of the written tests you will still receive a final grade for
the course.
Students retaking the course
Students retaking the course must complete the written tests and (optionally) the bonus assignment, as they are
required for the current academic year. The examination for re-takers is thus based on the content and conditions
that apply to the current academic year (2017-2018). Grades or partial grades from earlier academic years are not
valid for this current year (written test part 1, written test part 2 or bonus assignment), and partial grades for the cur-
rent academic year will also not be valid for the next academic year.
Bonus
As bonus assignment, two options are offered. They will be discussed in detail in the first lecture.
Option 1 acquaints students with data science. Specifically, we will employ very elementary skills in programming
and data manipulation to automatically collect messages relating to particular topics from Twitter, to store these
messages in a database, and to manipulate and analyze the stored data. Materials will be provided to guide stu-
dents through the process, as no previous knowledge regarding R and SQL (the languages used) is assumed.
Note: For this assignment, a Twitter account is required. Students are not required to send tweets or create a per-
sonalized profile; the account is solely needed to get access to the Twitter API.
Option 2 requires students to compose a critical essay on a current topic related to information management and
digitization. Possible topics and the requirements for the essay will be posted on Blackboard during the first weeks.
6Written test perusal
The date, time and place of the perusals will be announced when the grades are published.
RSM student representation
If you as a student have any comment about the quality of your courses, be it positive or negative, please approach
the lecturer or coordinator directly and/or send an e-mail to the corresponding student representative or approach
him or her personally after the lecture. RSM SR e-mail: feedbackIBA@rsmsr.nl.
7Foundations of Business Law (BAD15)
Course name: Foundations of Business Law
Course code: BAD15
Course load: 4 ECTS
Term: Trimester 8
Teaching staff: Dr H. Gubby, Barrister-at-law
RSM and ESL
Mandeville Building Room T11-42
hgubby@rsm.nl
Course structure: 10 plenary lectures and 1 case analysis workshop
Course schedule: 7xTuesday/4xThursday afternoon (weeks 2-10)
Examination: Mid-Term PC test, written test
Student Representation: feedbackIBA@rsmsr.nl
Requirements of prior knowledge
The course does not require any previous legal knowledge. However, students may find this course quite challeng-
ing, as it is the only law course on the Bachelor program. Law is a very different discipline from business admin-
istration and one not familiar to most business administration students. It requires a different set of skills and a dif-
ferent approach.
It is for this reason that it is strongly recommended that you attend the lectures and case analysis session.
Structure of course load distribution
10 lectures of 2 hours 20 hrs
1 case analysis session 2 hrs
Self–study (reading and examination preparation) 90 hrs
Method and profile of lectures
The course provides an overview of certain areas of law of importance to those involved in business and manage-
ment. The law of the UK and USA is used to illustrate the way in which a jurisdiction may deal with particular legal
problems. The reason for this choice is practical: the language of international trade and commerce is English and
consequently English is also the international language of legal negotiation and documentation.
The way in which legal issues are dealt with may vary somewhat from country to country and therefore, where par-
ticularly relevant, comparisons will be drawn with the legal approach in civil law systems like the Netherlands. How-
ever, the types of problem that can arise are similar. Therefore, although these areas of law are explained largely
within the context of Anglo-American law, the emphasis is on raising awareness of the kind of legal issues that can
arise for businesses.
The lectures set out to explain the legal concepts behind these issues and to familiarize students with legal reason-
ing, in particular by looking at cases. Students learn to recognise which legal principles are relevant to a certain
legal issue, and how those legal principles should be applied to the facts of a particular case.
In addition to the 10 plenary lectures, 1 case analysis session will be given. The case analysis session takes the
form of a practical, hands-on workshop. In this session, students will be asked to analyse cases by applying the
relevant legal principles to the facts of a case and then to discuss their findings. This will help students to prepare
both for the open question mid-term PC test and the case application questions in the multiple-choice written test.
Place of the course in the curriculum
Law and management are not separate worlds; they are interconnected. Business and commerce take place within
a legal context and, in the final analysis, are governed and regulated by law. Those involved in the management
and administration of business enterprises cannot afford to be ignorant of the legal issues that may affect their
business ventures. Every day managers enter into business transactions that have legal implications not only for
their organization but sometimes also for themselves. This course addresses elements of business law with the aim
to enable managers to recognize when legal issues may arise and to communicate effectively with legal profes-
sionals.
Introduction to course contents
This course is an introduction to some of the major areas of law particularly relevant to business practice. The
course begins with a brief introduction to the legal system by looking at common law and civil law systems and the
structuring of legal professions. An outline is then given of the following areas of law, all of which can have an im-
pact upon business activities: EU law, tort law, contract law, sale of goods and services contracts and consumer
protection, company law and corporate criminal liability.
8Objectives and final level
Those studying law within, and as a part of, a wider sphere of study cannot be expected to acquire the same de-
tailed level of knowledge as law students. It is beyond the scope of this course to cover all the areas of law that po-
tentially come within the range of business law, such as employment law and tax law. Nonetheless, by placing
business operations within a legal context, the participants will add legal insight to their management skills. Upon
completion of the course, participants will be able to:
Identify potential legal issues across a wide spectrum of law.
Understand the English legal terminology in English language (international) contracts and other documen-
tation.
Follow legal reasoning and understand how lawyers apply legal principles to the facts of a case.
Communicate effectively with legal professionals.
Literature
Helen Gubby, English legal terminology: legal concepts in language (Boom Juridische Studieboeken/Eleven Inter-
national Publishing), fourth edition 2016.
The material on Blackboard (including links to articles) and the PowerPoint presentations during the lectures form a
part of the course material.
Examination Dates
Mid-term PC test: Friday, 23 February, 2018 – sessions between 9:30-14:00
Written test: Monday, 19 March, 2018 – 9:30-11:30
Re-sit written test: Thursday, 5 July, 2018 – 18:30-20:30
Registration for the course in Osiris will automatically register you for all examinations with the exception of the re-sit
written test. Course registration is possible via Osiris in the first 4 weeks of the trimester.
Registration for the re-sit written test will be possible via Osiris 35 to 7 days before the re-sit test. Specific registra-
tion dates for the re-sit tests are listed on the BSc IBA Examination Schedule, available via IBA Current Students
(www.rsm.nl/current-students/iba).
Assessment and Examinations
There are two parts to the examination:
An open question mid-term PC test. The mid-term PC test consists of two cases. Each case requires the
student to answer knowledge questions and questions which require the student to show insight into the
legal issues relevant to the case. The mid-term PC test counts for 10% (1 point).
A final ‘multiple-choice’ written test which counts for 90% (9 points). In this written test, there are 50 ques-
tions, each of which has two alternative answers. The test is a cross between a True/False and a multiple-
choice test. It is like a True/False test in that each question has two options and those two options could
be True/False, Correct/Not correct or Yes/No. But it is also like a multiple-choice test because the two op-
tions could be two different explanations.
Note:
Failure to sit the mid-term PC test does not exclude a student from sitting the multiple-choice written test.
However, as the mid-term PC test is good for 10% of the total grade, if the mid-term PC test is not sat the
maximum score that can be obtained for this course is not a 10 but a 9.
The mid-term PC test will be graded on a scale of 1 to 10. As the mid-term PC test will be the first experi-
ence of sitting a law test for most students, the proportion of the mid-term to the total exam is kept to 10%.
The value of the mid-term PC test is not just the 1 to 10% that can be achieved. This open question case
PC test is an important and useful practical exercise. By having to analyse a case, and with no choice of
answers being offered by the test, the student must construct the answer his/herself. This helps the student
to see before the main written test what he/she has understood and what he/she thought he/she had un-
derstood but actually had not understood. It provides a chance to practice dealing with the case application
questions in the multiple-choice written test. Students are strongly recommended to sit the mid-term PC
test.
Students Retaking the Course
Students retaking the course must complete the assignments and tests as they are required for the current aca-
demic year. The examination for re-takers is thus based on the content and conditions that apply to the current ac-
ademic year (2017-2018).
Due to the importance of the mid-term PC test as preparation for the multiple-choice written test, grades
obtained for mid-term PC tests in a previous year will not be valid.
In principle, grades obtained for the multiple-choice written test cannot be brought forward to the following
academic year. This is the general policy for all courses.
9Examination Perusal
The mid-term PC test is gone through in class in the final session of the course. Students then have the opportunity
to see the model answers and to ask any questions.
The date, time and place of the perusal of the multiple-choice written test will be announced when the grades are
published. Students can then bring a copy of their examination answer form with them to the perusal. As the an-
swers to the multiple-choice written test questions are gone through in this perusal, the perusal replaces the publi-
cation of the test on internet (as confirmed by the Examination Board).
RSM Student Representation
If you as a student have any comment about the quality of your courses, be it positive or negative, please send an
email to the corresponding representative or approach him or her personally after the lecture. RSM SR email:
feedbackIBA@rsmsr.nl
10Human Resource Management (BAD11)
Course name: Human Resource Management
Course code: BAD11
Course load: 5 ECTS
Term: Trimester 8
Coordinator: Dr. Rebecca Hewett
Teaching staff: Dr. Rebecca Hewett, Dr. Hannes Leroy
Course structure: Plenary lectures, workshop, group assignment, surveys
Course schedule: Plenary lectures Thursdays from 11:00-12:45
Workshops on Tuesday 16 January, Monday 29 January and Monday 12 February
both 9:00-10:45
Examination: Multiple choice written test, group project “HRM case”
Student Representation: feedbackIBA@rsmr.nl
Office hour: By appointment (please email hrmiba@rsm.nl); Office: T 10-48
Office Hours & contact information
We are looking forward to meeting you during the course. If you have a question regarding the course, please consult
this course manual. If your question is not answered by the course manual, please contact the course coordinator
(Rebecca Hewett). For questions regarding the organization of the course that are of general concern, you can also
post on the Blackboard discussion forum. This way everyone sees your question and the answer to it right away. For
questions that are not of general concern, you can send an email to the course coordinator (hrmiba@rsm.nl) or attend
the office hour. If you send an email and we think the question is of general interest, we will post the question
(anonymously) and the corresponding answer to the discussion board. If you have a question regarding the content,
please approach the lecturer during the break or after the class. All communication regarding the course will be
addressed to your official student email address. Please check this email regularly or automatically forward it to an
address that you check regularly. Also make sure to check blackboard for updates, announcements, and additional
information.
Course Overview
In many industries, the personnel – or the Human Resources – of an organization are one of the most vital factors
shaping an organization’s success or failure. Decisions that involve the hiring, training, job assignments, or the
separation of employees have far-reaching consequences. These consequences do not only involve financial gains
or losses and have potential legal implications for the organization but also affect individuals and their motivation and
ability to be productive and satisfied. Effectively managing a company’s Human Resources thus requires an
appreciation of how HR-decisions are shaped by and shape individuals’ motivation, well-being, productivity, and
identification with an organization.
This course offers you an evidence-based and multidisciplinary perspective on the main challenges in Human
Resource Management. We begin by examining the conceptual foundations of Human Resource Management
including the characteristics of the people working in an organization, the design of jobs and work processes, and
the conditions under which work is satisfying and engaging. We then focus on the hiring process all the way from the
human resource planning to sealing the deal with new hires and starting the socialization process. Building on this,
a number of sessions deal with how one can achieve great results with the people within an organization by motivating
and compensating their efforts, measuring their performance, as well as training and developing them for current and
future tasks.
Finally, we will consider how to manage employee’s voluntary and involuntary exit from organizations. Throughout
this course, we will highlight interesting cases that illustrate how these techniques and practices work out in
organizations. By the end of the class, you will therefore have a deep understanding of and basic hands-on
experience with regard to the most important HR practices in light of the empirical evidence that supports or
discourages their use.
Given that Human Resource Management is a central organizational function that supports many other functions
(e.g., human resources are needed to realize strategic plans) this course has links to many other courses in your
curriculum. Of particular importance are the courses of Organisational Behaviour which laid the foundation for many
of the concepts we will apply to workplace settings in this course and the course on Organisational Theory & Dynam-
ics as the effectiveness of Human Resource practices is often contingent on how well it is aligned with the broader
organizational structure.
11Learning Goals
After following this course, students will be able to
- Describe and explain fundamental HRM practices and their theoretical underpinnings.
- Recognize and link this knowledge to practical HR-problems and challenges.
- Integrate theoretical knowledge and practical considerations to critically analyse and suggest solutions for
HR-problems and cases.
- Reflect on the role of evidence in guiding the actions of HR managers.
- Employ basic HR-relevant techniques and skills in your own workplace interactions.
Main topics include the following:
- Importance and strategic role of HRM
- People at work: Stable individual characteristics & their impact on job outcomes
- Jobs, job design, & job satisfaction
- Hiring: (HR-Planning; Talent Management; Recruiting; Selection: Procedure, criteria, & tools; Socialization;
Job offer negotiation)
- Training, Development & Career Management
- Performance Management
- Motivation & Compensation
- Separation: Layoffs, discharges, turnover, & retirement
- HR Analytics
Course Information
This course uses a number of instructional formats to achieve the outlined course objectives. These comprise (1)
Plenary sessions, (2) three workshops, (3) a group project in which you are asked to develop a case based on a real-
life organization’s HRM challenge, and (4) surveys, designed to give you feedback on a number of characteristics
often assessed in the hiring process as well as on your progress and teamwork quality on the case report.
(1) Plenary sessions
The plenary sessions will cover the core theories, concepts, and practices presented in this course. Most
sessions rely on selected chapters from the textbook, but a few also feature obligatory readings in the form of
research or review articles. Typically, plenary sessions are designed to blend an exercise or case presentation
with theories, best practices, and research results on the session’s topic. Accordingly, the core goal is not to
summarize the information in the textbook/readings but to critically analyse and apply the theories and findings
to managerial challenges and dilemmas. Likewise, we will enrich the content provided in the readings with
additional information, research results, and examples that are not covered in the book. Attendance of the
plenary sessions is thus not mandatory but strongly recommended as the content of these sessions will go
beyond the information you can get from the book or the readings.
(2) Workshops
The workshops provide the opportunity to develop and practice a number of work-related skills. This includes
(a) recruitment and selection and (b) training and performance management. These topics are both important
from the perspective of students as future managers engaging in HR-related tasks but also from the
perspective of students as current or future job candidates and employees who are critically affected by their
ability to handle these situations competently.
a) Effective Teamwork. As students are randomly assigned to team, in this workshop we teach students how
to effectively work together in those new teams.
b) Case 1 BMC Consulting. This workshop is about challenges in recruitment and selection in BMC consulting.
In the workshop students, in their assigned teams, will apply material from the course to help solve the case.
c) Case 2 Energy Corporation. This workshop is about challenges in training and performance management in
Energy Corporation. In the workshop students, in their assigned teams, will apply material from the course
to help solve the case.
Attendance of the workshops is not mandatory, but strongly encouraged. Active participation in the workshops
also is a pre-condition for you to be able to get bonus points on the written test which features one bonus question
per case workshop (see section on bonuses below for details. If you registered on time for this course in Osiris,
you will automatically be registered for all workshops.
12(3) Group project “HRM case”
Goal: The goal of the group project is to develop a case based on your analysis of a company and a choice of
an HRM topic or practice (e.g., Hiring).
Method: There are a series of steps to this assignment.
a) Find a work group: You will be assigned to groups of 5 for this project by Programme Management. To
participate in the group project you have to subscribe yourself for the course in OSIRIS by Tuesday 9
January at 23.59h at the latest. On Wednesday 10 January, the groups will be posted on SIN-Online. If
more than two team members quit the assignment (and thus the subject - see rating and evaluation), please
let Dr Hewett know as soon as possible so that we can find a constructive solution together.
b) Find an organization to cooperate with: You should start looking for a company to work with as soon as your
group is formed. You have the freedom to select an organization of your choice (as long as it fits the overall
criteria). Your organization can be profit or non-profit, government or non-government, public or private. You
can also choose to work with an organization that you have worked with before for other courses (e.g., for
the Strategic Business Plan or the Organisational Theory and Dynamics course). Even though the choice of
organizations is ultimately up to your group, we encourage you to seek out small to mid-sized companies
which will, in all likelihood, be more willing to grant you access and more likely to share information with you.
That said, your organization should have at least 5 employees. The single most important thing to consider
when selecting an organization is that you will have good access to this organization and the opportunity to
obtain rich information and data about their HR practices.
c) Choose an HR area or practice to focus on: You are free to choose an HR-practice to work on. However,
note that choosing a topic that we talk about relatively late in the class means that you have to make sure to
start acquiring the relevant knowledge on this topic before we get there in class. For this purpose, we will
post a list of additional readings sorted by topic on blackboard that you can consult to take a deeper look into
the topic and use as a starting point to find more literature.
d) Submit a problem statement: Each group needs to submit their organization, the contact person and a
problem-statement (see the more detailed case assignment instructions) by 1 February 2018 at 23.59.
Please submit your problem statement digitally via the link provided on blackboard. Please submit your
company registration information via the following link by the same deadline
https://erasmusrim.eu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_26oxmtFuSi8G8Zf.
e) Collect data and information: Once you have found a company to work with, your next aim should be to get
a comprehensive overview of how they organize the HR practice or practices you decided to focus on. At the
very minimum, this should include interviews with at least three different members of the organization. Ideally,
it also includes other types of information your group can find including surveys, archival data or documents,
observations, performance data, etc.
f) Analyse the data you collected: You are asked to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of a specific HR
practice in this organization using the theories, concepts, and research findings encountered during the
course and to provide recommendations based on both the scientific evidence and the specifics of the
organization on how to improve the current practice.
g) Write a case report: This report should contain a detailed problem analysis (building on the problem
statement you submitted earlier) and a description of recommendations/solutions for the identified problem.
The deadline for your group report is Friday 9 March 2018 at 23:59. You will be required to upload a digital
version via a link provided on blackboard.
More information about this case assignments can be found on blackboard under the heading “case assignment”.
Evaluation. Please see the “Assessment and Examinations” section as well as the additional information on the
case assignment for detailed information on how your group report will be evaluated.
In case of problems: Working in groups can be challenging and sometimes groups face problems working
together. Addressing and dealing with these problems is part of the learning experience. Therefore, you should
try to sort out these issues yourselves. However, if your group experiences persistent problems that you have
tried to address and sort out unsuccessfully, please come and talk to me (Dr Hewett). Obviously, I cannot solve
the problems for you, but I might be able to help in the process. For this to work, it is important that you contact
me before the problems have gotten out of hand.
(4) Surveys
Throughout this course, we will ask you to fill in four surveys. These are designed to assess and provide you
feedback on different issues. The first is on characteristics that are often assessed or found to affect the hiring
process. The second is the quality of your teamwork experience and your attitude towards teamwork. Finally,
we will also use the surveys to monitor your progress on the team project. You will receive individualized
feedback on the surveys and we may use survey results to illustrate different theories and practices in class.
13The surveys are integral part of this course and important for your learning experience. Therefore, answering
the surveys is obligatory. The surveys will be web-based. A link will be sent to your email address (check your
student e-mail address!). Please note that the answers are anonymous and will be treated confidentially. This
also means that your answers will not affect your grades. The surveys will become available on the start dates
listed below and have to be completed by the indicated end dates by 23.59 at the latest.
Survey 1:
Start date: Thursday 18 January 2018 (deadline: Tuesday 23 January, 23:59)
Survey 2:
Start date: Monday 29 January 2018 (deadline: Thursday 1 February, 23:59)
Survey 3:
Start date: Monday 12 February 2018 (deadline: Thursday 15 February, 23:59)
Survey 4:
Start date: Monday 26 February 2018 (deadline: Thursday 1 March, 23:59)
Please note that you will only be able to participate in these surveys if you have registered for the HRM
course in Osiris by 9 January 2018 23:59 the latest.
Literature
Obligatory readings
For all but one session, readings come from this book:
Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P.M. (2015). Human Resource Management. Ninth
Global Edition. NY: McGraw Hill. ISBN: 9780077164126
Please note that the course and the written test will be based on the specified edition of the book. The use of other
editions is thus at your own risk.
For session 8 there is additional reading, because the topic is not covered in the book. Please note that you have
to be within the university network to access the article and the journal for which the university has purchased a
subscription. If you try to access the articles from home, you have to log into the university network via a VPN
(http://www.eur.nl/ub/english/facilities/it_facilities/access_from_home_via_vpn/). Likewise, it may be that the pro-
vided link does not work from your computer and there is no way for us to make sure that it does. Therefore, if the
links do not work, please access the sources directly through the university library’s website.
Minbaeva, D. B. (2017). Building credible human capital analytics for organizational competitive advantage.
Human Resource Management. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hrm.21848/full
Optional, recommended readings
In addition to the obligatory readings, there is a set of additional, optional readings that serve as resources that you
can consult at your own discretion if you are interested in further exploring a certain topic or if you are looking for
additional information on a practice you are focusing on in your HR case assignment. These additional, optional
readings will not be tested in the written test. A list of these readings will be made available through Blackboard.
Examination Dates
Written test: Wednesday, 21 March 2018, 9.30-12.30
Re-sit written test: Tuesday, 3 July, 2018, 9.30-12.30
Examination Registration dates
Registration for the course in Osiris will automatically register you for all examinations with the exception of the re-
sit written test. Course registration is possible via Osiris in the first 4 weeks of the trimester. Please note that you
will only be able to participate in these surveys if you have registered for the HRM course in Osiris by 9 January
2018 23:59 the latest.
Registration for the re-sit written test will be possible via Osiris 35 to 7 days before the re-sit.. Specific registration
dates for the re-sit written tests are listed on the BSc IBA Examination Schedule, available via IBA Current Students
(www.rsm.nl/current-students/iba).
14Assessment and Examinations
1) Survey participation (individual task, 5% of the final grade)
This criterion is graded on a pass-fail basis. To receive a pass for a survey, the survey must be completed
within the deadline. Late, partial, or missing answers will receive a fail. Students that complete all four surveys
receive a total of 5% of the final grade. Each completed survey counts for one quarter of this grade
component.
2) Group project “HRM case” (group task, 35% of final grade)
The group project consists of different parts:
a) Problem statement (not graded, optional): Based on your initial contact with the company, you are asked to
formulate and submit a problem statement by 1 February 2018 at 23:59. Handing in the problem statement
is not mandatory. However, if you hand in the problem statement is a chance for your team to receive
feedback on your project.
b) Company registration (not graded, obligatory): Please submit your company registration information via the
following link.
https://erasmusrim.eu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_26oxmtFuSi8G8Zf
Please do this by 1 February 2018 at 23:59. If you have not found a company by that time, please contact
the course coordinator (Dr Hewett).
c) Problem analysis (50/100 points): Analyse the problem in depth using additional data collected from the
organization as well as additional insights from the relevant research literature.
d) Solution (50/100 points): Develop a concrete, actionable solution and outline how this solution would be
implemented, address the problem, as well as potential side effects.
While part a) and b) are to be handed in on 1 February 2018, 23:59 parts c) and d) will be due as one final
assignment by Friday 9 March 2018, 23:59. For more information on the formal criteria and evaluation please
see the detailed document on the case assignment on blackboard.
Please note that participation in the group project “HRM case” is mandatory if you want to pass the HRM course.
3) Written test (60% of final grade, individual task)
Content. The written test will cover the obligatory readings for sessions in the course as well as the content of
the sessions.
Mode. The written test will consist of 40 multiple choice questions with four answer options each. There are two
open questions through which you can gain bonus points (see below) if you attended the workshops. The written
test will take place on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 from 9.30-12.30.
Minimum grade requirement. You have to achieve at least a 4.5 on the written test to be eligible to receive credit
for this course. No overall grade will be calculated if your written test grade is lower than 4.5.
Bonus Points
There are two ways to earn bonus points for this course. In total, you can earn up to a maximum of 1.0 bonus points.
Bonus questions on written test
Participating actively in the workshops earns you the possibility to achieve bonus points on the written test.
Specifically, participation in each of the case workshops makes you eligible to answer a bonus question about this
workshop’s materials and content on the written test. Each bonus question on the written test is worth a maximum of
0.5 points on the written test. Thus, if you attend all workshops and answer both bonus questions correctly, you will
earn 1.0 extra for your written test grade (which will mean an increase of 0.6 on your total grade given the written
test weight of 60%). If you attend only one workshop, you will only be able to get points for the bonus question about
the workshop you attended (for a maximum of 0.5 points on the written test or 0.3 on the overall grade). There is no
way to obtain this eligibility for the bonus questions on the written test through means other than active participation
in the workshops (i.e., there is no way to do additional assignments if you missed a workshop to become eligible for
the bonus questions on the written test). This part of the bonus will be awarded no matter what your written test grade
is prior to the bonus (unlike the ERPS bonus which will only be added if your initial final course grade is already a
passing grade). Please note that the written test grade and the overall course grade will be capped at 10.
Bonus Points for Research Participation: ERIM Research Participation System (ERPS)
RSM Erasmus University is a worldwide leader in management research, through the work of the members of the
Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM). ERIM is the joint research institute of RSM and the Erasmus
School of Economics. Practically all the teachers that you meet in class are members of the institute and they are
active in research two days per week on average.
15During this term, you will be offered the opportunity to participate in research studies in return for bonus points
towards the final grade of this course. Participation is entirely voluntary.
Participation in these studies will provide you with additional learning opportunities, as a complement to the content
of the lectures. Through participation in research studies, you will become aware of the nature and insights of
management research and learn about a variety of research areas and methods in an engaging manner. During the
lectures of this course, reference will be made to the critical role of empirical research and research methods in
producing the business knowledge that is taught in this course.
You will be able to earn a maximum of 0.4 points contributing towards your final grade for this course. This means
that during this term you can participate for course credits in a maximum of two sessions of approximately 30 minutes.
Note that bonus points will only be awarded if the final grade for the course (without bonus) is at least 5.5.
You will be able to participate in research studies to earn bonus points for this course between the following dates:
08/01/2018 and 09/03/2018. Additional information about registration procedures will be announced in class and on
Blackboard at the beginning of the course. Reminders and deadlines will be communicated during the term via email.
Check your student email regularly.
All studies will take place at the Erasmus Behavioral Lab (EBL), which is located on the 12th floor of the T building.
To access the lab, you will need to use the elevators located towards the back of the T building. The bonus points
are only valid for the current academic year (in other words, the bonus points expire after the re-sit exam). You are
responsible for checking that your credits have been attributed to the correct course after each experiment. If a
mistake occurred or if you want to reassign your credits to a different subject, please contact the system administrator
before the deadline: 16/03/2018. Note that credits earned in past terms cannot be reassigned to this course.
You can sign up for a research session via the Erasmus Research Participation System (ERPS). To register, log in
at www.rsm.nl/lab. On the platform you will also find FAQs that should answer most of your practical concerns. If you
have problems logging in, or if you have any remaining questions regarding the course credits or your profile
information, please contact the ERPS administrator, not the teacher(s) of this course. The name of the administrator
is Manissa Gunadi; you can contact her at the following email address: gunadi@rsm.nl.
Overview of important dates and deadlines
What? When? (dd-mm-yy)
Group assignments announced via SIN-Online On 10-01-18
Complete Survey 1 Between 18-01-18 & 23-01-18, 23.59
Submit problem statement to Blackboard Before 01-02-18, 23:59
Submit company registration Before 01-02-18, 23:59
Complete Survey 2 Between 29-01-18 & 01-02-18, 23.59
Complete Survey 3 Between 12-02-18 & 15-02-18, 23.59
Complete Survey 4 Between 26-02-18 & 01-03-18, 23.59
Submit final case assignment to Blackboard Before 09-03-2018, by 23:59
Final examination 21-03-18 from 9.30-12.30
Re-sit examination 03-07-18 from 9.30-12.30
Students Retaking the Course
Students retaking the course must complete the assignments and written tests as they are required for the current
academic year. The examination for re-takers is thus based on the content and conditions that apply to the current
academic year (2017-2018).
Perusal of the written test
The date, time, and place of the perusal will be announced when the grades are published.
RSM Student Representation
If you as a student have any comment about the quality of your courses, be it positive or negative, please send an
email to the corresponding representative or approach him or her personally after the lecture.
RSM SR email: feedbackIBA@rsmsr.nl.
16Research Training & Bachelor Thesis (BAD10)
Course name: Research Training & Bachelor Thesis
Course code: BAD10
Course load: 12 ECTS
Term: Trimester 8&9
Coordinator: Dr. R. Rooderkerk, and S. Langeveld, MSc.
Course structure: See course schedule and the individual workgroup schedule
Course schedule: See SIN-Online
Examination: Assignments, Final Report
Contact information: bt@rsm.nl
Course coordination
The course has a coordination team consisting of two people: Robert Rooderkerk and Sandra Langeveld. They are
responsible for the daily coordination of the course. You can contact them via email: bt@rsm.nl. All content related
matters can be discussed with your instructor!
Course Overview
The Research Training & Bachelor Thesis course is first of all a methodology course and secondly a research pro-
ject that results in a final report called the “Bachelor Thesis”.
In this course, you will work on a research question in teams of three students under the supervision of an instruc-
tor. The instructor is your main contact during this course, whereas the coordinators will primarily aid the instruc-
tors. The course will start with a lecture on the organization of the course and some core methodological principles
by the course coordinators.
The course consists of three parts that comprise six assignments, which form the basis for writing the Bachelor
Thesis. Part I, the “Critical Synthesis”, consists of Assignments 1-4. Part II, the “Research Project”, comprises As-
signments 5 and 6. The assignments in Part I and II form the building blocks for the Bachelor Thesis (Part III),
which includes both the Critical Synthesis and the Research Project. In addition, it includes a Discussion chapter.
You will work on assignments 1-4 in trimester 8 (January-March) and on assignments 5-6 in trimester 9 (April-
June). After each assignment and the draft of the Bachelor Thesis, a feedback session will take place between the
student team and the instructor. For a schematic overview of the course we refer to Figure 1 on the next page.
In this course you work in a team of three students. The team is enrolled in a “Theme”, a research topic offered by
an instructor. The instructor has selected a hypothesis, i.e., a claim about the influence of a variable on another
variable. Your goal in this course is to write a critical evaluation of the empirical evidence regarding that hypothesis.
The instructor of the Theme will be the one who provides you with feedback on your assignments and bachelor the-
sis.
Learning Goals
The general learning objective of the Research Training & Bachelor Thesis course is that you acquire the skills that
are necessary for critically evaluating the results of empirical studies. It is an important part of the responsibili-
ties of a manager to draw conclusions from reports that state that “research has shown” that a variable X (an inde-
pendent variable) is beneficial or detrimental for a variable Y (a dependent variable). The independent variable
might be a strategy; an intervention; an activity; an investment; a policy; a condition; or any other variable specified
in a study, and the dependent variable might be “performance”; “success”; sales; profits; etcetera. If the empirical
claim (that X influences Y) is true, then managers are expected to use this information in their actions and deci-
sions. However, because an empirical claim might be wrong (or a correct empirical claim might not be applicable to
their own situation), a manager must be able to critically evaluate that claim. The ability to critically evaluate empiri-
cal claims is crucially dependent on a sound understanding of statistical and methodological principles. Conse-
quently, the Research Training & Bachelor Thesis course is first and foremost a methodology course. The second
goal of this course is to write a Bachelor Thesis. In doing so you develop the skills to integrate your findings in a
clear and concise report that effectively communicates your learnings to the reader.
More specifically, after having finished this course you should be able to:
Evaluate a report (e.g. an article in an academic journal) of a single research project (single study) on a number
of crucial methodological elements, such as:
Research strategy;
Units that are studied;
Measurement;
Quantification of the observed effect.
Be reluctant to draw conclusions for managerial practice from a single study and instead to synthesize results
from multiple studies.
Write a critical evaluation of the empirical evidence regarding a claim about the influence of an independent vari-
able on a dependent variable.
17You can also read
