I. GENERAL INFORMATION

Title of the Course: Employee Relations

Course Code: MGT 5016

Prerequisites:  None

Credits: 3

Required Texts / Materials:

Title: The Labor Relations Process (11^th ed.)
Authors: William H. Holley, William H. Ross, and Roger S. Wolters
Edition: 11^th
ISBN-13: 978-1-305-57620-9
Publisher: Cengage Learning

APA 7^th edition textbook format:
Holley, W. H., Ross, W. H., & Wolters, R. S. (2017). The labor relations process (11^th ed.). Cengage.

Suggested Text:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (paperback)
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Edition: 7^th (2020)
ISBN:   978-1-4338-3216-1

APA 7^th edition format:
American Psychological Association (APA). (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7^th ed.).

Supplemental Materials:

Additional readings will be posted as announcements in the course in Canvas periodically throughout the term. These will be voluntary readings to help you expand your knowledge of the labor relations process. You may use them as source materials in your papers.

II. COURSE DESCRIPTION

Analyzes, synthesizes, and evaluates the major federal and state laws that impinge on the modern work environment. Draws on new insights in the human resources management discipline to abstract, summarize, and evaluate the impact of legislation and laws regulating the employee/employer relationship.

III. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The labor (or industrial) relations process covers a broad area dealing with relations between management and labor along with the study and practice of managing unionized employment situations. Content-specific objectives include:

• Evaluate the history of labor-management relationships and how the labor relations process has evolved.
• Describe the phases of the labor relations process and how they affect an organization.
• Examine the elements of the labor relations process, including key participants, administrative organizations at the federal and state levels, and legal processes governing labor-management relations.
• Evaluate the collective bargaining process, including negotiation, the labor agreement, and dispute resolution.
• Compare and contrast labor relations in the public and private sectors as well as within domestic and transnational/multinational corporations.

III. CONTENT AND ACTIVITIES

IV. ASSESSMENT

University Grade Scale

Your total point value will be transformed to a percentage. A = 90-100%, B = 80-89%, C = 70-79%, D = 60-69%, F = 0-59%. Refer to the catalog for more details.

Late Assignments:

For assignments with a rubric, late assignments will receive zero points for timeliness.  Assignments submitted more than a week after the due date and assignments without a rubric will not be accepted without documentation.  Documentation should be official (i.e., not an email explanation) and must include the student’s name (or close relative’s name), the dates involved, and the circumstances.  All other personally identifying information (PII) may be redacted.  Examples of documentation include but are not limited to medical statements and reports, doctors’ notes, PCS or TDY orders, and death certificates.  The final knowledge check test cannot be taken late. Please note that tests will shut down after the due date/time, and the student will receive the grade earned on the questions completed to that point.  For documentation submitted prior to the end of a term, the late waiver will apply to all subsequent assignments provided all assignments are submitted prior to the official last day of classes.

Discussion Board Questions/Participation:

Much of the class is built around the readings and discussion boards. We will utilize the online discussion threads to exchange knowledge and invoke dialogue within the class. In addition, participation within these threads will ensure that each student practices crafting concepts and theories learned, discusses knowledge, and shares personal perspectives of the topic.

For each discussion board topic, you should expect to provide an initial posting to address the discussion questions and provide a substantive response to at least two of your peers. Your initial post is due by Friday at 11:59 PM Eastern Time each week to give each of us maximum time to exchange dialogue within the threads. Earlier posts are preferable, however, as last-minute postings will limit the amount of knowledge exchange, thus minimizing the learning process. Peer responses are due by Sunday at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You must include outside sources to support your initial post. The textbook may be used as a source for initial discussion board posts, but you must also provide at least one additional outside source to support your points. Your in-text citations and references must be in APA 7^th edition format. Outside sources are not required for responses to other students’ posts but are recommended to support your arguments, especially if you disagree with the poster.

Discussion board responses should contribute to the conversation by asking questions, respectfully debating positions, and presenting supporting information relevant to the topic. These responses should not be a simple, "Good post” or “I agree," but a more in-depth reply. An example response to a peer is: I disagree with your posting on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory. In my organization, Level II (Safety) needs are actually accomplished by the organization through...According to Smith (2010)…Do you feel this similar occurrence happens within your organization?

Labor Relations Papers:

Students will complete three labor relations papers during this course. Each paper will be 3-5 pages on a topic of interest related to the labor relations process studied during the course. This page count does not include the ancillary pages: title page, table of contents, abstract or executive summary (recommended but not required), tables and graphics (if needed), and references. The papers must meet the following conditions: (1) identify the topic, history, development, and/or individuals associated with topic; (2) select at least two current (less than 5 years old) peer-reviewed academic journal articles based on the selected topic, provide a summary of each article and how they relate to the chosen topic; and (3) provide an example of how and where the topic applies to an organization you are familiar with which has a collective bargaining unit (union).

All assignments will be submitted using Turnitin integration, which checks the percentage of the paper that is similar to known sources.  The “Similarity Score” is the percentage of the paper that matches those sources; thus, a similarity score of 15% indicates that 15% of the assignment matches other sources.  If you copy and paste material directly from a source, or if you paraphrase material from a source (i.e., take the information and put it in your own words), you must provide proper attribution (in-text citation and reference); otherwise, you have plagiarized. In addition, no more than 20% of any assignment can be AI-generated material. AI may be used for research and to check writing style, grammar, and format, but it should not be used to write entire assignments. Please note: If you use a grammar-checking application such as Grammarly or Microsoft Editor, do NOT accept all the changes suggested by the app. That will artificially inflate your AI-generation percentage. Instead, take the suggestions from the app and rewrite, edit, or change your writing based on the suggestions. Percentages will be checked using the average of three different generative AI-checking apps.

For each assignment, you should expect to provide a substantive answer which completely addresses the topic, prompts, and questions.  You must include outside sources to support your responses (the minimum number is specified in each assignment).  While the textbook may be used as a source for assignments, you must ALSO include outside sources to support your answers (see the assignment instructions for the number of outside sources to include). Please use APA 7^th edition formatting when citing and referencing your sources.  All initial posts on discussion boards are due on Fridays of the week they are assigned by 11:59 PM Eastern Time, and responses to at least two other students’ initial discussion board posts plus all other assignment submissions are due by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Sunday of the week they are assigned to receive full credit.

The APA Publication Manual (7^th ed.) is the guiding manual for form and style; however, to avoid having to purchase the manual, an excellent online source for APA style is the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), which may be found at: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html

You are expected to find relevant, recent, and credible research for these assignments, a majority of which is no older than 5 years. Dictionaries or encyclopedias should NOT be used. The Florida Tech library is an excellent source for finding current academic research and may be found at: https://lib.fit.edu

Article Summary and Analysis:

You will find a current (< 3 years old) article on a trend or issue in labor management and relations to summarize, research, and analyze.  The paper should be 3-5 pages (double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-pt. font or Arial 11-pt. font) NOT including ancillary pages (title page, table of contents, tables and graphics [if needed], and references).  These should NOT be “book reports” that only summarize the article.  Analyze the article and provide supported (in-text citations and references) information on the topic. Apply the article to what you have learned in the course or, at the very least, provide an example of how the article applies to your current position or organization (or one with which you are familiar if you’re not currently working for an organization that utilizes procurement and contracting).  Be sure to include proper in-text citations and references in APA 7^th edition formatting to the article and any outside sources you use. No more than 20% of the paper may be copied and pasted from sources or generated using AI. See the instructions in the assignment for all parameters.

Knowledge Check Tests

Each knowledge check test will consist of 25 questions pulled randomly from a database of hundreds of questions pertaining to the chapters of the textbook indicated. The questions consist of multiple choice and true/false questions, and each question is worth 5 points. You will have 75 minutes (1 hour, 15 minutes) to complete each test, which is 3 minutes per question. That will generally not be enough time to look up the answers, so you will need to know the material prior to starting the test. These tests serve as knowledge checks to ensure you understand the material.

V. RESOURCES

• Access Peer-Reviewed Articles
  • Go to the Evans Library – refer to the online librarian
  • Click on "Databases” and "Journals” for additional resources
• Where to Find Extra Help: Student Success and Support Center

VI. INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES

Academic Accommodations:  Florida Tech is committed to equal opportunity for persons w/disabilities in the participation of activities operated/sponsored by the university. Therefore, students w/documented disabilities are entitled to reasonable educational accommodations. The Office of Accessibility Resources (OAR) supports students by assisting w/accommodations, providing recommended interventions, and engaging in case management services. It is the student’s responsibility to make a request to OAR before any accommodations can be approved/implemented. Also, students w/approved accommodations are encouraged to speak w/the course instructor to discuss any arrangements and/or concerns relating to their accommodations for the class. 

Office of Accessibility Resources (OAR):

• Phone: 321-674-8285
• Email: accessibilityresources@fit.edu
• Website: edu - Accessibility Resources

Academic Honesty: Located in the Student Handbook

Academic honesty is highly valued in Florida Tech's online courses. The student must always submit work that represents original words or ideas. If any words or ideas are used that do not represent those original words or ideas, the student must cite all relevant sources and provide a clear definition of the extent to which such sources were used. Words or ideas that require citation include, but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source. In the Florida Tech online course, all submissions to any public meeting bulletin board or private mailbox fall within the scope of words and ideas that require citations if used by someone other than the original author.

Academic dishonesty in an online learning environment could involve:

• Having a tutor or friend complete a portion of the student's assignments
• Having a reviewer make extensive revisions to an assignment
• Copying work submitted by another student to another public class meeting
• Using information from online information services without proper citation

Any of these practices could result in charges of academic dishonesty. For the complete Florida Tech policy on academic dishonesty, cheating, and plagiarism, see the Florida Tech Student Handbook.

Attendance: Attendance is required on a weekly basis. Students are expected to view the online lectures in the week they are offered, and to log onto the site often enough to remain abreast of the communication in the Inbox/Discussion or Announcements tab or direct information from the professor. It is the responsibility of the student to be aware of everything happening in the class online.

Course withdrawal: To withdraw prior to the start of class, you must contact your advisor. Once class begins, you must withdraw using Florida Tech's online student account system (PAWS). If you are a new student, PAWS access information will be provided prior to class start. You have the prerogative of dropping a course until the end of the first week of classes without receiving a grade of "W." After the first week, a grade of "W" will be assigned up until the final published date for withdrawing (the last day of Week 6). That grade will be reflected on your transcript, but not calculated into your grade point average. Withdrawals after Week 6 will result in a grade of "F." You are responsible for maintaining written evidence of all drops/withdrawals.

Telephone and email drops/withdrawals will not be accepted. The following table clearly outlines Florida Tech's withdrawal and refund policies. PAWS is accessible through the university portal TRACKS Florida Tech.

Student Code of Conduct: Florida Tech values a community based on the principles of integrity, civility, and respect. As such, the FIT community expects students to behave in a manner that supports these principles. The Student Code of Conduct is a document that describes behavior that is counteractive to these principles and how the university will hold students accountable to those inappropriate behaviors. See the Code of Conduct/Grounds for Disciplinary Action.

Sexual Harassment: Florida Tech is committed to the fundamental principles of academic freedom, equality of opportunity and human dignity. To fulfill its multiple missions as an institution of higher learning, FIT encourages a climate that values and nurtures collegiality, diversity, pluralism, and the uniqueness of the individual within our state, nation, and world. All decisions and actions involving students and employees should be based on applicable law and individual merit. FIT, in accordance with applicable federal and state law, prohibits discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, disability, age, or veteran status.

Title IX Statement: The university’s Title IX policy is available on the fit.edu website. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs and activities. Florida Institute of Technology policy also prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

Florida Tech faculty are committed to helping create a safe learning environment for all students that is free from all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. If you, or someone you know, have experienced or is experiencing any of these behaviors, know that help and support are available. Florida Tech strongly encourages all members of the community to take action, seek support, and report any incident of sexual harassment or gender discrimination to the Title IX Coordinator at 321-309-3068.

Please note that your professor must report any incidents to the Title IX Coordinator. 

If you wish to speak to an employee who does not have this reporting responsibility, please contact the Student Counseling Center at 321-674-8050.

Disaster Statement

School Closure

Florida Tech observes national holidays, and students are not required to participate in classes on such days. In the case of an emergency closure of Florida Tech, if classes can still operate, they will continue. If the Learning Management System is unavailable for maintenance reasons, classes will resume as quickly as possible, and students should check the Florida Tech Security website regularly for updates.

Natural Disaster

If a natural disaster impacts the Melbourne, Florida, area, all students should check the Florida Tech Security website or call (800) 888-4348 for updates.

If a natural disaster occurs near students’ residences, they should contact their professor and advisor. Final decisions on the appropriate timeline to complete course requirements are at the discretion of each professor.