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Courses

This page contains content from the 2007–08 academic year. For current information, visit the Harvard Extension School website at www.extension.harvard.edu.

Organizational Behavior and Human Resources

Also see the Master of Liberal Arts and Certificate in Management.

Courselist

OBHR E-100 Human Resource Management
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Online and on-campus options. See Distance Education.

Fall term (12520) (Website) (Printable version): James P. Honan, EdD, Senior Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Ellen Mahoney, JD, Chief Human Resources Officer, Harvard Business School. William Murphy, JD, Director, Office of Labor Relations, Harvard University. Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, 1 Story Street, Room 304. Lecture 1 video.

Spring term (22318) (Website) (Printable version): James P. Honan, EdD, Senior Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Ellen Mahoney, JD, Chief Human Resources Officer, Harvard Business School. William Murphy, JD, Director, Office of Labor Relations, Harvard University. Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, 1 Story Street, Room 306. Lecture 1 video.

Human resource (HR) management can be defined as the effective use of human resources in an organization through the management of people-related activities. It is a central and strategic organizational activity of increasing complexity and importance. This introductory, survey course covers the range of HR activities all managers need to understand: strategic HR, legal, staffing, recruitment and selection, performance management, training, compensation, labor relations, and technical support systems. Through interactive lectures and cases, students become familiar with the basic principles and techniques of human resource management. The course takes a practical view that integrates the contributions of the behavioral sciences with the technical aspects of implementing the HR function in the real world. (4 credits)

OBHR E-105 Workplace Development and Talent Management (22598)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Melissa Brown, MA, Director of Training and Development, Center for Workplace Development, Harvard University.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Spring term: Mondays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 214.

Talent management is becoming increasingly important in today's competitive business environment. This course provides an overview of the principles of strategic workplace development, with special emphasis on how to align an organization's internal talent with current and future organizational needs. Topics include the relationship between strategic business planning and HR planning; needs assessment and environmental scanning; organizational development as a lever for change; the importance of employee development, education, and training; and evaluation of talent management systems. (4 credits)

OBHR E-107 Organizational and Career Networking for Managers (22793)
(Website) (Printable version)
Ines A. Mergel, DBA, Research Director and Postdoctoral Fellow, Program on Networked Governance, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Spring term: Wednesdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Maxwell Dworkin, Room G125.

This course provides insights into the theoretical concepts underlying informal and formal networking activities within and between organizations. Topics include social network concepts, network theory, network structure, organizational social network analysis, organizational learning and governance, knowledge management, social networking services, and career networking. The class sessions help students analyze and interpret networking behavior and learn the skills needed to use and improve their informal managerial networks. (4 credits)

OBHR E-110 Organizational Behavior
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.

Fall term, section 1 (12545) (Syllabus) (Printable version): M. Myra S. White, PhD, JD, Clinical Instructor in Psychology, Harvard Medical School. Mondays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 106.

Fall term, section 2 (12529) (Syllabus) (Printable version): Carmine P. Gibaldi, EdD, Associate Professor of Management, St. John's University. Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 306.

Fall term, section 3 (13015) (Website) (Printable version): Ines A. Mergel, DBA, Research Director and Postdoctoral Fellow, Program on Networked Governance, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Maxwell Dworkin, Room G125.

Spring term, section 1 (22325) (Website) (Printable version): Ines A. Mergel, DBA, Research Director and Postdoctoral Fellow, Program on Networked Governance, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Maxwell Dworkin, Room G125.

Spring term, section 2 (22663) (Syllabus) (Printable version): Corvis Catsouphes, EdD, Manager of Workforce and Career Planning, Human Resources, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Suzanne Glazer, MA, Training and Development Specialist, Human Resources, Harvard Business School. Wednesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 106.

Spring term, section 3 (22861) (Syllabus) (Printable version): Margie Naddaff, EdM, Director of Employee and Organization Development, Center for Workplace Development, Harvard University. Thursdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Maxwell Dworkin, Room G115.

This course deals with human behavior in a variety of organizations. Conceptual frameworks, case discussions, and skill-oriented activities are applied to each topic. Topics include communications, motivation, group dynamics, leadership, power, the influence of technology, and organizational design and development. Class sessions and assignments are intended to help participants acquire the skills that managers need to improve organizational relationships and performance. (4 credits)

OBHR E-120 The Cultural Environment of International Business (12596)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Gunther S. Boroschek, PhD, Consultant, International Management Associates.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Thursdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 104.

This course is an introduction to the unique challenges faced by people attempting to understand foreign environments for the purpose of managing organizations and people who have diverse notions of time, space, linguistic structures, and work-related values and practices. Topics include national cultural differences and competitive managerial behavior, corporate culture and organizational effectiveness, and competitiveness and culture. The cultural patterns and managerial practices of a variety of national settings are examined. (4 credits)

OBHR E-130 Managing Workplace Performance (22347)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
M. Myra S. White, PhD, JD, Clinical Instructor in Psychology, Harvard Medical School.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Spring term: Mondays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 310.

The effective use of human assets is critical to organizational success. Research shows that eight out of 10 employees fail to perform to their potential. This course provides the student with tools to more effectively use human assets to increase productivity. The course explores psychological technologies used to motivate and empower employees, reduce workplace stress, raise emotional intelligence, and create workspace flow. These technologies are integrated with key organizational design tools for creating high performance workplace environments. Design tools that are examined include talent- and competency-based job and workflow design, people and strategy alignment, and use of the learning organization as a structure for increasing employee satisfaction and performance. (4 credits)

OBHR E-140 Dealing with Change in Organizations (12533)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Harold V. Langlois, PhD, President, Creative Management Systems. Kathrine Suzanne Livingston, MEd, Assistant Director, Change Leadership Group, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 206.

Today's competitive business environments demand that individuals and companies continually reinvent themselves. Leading knowledge-based organizations requires the establishment of environments that facilitate learning and the management of the anxieties surrounding change. Leadership at every level must instill a sense of urgency and commitment to the change process. This course examines how and why individuals and organizations resist change, and the skills that leaders need to overcome these obstacles. (4 credits)

OBHR E-170 The Challenges of Team Management (22338)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Harold V. Langlois, PhD, President, Creative Management Systems. Kathrine Suzanne Livingston, MEd, Assistant Director, Change Leadership Group, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Spring term: Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 110.

The course focuses on the complexities of teamwork, leadership, group interaction, coaching skills, shared responsibility, and empowerment. Team-based organizations that rely on developing cross-functional interactions must establish environments that foster creativity, innovation, risk-taking, and achievement. By encouraging open communication, cooperative problem solving, and conflict management, teams can produce working conditions that support accountability and reward group efforts. (4 credits)

OBHR E-180 The Assessment and Analysis of Your Management Style (12512)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Robert C. Benfari, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Thursdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Sever Hall, Room 214.

The course is taught in a workshop/seminar format that focuses on the assessment, analysis, and application of management style to personal and organizational effectiveness. The variables are scientifically and operationally validated and include psychological type (MBTI), motive/need patterns, power/influence styles, values, conflict/problem solving, and boss/subordinate communication styles. This course is run on an executive development format that the instructor has used in organizational consulting. Prerequisite: some management experience. (4 credits)

OBHR E-190 Gender, Leadership, and Management (22322)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Patricia H. Deyton, MSW, Assistant Professor and Faculty Director of the Center for Gender in Organizations, Simmons School of Management and Senior Advisor to the Council of Women World Leaders.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Spring term: Thursdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 110.

This course examines leadership and management from a gender-based perspective. Issues covered include leadership styles and their impact, understanding of power, conflict management, ethical decision making, workplace stereotypes, impact on policy making, differences in communication, and approaches to teamwork. (4 credits)

OBHR E-195 Choice Points: Exercising Power and Responsibility (22811)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Robert B. McKersie, DBA, Professor of Management, Emeritus, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Raymond F. Comeau, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Spring term: Thursdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 208.

This course uses modern and classical works of literature as a point of departure for a discussion of some of the ethical dimensions of business. The goal is to help managers develop practical guidelines for dealing with difficult managerial choices. Topics include organizational pressures against personal honesty and integrity; corporate responsibility within the broader society; law and order versus matters of personal conscience; appropriate behavior in cultures where values differ from our own; balancing obligations to multiple constituencies in times of crisis; avoiding blind spots; dealing with mistakes and the ethical dimensions of leadership. Films are used to illustrate some of the readings. Prerequisites: an interest in literature and the flexibility to apply concepts gleaned from the readings to practical situations faced by managers. (4 credits)

OBHR E-200 Skills in Managing Conflict in Organizational Settings (12511)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Robert C. Benfari, PhD, Lecturer in Extension, Harvard University.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Thursdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 214.

This course is taught in a workshop/seminar format that focuses on conflicts that occur in the organizational context. The emphasis is on diagnosis, analysis, and resolution of conflict within these settings. The format uses lectures, cases, readings, self-assessments, and simulations in an executive/development setting. This course is run on an executive development format that the instructor has used in organizational consulting. Prerequisite: some management experience. (4 credits)

OBHR E-210 Conflict Resolution: Practical Negotiation Skills (12620)
(Syllabus) (Printable version)
Jeffrey Prottas, PhD, Professor, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University.
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Mondays, 5:30-7:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 308.

This course is designed to develop practical negotiation skills applicable in a wide range of circumstances. Simulations of actual negotiations cover conflict resolution in labor-management disputes; among government agencies; among public agencies, community groups, and private developers; and finally among individual policy makers. (4 credits)

OBHR E-215 Managing Negotiations
Course tuition: graduate credit $1,625. Limited enrollment.

Fall term, section 1 (12952) (Website) (Printable version): Melissa Manwaring, JD, Director of Curriculum Development, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School. Wednesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm, William James Hall, Room 105. Optional sections to be arranged.

Fall term, section 2 (12820) (Syllabus) (Printable version): Lakshmi Balachandra, MBA, Research Fellow, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School. Wednesdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Maxwell Dworkin, Room G125. Optional sections to be arranged.

Spring term (22864) (Printable version): Lakshmi Balachandra, MBA, Research Fellow, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School. Wednesdays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Maxwell Dworkin, Room G115.

This course is designed for students who wish to manage negotiations more effectively. It is based on the premise that everyone with significant management responsibilities is involved in some form of negotiation every day. This includes intraorganizational transactions, line-staff relationships, trades with individuals and firms outside an organization, and multiparty negotiations involving other organizations, government agencies, special interest groups, and representatives of the media. (4 credits)