FALL 2007 –Reading List and Course Outline
There is no required text. The text that we will use is now being revised. I have been given permission to allow you to get the revised chapters in the form of PDF files. You can download the files from the links below. This is the second edition of Personnel Economics for Managers by Edward Lazear and Michael Gibbs. It is referred to as "Lazear and Gibbs" below.
Lazear and Gibbs Section I (Chapters 1-4)
Lazear and Gibbs Section II (Chapters 5-8)
Lazear and Gibbs Section III (Chapters 9-12)
All Readings except the linked text chapters below are on reserve in the ILIR library (including HBS case studies)
Reading List: (Dates are approximate)
Links in RED are links to interesting external sites with information on some of the issues discussed in class. They are not required.
8/28 Definition of terms used in labor economics; Setting Hiring Standards Lazear-Gibbs Ch 1
Top 20 Labor Market Statistics
Graphs of latest employment statistics
CPS based household labor force statistics
A Case Study of the Unemployment Rate and Excellent Discussion of the Unemployment Rate
Price Indexation versus Wage Indexation of Social Security Benefits
Hiring at Western Electric Assignment
(due 9/14)
Chapter 1 Discussion Questions
9/4 Recruitment - Lazear and Gibbs Ch. 2
Sample MBA Resumes (you must be ready to discuss - there will be no time for reevaluation in class. You DO NOT need to provide anything written)
Chapter 2 discussion questions
A Guide to Salary Information for over 200 occupations
Outsourcing and the International Market for Skilled Workers - Becker
Outsourcing and the International Market for Skilled Workers - Posner
The Hidden Economics in Baseball
9/11 Labor Markets and Statistical Discrimination (No readings in Lazear and Gibbs)
Discrimination discussion questions
Ehrenberg, R. and P. Smith, Modern Labor Economics. 6th edition. Chapter 12
Loury, Glenn C. "Discrimination in the Post-Civil Rights Era: Beyond Market Interactions" Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol 12, Number 2 (Spring 1998) pp. 117-126.
Do Diversity Initiatives Work?
GEICO faces discrimination case
The role of diversity in corporations in 2002
Is the dexterity test discriminatory? - Assignment 2(due 9/21)
Were layoffs discriminatory? - Assignment 3(due 10/5)
Report to the president on Affirmative Action
EEOC: Facts about employment discrimination
American Institute for Managing Diversity
Employer "Best Practices" for Mature Workers
Disparate Impact and Age Discrimination
Women's Role in the Labor Market - How is it changing? - Becker
Women's Role in the Labor Market - How is it changing? - Posner
9/18 Human Capital- Lazear and Gibbs Ch. 3
Chapter 3 discussion questions
Is Investment in a College Education Still Worthwhile?
No Child Left Behind - Federal Proposals for Education Reform
Gary Becker on Higher Education in the U.S.
Richard Posner's Comments on Becker
9/25 Managing Turnover - Lazear-Gibbs Ch.4
Chapter 4 Discussion Questions
"United Parcel A," HBS 488-016 (9/25)
10/2-10/9 Design of Jobs Lazear-Gibbs Ch. 5-8
Chapter 5 Discussion Questions
Chapter 8 Discussion Questions
Group Question Choice Due for 1st exam 5pm (10/12)
Sunstein on Infotopia, Information and Decision-Making
10/16 Evaluation - Lazear-Gibbs Ch. 9
Chapter 9 Discussion Questions
"Merck " HBS 491-005 (10/16)
Merck Charts in Power Point Slides
Murphy, "Performance Measurement and Appraisal: Motivating Managers to Identify and Reward Performance," in Bruns (ed), Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Incentives, Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press, 1992: 37-62. [658.3125/P4166])
Relationship between evaluations and performance at XYZ Corp-Assignment 4(due 10/26)
10/18 5:00-7:00PM Room 35 Review for examination; Group exam question due by 5:00PM
10/19 First Half Examination 8-10 ***********************
10/23-11/6 Rewarding Performance Lazear-Gibbs Ch 10
"Bennett, Strang & Farris" HBS Case 9-684-027 (10/23)
Hall, Brian, The Challenge of Turning Managers into Owners
Milgrom, Paul, and John Roberts, "Compensation and Motivation," Chapter 12, Economics, Organization, and Management, Prentice Hall, 1992, pp. 388-422
Sasser and Pettway, "The Case of Big Mac's Pay Plans," Harvard Business Review #74410 (10/30)
1st Financial Corp Assignment 5 (due 11/2)
"Lincoln Electric," HBS 376-028 (11/6)
Pratt & Whitney performance program
Slavery, Snakes, and Switching: The Role of Incentives in Creating Unintended Consequences
11/13 Career Based Incentives Lazear-Gibbs Ch 11
Gustman, Mitchell and Steinmeier, "The Role of Pensions in the Labor Market," ILRR 47 (April 1994):417-438 [331.105/INL/v.47]
Seniority Based Pay: Discussion Questions
Career Based Incentives discussion questions-Answers
Hiring and Recruiting Source at Western Electric Assignment 6(due 11/16)
11/20 Thanksgiving Break
11/27 Options and CEO Pay Lazear-Gibbs Ch. 12
Chapter 12 Discussion Questions
12/7 Employee Benefits
Employee Benefits Discussion Questions
"First Federal Savings A" HBS Case 475-072 (12/4)
"RKO Warner Home Video, Inc. Incentive Compensation Plan," HBS 1-190-067 (12/4)
Lecture Notes(powerpoint)
Salary comparisons controling for cost of living
Cost containment strategies for benefits
Research on Benefits Site (Consortium for Research on Employee Benefits)
Frequently Asked Questions on Benefits
Employer Provided Health Benefits - A Review of the Current Situation 2005
12/7 Group question due at 5:00PM
12/11 Second Half Examination 8-11am