Two "Must's":

•    Attribution:
  
  •    Give credit in your work to those whose ideas and words you use - and use them well. No one is expected to know everything. Indeed, we need to avoid "re-inventing the wheel". So look around and build on the ideas and words of others. Just take care to give them full credit.
  •    Use footnotes or endnotes where needed and construct a proper "Works Cited" or "Bibliography" page to accompany your work.
  •    Plagiarized papers, reports, projects, or exams will receive a grade of 0 (zero) whether copied in whole or in part. This includes "accidental" plagiarism. See the UMUC European Division Catalog policy on academic integrity.
  •    This includes prior works presented or published by you for other purposes or in prior or other classes.


•    Good grammar, punctuation, usage and style:
  
  •    Effective writing is critical to the intellectual life of university students and graduates within the workplace. Effective managers are usually effective communicators. Your work in this course must demonstrate your ability to master and effectively communicate course content.
  •    We must be able to share our ideas with others properly. That means we need to pay constant attention to the way in which we present those ideas. Written and oral work which contains significant errors in English or presentation typically impairs the quality of the message you are trying to communicate.
  •    Use your eyes and brain to check your work -- a mechanical computer can hurt as well as help. Proofread and check your work PRIOR to submission.
  •    Poor English or presentation will reduce my evaluation of your work by one or more letter grades regardless of the brilliance of the ideas therein.

•    Meets the needs of the reader;
•    Covers the subject in a clear, concise, complete, accurate and timely manner;
•    Uses expected conventions of format and organization;
•    Demonstrates use of credible reasoning and evidence;
•    Satisfies standards of style and grammatical correctness; and
•    Requires 100% compliance with UMUC's zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism.

Additional Guidelines for Assignments: Use diagrams, charts, and other graphics to enrich your presentations.

Word Processor:

Use Microsoft Word® 2003. If your response will be more than 150-200 words, create a document in MS Word 2003. If you do not have Microsoft Word 2003 or earlier, use "Save As" in your usual word processor and select the MS Word 2003 document option.

•    Use Page Setup in the Printer to configure it.
•    Set page size to A-4.
•    Use 1" margins top, bottom, left and right sides.
•    Use Times New Roman, size 12.
•    Use double spacing.
•    Use appropriate headings and subheadings. Headings and subheadings should be placed at the left margin.
•    The first word of each new paragraph should be indented 1" from the left margin of the paragraph.
•    Create a template with these settings and use it as the basis of your written assignments in this course.
•    Use a header for your name and course number.
•    For reports that are longer than 1 (one) page, number each page in the bottom right corner using a footer.

I reserve the right to make minor changes in assignments and schedules. Changes will only be made if there are unforeseeable circumstances. I will not make major changes without first consulting with the class.
Supplemental Information:

See my web site for further guidance on

Class Policy:

http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~prichard/crs_guid_gen/class_policy.html

Case Analysis:

http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~prichard/crs_guid_gen/case_analysis.html

Using email in this course (when needed): The first element of the subject line of every email in this course will begin "hrmn300 08t4" followed by a brief topic indicating of the content of the email. All electronic mail will be acknowledged so that you will know I have received your message. See also:

http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~prichard/crs_guid_gen/email_hints.html
http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~prichard/crs_guid_gen/email_attach.html


Course Project:

The Current Issues Paper:

Use the detailed Table of Contents in your text as a guide in your selection (you may propose a different topic, of course). Start reading as much as you can about your topic early in the course and expand your thoughts as you read.

Start putting your thoughts in writing early as well.

You will complete each section of the CIP separately and submit it separately to me on or before the due date in Microsoft Word format. [Create your documents in MS Word where possible; if not possible, you must change your document to MS Word format by using the "Save As" function. Only MS Word (MS Office) documents are acceptable as discussed below. If you use MS Office 2007, please save your work in Office 2003 format using the "Save As" function.] Include a cover page and follow all formatting requirements for each submission except CIP Topic Reservation (see below).

All submissions except CIP Topic Reservation are to be placed in your assignment folder by the due date in the schedule. Files must be virus-checked before posting. If a virus is detected on any communication, it will not be opened or graded.

A minimum of one letter grade will be deducted for each CIP (CIP-1 through CIP-4) for significant problems related to organization, grammar, verb tenses, pronoun use, spelling, punctuation, and writing competency and other requirements including following directions. This is in addition to any penalty for late submission.

CIP Topic Reservation:

To reserve your topic, go to the CIP Topic Reservation conference. Create a new main topic with your selected topic as the subject so others can easily see which topic you have selected. As topics are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, please check the topics others have selected before you record yours so you do not duplicate any of them.

Keep in mind that you will be spending the rest of this term researching your selected topic, so make sure you like your topic. If you are uncertain of a specific subject, explore your alternatives more deeply. Do not select a broad topic area that you could not possibly cover in 6-8 double-spaced pages of critical analysis. Please be specific about the aspects of any topic on which you will be focusing.

Record your selection in the CIP Topic Reservation Conference no later than 23 Apr. 2008.

CIP-1:

The task in CIP-1 is to explain your reasons for selecting your exploration area in no more than one page of text (again, double-spaced). Include a brief discussion of the special significance of your selected area to a professional manager or leader.

Submit CIP-1 as a Microsoft Word 2003 document via your assignment folder no later than 5 May 2008.

CIP-2:

Determine three critically important questions you would like to address regarding the topic of your CIP. Be aware that "asking the right question" is typically one of the most critical phases of research. Justify your selection of each question.

Hint: Focus on "Why" questions first, then "How". These are commonly much more significant that "What". At times "Who" or "Where" issues are also highly significant. Avoid questions which generate lists. Search for questions that probe more deeply into an issue. This is an exercise in critical thinking and writing, not mere exposition as important as that may at times be.

Submit CIP-2 as a Microsoft Word 2003 document via your assignment folder no later than 16 May 2008.

CIP-3:

Begin CIP-3 with a "Preface" (titled and placed on a separate, introductory page) that restates your topic and three key questions. (If I asked you to revise one or more of the questions you submitted in CIP-2, please use the latest version of the questions.)
Provide at least three sources for every question and a total of at least ten sources. One source may be your textbook but it is not to be your major source for any question.

Organize your sources into three groups, by question to which they primarily relate, most useful or important source first, least useful last. (I understand that this assessment may later change and that is OK). The textbook is not to be your major source for any question. Sources that relate to more than one source are to be listed only once, under the first question to which they relate with reference by number to the other question(s) supported.

Number your sources sequentially (starting with 1 and continuing to 15 or higher).

Include a full bibliographic reference for each source in the APA style guide format. Give the exact source whether it is an article, a book, a newspaper article, or a specific Web page. Electronic sources require a complete URL (web address of the exact web page) as part of that reference. Include the date of the information as well as, for electronic sources, the date accessed on-line.

Describe the source in general terms, why it is valid and reliable (acceptable for you to use), and how that source will specifically help you to respond to one or more of your three significant questions.

Hint: Do not give me a search engine as a reference! For example, http://www.google.com is not a reference. Neither is the home page of a journal or organization unless you are using information contained on that exact page.

Thus CIP-3 should be a collection of 10-15 references with a paragraph for each reference that summarizes the document, describes its significance for this study, provides full bibliographic references, including for Internet references, clickable links (for me to easily access and review them) along with the date the web page was accessed.

NOTE: To make a "clickable link" in Microsoft Word, copy and paste the link from your browser into the Microsoft Word document or type it. If typed, remember to press the Enter key after the last letter or symbol for the link to turn "blue."
Submit CIP-3 as a Microsoft Word 2003 document via your assignment folder no later than 2 June 2008.

CIP-4:

Explore your topic like a seasoned investigator. Probe and delve. Do not be satisfied with mere recounting of facts. Address arguments for and, if any, against your tentative view. Now is the time for your "critical writing" to match your "critical thinking".

Begin CIP-4 with a "Preface" (again, titled and on a separate page) that restates your topic and three key questions. (If I asked you to revise one or more of the questions you submitted in CIP-2, please use the latest version of the questions.)

Make sure your thoughts are cohesive and your paragraphs are clear by demonstrating one issue/thought/idea at a time and then moving on to the next.

Since you have had plenty of time to work on your project, please make sure you incorporate all you have learned from this course to date and the skills you have developed throughout the sessions into your CIP-4 assignment.

CIP-4 length: 6-8 pages of text not including figures, diagrams, tables, title page, executive summary, appendices or bibliography (based on CIP-3).

This is your completed "paper". When I grade CIP-4, I will look for critical thinking skills, logical and clear arguments, cohesive writing, proper citations and quoting, quality references, flow of ideas and good transitions between paragraphs, grammatically correct phrasing, and - of course - no spelling errors.

Submit CIP-4 as a Microsoft Word 2003 document via your assignment folder no later than 15 June '08.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH CIP

1. WRITING QUALITY

Grammar, Verb Tenses, Pronoun Use, Spelling, Punctuation, and Writing Competency. Remember:

•    Spell-check, then proof read your work. Better yet, have a friend or colleague read it before submitting it. Read it out loud to yourself.
•    "There" is not "Their", "your" is not "you're", "its" is not "it's", "too" is not "to" or "two", "site" is not "cite", and "who' should be used after an individual, not "that". For example, "the person WHO made the speech" not "the person THAT made the speech."
•    In a professional paper one does not use contractions (doesn't, don't, etc.) and one does not use the personal "you" or "your". Use the impersonal as I have in the previous sentence. It is more professional than saying, "Also in a professional paper you don't use contractions."

• [ Your Name ]
• HRMN 300
• [ Title of the CIP ]
• [ Your selected topic if not obvious from the Title ]
• CIP - [ 1, 2, 3, or 4 ]
• Term 4, 2007-2008
• UMUC Europe Distance Education
• [ date ]
• Instructor: Phil Richardson

1.    Complete orientation and explore the Help facility on WebTycho.


2.    ** Week One DE Assignments **:
   1. Review the Class Work Schedule which lays out the course activities in checklist fashion.
   2. Visit the following web site and complete the activities requested: http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~prichard/dist_ed/wk1_assign.html.


3.    Explore the student companion site for your Noe, et al. text Fundamentals of Human Resources Management, 2nd Ed.


4.    Confirm that you will be available to take the on-line Midterm Exam during the scheduled weekend. (You will require Internet access to research responses for this exam.)
5.    Confirm that your testing activity for your proctored Final Exam will be available during final exam "week" (see schedule below).


6.    Confirm that you will be available to take the proctored Final Exam during the scheduled exam week at the designated testing activity (unless you specify differently, this is the place you indicated when you registered for this course). Any changes to this location or time must be approved by me, your instructor.