AIR UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Administrative Sciences

Department of Business Administration
Course Title:
Credit Hours:
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
INSTRUCTOR:
Email
Phone:
Office hours

Human Resource Development

3 Credit Hours
Usama Najam
usama@aumc.edu.pk
Monday to Friday (09:00 to 4:20)

COURSE INTRODUCTION
Organizations are made up of people: their knowledge, skills, attitudes and
interconnections. Without people there is nothing except a legal fiction frozen
in time. In order to survive and thrive, organizations need to facilitate the
growth of all of these as part of a knowledge management strategy. Human
Resource Development (HRD) is a key activity that systematically leads to the
development (often selfdevelopment) of people in organizations, and makes
organizations more effective. The course will focus on the role of HRD staff
and on line management in designing and implementing appropriate
strategies in line with the business goals of their organization.
Topics covered in this course will include: training needs assessment, the
development of specific training objectives, the planning and delivery of
instruction, relevant learning principles, and the development and
implementation of criteria and procedures for evaluation of training.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the course the students should be able to:
1. Explain and demonstrate an understanding of the contribution of HRD
in an Organization.
2. Understanding the concepts and theories of Learning and motivation
3. To design training programs including consideration of training needs
and objectives, principles of learning, appropriate selection and use of
training methods, management development methods, and career
development methods, transfer of training to the job, evaluation of
training, costing of training programs.

4. Understand the issues in training evaluation, including the

cost/benefits (utility) of training, ability to design a training evaluation
procedure, and ability to use the results to improve training programs
and/or make appropriate decisions concerning the training and
development function.
REQUIREMENTS
The lecture may deviate from the textbook in that (a) some parts of the
textbook are dropped or only touched upon briefly in the lecture, and/or (b)
topics not addressed or only very briefly summarized in the textbook are
presented in more depth during the lecture. You will need to know both the
textbook and the lecture notes. In the rare cases that information in the
lecture contradicts
That provided in the textbook, the information in the lecture is relevant for
exam.
You are fully responsible for reading, listening to, and recording the required
materials. I will not repeat the lectures personally for those who did not
attend classes. I may provide additional materials, like lecture slides, on a
discretionary basis but I do not feel obliged to do so. If you missed a class,
please find a classmate who is willing to share his or her lecture notes with
you.
I will be available to give you additional help, if you need to discuss some
specific topic or course related / project related issue. You may need to set an
appointment by email for this purpose.
A. Examinations. There will two examinations midterm and final. They will
be based on readings, lectures and group activities.
B. Participationl /Observation. The course is designed to be an
experiential one, and much of your learning depends upon your active
involvement with the subject matter. This means I expect you to read the
text, think about the class material, and analyze the issues.
C. Group Participation. You will be part of group through out the term; your
groups success depends upon your attendance.
D. Attendance. The absence allowance should give you enough flexibility to
deal with unexpected illness or emergency. If you are likely to have some
regularly scheduled event during class session, you should take this course
during a different semester. There is a penalty for missing class/group
activities. Showing up after a class has begun will count as an absence, as
will leaving early. In no case, there will be exception to this policy.
E. Class Participation. Class participation is welcomed, expected, and
extremely important for the overall success of this course. I expect all class
members to contribute to class discussions. This should be based upon prior
reading, lectures and class exercises. If you feel comfortable getting involved

in large group discussions, get an appointment and see me about strategies

for increasing your involvement. You will get CP points in each class, ranging
from negative 1 to positive 10. If you are absent you will get zero for that
class.
Case analysis and presentation
Each group will analyze and present a small case. A short written report is
due before the presentation.
Project
Each group will select living organization and analyze the Human resource
development activities in that organization. A written report (20-25 pages) is
to be submitted before presentation of the project. For written report consider
the following.
1- a cover sheet with the title of your report, the course name and
number, your name and student number, and the date of submission.
2- Introduction of organization and industry and an idea of prevailing PM
practices in the industry.
3- Vision and mission of the organization
4- Explain the prevailing HRD activities and compare it with reference to
ideal HRD activities that you studied throughout the course.
5- Identify the problem areas
6- Recommend immediate actions. Explain why other issues do not need
immediate action.
7- Conclusions
8- List of references (if required)
G. Typing and writing. Assignments/ reports must be typed on A4 size
paper. Well written English and good spelling are expected; I will deduct 10%
of the available points for five or more spelling and/or grammar errors on any
assignment. Put your name, registration number and on all assignments/
reports/ evaluations. Assignments/ reports not fulfilling the above conditions
will not be accepted.
H. Late submissions. I will deduct 25% of the available points for late
submissions. Further 10% will be deducted for each day after the 25%
deductions. No point will be given once an assignment/exam is returned to
the rest of the class. There will be no exception to the policy.
I. Academic dishonesty.
Any case of academic dishonesty will result in grade F for the course. These
also include copying the assignments/ reports.
EVALUATIONS
Quizzes and Assignments:
Presentations &Project:
Midterm
Final
COURSE CONTENT

10%
10%
35
45

Week 01
Introduction to Human Resource
Development.
The Training & Development
Process
Week 02 & 03

Learning & Motivation

Learning Theories

Week 04 & 05
Week 06 - 10

Week 11 & 12

The Needs Analysis Process

Training Design
Training Implementation and
Delivery
Transfer of Training
Training methods-1

Week 14

Training Methods II
Training Evaluation Ch. 11
Costs and Benefits
Coaching, Mentoring, and

Week 15

Leadership Development
Organizational Development

Week 13

& Getting HRD going in the

Week 16

21st Century
Final project presentations and
report submission

RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS
1. Effective training by P.NICK BLANCHARD and JAMES W. THACKER 3 rd
edition.
2. Delahaye, B.L.(2011)Human Resource Development: Managing
Learning and Development.
(3rd Ed.) Australia: Tilde University Press.