School of Human Resource Management, Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University

Fall 2016 Course Outline

LA&PS3470A Recruitment, Selection and Performance Appraisal of
Personnel
Instructor:
E-Mail:
Class Time:
Location:

Dr. Mark Podolsky

podolsky@yorku.ca
online
~

Course Description:
This course provides an introduction to the current issues and procedures that are used in
recruitment, selection and appraisal of employees in Canadian organizations. We will be
reviewing such topics as Canadian legal standards, the utility of scientific approaches to
selection, and the steps involved in validating a selection system.
Prerequisites: AK/ADMS 3480.03 or LA&PS 2600 3.0
Students are personally responsible to ensure that they have the prerequisites as stated in
the course outline or in the course calendar. Students who do not have the prerequisites
are at risk of being dropped from the course at any time during the course. The
department will not be responsible for refunds resulting from students being dropped
from a course due to a lack of appropriate prerequisites.
Required Text:
Catano, V., Wiesner, W., Hackett, R. (2016). Recruitment and Selection in Canada, 6e.
ITP Nelson.
Evaluation:
There will be a 90-minute online exam worth 35% (week of Oct.24th), an article summary
and reflection based on an assigned reading worth 15% (due October 12th), a selection
system project worth 40% (due Dec.5th), and a final course reflection worth 10% (due
Dec.5th).
Midterm (35%): The format of the midterm exam will be essay questions and possibly a
case study. The exact format of the midterm will be discussed in the weekly chat
sessions. In the event of absence due to illness etc. (accompanied by doctors note), an
alternate midterm exam will be provided, however the format may not be the same as the
scheduled midterm.
1

Article Summary and Reflection (15%): I will provide references for 3 articles that are
relevant to the course material. You may choose one article on which to base your
assignment. Your assignment should 1) briefly summarize the main points of the article
(try to find at least three main points); 2) discuss how the material in the article relates to
the course (the more detail you can get into in this section the better for example,
mentioning that both the course and the article deal with science-based selection practices
is not worth much, whereas discussing how the importance of validity stressed in the
course is made salient by the practices outlined in the paper would be a strong analytic
contribution); and 3) reflect on how the material in the article helps to inform you
understanding of recruitment/selection, or the HR function in general. The article
summary/reflection should be 3-5 pages (double spaced, 12-point font, standard margins).
More emphasis should be placed on sections 2 and 3 than on summarizing the article.
Papers that focus solely on summarizing the article will receive a score no higher than
63%.
Selection System Project: The purpose of this assignment is to reinforce the course
material by putting it into practice. This is an applied project. Students will be required to
perform a job analysis of an actual job, and build a system to recruit, select, and construct
a performance appraisal for this job. You will be required to perform a job analysis on
someone you know who has a job and who is willing to talk to you about their job in
detail, or let you observe them on the job. The assignment consists of the following:
A) Selection System Project: The project should roughly follow the following format:
- Brief description of the job and the organization.
- Description of job analysis: technique, rationale, results, etc.
- Description of performance criteria and rationale.
- Description of recruitment strategy and rationale.
- Description of applicant screening process and rationale.
- Description of selection techniques and rationale.
- Description of decision making strategy and rationale.
The Selection System Project Paper: Each student is responsible for handing in a
report and description of a selection system of their own creation based on an actual job.
The length of report will vary depending on target job, methods used, etc. The most
important part of your project paper is a detailed description of your selection system, the
choices you made to design your system, the rationale for the choices and how you can
ensure that your selection system is valid, reliable, and legal.
Progress: To ensure that you are on track with the project, I have broken the project into
two sections. The job analysis portion of your project, which will include your job
analysis and task statements is due November 9th. I will provide interim feedback on this
material to ensure that your project is on the right track.
Course Reflection: The purpose of the course reflection is to draw together what you
learned from the course. You should discuss the single aspect of the course that

broadened or otherwise changed your learning or knowledge of R&S and HR in general.

I would like you to discuss how the course contributed to your understanding of the HR
function and the practice of HR. I would also like you to discuss how you can use this
material in the workplace. This assignment is reflective, and so it is primarily about how
you approached the course and its material. I am not interested in reading a summary of
the course content; I want to read about how and what you learned from this course. You
probably have some interests in HR/Management, and I would like to read whether or
how the course integrates with or changes these interests. This assignment should be
roughly 5 pages (double-spaced, 12-point font, standard margins).
Submission:
All deliverables are to be handed in to Turnitin via Moodle. Materials that are submitted
via email will not be graded. Turnitin does an excellent job of detecting plagiarism, so if
your assignment uses materials not originally written by you, be sure to cite those
materials. Cheating or any form of plagiarism will not be tolerated. This course is highly
applied, and is designed to provide you with a valuable skill that will increase your value
as an HR practitioner or general manager and solidify many aspects of the HR function in
general. The more effort you put into the course, the more you will get from it.
Course Schedule:
Week of

Topic

Sept. 12
Sept. 26
Oct. 3

Introduction
Reliability, Validity,
& Measurement
Legal Issues
Job Analysis

Oct. 10

Job Analysis cont.

Ch.4

Oct. 17
Oct. 24

Job Performance
Midterm
Recruitment &
Screening
Testing
Interviewing &
Decision Making
Decision Making
cont.
Final Project
Review & Chat

Ch.5
Ch.1-5

Sept. 19

Oct. 31
Nov. 7
Nov. 14
Nov. 21
Nov. 28

Reading
Assignment

Note

Ch.1&2
Ch.3
Ch.4
Article
summary/reflection
due

Ch.6&7
Ch.8

Part 1 of Project due

Ch.9 & 10
Ch.10

IMPORTANT YORK POLICIES:

Academic Honesty (Senate Policy)
Atkinson as a Faculty considers breaches of the Senate Policy on
Academic Honesty to be serious matters. To quote the Senate Policy on
Academic Honesty:
The Policy on Academic Honesty is a reaffirmation and clarification for
members of the University of the general obligation to maintain the
highest standards of academic honesty. It outlines the general
responsibility of faculty to foster acceptable standards of academic
conduct and of the student to be mindful of and abide by such standards.
Faculty members are encouraged to pursue suspected cases of academic
honesty with formal charges. Students should, however, review the York
Academic Honesty policy for themselves at:
http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/acadhone.htm
Students might also wish to review the interactive on-line Tutorial for
students on academic integrity, at:
http://www.yorku.ca/academicintegrity/tutorial.htm
Grade Component Deadline (Senate Policy)
The course assignment structure and grading scheme (i.e. kinds and
weights of assignments, essays, exams, etc.) must be announced, and be
available in writing, to students within the first two weeks of classes.
Please see Important Dates at:
http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/importantdates/fw05.htm
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Under normal circumstances, some graded feedback worth at least 15%
per cent of the final grade for Fall, Winter or Summer term, and 30% for
full year courses in the Fall/Winter term should be received by students
in all courses prior to the final withdrawal date from a course without
receiving a grade, with the following exceptions:

graduate or upper level undergraduate courses where course work

typically, or at the instructor's discretion, consists of a single piece of work
and/or is based predominantly (or solely) on student presentations;
practicum courses;
ungraded courses;
courses in Faculties where the drop date occurs within the first three
weeks of classes;

courses which run on a compressed schedule (a course which

accomplishes its academic credits of work at a rate of one credit hour per
two calendar weeks or faster).
Note: Under unusual and/or unforeseeable circumstances which disrupt
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and academic feedback in the spirit of these regulations, as soon as
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For more information on the Graded Feedback Rule, please visit:
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20 % Rule (Senate Rule)
No examination or test worth more than 20 % of the final grade will be
given during the last two weeks of classes in a term, with the exception of
classes which regularly meet Friday evenings or on the weekend (Saturday
and/or Sunday at any time). For further information on the 20% Rule,
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http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/examschedules/examinfo/twentypercent.
htm. For further information on examination scheduling, and Atkinson
examination exceptions to this rule, please see "Notes" in the table:
Reappraisals
For reappraisal procedures and information, please visit the Office of the
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Accommodation Procedures:

Deferred Standing
Students who have experienced a misfortune or who are too ill to attend an examination
in an LA&PS course should not attempt to do so; they must pursue deferred standing.
Other students should contact their home Faculty for information. For further
information, please visit: http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/services/ds_faq.htm
Students with Special Needs (Senate Policy)
York University is committed to making reasonable accommodations and adaptations in
order to make equitable the educational experience of students with special needs and to
promote their full integration into the campus community. Please alert the Course
Director as soon as possible should you require special accommodations. For
Atkinson specific resources, please visit the Atkinson Counselling Centre at:
http://www.yorku.ca/atkcsc