Unit information: Personnel Economics in 2015/16

Unit name	Personnel Economics
Unit code	ECONM2018
Credit points	15
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Maija Halonen-Akatwijuka
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	ECONM1014 Economics for Finance and Management and ECONM1010 Microeconomics
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Economics, Finance and Management
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This course tackles human resource issues using Economics, with a particular focus on how compensation and organisational design affect incentives. Hiring and recruitment decisions and pay for performance are examined in this course. Additional topics include allocation of decision rights in the organisations and on the job training. This course will also examine the effect of advances in IT on organisational design.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. Better understand problems related to personnel issues
2. Analyse personnel issues in a structured way
3. Present solutions in written and oral form
4. Recognise the strengths and limits of economic modelling
5. Apply and criticise these models

Teaching Information

Lectures and small group classes. In classes students analyse case studies in teams and solve exercises.

Assessment Information

Formative assessment: exercises assess learning outcomes 2 and 5 and case studies assess learning outcomes 1, 3 and 4.

Summative assessment: 2-hour written exam (70%) assesses learning outcomes 1-5, 2000 word case study analysis (30%) assesses learning outcomes 1, 3 and 4.

Reading and References

Lazear and Gibbs (2009) Personnel Economics in Practice (Wiley)