Course Descriptions
Required Courses (offered each fall and spring semester)
LIR 809
Labor Markets
Prerequisite: Micro-Economics
Labor market structures and dynamics. Factors affecting work, wages and occupational choices. Public and private policies on human resource development and utilization. Designed for human resource practitioners.
LIR 823
Organizational Behavior in Labor and Industrial Relations
Application of behavioral science knowledge at micro- and macro- levels to enhance individual, group and organizational functioning in industrial relations settings.
LIR 824
Human Resource Strategies and Decisions
Introductory overview of human resources field. Includes human resource planning, equal employment opportunity, staffing, training and development, compensation and benefits, workforce diversity and organizational development. Emphasis on strategic role of HR management in organizations.
LIR 825
Compensation and Benefits Systems
Prerequisite: LIR 824
Theory and practice relating organizational characteristics to compensation-system strategy, design, and administration. Job evaluation, pay surveys, pay structure, pay administration, group incentives, and benefits.
LIR 832
Data Sources in Labor and Industrial Relations
Prerequisite: Statistics
Evaluation, use, and interpretation of data on industrial relations and human resources. Methods of presentation and report writing. Application of index numbers, seasonal adjustments, and multiple regression.
LIR 858
Collective Bargaining
Theory and practice of collective bargaining. Wages, benefits, seniority, grievances, arbitration, and labor-management committees. Legal, economic, technological, and historical contexts.
LIR 863
Law of Labor Management Relations
Legal framework for contract negotiations and administration. National Labor Relations Act as amended. Right to organize and undertake concerted activity. Strikes and lockouts. Unfair labor practices.
Elective Courses (not offered each semester)
LIR 801
Trade Union History, Structure, and Administration
History of American unions. Theories of unionism. Union structure, government and democracy. Role of unions in society and politics. Legal requirements on unions. Current union problems.
LIR 811
Training & Development
Role of public and private employment and training programs in human resource development and utilization. Federal, apprenticeship, state, vocational, and private training programs.
LIR 826
Organizational Development and Planned Change
Prerequisite: LIR 823
Application of general systems and organizational behavior theories to the problems of organizational change and development in labor and industrial relations. Emphasis on the roles of leadership and change agents.
LIR 827
High Performance Work Systems
Prerequisite: LIR 823
Roles of human resources and labor relations professions as strategic partners in creating world-class organizations. Organizations featuring craft, mass, lean, and sociotechnical organizational designs are discussed and visited. Course content includes strategic HR, alignment systems, models for modern labor-management cooperation, TQM, Six Sigma, organizational learning, and work/family issues as they relate to configurations of HR practices found in pacesetting organizations.
LIR 828
Human Resource Information Systems
Prerequisite: LIR 824
Information requirements for human resource decisions. Methods of appraising software. Role of human resource specialists in database development and operation. Uses PeopleSoft HRIS software.
LIR 854
International Industrial Relations/Human Resources Systems
Prerequisite: LIR 801, 858, or 863
Review and analysis of labor relations in different nations. Comparison of industrialized market economies and industrial relations experience. Analysis of selected current comparative industrial relations problems.
LIR 860
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Prerequisite: LIR 824 or 858
Negotiation and conflict resolution in employment settings. Use of experiential simulations to develop bargaining styles and interpersonal process skills.
LIR 865
Arbitration and Alternate Dispute Resolution
Prerequisite: LIR 858 or 863
Grievance procedure and arbitration as the terminal step in the grievance process under collective bargaining. Grievance procedures in non-union employment settings.
LIR 868
Employment Law
Administrative policies and judicial decisions promoting equal employment opportunity. Analysis and review of governmental policies protecting workers from unsafe working conditions. Implications for employers and unions.
LIR 890
Independent Study in Labor Relations and Human Resources (Typically 3 credits)
Prerequisite: 15 credits in LIR
Student-proposed independent study performed under faculty guidance.
LIR 891
Special Topics in Labor Relations and Human Resources (1-15 credits)
A student may earn a maximum of 15 credits in all enrollments for this course. Special topics include employment & training, globalization & diversity, workers' compensation, group dynamics & leadership, and public sector issues.
LIR 899
Master's Thesis Research (3-6 credits)
Prerequisite: 9 graduate credits
A student may earn a maximum of 6 credits in all enrollments for this course.
LIR 992A
Seminar in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources
A student may earn a maximum of 6 credits in all enrollments for this course. Prerequisite: LIR 823 & LIR 824. Research and policy analysis of selected topics in organizational behavior and human resources in labor and industrial relations.
LIR 992B
Employment Relations Theory & Research
A student may earn a maximum of 6 credits in all enrollments for this course. Prerequisite: LIR 801 and LIR 858. Research and policy analysis of selected topics in collective bargaining and labor unions.
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