KGRH 2600A - Managing HR in a polarized, disrupted World: Anglo-American perpectives in a European Context

The workplace has become one of the most unstable, politicized, and technologically disrupted environments of the 21st century. Employees are demanding flexibility and meaning. AI is reshaping recruitment and performance management. Organizations are navigating burnout & diversity backlash. HR departments must manage ethical, social, and geopolitical tensions and challenges. This course will explore some of the major disruptors of the work environment from an Anglo-American perspective and their limits in a Franco-European context.

From an Anglo-American perspective, this course will allow students to:

• Review some major contemporary HR challenges
• Assess major workplace transformations and differences in approaches
• Explore the impact of AI & digitalization on employment
• Evaluate organizational responses to social and ethical pressures
• Debate competing visions of the future of work
• Outline some HR strategies adapted to uncertain environments
• Reexamine each challenge within a Franco-European context

Good level of English.

Week 1: Jennifer MOSS The Pandemic changed us. Now companies must change too, Harvard Business Review, 2022.

12 classes of two hours in duration each with analyses of newspaper articles, videos, role plays & group presentations based on case studies.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: I used AI to explore different teaching scenarios, possible course plans and to search for suitable, relevant, thought-provoking documentation (videos and articles) on the HR topics on the course. I also use AI to explore different ways to create and optimize the use of teaching materials(discussion questions, examples, essay topics,….

For students, the rules governing the use of AI are as follows: the purpose of all exercises (notably the Essay) during this course is to enhance students’ ability to develop, justify and defend a personal, thought-out position on complex, controversial, sometimes divisive HR topics & to examine critically Anglo-American and Frano-European HR approaches. AI may be used as a support tool, but not as a substitute for students’ own intellectual work.

AI may be used to:

• Brainstorm ideas and explore topics.
• Search for alternative documents to support or challenge particular points of view.
• Identify different perspectives and counter-arguments.
• Organise ideas and create outlines.

AI must not be used to:

• Write the essay or other written work in place of the student.
• Generate and submit a complete text as the student’s own work.
• Copy and paste AI-generated content without critical evaluation.
• Use references or facts without checking their accuracy.

Students’ responsibilities:

• For all exercises (and notably the Essay), students should back up arguments with examples from their own professional work experience (traineeships, apprenticeships, other,..) and specify quotations from texts referenced (text, page number and paragraph)
• The position the student defends must be clearly his/her own.
• Each student is responsible for all arguments, facts and references included in his/her essay or in all other exercises.
• Any use of AI must be declared.

AI declaration (to be added at the end of the essay): “I used AI to support my work. The ideas, arguments and final text submitted are my own work and responsibility”. Undeclared or inappropriate use of AI may be considered a breach of academic integrity.

• Participation 20%
• A written essay on a subject from a list of topics 30%
• Oral Summary in class of written essay 20%
• Second oral presentation on controversial HR topic 10%
• Group presentation 20%