Term Paper

SUGGESTED TERM PAPER TOPICS

Topics:

1. HR Management in the Small Business

2. HR Management in the 21st Century: What’s Ahead?

3. The Impact of Information Technology on HR Management: Opportunities and Challenges

4. Demographics of the Workforce: Analysis of Trends and their Implications for HR

5. HR as a Strategic Business Partner

6. E-HR: How the Internet and Information Technology Has Changed HR Management

7. Outsourcing: When Does It Make “Cents?”

8. HR Ethics: An Examination of Key Issues

9. Preparing for a Career in HR

10. Is HR Really a “Profession?” A Look at Professional Associations and Certification

11. HR as a Core Competence

12. Strategic Planning and HR Planning: A Reciprocal Relationship

13. The Evolution of HR Planning: From Manpower Planning to HR Strategies

14. Environmental Scanning: How to Do It and What to Look For

15. An Assessment of HR Forecasting Methods

16. HR’s Key Role in Mergers and Acquisitions

17. Downsizing: Why Some Programs Succeed and Others Fail

18. Downsizing: Dealing with “Victims” and “Survivors”

19. An Analysis of Tools for Evaluating HR Effectiveness

20. Benchmarking: The Study of Best HR Practices

21. Key Considerations in the Design, Implementation, and Utilization of HRISs

22. HR Online: Effective Use of the Internet and Intranets

23. Understanding Individual Employee Performance: Ability, Motivation, and Beyond

24. The New “Psychological Contract:” The Changing Nature of Employee-Employer Expectations

25. Understanding and Controlling Absenteeism

26. Understanding and Controlling Employee Turnover

27. Job Design and Work: Building in Work Flexibility

28. HR’s Role in Work/Life Balancing

29. Employee Retention – a Key Issue During Periods of Economic Growth

30. From EEO to Affirmative Action to Management of Diversity: An Evolutionary Process

31. An Evaluation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Has It Accomplished Its Purposes?

32. Understanding Legal Standards Applied to Two Types of Discrimination: Disparate Treatment and Disparate Impact

33. What Is and What Is Not a Bona-Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) under EEO Laws

34. Key Women’s Issues: Pregnancy Discrimination, Pay Equity, and the Glass Ceiling

35. Establishing Effective Policies and Procedures to Deal with Sexual Harassment

36. Sexual Harassment and the Law: An Interpretation of Supreme Court Decisions

37. Work Place Romances: Should Employers Regulate Dating Between Employees?

38. Who’s Disabled and Who’s Not: A Look at EEOC Guidelines and Court Decisions

39. Making Reasonable Accommodations Under the ADA: A Host of Options

40. Key Issues in Age Discrimination

41. Key Issues in National Origin Discrimination

42. Key Issues in Religious Discrimination

43. Regulating Your Looks: Dress Codes, Height/Weight Restrictions, and Other “Appearance” Issues

44. Sexual Orientation and the Law

45. Evaluation of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC): Policies, Programs, and Priorities

46. Understanding Validity Concepts

47. Approaches to the Management of Diversity

48. Diversity Training: The Positives and Negatives

49. The Case for Continuing Affirmative Action

50. The Case Against Affirmative Action

51. Reengineering Business Processes: Just a Fad?

52. Is the Job Characteristics Model of Job Design Still Relevant?

53. Job Design Issues for Team-Based Work

54. Building Flexibility into Work Schedules and Work Locations

55. Job Analysis: Is It Still the Cornerstone of Effective HR Management?

56. A Comparison of Three Approaches to Gathering Job Information: Questionnaires, Interviews, and Observation

57. Job Analysis for Managerial and Professional Jobs: Special Concerns

58. Computerized Job Analysis

59. Labor Markets and Recruiting Issues

60. Regular vs. Flexible Staffing: Making Use of Contingent Workers

61. Recruiting Source Choices: Internal vs. External

62. How – and When – to Establish an Employee Referral Bonus System

63. Emerging Issues in Job Analysis: A Look at the Competency Approach and Other Contemporary Developments

64. E-Recruiting: Advantages and Disadvantages

65. Dealing with Worker Shortages: Creative Recruiting Methods

66. College Recruiting: Maintaining a Corporate Presence on Campus

67. Executive Recruiting and Selection

68. Evaluation of Recruiting Programs

69. Employment Selection: An Overview of Key Issues

70. Realistic Job Previews: Should You “Tell It Like It Is?”

71. Selection: A Close Look at the Use of Application Forms and Resumes

72. Selection: A Close Look at Employment Testing

73. Selection: A Close Look at Employment Interviewing

74. Selection: A Close Look at Background Checking

75. Drug Testing in Selection: Legal, Ethical, and Privacy Issues

76. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Assessment Centers in the Selection and Promotion Process

77. The “Paperless” Selection Procedure: On-Line Applications and Interviews

78. Strategic Issues in Training

79. Learning Concepts: A Foundation for Training

80. The Human Side of Orientation: Welcoming and Socializing New Employees.

81. Training Needs Assessment

82. A Comparison of Selected Training Methods [specify methods]

83. Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI)

84. E-Learning: Advantages and Limitations

85. Evaluation of Training

86. The Changing Nature of Organization-Centered Career Planning

87. Antidotes for Career Plateaus

88. Career Issues for Dual-Career Couples

89. Learning Organizations: Commitment to Continuous Development

90. Development Needs Analyses: Tool and Techniques

91. Succession Planning: Insurance for the Organization’s Future

92. Corporate Universities: A Growing Phenomenon

93. “Survival” – An Assessment of Outdoor Training

94. Mentoring Programs: Providing a Helping Hand

95. Women and Management Development

96. Performance Management: Linking Rewards to Performance

97. Incompatible Objectives? Developing a System to Satisfy Both the Development and Administrative Purposes of Performance Appraisal

98. 360o Evaluation: The Pros and Cons of Multi-Source Performance Appraisal

99. An Assessment of the ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​____________ Method of Performance Appraisal [specify method]

100. Identifying, Monitoring, and Overcoming Rater Errors

101. Keys to Carrying Out an Effective Appraisal Interview.

102. Performance Appraisal and the Law: What the Courts Are Saying

103. The Emergence of Competency-Based Pay Systems

104. Equitable Compensation: Great in Theory … Difficult in Practice

105. Legal Constraints on Pay Systems: Key Laws and Principles

106. An Assessment of Job Evaluation Techniques

107. Keys to the Effective Use of Pay Surveys

108. Contemporary Developments in Compensation Administration

109. Do Merit Pay Systems Really Work?

110. Putting Pay at Risk: A Move Toward Variable Pay Systems

111. Developing Effective Individual Incentive Systems

112. Sales Compensation Plans: Balancing Base Pay and Commissions

113. Successful Team Incentives

114. Sharing the Wealth: Profit-Sharing and Gainsharing Plans

115. ESOPs: Do They Result in Putting All of One’s Eggs in One Basket?

116. Stock Option Plans: Advantages and Limitations

117. Debating the “Reasonableness of Executive Pay Plans”

118. An Overview of Legal Protection of Employee Pension Rights

119. Pensions: A Comparison of Defined Benefit Plans and Defined Contribution Plans

120. 401(K) Plans in the Aftermath of Enron: Are They Sound?

121. Controlling Health-Care Benefits Costs

122. A New Approach to Health Care Benefits: The Defined Contribution Health Benefits Plan

123. Analyzing Family-Oriented Benefits

124. Benefits for Domestic Partners and Spousal Equivalents: An Explosive Issue

125. Explaining the Growth of Flexible Benefits Plans

126. Contemporary Workers’ Compensation Issues

127. Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Occupational Safety and Health Act: Have the Benefits to Society Outweighed the Costs to Employers?

128. Role of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Today: Consultant or Enforcer?

129. Building an Effective Safety Program

130. Contemporary Workplace Health Issues

131. An Assessment of Wellness and Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)

132. Violence in the Workplace: Protecting Employees

133. An Overview of Security Management

134. The Erosion of Employment-at-Will Doctrine: An Analysis of Exceptions

135. The Emergence of Alternative Dispute Resolutions

136. Employee Rights of Privacy in the Workplace

137. Legal and Ethical Aspects of Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance of Employees

138. The Pros and Cons of Employer Drug Testing Programs

139. Guidelines for Writing and Disseminating Employee Handbooks

140. Key Principles Underlying HR Policies, Procedures, and Rules

141. Effective Approaches to Discipline and Discharge.

142. An Analysis of Union Membership Trends in the United States

143. Are Trade Unions Obsolete?

144. The History of Organized Labor in the United States.

145. Unfair Labor Practices by Employers: Case Law

146. Unfair Labor Practices by Unions: Case Law

147. Employer Strategies and Tactics During a Union Organizing Campaign

148. Strikes and Impasse Resolution Methods

149. The Anatomy of a Strike (Select and analyze a recent work stoppage)

150. Union Management Cooperation: Is This the Future?

151. Public Sector Unionism: A Different Breed of Cat

152. Keys to Effective Grievance Administration

153. An Analysis of Factors Affecting Global HR Management

154. Global HR Management: A Focus on Recruiting and Selection

155. Global HR Management: A Focus on Training and Development

156. Global HR Management: A Focus on Compensation

157. Global HR Management: A Focus on Employee and Labor Relations

158. Keys to Preventing Expatriate Failure

159. Protecting Global Employees: International Security in the Face of Terrorism