Managing people in organizations is not an easy task since social systems as well as individuals and their interplay are not only complicated, but also complex, i.e. dynamic and changing in their relationship. Successfully handling this complexity requires substantial insight into the underlying principles that govern the behavior of individuals and organizations as well as their interaction in order to contribute to organizational performance and individual satisfaction.

The central learning objective of this course is to get a conceptual understanding of HRM as organizational function in varying contexts as well as conceptual and practical know-how about the role of line managers in HRM, in particular related to selection and appraisal and to motivation and incentives. This should equip participants for their future role as people managers.

Course language is German.

By the end of the module students will have learned

• about fundamentals of the employment relationship, the HRM function and managing people in terms of selection &  appraisal as well as motivation & incentives
• how to view and set-up people management structures, processes and practices

• Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltungen (PI-LV) sind LV mit hohem interaktivem Anteil. Für eine positive Absolvierung der LV ist eine 80%ige Anwesenheit erforderlich.
• Sollte es durch einen wichtigen Grund zu einem Fehlen in einer Lehrveranstaltung kommen, so können maximal 20 % der gesamten Lehrveranstaltungsdauer versäumt werden.
• Für die Fehlzeit ist eine Bestätigung für den wichtigen Grund vorzulegen Wichtige Gründe sind lt. Prüfungsordnung der WU all jene, die außerhalb der Disposition des Studierenden liegen (z.B. Erkrankung, Unfall, Tod naher Angehöriger). Berufliche Verpflichtungen werden nicht als wichtiger Grund im Sinne der Prüfungsordnung angesehen, da diese in der Disposition der Studierenden liegen.
• Bei kumulierten Abwesenheiten von über 20 % ist die Lehrveranstaltung im nächsten Sommersemester zu wiederholen.

  Input; class discussion; project work in groups; presentations; written exam

Tasks                                                     %               Points

Critique of literature                             10%           10

Participation in classroom                   10%           10

Seminar paper                                       30%           30

Video pitch of seminar paper              20%           20

Written exam                                        30%           30

Total                                                      100%         100

Total grade

• is a result of all tasks.
• A minimum of 60 points (60 %) is necessary to pass the class
  • Grade: Points
  • 1 100-90
  • 2 89-80
  • 3 79-70
  • 4 69-60
  • 5 59 or less
• No extension of deadlines, no possibility to repeat or improve tasks
• If you fail the course (59 points overall or lower), repetition of the class next summer semester only

Positive Absolvierung der LV „Einführung in das Management“

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Interdisziplinäre Abteilung für Verhaltenswissenschaftlich Orientiertes Management

per E-Mail:
Wolfgang Mayrhofer

Course language

(Austrian) German; English for guest speakers if applicable

HRM in context

• Introduction
  • Kaufman, B. E. 2010. The development of HRM in historical and international perspective. In P. Boxall & J. Purcell & P. Wright (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management: 19-47. New York: Oxford University Press. Available at CANVAS
• Key approaches
  • Rowley, C., Wei, Q. J., Warner, M., Harzing, A.-W., Reiche, B. S., et al. 2019. Approaches to international human resource management. International Human Resource Management: 119–156. Los Angeles, London: SAGE. Available at CANVAS
  • Brewster, C., & Mayrhofer, W. 2019. Comparative Human Resource Management. In B. S. Reiche, A.-W. Harzing, & H. Tenzer (Eds.), International Human Resource Management: 46–86. Los Angeles et al.: Sage. Available at CANVAS
  • Minbaeva, D. B. & De Cieri, H. 2014. Strategy and IHRM. In D. Gollings & G. Wood & P. Caligiuri (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to International Human Resource Management: 13-28. New York, NY: Routledge. Available at CANVAS
• Selected issues
  • Paauwe, J. & Boselie, P. 2007. HRM and Societal Embeddedness. In P. Boxall & J. Purcell & P. M. Wright (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management: 166-184. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at CANVAS
  • Budd, J. W. & Bhave, D. 2010. The Employment Relationship. In A. Wilkinson, T. Redman, S. Snell, & N. Bacon (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Human Resource Management: 51-70. Los Angeles. Available at CANVAS

Personnel selection and appraisal

• Morris, S. B., Daisley, R. L., Wheeler, M., & Boyer, P. 2015. A meta-analysis of the relationship between individual assessments and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(1): 5-20. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036938
• Peretz, H. and Fried, Y. (2012): National cultures, performance appraisal practices, and organizational absenteeism and turnover: A study across 21 countries. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97 (2): 448-459. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026011
• Biemann, Torsten, Wolfgang Mayrhofer, and Irmela Koch‐Bayram. 2023. Embedded in Context: How Time and Distance Affect the Convergence of Personnel Selection Practices. Human Resource Management Journal 33, no. 1 (): 47–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12339 .
• Sumelius, J., Björkman, I., Ehrnrooth, M., Mäkelä, K., & Smale, A. 2014. What Determines Employee Perceptions of HRM Process Features? The Case of Performance Appraisal in MNC Subsidiaries. Human Resource Management, 53(4): 569-592. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21604
• Pernkopf, Katharina, Markus Latzke, und Wolfgang Mayrhofer. „Effects of Mixed Signals on Employer Attractiveness: A Mixed-Method Study Based on Signalling and Convention Theory“. Human Resource Management Journal, 29. Juli 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12313.
• Williamson, I. O., King, J. E., Lepak, D., & Sarma, A. 2010. Firm reputation, recruitment web sites, and attracting applicants. Human Resource Management, 49(4): 669-687. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20379

Motivation and incentives

• Latham, G. P. & Locke, E. A. 1979. Goal setting-A motivational technique that works. Organizational Dynamics, 8(2): 68-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(79)90032-9
• Perkins, Stephen; White, Geoff (2011): Reward Management, Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, 303-328 (Ch. 9: Non-financial rewards) Available at Learn@WU
• Hou, W., Priem, R. L., & Goranova, M. 2017. Does One Size Fit All? Investigating Pay–Future Performance Relationships Over the “Seasons” of CEO Tenure. Journal of Management, 43 (3): 864 -89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314544744
• Zwick, T. 2012. Consequences of seniority wages on the employment structure. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 65(1): 108-125. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F001979391206500106
• Feys, M., Anseel, F., & Wille, B. 2013. Responses to co-workers receiving recognition at work. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 28(5): 492-510. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-08-2011-0025
• Long, R. J. & Shields, J. L. 2010. From pay to praise? Non-cash employee recognition in Canadian and Australian firms. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(8): 1145-1172. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2010.483840

Future Challenges

• Baluch, Alina M., and Hans-Gerd Ridder. “Mapping the Research Landscape of Strategic Human Resource Management in Nonprofit Organizations: A Systematic Review and Avenues for Future Research.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 50, no. 3 (June 1, 2021): 598–625. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764020939653.
• Cooke, Fang Lee, Randall Schuler, and Arup Varma. “Human Resource Management Research and Practice in Asia: Past, Present and Future.” Human Resource Management Review, 30, no. 4 (2020): 100778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2020.100778.
• Edvardsson, Ingi Runar, and Susanne Durst. “Human Resource Management in Crisis Situations: A Systematic Literature Review.” Sustainability 13, no. 22 (2021): 12406. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212406.
• Stone, Dianna L., and Diana L. Deadrick. “Challenges and Opportunities Affecting the Future of Human Resource Management.” Human Resource Management Review 25, no. 2 (2015): 139–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.01.003
• Vrontis, Demetris, Michael Christofi, Vijay Pereira, Shlomo Tarba, Anna Makrides, and Eleni Trichina. “Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Advanced Technologies and Human Resource Management: A Systematic Review.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 33, no. 6 (March 26, 2022): 1237–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1871398.
• Wright, Patrick M., and Michael D. Ulrich. “A Road Well Traveled: The Past, Present, and Future Journey of Strategic Human Resource Management.” Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 4, no. 1 (2017): 45–65. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113052.