Ateneo - UPO

The course examines the theory of Personnel Economics and Human Resources (HR), focusing on the economic principles underlying firms’ decisions concerning human capital investment, incentive systems, careers and compensation policies, performance-related pay, and personnel recruitment and selection, while also considering the socio-economic context in which firms operate. These topics are explored through theoretical models, scientific articles, case studies and group work.

Lazear, P.E. & Gibbs, M., Personnel Economics in Practice, Wiley, 2015, (LG).

Martini, A., Sisti, M., Valutare il successo delle politiche pubbliche, 2009, Il Mulino (MS).

Pepi De Caleo - Brucchi Luchino, Manuale di economia del lavoro, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2015 (PDC).

Brucchi Luchino, Manuale di economia del lavoro, 2001, Il Mulino, Bologna.

De Paola, M. & V. Scoppa, Economia del Personale, Carocci, 2008.

Further teaching materials and handouts are made available by the course instructor on the course DIR platform.

The course aims to provide the basic theoretical and empirical tools required to understand and analyse the main decisions concerning personnel and human resource management, with particular reference to human capital investment, incentive and compensation systems, careers, performance-related pay, personnel recruitment and selection, and the evaluation of HR policies.

By the end of the course, students should be able to use the main theoretical models and empirical evidence to interpret firms’ decisions and to analyse HR-related problems and policies with increasing autonomy.

Teaching activities and workload allocation

The course carries a total of 10 CFU (ECTS credits), corresponding to 250 hours of overall student workload. One CFU corresponds to 25 hours of workload, including 7.5 hours of teaching activities and 17.5 hours of independent study.

The 75 total hours of teaching activities are divided into 7 CFU of teaching delivery (DE), corresponding to 52.5 hours, and 3 CFU of interactive teaching (DI), corresponding to 22.5 hours. The remaining 175 hours are devoted to independent study and self-directed learning.

No distance-learning activities (TEL-DE or TEL-DI) are planned.

No formal prerequisites or mandatory prior knowledge are required.

Teaching activities include lectures aimed at presenting and examining the main theoretical models in Personnel Economics and Human Resources, as well as interactive activities based on the discussion of scientific articles, case studies, guest contributions and group work. These activities are designed to foster the application of acquired knowledge, the critical discussion of HR-related problems and policies, independent judgement and argumentation skills.

The course includes both teaching delivery (DE) and interactive teaching (DI) activities.

Teaching delivery (DE), accounting for 7 CFU, mainly consists of lectures aimed at presenting, discussing and examining the main concepts and theoretical models of Personnel Economics and Human Resources.

Interactive teaching (DI), accounting for 3 CFU, includes the discussion and analysis of scientific articles and case studies, contributions from guest speakers, and group work. These activities require active student participation and are designed to foster the application of acquired knowledge, critical analysis, independent judgement, the comparison of alternative HR policies, and argumentation skills.

Teaching activities are therefore designed to be consistent with the intended learning outcomes of the course.

Attendance is strongly recommended.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Educational Needs may request specific services and tools by contacting the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti and consulting the dedicated University webpage:
https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities

Once they have contacted the relevant University Staff, students with disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Educational Needs may contact the course instructor regarding the implementation of examination arrangements and other teaching-related matters.

Assessment consists of a single 90-minute written examination made up of three open-ended questions covering the topics listed in the course programme.

The examination is designed to assess:

knowledge and understanding of the main concepts and models of Personnel Economics and Human Resources;
the ability to apply acquired knowledge to the analysis of HR-related problems, policies and cases;
the ability to establish connections between different course topics and critically discuss the assumptions, implications and limitations of the models considered;
independent judgement and the ability to formulate well-supported evaluations;
clarity of exposition, quality of argumentation and appropriate use of economic and disciplinary terminology.

The final mark is expressed on a 30-point scale and is based on an overall assessment of the three answers, according to the degree to which the intended learning outcomes have been achieved.

18–20/30: minimum passing level; essential but substantially correct knowledge of the fundamental concepts, ability to apply them to standard situations, and understandable argumentation despite some non-substantial inaccuracies.

21–23/30: correct knowledge of the main topics, adequate ability to apply and connect concepts, and generally clear and appropriate exposition.

24–26/30: broad and well-structured knowledge of the course contents, good ability to apply models and concepts to problems and cases, and good argumentation and ability to establish connections between topics.

27–29/30: in-depth and well-organised knowledge, a high degree of autonomy in applying and critically assessing models, the ability to integrate different topics and formulate well-supported evaluations, and rigorous and appropriate exposition.

30/30 and 30/30 with honours: complete and in-depth mastery of the subject matter, ability to apply knowledge independently also to problems requiring further elaboration beyond the examples covered during the course, strong critical thinking and independent judgement, and particularly clear, rigorous and precise exposition. Honours may be awarded when an excellent level is achieved across all assessment dimensions.

Under University regulations, students may take the examination and receive a grade a maximum of three times in a calendar year. Students may withdraw within the first 15 minutes of the examination.

The assessment method described above applies to both attending and non-attending students.

Sorting and Investing in Employers
Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 – LG.

Paying for Performance
Chapters 9, 10, 11 – LG.

Counterfactual approach to impact evaluation
Chapters 6, 8 (pp. 159–170; 179–183), 9, 11, 12 – MS; Chapter X – PDC.

Additional teaching materials are provided by the course instructors and made available on the course DIR platform.

Integration of the gender dimension

Within the topics relating to personnel recruitment and selection, careers, incentive systems and compensation policies, the course also considers the gender dimension. Drawing on empirical evidence, scientific articles and/or case studies, the course examines potential gender differences in career and compensation outcomes and the role that HR policies may play in producing, reinforcing or reducing such differences.

Knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to understand the main economic concepts and models relating to personnel and human resource management, with particular reference to human capital investment, incentive systems, careers and compensation policies, personnel recruitment and selection, and the evaluation of HR policies.

Applying knowledge and understanding
Students will be able to apply the concepts and models covered in the course to HR-related problems and cases, interpret empirical evidence and identify possible policies consistent with organisational objectives.

Making judgements
Students will be able to compare alternative HR policies, identify their main assumptions, implications and limitations, and formulate well-supported assessments of their effectiveness.

Communication skills
Students will be able to present and discuss Personnel Economics problems and policies in written form, clearly and logically, using appropriate disciplinary terminology.

Learning skills
Students will be able to independently read and understand teaching materials and scientific articles related to the course topics and apply acquired concepts to new cases and problems.

Minimum passing level
The minimum level is achieved when students demonstrate substantially correct knowledge of the fundamental concepts, can explain their economic rationale and are able to apply them to standard situations with at least a basic degree of autonomy.

Advanced level
An advanced level is achieved when students demonstrate in-depth and integrated knowledge, can independently apply models and tools to new situations, critically compare alternative approaches and formulate well-supported evaluations based on theory and available evidence.