Academic Year 2016-17 (Term V)

HRM Area Elective Course for HRM Seniors on

Financial Considerations in Managing HR (FCMH)

The Course Outline

The Course Objective
There are various interfaces between the finance function and HR function in an
organization and hence, the need for a reasonable degree of understanding and
appreciation of various financial considerations while managing HR related issues
can hardly be overemphasized. This course has been structured in such a manner so
as to ensure that budding HR Managers are well equipped to visualize and address
the impact of financial decisions on HR function and they would also be in a position
to instrument financially correct HR decisions. It may also be noted that the focus of
this course would be more on practical aspects of FCMH activity rather than on
theories and academic inputs. In other words, this course has been specially designed
to be highly practically oriented in order to ensure that the students undergoing this
course would be capable to handle real life situations (which they may encounter in
their career at a later date) appropriately and effectively.

Course Material & Suggested Readings

As this course is a specially designed course focused on a number of financial
considerations while managing various HR related issues (and probably unique by
nature - both in structure as well as contents), no specific book would be referred for
this particular course. While conducting this course, the concerned faculty member
would be providing handouts, various articles and cases (to be distributed in class from
time to time) related to the subject matter, which would be exhaustive by nature and
hence, the same would comprise the course material and suggested readings for this
elective course for all practical purposes. Moreover, the entire learning process would
be facilitated through group assignments / group projects which would enrich the
overall understanding of the subject matter.

Grading Pattern
Marks
Grade

00-29
F

30-37
D

38-44
D+

45-52
C

53-59
C+

60-67
B

68-76
B+

77-84
A

85-100
A+

The Course Flow & Coverage (FCMH)

Session No

Module

The Module

Broad Coverage

The Fundamentals

The Introductory Session

(Clarifying a Few Fundamental Concepts)

2&3
(2 Sessions)

The Fundamentals

Cost Considerations in Management Decisions

(A Case Based Approach)

4&5
(2 Sessions)

The Fundamentals

Cash Flow & Fund Flow Statements

(Creation, Presentation & Analysis Technique)

The Fundamentals

Analyzing Financial Information

(The tricks of the trade Case Based Approach)

The Fundamentals

Value & Value Drivers (Cases)

(Re-visiting the Conceptual Framework)

II

Decision Interfaces

Bottom Line Focus of Management Decisions

(HR repercussions A Case)
THE FIRST SUBMISSION (Sector Snapshot)
(Evaluation Component = 05%)

9 & 10
(2 Sessions)

III

Financial Reporting

The Legal Framework

(An Overview Only - Overall Understanding)

11

III

Financial Reporting
Highlighting the
HR Implications

Creative Accounting Practices

(Their implications on HR Function)

12

Test No I of FCMH (25% Evaluation)

(An Open Notes Examination)
Based on Modules I, II & III

13

IV

Financial
Forecasting

Financial Forecasting Technique

(Concept, Application & Tricks of the Trade)

Session No

Module

The Module

Broad Coverage

14

Managing Distress

Potential Sickness & Distress Restructuring

(Identification, Whistleblower Role & Revival)
Explaining the take home assignment of FCMH
(BOTH Components, namely, Fudging the Numbers
& Identifying & Tackling Financial Distress)

15& 16
(2 Sessions)

VI

Measuring
Performance

Introducing the Statement of Value Added

(Creation, importance & utility in HR function)

&

Various Performance Measurement Yardsticks

(Looking at non conventional parameters)

Measuring HR

Valuing & Reporting Human Resources

(The Concepts, Models & Practical Relevance)

17

VII

Quantitative
Appraisal

Statistical Assessment of HR Issues

(A Guest Lecture by Dr. Tamonas Gangopadhyay)

18

VIII

Management
Reports

Developing Quality Management Reports

Promoting Decision Making Process
(Focusing on Relevant Reports for HR Function)

19 & 20
(2 Sessions)

IX

Corporate
Restructuring

Financial Perspective to various considerations

in the Corporate Restructuring Process
(Creating an awareness for promoting cross
functional decision making process)

Pattern of Evaluation
The Component

Weightage

Assignment No I (A Group Exercise)

(Developing the Sector Snapshot)

05%

Test No I (Based on Module Nos. I, II & III)

(An Open Notes Examination)

25%

Take Home Group Assignment (Managing Distress & Fudging the Numbers)
Cooking the Books, Whistleblower Role & Pro-active measures for revival

30%

END TERM EXAMINATION (Entire Syllabus Open Notes Examination)

40%

Total

100%

Important Notes (Additional Points)

The evaluation criteria for the course as suggested above highlights that the FCMH
elective course is essentially a project based course where only 65% of the total
evaluation is based on regular written examinations, namely Test No. I and the End
Term Examination. Both FCMH Assignments (especially the take home assignment)
would be highly demanding by their very nature and these Group Assignments would
promise substantial learning value provided the same is sincerely and methodically done
by students.

Once the take home assignment Report (On Fudging the Numbers & Managing
Distress Whistleblower role and proactive measures for revival) is submitted to the
concerned faculty member, the same would be followed by an individual viva-voce
exercise of the concerned group members. The evaluation of this component would only
be released once the viva-voce exercise is adequately and appropriately conducted by the
concerned faculty member. Hence, it may be noted that, so far this particular assignment
is concerned, the faculty may do differential grading among the students pertaining to
the same group provided the performance in the viva-voce calls for such differential
grading.

It is strongly recommended that students undergoing this particular course should

purchase one exercise book where they would be expected to methodically maintain all
class notes. It may be noted that the course handout to be circulated by the faculty (from
time to time) essentially comprises a few cases and problems related to the subject matter.
In other words, the course handouts would comprise very less (practically, NO) theories /
conceptual write ups. The concepts would be clarified by the concerned faculty member
while conducting the sessions. Moreover, most of the cases / problems as given in the
course handouts would be solved in class. When the faculty is conducting his sessions,
the students would be expected to jot down the class notes as well as the case solutions.
Once, that exercise is undertaken by the students, it goes without saying that the
handwritten class notes copy along with the course handouts would culminate into pretty
exhaustive course material pertaining to this course in the very true sense of the term.
Moreover, the entire course material (i.e. the course handouts PLUS the handwritten
class notes copy) would prove to be an extremely useful resource to the students while
writing the FCMH examinations because those examinations would be OPEN NOTES
examinations.

The FCMH Course would have VERY HIGH interfaces with the Accounting for
Managers (AFM) Course that HRM students had already undergone in Term II and
SOME interfaces with the Basic Financial Management (BFM) Course that HRM
students had already undergone in Term III

The design of FCMH Course reflects direct link with the HR function across a few
sessions (say maximum 6 sessions in total) whereas the other FCMH sessions would
essentially focus on cross functional (i.e. Finance vis--vis HR) characteristics of
managerial decision making process.

FCMH Elective Course (HRM II AY 2016-17, Term V)

ASSURANCE OF LEARNING (AOL)

In this course, the students would be tested (primarily) on the following dimensions,
A) Decision Making Ability
B) Functional Knowledge (Conceptual Understanding & Practical Applications)

Decision Making Ability

The FCMH Elective Course is characterized by two regular written examinations,
namely, Test No I (Weightage = 25%) and the End Term Examination (Weightage =
40%). Both of these written examinations would include one (1) question which would
specifically test the skills of students in respect of their ability to take decisions (in
context of financial considerations in managing HR issues). Such questions would be so
structured so as to enable the concerned students to exhibit their skills in respect of the
following three key parameters of a decision-making exercise,
a) Appropriate visualization of the business problem
b) Conducting critical analysis of the information provided
c) Narrowing down on a suitable solution

Functional Knowledge
The FCMH Elective Course is characterized by one group assignment / exercise,
namely, The Take Home Assignment on Managing Distress & Fudging the Numbers
(Weightage = 30%). This assignment would test the functional knowledge of the
students. The assignment would be so designed so as to ensure that students get
adequate opportunity to demonstrate their skills in respect of the following two key
attributes related to functional knowledge,
a) Identifying conceptual frameworks
b) Application of conceptual frameworks