COURSE NUMBER: MBA217.1B
COURSE TITLE: Workplace Analytics
UNITS OF CREDIT: 2
INSTRUCTOR: Gregory LaBlanc
MEETING DATES: Meets Spring B, 3/13-5/3
EMAIL ADDRESS: lablanc@Berkeley.edu
CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: bCourses
PREREQUISITE(S): None
CLASS FORMAT: The class will be about half instructor lectures,
half presentations by guest lecturers from academia and industry.
REQUIRED READINGS: Readings will include trade books, and
articles from both academic and practitioner journals.
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: The grade will be based on class
participation, individual reports, and group project.
CAREER FIELD: This course will be useful for anyone who works
in the ideas economy
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES: With the high
cost of attracting, retaining, and training talent in the ideas economy,
employers are increasingly interested in determining the factors that
contribute to employee productivity and creativity. Research and
experimentation has exploded in recent years, suggesting ways of enhancing
employee value through paying attention to their engagement and overall health.
Employers are taking an interest in work structure, office design, workplace
culture, skill development, work\life balance, physical and mental health and
wellness initiatives, even food, sleep, lighting, exercise, maternal leave, and
other benefits and are using analytics to measure the impact of these factors.
This course will examine the state of the research and explore the latest
experiments taking place in leading Bay Area technology and service oriented
firms.
Topics will include:
· Using analytics to evaluate job
applicants and make hiring decisions
· Using analytics to evaluate
teams and supervisors
· Using analytics to measure and
evaluate productivity
· HR strategy design to attract
and retain the best people
· HR strategy to get rid of
underperformers
· HR strategy to match skills
with processes and positions
· Measuring and encouraging
creativity
· Design and impact of hierarchy
and teams
· Measuring and encouraging
engagement
· Workplace design: individual vs
open office plans
· Workplace design: understanding
information flows and idea dissemination
· Workplace design: the impact of
air quality, light, and other environmental factors
· Workplace design: the impact of
ergonomics and exercise
· The impact of nutrition on the
workplace
· The impact of sleep on the
workplace
· Defining and measuring
workplace culture
· The impact of wellness
initiative
· The impact of mindfulness
initiatives
· The impact of stress
· The impact of flexible work
· The impact of vacation and
parental leave policies
The course is intended to benefit not only those who will
have a role in designing a workplace as managers but also designed to help
individuals manage their own work lifes to increase
productivity and optimize work life balance.
The class will be half lecture/activity and half visiting
speakers. Invited speakers come from a wide range of academics (Psychology,
Organizational Behavior, Public Health, Environmental Design, and Occupational
Health) and industries (Google, Fitbit, Gensler, Steelcase, Deloitte, etc) and will include field trips to SF and Mountain View.