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.