CAHRS Partners: Submit Questions Now for Gratis Topical Research Reports


CAHRS is now accepting research questions for the award-winning ILR course “HR Online Research and Reporting Methods for Executive Decision Making.” This course allows CAHRS partners to receive targeted, well-researched, and timely answers to topical workplace questions—at no additional cost. Partners whose questions are selected receive an executive summary of the findings and list of key sources, prepared using online and library resources under the guidance of professional ILR School Catherwood Library staff and CAHRS faculty.

Reports are prepared by student teams as class assignments, in which they act as consultants to research questions posed by HR executives from CAHRS companies. Assignments provide valuable work experience, while exposing students to different companies, their cultures, and executives. Before embarking on their research, students conduct brief interviews with executives who submit questions to clarify the company’s needs.

Examples of past research questions include:

  • How do companies successfully put in place and monitor the effectiveness of offering telecommuting to employees? How do they ensure those individuals remain on the radar screen when other opportunities arise?
  • How do companies move from broad band salary grades to a narrower grade system? What kind of analysis goes into it, how do companies remove disparity, what are the communication issues?
  • Which global companies have been successful at implementing models or processes for supporting innovation within the organization (e.g. defining a common view / definition of innovation; how innovative ideas are surfaced, reviewed, approved, and tracked; who in the company sponsors or leads innovation efforts, etc.)? What do these models / processes look like and how have they been successful?

Question Submission & Deadlines

CAHRS partners can submit questions electronically to Donna Stone at dms44@cornell.edu. The deadline for submission for the first round of questions is January 26, 2010 for the initial round of questions. Executives’ questions should also include preferred contact methods and general availability for interviews.

Companies are encouraged to submit questions during the semester for the second and third round of projects, and those who submit questions will be notified on a rolling basis as they are chosen by student teams. Executives receive completed reports roughly four weeks after their questions are selected.

Sample Executive Summaries

Below is a sampling of student executive summaries from spring 2009:

 

 

The “HR Online Research Methods” (ILRHR 664) course is designed to help graduate students build key HR competencies for researching and presenting information necessary for executive decision-making. The curriculum includes an overview of online resources available to HR executives, and emphasizes hands-on training in the best techniques for locating conceptual frameworks, checklists, best practices, competitive intelligence, legal information, statistical data, and academic research on topics of current interest to industry. Students also learn interviewing, report writing and presentation skills.

 

 

The course is taught each spring by Stuart Basefsky, Catherwood Library’s senior reference librarian, director of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) News Bureau, and ILR lecturer. For more information about the course and appropriate questions, CAHRS partners can email Donna Stone, or call 607-255-2790.

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