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HDFS 365 (CRN:) Fall 2019

Soft Skills in the Work Place (E and O Focus Course)

Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

University of Hawaii at Manoa

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Meet days and times: Tuesday and Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Classroom: Krauss Annex 1

Instructors: Michael Cheang, DrPH, and Georgia Lynn Yamashita, M.Ed.

Office: _________

Phone: Cheang, _________; Yamashita, _________

Email: _________, _________

Office Hours: Cheang, _________

Yamashita, _________

Both are also available by appointment.

Course description: Discussion and practice of life skills deemed essential by employers in the workplace.

Recommended Text: Harrington, B. & Hall, D. T. (2007). Career management and work-life integration: Using self-assessment to navigate contemporary careers. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Assigned readings/handouts: To be distributed in class.

E Focus class: This course has a Contemporary Ethical Issues (E) Focus designation. Contemporary ethical issues are fully integrated into the main course material and will constitute at least 30% of the content. At least 8 hours of class time will be spent discussing ethical issues. Through the use of lectures, discussions and assignments, students will develop basic competency in recognizing and analyzing ethical issues; responsibly deliberating on ethical issues; and making ethically determined judgments.

O Focus Class: This course is also listed with an Oral Communication (0) Focus designation. At least 40% (IS hours) of the class time will be spent on preparing students for oral presentations and other oral activities, and providing feedback to students on their oral performance. A total of 85 points (approximately 53.1%) out of 160 points of the course grade will be based on students' oral performance.

Students will receive instruction and guidance on effective oral communication skills, speaking in front of a group, and the importance of non-verbal communication (intended or otherwise). Students will also be provided feedback in three ways: 1) Individually orally by the instructor; 2) In a written form individually by use of a grading rubric; 3) By use of written, blind peer evaluation. Last but not least, students will receive oral group feedback by the instructor as a class.

Background: While universities have prepared students to be knowledgeable and competent in various disciplines and professions, internship supervisors, employers, and leaders in the work world have increasingly pointed out that students and graduates are not work ready. Specifically, many students and graduates do not know how to communicate appropriately virtually, write or speak effectively, and present themselves accordingly in the workplace.

More than ever before, employers state that they regard soft skills as key criteria when hiring prospective employees, and retaining employees. While it is important for students to have specific scientific and technical knowledge, and discipline-related skills, of equal importance are soft skills that university graduates are expected to have in order to function and be effective in the workplace.

Student Learning Objectives

Soft Skills Clusters	Objectives
Team/group process skills	Demonstrate sensitivity to others Work effectively as part of a team
Communication skills (written, spoken, non-verbal, virtual)	Utilize appropriate speaking styles Speak in a confident manner Write in a logical manner
Critical thinking skills	Expand on thoughts in an analytical manner
Problem solving skills	Identify and define a problem Identify causes and possible solutions
Emotional intelligence	Demonstrate business etiquette skills Be self-directed Demonstrate optimism and perseverance
Professional skills	Demonstrate professional attitudes Be responsible and trustworthy Be punctual and dependable Take the initiative when appropriate Communicate in a timely manner
Leadership skills	Give clear instructions Make ethical decisions Delegate responsibility

Class Assignments

	Assignment	Max Points	Due Date	Points Earned
1.	Self-Assessments, reflection paper and class presentation* (15 points for oral component)	20
2.	Case study analysis,, and class presentation* (15 points for oral component)	20
3.	Employer interview paper (Feb 13) Class presentation* (15 points for oral component)	20
4.	Draft of resume and cover letter	20
5.	Revised version of resume and cover letter (please attach draft to this version)	10
6.	Mock Job Interview*	10
7.	Class debate on current workplace issue* (20 points for oral component)	20
8.	End of semester reflection paper (Apr 24) Class presentation* (20 points for oral component)	20
	Attendance and participation	20	Each class session
	(85 points or 53.1% of points will be oral component) Total	160

*Oral presentations

Grading Scale

A+ = 155-160 points A = 150-154 points A- = 135-149 points	Excellent, distinctive work. Demonstrates sophisticated understanding: nuanced and insightful account; powerful and effective application of concepts, frameworks and theories discussed in class and articulated in written work. Exceeds both the expectations and requirements of all class assignments.
B+ = 140-144 points B = 135-139 points B- = 130-134 points	Above average work. Demonstrates accomplished understanding: thorough, well-documented account; adequate and apt application of concepts. frameworks and theories discussed in class and articulated in written work. Exceeds the requirements of the assignments.
C+ = 125-129 points C = 120-124 points C- = 115-119 points	Average work, sufficient but not distinctive. Superficial understanding: acceptable view with some misconceptions and oversight; not fully supported; acceptable but limited application of concepts, frameworks and theories discussed in class.
D+ = 110-114 points D = 105-109 points D = 100-104 points	Poor, mediocre or insufficient work. Naive or inadequate understanding: simplistic account and use of concepts, frameworks and theories discussed in class. Unable to articulate thoughts and ideas in written work. Significant misconceptions and/or absence of key ideas; rigid/narrow "plug in" performance. Fails to meet some requirements of assignments.
F = 100 points and below	Unacceptable work

Weekly Schedule

Date	Topic	Assignment, Due Date
Aug 21	Introduction Course overview and objectives Research findings and understanding the importance of soft skills List of soft skills Examples of employer feedback	Homework: Do personality assessments on the UH-Manoa's Career Center's website
Aug 23	Students' perceptions of the top five skills that are essential to workplace success Effective communication in the workplace Getting the basics - Communicating appropriately and effectively: Virtual Written Spoken Non-verbal
Aug 28	Understanding your work personality Discuss personality assessment results Top five skills - Strengths and areas for improvement	Personality assessment results presentation
Aug 30	Communication Freeways in the Workplace Letters of recommendation - What graduate schools and employers are looking for
Sep 4	Workplace behavior Johari Window
Sep 6	How to receive feedback in the workplace Practice Principles
Sep 11	Case studies - Set 1
Sep 13	Case studies - Set 2	Case Study Analysis in class presentation
Sep 18	Time off to do employer interview
Sep 20	Time off to do employer interview
Sep 25	Employer interview presentations and class discussions	Employer Interview Paper Employer Interview Presentations
Sep 27	Employer Interview presentations and class discussions	Employer Interview Presentations
Oct 2	The internship and job application process The Building your resume Customizing your cover letter	Melanie Takahashi Manoa Career Center
Oct 4	Building your resume Writing a cover letter
Oct 9	The Key to a Successful Interview is Preparation Dress codes for job interviews and the workplace	Draft of Resume and Cover letter (Please attach job announcement, description)
Oct 11	Mock Job Interviews	Mock Job Interviews
Oct 16	Mock Job Interviews	Mock Job Interviews
Oct 18	Attitude: Key to success in the work place The importance of humility "Stinking thinking, don't be stupid" I am special I am an expert It is beneath me It is inconvenient for me I've never don't this before	Revised version of resume and cover letter (Please attach draft version of resume and cover letter, and the job description)
Oct 23	Preparation for in-class debate: Public speaking skills Making a statement Defending a statement Summarizing key points Learning to observe public speakers
Oct 25	Emotional Intelligence Success depends on your personality more than your IQ - National Academy of Science
Oct 30	In-Class debate	In-class debate
Nov 1	What employers and internship supervisors want you to know
Nov 6	Working with difficult people: Supervisors Co-workers Clients
Nov 8	Honesty, integrity and ethics in the workplace
Nov 13	Honesty, integrity and ethics in the workplace
Nov 15	Tips for public speaking
Nov 20	Tips for public speaking
Nov 22	Individual presentations
Nov 27	Individual presentations
Nov 29	Thanksgiving
Dec 4	Individual Presentations	In class reflection presentation
Dec 6	Individual Presentations Lessons learned and course wrap-up	In class reflection presentation

Work-related Concepts

Concept	Definition
Commitment	Having persistence with a purpose.
Creativity	The ability to think outside the box.
Discipline	The ability to stay on task and complete projects.
Establishing rapport with others	Being in sync or on the save wavelength with others.
Flexibility	The ability to readily adapt to changes, shift your point of view, and/or look at the situation in a differed way.
Honesty	The human quality or communicating and acting truthfully.
Leadership	The ability to direct others.
Listening	The ability to pay close attention to, and make sense of, what we hear.
Motivation	A desire to achieve a goal, combined with the energy to work towards that goal.
Negotiating	The ability to exchange ideas, information, and opinions with others.
Organization	Knowing where things are at all times.
Problem-solving	A process that involves; e.g., clarifying a description of the problem, identifying alternatives, assessing each alternative, choosing one, implementing it, and evaluating whether the problem was solved or not.
Public speaking	The ability to present materials to a group of people in a structure, deliberate manner.
Respect	Consideration for other people's privacy, their physical space and belongings, and respect for different viewpoints, philosophies, physical ability, beliefs and personality.
Sensitivity	The ability to react appropriately to the emotions of feelings of other people.
Sociability	The ability to interact with other people toward a common vision or goal.
Stability	Maintaining composure in stressful situations.
Teamwork	The ability to work with other people toward a common vision or goal.
Time Management	Having the tools or techniques for planning and scheduling time, usually with the aim to increase effectiveness and/or efficiency.
Writing	The ability to express your ideas on paper where the presentation is tightly structure, grammatically and syntactically correct, and interesting.

Selected References for HDFS 365 - Soft Skills for Success in the Workplace

Anthony, S. & Garner, B. (2016). Teaching Soft Skills to Business Students. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. 79(3), 360-370.

Arthur, W., Jr., Bennett, W., Jr., Edens, P.S., & Bell, S.T. (2003). Effectiveness of training in organizations: A meta-analysis of design and evaluation features. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 234-245.

Barnett, W. (2011). Effectiveness of early educational intervention. Science, 333, 975.

Beard, D.; Schwieger, D. & Surendran, K. (2008). Integrating Soft Skills Assessment through University, College, and Programmatic Efforts at an AACSB Accredited Institution. Journal of Information Systems Education. 19(2), 229-240.

Connelly, B. S., & Ones, D.S. (2010). Another perspective on personality: Meta-analytic integration of observers' accuracy and predictive validity. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 1092-1122.

De Carvalho, M. M. (2014). Impact of risk management on project performance: the importance of soft skills. International Journal of Production Research. 53(2), 1-20.

Drouin, M.A. (2011). College Students' Text Messaging, Use of Textese and Literacy Skills. Journal of Computer Assisted Leaming, 2011, Vol.27(1), p.67-75

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011 ). The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: a meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82,405-432.

Goldberg, L. R. (1990). An alternative "description of personality": The big-five factor structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1216-1229.

Gottfredson, L. (1997). Why g matters: the complexity of everyday life. Intelligence, 24,79-132.

Gross, Melissa ; Latham, Don. (2012). What's skill got to do with it?: Information literacy skills and self- views of ability among first- year college_students. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. 63(3), 574-583.

Heckman, J.J. & Kautz, T. 2012). Hard evidence on soft skills. Labour Economics. 9(4), 451-464.

Heckman, J., & Rubinstein, Y. (2001). The importance of non-cognitive skills: Lessons from the GED testing program. American Economic Review, 91, Papers and Proceedings, 145-149.

lngols, C. & Shapiro, M. (2014). Concrete Steps for Assessing the "Soft Skills" in an MBA Program. Journal of Management Education. 38(3),412-435.

Kennis, George ; Kermis, Marguerite. (2010). Professional Presence and Soft Skills: A Role for Accounting Education. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, 2010, Vol.

Kyllonen, P. C. (2008). The research behind the ETS Personal Potential Index (PPI). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

Lee, K. S. & Chen, W. H. (2017). A long shadow: Cultural capital, techno-capital and networking skills of college students. Computers in Human Behavior, 70,67-73.

Levin, H. M. (2012). More than just test scores. Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education, 42, 269-284.

Lindqvist, E., & Vestman. R. (2011 ). The labor market returns to cognitive and non-cognitive ability: Evidence from the Swedish enlistment. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3, 101-128.

Loes, C.; Pascarella, E. & Umbach, P. (2012). Effects of Diversity Experiences on Critical Thinking Skills: Who Benefits? Journal of Higher Education. 83(1 ), 1-25.

Markle, R., Olivera-Aguilar, M., Jackson, T., Noeth, R., & Robbins, S. (2013). Examining evidence of reliability, validity, and fairness for the SuccessNavigator assessment. Research Report ETS RR-13-12.Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

Mayer, John D. "Emotional Intelligence: New Ability or Eclectic Traits?." American psychologist 63 .6 (2008): 503-517.

Mccaie, C. (2008). It's Hard Work Learning Soft Skills: Can Client Based Projects Teach the Soft Skills Students Need and Employers Want? Journal of Effective Teaching. 8(2), 50-60.

Ones, D. S., Dilchert, S., Viswesvaran, C., & Judge, T. A. (2007). In support of personality assessment in organizational settings. Personnel Psychology, 60, 995-1027.

Orr, C.; Sherony, B. & Steinhaus, C. (2011). Employer Perceptions of Student Informational Interviewing Skills and Behaviors. American Journal of Business Education. 4(12), 23-32.

Poropat, A.E. (2009). A meta-analysis of the five-factor model of personality and academic performance. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 322-338.

Ray, J.D. & Overman, A.S., (2014). Hard facts about soft.skills~ The American Journal of Nursing. 114 (2), 64-8.

Richardson, M., Abraham, C., & Bond, R. (2012). Psychological correlates of university students' academic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 138, 353-387.

Rivers, S., Bertoli, M. C.; Brackett, M. A; Salovey, P.; Omori, M. & Sickler, C. (2013). Emotion Skills as a Protective Factor for Risky Behaviors Among College Students. Journal of College Student Development. 54(2), 172-183.

Robles, Marcel M. "Executive Perceptions of the Top IO Soft Skills Needed in Today's Workplace." Business communication quarterly 75.4 (2012): 453-465.

Roberts, B. W., Kuncel, N. R., Shiner, R., Caspi, A., & Goldberg, L. R. (2007). The power of personality: The comparative validity of personality traits, socioeconomic status, and cognitive ability for predicting important life outcomes. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2, 313-345.

Roberts, B. W. & Mroczek, D. K. (2008). Personality trait stability and change. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 31-35.

Roberts B. W., Walton K., & Viechtbauer W. (2006). Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 1-25.

Salgado, J. F. & Tauriz, G. (2012). The Five-Factor Model, forced-choice personality inventories and performance: A comprehensive meta-analysis of academic and occupational validity studies. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.

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Schmitt, N. (2012). Development of rationale and measures of non-cognitive college student potential. Educational Psychologist, 4 7, 18-29.

Segal, C. (2012). Misbehavior, education, and labor market outcomes. Journal of the European Economic Association, 11, 743-779.

Sims, Christy-Dale L. (2015). Competency and Connection: Undergraduate Students and Effective Email Messages. Communication Teacher, 1-6.

Winstead, A. S.; Adams, B. L. & Sillah, M. R. (2009). Teaching the "Soft Skills": A Professional Development Curriculum to Enhance the Employability Skills of Business Graduates. American Journal of Business Education,. 2(5), 35-44.

Zekeri, Andrew A. (2004). College Curriculum Competencies and Skills Former Students Found Essential to Their Careers. College Student Journal. 38(3), 412.

HDFS Policy on Student Grievances

In accordance with the UHM policy, the faculty and students of the HDFS department will "be provided consistent and equitable treatment in resolving disputes arising from the academic relationship between faculty and student(s). The applicability of this policy is limited to those issues directly associated and concomitant with the faculty member's responsibilities as a teacher and the student's responsibilities as a learner." (http://www.studentaffairs.manoa.hawaii.edu/policies/academic grievance/) If you feel that you have not received equitable treatment from your instructor, please contact the HDFS program head Professor Lori Y ancura via email at loriena@hawaii.edu.

HDFS 365 - Self-Assessment

Go to the Manoa Career Center website and complete the five self-assessments. This will take you about 30 minutes to complete.
Print out and review the results of your self-assessments.
Write a one page, single-paged reflection discussing:what you learned from these results. Specifically, discuss:
1. Your areas of strengths
2. The areas that you need to work on
3. The steps will you take to improve in the areas you need to work on
Using your reflection paper as a guide, prepare a 10-minute in-class presentation outlining lessons learned from your self-assessments results.