Human Resource Management

Core modules:

Managing People in Organisations

This module aims to introduce students to the core aspects of Human Resource Management (HRM), using research-informed teaching to critically assess HR tools and techniques, engage with current debates in the field, and provide a reflective analysis of HRM today. Supporting aims of the module are to enable participants deepen their knowledge and understanding of HRM issues, to develop insights into the changing role of HRM practitioners in the context of ongoing organisational change, and to think about the issues involved in 'live' HRM problems in organisational contexts. The module covers some core building blocks in HRM to introduce concepts to students, moving on to examine some thematic themes, with the overall aim of introducing students to key issues and debates in HRM today. This module relates to the CIPD 'People Management and Development' standard.

15 credits

Professional Development

This module is concerned with helping students develop generic management skills which can be applied within the context of specific HRM domains. It encourages students to reflect upon and account for how specific contexts influence how HR knowledge is applied and managed.

15 credits

Industrial Relations

This module focuses the specific nature of the relationship centring on the employment contract, the different ways in which employees may voice their concerns, industrial disputes and mechanisms for dispute resolution, as well as topical issues.

15 credits

Employee and Organizational Development

This module investigates the theory and practical operation of training and development initiatives from the individual, group and organisational perspective. The focus of the module is on learning and the whole process from needs analysis to evaluation will be covered. Methods and tools for learning and development will be critically analysed and their impact on employee and organisational outcomes assessed.

15 credits

International Human Resource Studies

This module investigates labour market trends and human resource practices within diverse political, economic, social and regulatory contexts. In addition to analysing the impacts of globalisation, international institutions and national governments on employment policy and regulation, it also examines the human resource practices of particular foreign direct investors, multinational corporations, and public sector organisations in the majority and minority world (Global South/ODA recipients and Global North). Particular attention is accorded to trends in the deployment of people across the world of work, and to how HR can be utilised within different cultural contexts.

15 credits

Employee Performance Management

This module investigates the practical operation of different forms of performance management, their implementation, their change and their impact upon the individual with specific reference to motivation theory and reward management. It considers how recent social, economic and technological changes might be impacting upon the members of organizations and giving rise to new modalities of performance management as managers attempt to cope with increasing levels of uncertainty.

15 credits

Research Methods

The unit provides an introduction to a wide range of research methods used in management research. It prepares students for their dissertation by helping them to make an informed choice of objectives and methods (design, data collection and analysis) for thier own research. It also prepared students to review the literature and critically evaluate the methods used by others, to consider ethical issues around research and to prepare a plan for their dissertation research.

15 credits

Management Project

This unit requires the student to pursue a study of a topic appropriate to the field of human resource management. The topic chosen by the student must receive approval from a supervisor on behalf of the Management School. A dissertation written by the student should be delivered to the School at the conclusion of the study. The study, and the resulting dissertation, may take the form of issue-centred academic research or of an applied human resource management problem-solving exercise. In either case, it requires the student to apply critical analysis, to set the topic within the context of appropriate human resource management literature, conduct empirical research and consider the implications for human resource praxis at the relevant level of analysis.

45 credits

You will take two of the following:

Work and Organisation in East Asia

The dynamics of change in East Asia are increasingly important for understanding the development of global society. This module will describe and analyse 'work and organization' in East Asia and consider whether its cultures and practices are shaped by national models. Adopting multi-disciplinary perspectives, we will examine the historical and cultural embeddedness of Japanese models and their contemporary socio-economic construction. We will consider structures such as the family and education system that prepare people for workforce entry and look a contrasting working contexts from the participants' perspectives. We will then compare Japanese work contexts with China, Taiwan and South Korea. 

15 credits

Contemporary Chinese Business and Management

This module will examine changing cultures and practices of business and management in China in the context of recent economic and political changes, notably rising marketisation and globalisation. 

15 credits

Accounting and Financial Management

This module is designed to provide knowledge and understanding of the roles of accounting and financial management in modern business organisations. The module will introduce students to the objectives, techniques and limitations of accounting for the purposes of external accountability and internal decision-making and control. The module will also introduce students to the objectives, techniques and limitations of financial investment appraisal and provision of financial resources.

15 credits

Strategic Management

This unit introduces key theories of Stategic Management of business organisations; those concerned with strategy design and development, techniques and frameworks for crafting strategic options, competitive challenges of a global market environment, implementation of strategy and change. This theoretical understanding will then be illustrated and examined by reference to the way particular companies in contrasting industries have designed and executed their strategies.Particular attention will be devoted to expose students to many facets of strategy formulation/analysis and strategy implementation issues.

15 credits