Undergraduate Course: International HRM and Comparative Employment Relations (BUST10121)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course is designed specifically with the international manager in mind. Given mounting globalization pressures, the increasing influence of the European Union and the internationalized nature of HRM in multinational enterprises, management of human resources across borders has become ever more complicated. An international manager needs to exhibit awareness and cultural sensitivity towards employment systems in different countries while taking an internationalized and strategic approach to HRM.
Rather than a country-by-country account, which can be excessively descriptive, the course is structured in order to address the theoretical frameworks and on-going debates in the fields of international HRM and comparative employment relations. To this end students are not only introduced to a comparative analysis of national employment systems but are also made familiar with the HR implications of these systems for multinational/ transnational organisations. Moreover, the response of these international organizations in terms of internal HR strategies is also explored - specifically focusing on the use of expatriates and the process of HR outsourcing across international subsidiaries.
The first section of the course begins with an overview of the divergent characteristics of national systems, the sources of such diversity, and how systems might be classified. The major controversy of convergence versus divergence of national employment relations systems is initially introduced, a theme developed in the context of subsequent sessions that undertake a more in-depth comparative analysis of national employment systems, specifically considering differences in production regimes, and systems of welfare, training and market flexibility across different countries.
The next section considers the influence of multinational/ transnational organisations and their reaction to this national vs. global dichotomy. A key feature of MNCs¿ HR practices is the degree of transfer and adaptation between home and host countries, with further variations across industry sectors. Moreover, the response of these international organisations in terms of internal HR strategies is also explored, specifically focusing on the use of expatriates (as a traditional source of home country power) and the process of HR outsourcing across international subsidiaries. These issues are explored through careful readings of survey and case study results. |
| Course description |
Not entered
|
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Business Studies courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
|
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2014/15, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Group presentation (10%), individual essay of 2,500 words (30%) and final exam (60%) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | |
|
| Academic year 2014/15, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Group presentation (10%), individual essay of 2,500 words (30%) and final exam (60%) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course, students should be able to:
¿ discuss critically the implications of ¿globalisation¿ and the key employment relations and HRM issues and controversies that are associated with the term;
¿ identify ongoing changes in the key characteristics of the international business environment;
¿ display firm knowledge of the characteristics of different national systems of employment relations among advanced capitalist economies, including an understanding of the sources of diversity;
¿ critically evaluate the internationalisation of employment relations, and the HR policies and practices of multinational companies.
¿ adopt a critical stance with respect to the convergence/divergence debate
|
Reading List
| As this is a relatively new and rapidly evolving field, course texts are in short supply that can do justice to the variety of topics covered. Accordingly, the course is chiefly built upon current periodical material. Journals most cited are: the European Journal of Industrial Relations (EJIR); Industrial Relations Journal (IRJ); Journal of World Business and the International Journal of Human Resource Management (IJHRM). |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | IHRM |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sara Chaudhry
Tel: (0131 6)51 5672
Email: Sara.Chaudhry@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Paul Kydd
Tel: (0131 6)50 3824
Email: Paul.Kydd@ed.ac.uk |
|
© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 12 January 2015 3:33 am
|
University Homepage