Postgraduate Course: Human Resource Management (CMSE11126)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 15 |
ECTS Credits | 7.5 |
| Summary | The way that people are managed is fundamental to the success (or otherwise) of organisations. It is therefore important to begin to understand the intricacies and complexities of managing people in the modern workplace. The course will consider the extent to which the terms of the debate on managing employees have shifted in recent years, largely driven by key changes in the economic, political, social and legal environment. In particular, it will examine claims of a shift in managerial approaches from low-trust to high trust employee relations. From this, the course will focus on developments in the key component parts of human resource management, such as employee resourcing, training and skills, pay and performance management. |
| Course description |
Students will explore a different aspect of human resource management each week. The purpose of the class is to increase knowledge and understanding of key HR issues, both from a theoretical standpoint, and from a more applied perspective. In general terms, the course sets out to examine the roles and functions of HRM professionals, explore the range of techniques and practices used by HRM professionals in all major aspects of managing employees, explore the level of adoption of such techniques and practices, and to offer explanations for patterns of adoption, consider whether it is possible to identify 'best practice' in human resource management and examine the effects of specific practices in terms of managerial and employee experience in the workplace.
More specifically, the course offers a blend of topics incorporating functional aspects of HR practice (such as recruitment and selection; pay and reward, performance management) with more contextual issues pertinent to HR professionals in the changing world of work, including trust and HRM and work-life balance.
Syllabus:
What is Human Resource Management?
The changing nature of work and the role of technology
Recruitment and selection
Evidence-based management
Trust and HRM
Training and development
Pay determination and reward management
Work-life balance
Performance appraisal
Student Learning Experience:
To facilitate student learning, a range of source materials will be used throughout the course, in addition to academic literature, to inform students and to stimulate discussion (for example, video clips, company reports and webpages from relevant professional bodies, such as CIPD). A number of guest speaker sessions are also incorporated into the course to offer practical perspectives or additional insights into lecture material. Students are also encouraged to share their own work experiences with other students in the class to complement lecture material and to increase awareness of different industry and cultural contexts.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Organisational Behaviour (CMSE11089)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | For Business School PG students only, or by special permission of the School. Please contact the course secretary.
Admission to students without Organisational Behaviour (CMSE11089) will be at the discretion of the HRM Course Organiser. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
150
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
127 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
70 %,
Practical Exam
30 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course is examined by coursework only:
1. An individual assignment of around 3,000 words, carrying 70% of the marks
2. A group presentation (group size: approx. 5 students) to be delivered after the last lecture of the semester has been held, carrying 30% of the marks
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| Feedback |
All students will be given at least one formative feedback or feedforward event for every course they undertake, provided during the semester in which the course is taken and in time to be useful in the completion of summative work on the course. Such feedback may be at course or programme level, but must include input of relevance to each course in the latter case.
Feedback deadlines
Feedback on formative assessed work will be provided within 15 working days of submission, or in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course, whichever is sooner. Summative marks will be returned on a published timetable, which has been made clear to students at the start of the academic year.
Students may also ask questions in Lectures to assess their knowledge.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe and critically discuss the key elements of current debates in human resource management.
- Explain and critically evaluate alternative approaches to specific policy areas, such as involvement initiatives or approaches to resourcing.
- Identify and critically discuss the scale and nature of adoption of specific human resource policies.
- Evaluate critically the strengths and weaknesses of particular human resource approaches in specific contexts.
- Apply critical analytical skills to complex practical problems.
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Reading List
| Torrington, D., Hall, L., Taylor, S and Atkinson C (2014) Human Resource Management (Ninth Edition). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Cognitive Skills:
After completing this course, students should be able to:
-demonstrate that they can evaluate critically the strengths and weaknesses of particular human resource approaches in specific contexts
-be able to identify the likely effectiveness of currently proposed solutions to managerial and organisational dilemmas
-exhibit an awareness of the concerns and experiences of a range of organisational stakeholders
-be able to apply critical analytical skills to complex practical problems
-be able to summarise and explain alternative organisational choices
-be able to demonstrate considerable clarity in evaluating alternative human resource policy choices, both in writing and verbally
Subject Specific Skills:
After completing this course, students should be able to:
-be able to identify key constituent elements of the employment contract and relationship
-be able to identify alternative practices within these key constituent elements
-be able to assess the design, adoption and implementation of these practices and their impact
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| Keywords | MGMT-HRM |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Tina Kowalski
Tel: (0131 6)50 3809
Email: Tina.Kowalski@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Peter Newcombe
Tel: (0131 6)51 3013
Email: Peter.Newcombe@ed.ac.uk |
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