THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2015/2016

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : Business School : Common Courses (Management School)

Postgraduate Course: Human Resource Management In Context (CMSE11177)

Course Outline
SchoolBusiness School CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits15 ECTS Credits7.5
SummaryThis course provides students with an understanding of the principal internal and external environmental contexts of contemporary organisations, including the managerial and business context, within which managers, HR professionals and workers interact in conditions of environmental turbulence, change and uncertainty.

Course description The course examines how leading organisations respond to these dynamic environmental contexts. It indicates how leaders in organisations, and those in the HR function, and line managers with HR responsibilities, need to recognise and acknowledge that corporate decisions and HR choices are not always shaped by managers alone. They are also shaped by internal and external forces beyond their immediate control. Having studied this course, students will be aware that managers and HR professionals in different types of organisation (small, large, national, global), in responding to their internal, business and external environmental contexts, not only have opportunities and choices when taking organisational and HR decisions but also face some constraints on their autonomy in determining their futures. The course explores the implications for professional practice and provides opportunities for applied learning and continuous professional development.

Syllabus:
HRM in contemporary organisations and their principal environments.
The managerial context of Human Resources.
HRM strategy.
Market and competitive organisational environments facing HRM.
Globalisation and the world economy's impact on HRM.
Government policy, legal regulation, and HRM.
Demographic and social trends affecting HRM.
Technology and HRM.
Ethics, social responsibility, sustainability and HRM.

Student Learning Experience:
The course provides the students with a wide understanding of the boundaries of the field of HRM, through examples and topics addressed in lectures. The students use class exercises and case study examples to facilitate interactive student discussions applying HRM frameworks to contemporary business problems. Essays and examination assessments provide opportunities for students to analyse HRM issues and topics by critically summarising multiple viewpoints and making related recommendations for policy and practice
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements For Business School PG students only, or by special permission of the School. Please contact the course secretary.
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 150 ( Lecture Hours 20, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 125 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 70 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Integrative course paper (30%)
Examination (70%)
Feedback All students will be given at least one formative feedback or feed forward 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 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 will gain feedback on their understanding of the material when they discuss their answers to the tutorial questions in the tutorials. Students may also ask questions in Lectures to assess their knowledge
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)Human Resource Management in Context2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand and critically evaluate the range of contemporary business organisations and to explain how they fit into their principal environments.
  2. Understand and critically evaluate the managerial and business environment within which HR professionals work
  3. Critically evaluate how organisational and HR strategies are shaped by and developed in response to internal and external environmental factors.
  4. Summarise key globalisation and international forces and discuss how they shape and impact on organisational HR strategies and practices.
  5. Analyse demographic, social and technological trends in terms of how they shape and impact on organisational and HR strategies and HR practices.
Reading List
KEW, J and STREDWICK, J. (2010) HRM in a Business Context. 3rd ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

FARNHAM, D. (2010) Human Resource Management in Context: Strategy, Insights, and Solutions. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Subject Specific Skills:
After completing this course, students should be able to:
-Evaluate the market and competitive environments of organisations and to be able to critically explain how organisational leaders and the HR function respond to them.
-Analyse and explain the impact of government policy and legal regulation and how these shape and impact on organisational and HR strategies and HR practices.

Transferable skills:
After completing this course, students should be able to:
-Be able to competently communicate and exchange ideas in both large and small group settings;
-Be able to critically evaluate evidence and present a balanced argument;
-Be able to plan, organise and prioritise work effectively.
KeywordsHRM-HRM in Context
Contacts
Course organiserDr Thomas Calvard
Tel: (0131 6)51 5313
Email: thomas.calvard@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Peter Newcombe
Tel: (0131 6)51 3013
Email: Peter.Newcombe@ed.ac.uk
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information
 
© Copyright 2015 The University of Edinburgh - 18 January 2016 3:42 am