Postgraduate Course: Managing Employment Relations (CMSE11169)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 15 |
ECTS Credits | 7.5 |
| Summary | This core course explores the management of employment relations with the focus on developing an informed and critical understanding of how it is done and why. Students will be able to appreciate that HRM activity does not occur in a social, legal or institutional vacuum, but is often shaped and constrained by the global and/or national economic and labour market contexts, key institutions, and the interests, and interaction, of a range of labour market actors. |
| Course description |
Aims, Nature, Context
The course offers a critical and detailed exploration of the roles and interaction of key actors/stakeholders in systems of employment relations in developed economies (with a more in-depth analysis of the British context) i.e. unions, management, the state and various global actors - including contemporary developments affecting their current policy postures and priorities. Against this stakeholder backdrop the course aims to develop an informed understanding of the chief organisational processes that require management in any system of employment relations (including employee voice and participation mechanisms; collective bargaining and pay determination; anti-discrimination laws and the management of diversity; and the handling of dismissal, discipline and grievances).
Students will gain:
1. knowledge and understanding of the chief characteristics and institutions of employment relations' systems in developed nations;
2. the ability to critically discuss current managerial and public policy approaches towards key employment matters;
3. an understanding of the prescription and practice of how labour is organized, utilised, motivated, rewarded and disciplined.
4. insight into the practical and conceptual significance of change processes currently affecting the conduct of employment relations in the UK and overseas;
5. familiarity with the national and international contexts within which employment relations take place, including national and European regulatory frameworks, corporate governance structures and cultural issues.
6. the ability to discern and comment critically upon the chief economic and ideological premises driving government and managerial approaches to employment relations;
On completion of the course students should:
1. have secured an understanding of employment relations' processes that support organisational performance, including the design and implementation of policies and practices in a range of employment areas such as pay determination and collective bargaining, diversity management, and employee engagement, involvement and participation;
2. appreciate the importance of employment relations' procedures that help contain and resolve conflicts, and have a firm understanding of how to design and implement procedures in the areas of discipline, grievance and dismissal;
3. have the ability to locate appropriate academic and practitioner resources on employment relations topics;
4. have improved their analytical, writing and presentation skills according to accepted disciplinary conventions.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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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. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2020/21, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
150
(
Lecture Hours 16,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 8,
Formative Assessment Hours 40,
Summative Assessment Hours 22,
Other Study Hours 6,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
55 )
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| Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
Student preparation (prior to lectures, group presentations, follow-up on issues and discussions)
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
90 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
Individual Case Study (25%) - assesses learning outcomes 1, 4
Individual Final Assessment - open book exam format (40%) - assesses learning outcome 3
Group Video (25%) - assesses learning outcomes 1, 5
A 12-15 minute video presentation on an assigned case study. The presentation must respond to assigned questions using theories and frameworks discussed in the course thus far.
Practical assessment:
Individual Oral Defense (10%) - assesses learning outcomes 1, 2
An oral exam wherein students will be asked to respond to summative questions based on concepts and theories introduced in the course as pertinent to their video presentation. Each student in a given group will be asked a unique substantive question with any necessary follow-ups. The student alone will be responsible for answering the questions addressed to them.
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- knowledge and understanding of the chief characteristics and institutions of employment relations' systems in developed nations;
- the ability to critically discuss current managerial and public policy approaches towards key employment matters;
- an understanding of the prescription and practice of how labour is organized, utilized, motivated, rewarded and disciplined.
- insight into the practical and conceptual significance of change processes currently affecting the conduct of employment relations in the UK (and overseas);
- familiarity with the national and international contexts within which employment relations take place, including national and European regulatory frameworks, corporate governance structures and cultural issues.
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Reading List
| Resource list: https://eu01.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/leganto/readinglist/lists/26181360440002466 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
On completion of the course students should be able to:
1. competently communicate and exchange ideas in both large and small group settings;
2. critically evaluate evidence and present a balanced argument using a range of data sources;
3. plan, organise and prioritise work effectively;
4. display in written and presented work developing abilities to digest, synthesise and critically evaluate contrasting perspectives from the literature in reaching sustainable/practical conclusions.
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| Keywords | HRM-MER |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Rashne Limki
Tel: (0131 6)51 2345
Email: Rashne.Limki@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Lauren Millson
Tel: (0131 6)51 3013
Email: Lauren.Millson@ed.ac.uk |
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