MG480      Half Unit
Management of Human Resources: Strategies and Policy

This information is for the 2016/17 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr Jonathan Booth NAB4.20

Availability

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (Human Resource Management/CIPD), MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management) and MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (Organisational Behaviour). This course is available on the IMEX Exchange. This course is not available as an outside option.

Course content

The course examines central issues pertinent to the theory and practice of Human Resource Management (HRM). It introduces students to a range of theoretical perspectives which underpin the ways in which organisations manage the employment relationship through the deployment of HRM strategy and policy. From a practice perspective, it reviews challenges involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of both overall HRM strategy and specific practice areas. In this respect we review HR policy and practice in the areas of recruitment and selection, training and development, job redesign, engagement, retention and attrition, employee relations, conflict and voice, pay and rewards, performance management and appraisal, and strategic HRM.

Teaching

15 hours of lectures and 13 hours and 30 minutes of seminars in the MT. 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the ST.

Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy

Formative coursework

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the MT.

Indicative reading

Students are expected to read widely in the appropriate journals; a detailed reading list will be provided at the start of the course. The course textbook is: Boxall, P.; Purcell, J.; & Wright, P. (2007): The Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management, Oxford University Press.

Additional textbooks of interest include: J Baron & D Kreps, Strategic Human Resources: Frameworks for General Managers, John Wiley, New York, 1999.

Boxall, P, and Purcell, J. (2008) Strategy and human resource management. 2nd ed. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke; Ivancevich, J. M. (2007): Human Resource Management. 10th ed., Boston, MA: McGraw Hill;

Marchington, M.; & Wilkinson, A. (2005): People Management and Development. Human Resource Management at Work. 3rd ed., London: CIPD;

Sisson, K. & Storey, J. (2000) The Realities of Human Resource Management; Buckingham: Open University Press;

Storey, J (2007) Human Resource Management: a critical text. London: Thomson;

Marsden, David (1999) A theory of employment systems, Oxford University Press.

Assessment

Exam (60%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (40%, 1500 words) in the LT.

Key facts

Department: Management

Total students 2015/16: 121

Average class size 2015/16: 15

Controlled access 2015/16: Yes

Lecture capture used 2015/16: Yes (MT)

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Personal development skills

  • Leadership
  • Team working
  • Problem solving
  • Communication

Course survey results

(2012/13 - 2014/15 combined)

1 = "best" score, 5 = "worst" score

The scores below are average responses.

Response rate: 85%

Question

Average
response

Reading list (Q2.1)

2.4

Materials (Q2.3)

1.8

Course satisfied (Q2.4)

2.1

Lectures (Q2.5)

2.5

Integration (Q2.6)

2.2

Contact (Q2.7)

2.2

Feedback (Q2.8)

2.4

Recommend (Q2.9)

Yes

52%

Maybe

39%

No

9%