BE475-7-AU-CO:
Principles and Practices in Human Resource Management
2023/24
Essex Business School
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
20
01 August 2023
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BE487
MSC N60012 Human Resource Management,
MSC N60024 Human Resource Management
This module addresses the principles and practice of human resource management (HRM). The organisational context in which HRM operates will be considered as well as more recent developments.
Key contextual considerations concern the managerial, institutional and social context of HRM. HR strategies will be considered within the macro and micro institutional constraints in which it operates, including ethics, demographics, regulation and stakeholder expectations. The key operational functions of HRM's remit will be considered, including resourcing, reward and learning/development.
Emerging work practices will be considered in this context, including new forms of organisation such as sustainable HRM and agile practices. Introducing students to both orthodox and critical perspectives on the nature of HRM and emphasizing the ethical responsibilities of the HR practitioner, the module aims to provide a basis for critical judgement on the current state of theory and practice in the field.
The aims of this module are to explore:
- The aims and objectives of the HR function in different types of organizations and the managerial environment in which HRM operates.
- The knowledge and techniques associated with the work of the human resource practitioner and their historical development.
- Perspectives on the strategic management of human resources and critical assessments of the theories.
- Theories of people resourcing and critical assessments of the theories.
- Theories of human resource development and organizational learning and critical assessments of the theories.
- Theories of reward management and critical assessments of the theories.
- Theories of human resource development and organizational learning and critical assessments of the theories.
- The role of the business environment, institutional conditions, political forces, ideologies and social conditions and their implications for management and human resource management.
- Recent changes in the practice of HRM including various forms of flexibility and attempts to redefine employee identity and their consequences.
- The ethics of HRM and the reputational and professional obligations of the human resource practitioner.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Identify a range of people practices, and propose how to design them in an integrated way.
- Identify key legal-regulatory trends relevant to HR practice, how to apply this knowledge, and how to mitigate risk.
- Compare and contrast different models of people resourcing in a range of different situations.
- Compare and contrast different models of reward management in a range of different situations.
- Compare and contrast different models of facilitation, consulting, coaching and mentoring in a range of different situations.
- Compare and contrast different ethical perspectives, and how these different approaches and values influence internal and external decision-making.
- Critically evaluate how an organisation is responding to different socioeconomic, demographic and technological trends in a specific sector and how this could impact organisational outcomes.
- Develop a people plan (review, develop insight, align with organisation strategy, create proposals).
- Reflect on the benefits and risks associated with how people practices create value for different stakeholders, and compare what continuous professional development is therefore required.
Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)
The module will:
- Enhance your ability to consider rival conceptual ideas in the field of HRM and apply these to a practical organisational problem.
- Enhance your critical thinking through case studies encouraging you to discern preconditions and consequences of management actions and to apply diverse theories and concepts to the analysis of practical organisational situations.
- Innovation will be encouraged by encouraging you to develop solutions to HR issues and problems.
No additional information available.
This module will be delivered over 10 weeks.
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Roper, I., Prouska, R. and Chatrakul Na Ayudhya, U. (eds) (2020f)
Critical issues in human resource management: contemporary perspectives. Second edition. London: Red Globe Press. Available at:
https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/397021.
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Cumming, D.J., Wood, G. and Zahra, S.A. (2020) ‘Human resource management practices in the context of rising right-wing populism’,
Human Resource Management Journal [Preprint]. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12269.
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.Bretz Jr., Robert D.
et al. (1991) ‘The Importance of Recruitment in Job Choice: A Different Way of Looking’,
Personnel Psychology, 44(1991), pp. 487–521. Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=9609192353&site=eds-live.
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Holtom, B.C.
et al. (2008) ‘Turnover and Retention Research: A Glance at the Past, a Closer Review of the Present, and a Venture into the Future’, in
The Academy of Management annals. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc Inc, pp. 231–274. Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=39786582&site=ehost-live.
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Marchington, M.
et al. (2020c)
Human Resource Management at Work. 7th Revised edition. London: Kogan Page Ltd. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6455493.
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Hendry, C.
et al. (2000) ‘Performance and rewards: cleaning out the stables’,
Human Resource Management Journal, 10(3), pp. 46–62. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2000.tb00026.x.
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Roper, I., Prouska, R. and Chatrakul Na Ayudhya, U. (2022) ‘The rhetorics of “agile” and the practices of “agile working”: Consequences for the worker experience and uncertain implications for HR practice’,
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, pp. 1–28. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2022.2099751.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
1,500 words essay |
|
30% |
| Coursework |
3,500 words Case Study |
|
70% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Ian Roper, email: i.roper@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Ian Roper & Dr Ed Barratt
ebshrm@essex.ac.uk
No
No
No
Dr Sheena Vachhani
University of Bristol
Reader (Associate Professor) in Work and Organization Studies
Dr Ruth Reaney
University of Glasgow
Lecturer in HRM
Available via Moodle
Of 59 hours, 59 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
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