Newcastle University

Aims

To develop an understanding of the nature of the employment relationship and the role of the HR function.

To develop an understanding of the management of people in a variety of organisational settings.

To develop an understanding of the role of people management in the achievement of organisational objectives.

To develop a critical understanding of the options organisations have for managing people.

Original Summary:

Outline Of Syllabus

The module provides an introduction to the complex issues and problems involved in managing people in organisations in the public and private sectors and in domestic and international organisations. The module considers these issues from theoretical and practical perspectives using a combination of lectures and seminar- based activities in order to examine the contribution that the management of people can make to organisational success.

1.       Introduction to managing people in organisations: the nature of the employment relationship/contracts of service; communicating with people in organisations (Lecture).
2.       Recruitment and selection (Seminar).
3.       The institutional context of HRM and models of HRM (Lecture).
4.       Performance management and appraisal (Seminar).
5.       Learning and development; CPD, Lifelong Learning, etc. (Lecture - Guest speakers from CMI and CIPD.)
6.       The role of the HR function, line management and HRM (Lecture).
7.       Discipline & Grievance (Seminar).
8.       Group assignment (Surgery).
9.       Workplace Stress (Seminar).
10.       Group assignment (Surgery).
11.       Strategic HRM and its links to Business Strategy (Lecture).
12.       Frameworks of Strategic HRM (Lecture).
13.       Managing Meetings (Seminar).
14.       Managing with and without trade unions (Lecture).
15.       Conflict Management (Seminar).
16.       Employee involvement and participation (Lecture).
17.       Negotiation (Seminar).
18.       Collective bargaining and negotiation (Lecture).
19.       Managing redundancies (Lecture).
20.       HRM in the public sector (Lecture).
21.       International HRM (Lecture).
22.       Revision (Surgery).

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures introduce aspects of theory and relate this to practical examples through the use of seminar based activities. The surgery hours are designed to help students think through the issues involved in the group assignment.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The MCQs are designed to test student acquisition of knowledge. The group assignment is designed to allow students to examine a key HRM topic in depth and to exposes students to the practical issues surrounding working in groups. The examination is designed to assess both students' breadth of knowledge and understanding of Human Resource Management and their critical application of knowledge to specific subject areas.