Edinburgh Napier University Online Masters in HRM

You will critically evaluate the policies and processes involved in resourcing the organisation. You will examine the role of employee resourcing and how it can contribute to effective performance and employee well-being at the individual level and achieving competitive advantage at organisational level. You will develop an understanding of the practical utilisation of resourcing interventions in organisations and the complexities involved in introducing and implementing these. You will critically reflect on both theory and your practice from an ethical and professional standpoint.

The employee resourcing module allows you to reflect upon and examine the range of methods and approaches used by employers to resource their organisations and enable them to meet strategic goals. In examining this, the module takes account of both internal and external contextual factors influencing organisational approaches to diversity, health and wellbeing, talent management and human resource planning, flexibility, recruitment, selection, performance management and reward management. The module recognises the challenge for organisations, HR and line managers to minimise employee costs at the same time as trying to maximise employee value and provides you with the knowledge to debate the theory and philosophy of employee resourcing and understand the contribution of resourcing interventions to business effectiveness.

Learning Outcomes of the module:

Upon completion of this module you will be able to:

• Evaluate current developments and academic research in employee resourcing and demonstrate an ability to make appropriate recommendations to organisations on design, implementation and enhancement of employee resourcing interventions
• Critically explore the theory and practice related to the strategic aspects and operational activities concerned with employee resourcing and how these are integrated with other areas of HRM practice

After a brief background introduction to models of national culture, the focus of the module is the HR issues and practices of organisations operational background across national boundaries with a multi-cultural workforce. It covers a range of key HRM areas: global manpower, planning, recruitment & selection, international performance and development, comparative employment regulation, employee voice and the management of conflict, the ethical considerations specific to international operations. These are explored through the use of examples and cases drawn from a range of an international context and MNC practice. Students are encouraged to reflect on the approach to HRM in their own culture/country and contribute to the consideration of similarity and difference.

Learning Outcomes of the module:

• Have a comprehensive understanding and critical awareness of the requirements and implications of HRM activity as it relates to organisations in an international context.
• Have a critical appreciation of the ways an HRM function can contribute to global organisational effectiveness.
• Be able to contribute to the determination of an international HRM strategy, policy and practice appropriate to differentiate national contexts and the needs of MNCs.

The module develops your understanding and critical insight into the employment relationship and issues relating to the balance of power between different interest groups, as affected by changes both in the external context and the organisation of work. This enables you to develop knowledge and skills to evaluate management approaches to labour relations, recommend appropriate polices & practices, and make a contribution to the determination of organisational strategy in this area.

The module establishes a theoretical and practical framework for the critical analysis of labour relations, the political significance of issues and the impact of changing context on national trends and organisational practice. The development of new approaches to labour relations, in both private and public sectors and the influence of government on these, is of particular relevance. You will be involved in examining and analysing trends in labour relations practice and examining the role of management in the workplace, focussing on the contribution that effective management of labour relations makes to the achievement of key business objectives and organisational change. Consideration is also given to variations in national practice and the influence exerted on these by multinational companies. Key skills and competences are identified in developing policies and procedures, handling conflict (discipline & grievance, collective disputes), negotiation. The module explores the implications of developments in employment legislation and assumes some prior knowledge of UK Employment Law.

Learning Outcomes of the module:

Upon completion of this module you will be able to:

• Analyse different perspectives on the employment relationship and critically evaluate theories of conflict and how to manage it.
• Assess the contribution which effective management of labour relations makes to the achievement of key business objectives, enabling the development of key managerial skills.
• Analyse the dynamics of the employment relationship (roles of parties, structures and processes) and the ways in which these are influenced by national and international context.
• Evaluate alternative approaches to labour management and make recommendations appropriate to the needs of differing organisations

This module aims to develop your ability to critically analyse current theories and trends in the field of human resource development (HRD) and critically reflect on the merits and effectiveness of a range of organisational and personal HRD practices. The module provides you with advanced content on how individuals learn; the design, delivery and evaluation of training programmes; and the dissemination and sharing and knowledge in organisations. It focuses on your need to develop your academic/theoretical knowledge as well as developing and improving your vocational skills in the field of HRD.

Foundations of learning and development; Theories of learning, Training Design and Evaluation; Strategic Human Resource development; Career development; Knowledge Management; Management development; Organisational learning; learning Organisation

Learning Outcomes of the module:

Upon completion of this module you will be able to:

• Demonstrate a comprehensive and advanced understanding of the principles of training design, delivery and evaluation
• Demonstrate a critical awareness of the requirements and implications of the integration of learning and development activity with organisational needs.
• Display a critical awareness of current practice and academic research in the field of HRD

This module includes critical examination of the impact of people management on organisational and individual behaviour in the key areas of organisational change, leadership, motivation, engagement, and employee well-being (including managing emotion at work), within the contexts of HRM, OD and OB. You will be involved in examining the changing role of the HR function, its influence on achieving competitive advantage, and the broader context in which it operates. You will also reflect and develop: a business orientation, a concern with adding value through HR practice, and a range of skills pivotal to successful people management practice and effective leadership. This includes critical reflection, problem solving and decision-making skills and enhanced IT proficiency and academic writing skills.

Learning Outcomes of the module:

Upon completion of this module you will be able to:

• To review and critically evaluate major contemporary research and debates in the fields of human resource management (HRM), organisational development (OD) and organisational Behaviour (OB)
• To formulate and justify strategies for managing people (individually and in teams) in organisations, evaluating major theories relating to motivation, engagement and wellbeing at work and how these are put into practice by organisations.
• To develop a critical awareness and understanding of the application of current theories of leadership
• To critically evaluate the theory and practice of effective change management in organisation
• To critically examine the changing role of HR professionals and the HR function.

The focus of this module is to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills to prepare you for a range of challenges in your academic and professional career.

Specifically, the emphasis is on developing research skills that will equip you with the expertise to undertake relevant and topical research allied to your dissertation. The core material covers:

• critiquing academic and practitioner research from a range of published sources,
• developing tools and techniques for writing a critical literature review,
• methodological considerations,
• research design,
• research ethics,
• qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection,
• manual and computer-based techniques of data analysis and,
• evaluating and communicating your research.

Learning Outcomes of the module:

• Select and critically review relevant literature
• Formulate a research problem
• Design and plan appropriate research to investigate an area for a dissertation.
• Assess reliability and validity of the chosen approach
• Critically communicate the philosophy of research

The module begins with an overview of the various internal and external environmental contexts which shape organisational actions (PEST forces). You will be involved in reviewing competing ideas about the role and function of management and their implications for your practice. Next, you will be involved in identifying the links between strategic HRM and organisational strategy, followed by reviewing strategic management models. the module then examines the concept of strategic HRM, the variety of ways strategic HR decisions are made within different organisations, the implications for the HR function and critically evaluates the different approaches to aligning organisational strategy with people management practices. In doing so, the module provides you with an opportunity to gain a critical understanding of strategic HR and the implications for your practice as well as your organisation’s. Distinctions are drawn between the different levels of HR strategy and the diverse directions of growth and international strategic choice in a globally competitive environment. the potential ethical issues arising from strategic choices to internationalise the organisation are also considered.

The impact of the increasing use of technology within HR as the function attempts to strategically reposition itself within the organisation is critically evaluated. Mindful of emergent strategies adopted by organisations to quantify the contribution of the HR function to organisational profitability the module also offers you an introduction to Human Capital Management. To support this end and in recognition of the centrality of financial planning to organisational success this module provides you with instruction on the preparation and interpretation of financial statements and data, including profit & loss accounts, balance sheets, cash budgets, capital investment appraisal and break-even analysis.

Learning outcomes of the module:

Upon completion of this module you will be able to:

• Critically evaluate the managerial and business environment within which HR professionals work
• Evaluate how organisational and HR strategies are shaped by and developed in response to internal and external environmental factors
• Analyse the impact of political, legal, demographic, social and technological trends on organisational and HR strategies and practices
• Demonstrate a critical assessment of financial statements and their meaning, the budgetary process and the flow of money within an organisation.
• Analyse and apply financial data to improve decision making