Postgraduate Course: Managing Employment Relations (CMSE11169)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 15 |
ECTS Credits | 7.5 |
| Summary | This 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.
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| Course description |
The course offers a critical and detailed exploration of the roles and interaction of these 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. The course content 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).
Syllabus:
The economic & labour market context of employment relations
Key Actors
-Trade unions
-Managerial strategies & styles: Employment relations as a component of HRM
-The role of the state in employment relations
-Global actors: The EU, MNCs & the international organization of employers and trade unions
Key Organizational Processes
-Employee participation & involvement
-Collective bargaining & pay determination
-Diversity and equal opportunity
-Managing discipline, dismissal & grievance
-Managing conflict
Student Learning Experience:
The weekly sessions are a mix of formal lectures, guest speakers, interactive discussions and case study analysis through student presentations on a range of topics and organizations.
In the lectures and the insight offered by expert practitioners, students will have the opportunity to engage extensively with key employment issues both collectively and individually. Firstly, students will pursue individual, self-directed learning involving extensive preparation and reading for both the coursework assignment and the final examination. Secondly, in the latter half of the semester small groups will present during tutorial hours on specific organizational case studies and answer the questions set by referring to the case, existing literature and relevant (and up-to-date) employment policies/employment law and organizational best practices.
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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 2015/16, 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
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Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 8,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
117 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Group Presentation (10%)
Coursework assignment (30%)
Examination (60%)
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| Feedback |
All students will be given at least one formative feedback or feedforward event for every course they undertake, provided during the semester in which the course is taken and in time to be useful in the completion of summative work on the course. Such feedback may be at course or programme level, but must include input of relevance to each course in the latter case.
Feedback deadlines
Feedback on formative assessed work will be provided within 15 working days of submission, or in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course, whichever is sooner. Summative marks will be returned on a published timetable, which has been made clear to students at the start of the academic year.
Students will gain feedback on their understanding of the material when they discuss their answers to the tutorial questions in the tutorials. Students may also ask questions in Lectures to assess their knowledge.
Feedback Format:
In-class exercises during lectures
Feedback on student presentations on assigned case studies
Written Feedback on course assignment
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Managing Employment Relations CMSE11169 | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understanding and critically discuss the chief characteristics and institutions of employment relations¿ systems in developed nations.
- Critically discuss current managerial and public policy approaches towards key employment matters.
- Understand and critically discuss the prescription and practice of how labour is organized, utilised, motivated, rewarded and disciplined.
- Critically evaluate the practical and conceptual significance of change processes currently affecting the conduct of employment relations in the UK and overseas.
- Critically discuss 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
Dibben, P., Klerck, G. and Wood, G. (2011), Employment Relations: A Critical and International Approach, London: CIPD.
Dundon, D. and Rollinson, D. (2011), Understanding Employment Relations (2nd edition), Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.
Gennard, J. and Judge, G. (2010), Managing Employment Relations (5th edition), London: CIPD. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Intellectual skills:
On completion of the course, students should:
-be able to discern and comment critically upon the chief economic and ideological premises driving government and managerial approaches to employment relations;
-display in written and presented work developing abilities to digest, synthesise and critically evaluate contrasting perspectives from the literature in reaching sustainable/practical conclusions.
Professional/subject-specific/practical skills
On completion of the course students should:
-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;
-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;
-have the ability to locate appropriate academic and practitioner resources on employment relations topics;
-have improved their analytical, writing and presentation skills according to accepted disciplinary conventions.
Transferable skills
On completion of the course students should be able to:
-competently communicate and exchange ideas in both large and small group settings;
-critically evaluate evidence and present a balanced argument;
-plan, organise and prioritise work effectively
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| Keywords | HRM-MER |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sara Chaudhry
Tel: (0131 6)51 5672
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Peter Newcombe
Tel: (0131 6)51 3013
Email: |
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