BA (Honours) HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
BA (Honours) HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Why study Human Resource Management at Strathclyde? Human Resource Management (HRM) is about the relationship between employers and employees and the ways in which people are managed in the workplace. It is an area of study and management practice which is seen as critical to good business and workplace performance. Think about... the people who will decide whether to recruit you and how much your employer will invest in developing your talents how that business can stay competitive and at the same time offer you rewarding and satisfying work what you want from your employment and what would make you more committed to your employer how you would manage people in the workplace and decide on these issues...think about these things, then you are thinking about HRM. Strathclyde Business School is widely acknowledged to offer some of the best teaching in HRM in both Scotland and the UK. The Department is an accredited centre for teaching HRM, which means our core postgraduate course gives students Associate membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the leading professional body for HR managers. Degree Structure The duration of the BA single or joint Honours degree is four years. All students are admitted as potential Honours students. Students may exit with a BA degree at the end of Year 3 if they have achieved the required standard. Year 1 is a broad-based foundation course in which you choose a number of basic classes in business and other disciplines alongside the Business School s Management Development Programme (see separate leaflet). You will receive advice at both degree level and subject level on which classes you should choose, based on your individual interests and strengths. At the start of Year 2, you select two of your first-year subjects to study in more depth
We examine practices and business systems for managing people and review the emergence of HRM as a distinctive approach. We look at some of the key HR practices and processes designed to maximise employee effort and how people respond to these. All this is examined in the context of a rapidly changing business environment with increasing pressures on organisations to get the most from their employees in the face of competitive pressures, new technologies and social change. during Years 2 and 3, alongside a third minor subject. Years 2 and 3 will also include further classes in the Management Development programme. For admission to the final year of the Honours course, a student must have qualified for the BA degree and achieved an approved standard of performance. HRM may be combined with any other Business subject to single or joint Honours, and within the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences to joint Honours only. The curriculum, by year, is as follows: Year 1 Our foundation class Managing People looks at the nature and critical influences on the employment relationship between the employer and employee. Year 2 The HRM classes focus on Work and Organisational Psychology and examine how individuals and groups think, feel and behave in the workplace. Key topics include: recruitment and selection of staff to ensure the best fit between people and the workplace assessing employee performance to bring the best out of people but also to control their behaviour job satisfaction and employee motivation workplace demands and stress human resource development training, development and learning in the workplace to enhance employee performance people resourcing how employers plan to acquire the right quantity and quality of employees at the right time
Year 3 Classes set work and the employment relationship within its wider social and economic context. Key themes include: dimensions of job quality the nature and development of employment relations and the balance between conflict and cooperation in the workplace the balance between managerial control and employee commitment how the economic, sociological and technological environment surrounding the workplace impacts on the employment relationship and key changes in that relationship over time employment relations examining the ways in which employees protect and advance their interests in the workplace and how employers seek to consult and negotiate with their staff over critical issues diversity in the workplace Year 4 (Honours) The main themes of Honours-level classes include: global HRM; bargaining and negotiations; participation and involvement; attitudes, attributes and human behaviour in the workplace; perspectives on work and employment ; employment relations in the public sector. You also undertake a dissertation project in an HRM area of your choice. This research can be conducted in a workplace context so that links between theory and practice can be examined. Teaching and Assessment In the early years most classes are organised around two lectures per week, plus tutorials. Additional workshops will also take place. Tutorials allow student discussion to take place in smaller groups, often examining a topic covered in lectures and may be based around specified reading, or an exercise where you would be expected to prepare and present your ideas. Tutorials may also involve student-led presentations. Honours classes are run with an emphasis on independent study and often take the form of extended tutorials, combining elements of lecturing inputs with plenty of student discussion. Your study time should also include independent reading and groupwork outside that of formal teaching hours and work undertaken for assessments. Increasingly, learning and preparation for face-to-face lectures and tutorials make use of electronic resources through our Virtual Learning Environment. Here students are able to utilise a variety of online resources to support their learning, while progressing at their own speed. Assessment includes end-of-semester exams which may be based on the traditional essay style answer questions but can also include short answer questions or case studies. In addition, you will undertake assessed coursework which may include essays, short projects, case studies, group or individual presentations, and online exercises.
You will develop a range of transferable skills, such as researching and critically evaluating information, finely-tuned communication, time management, working both independently and also collaboratively with others in group and team contexts. Study Abroad There are opportunities to study in Europe, North America and elsewhere for one or two semesters, usually in Year 3. Strathclyde Business School doesn t just teach the theory there s also a focus on the soft skills you need to be successful in the business world. I ve made regular use of the University library where staff are always on hand to help. I ve also benefited through support from the University Career Service in searching for internships and preparing for interviews. Amanda McFadden BA (Honours) Human Resource Management and Marketing The Department The Department of Human Resource Management is widely regarded as one of the UK s top providers of excellent HRM teaching. Our postgraduate taught programmes are accredited by the lead professional body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The Scottish Centre for Employment Research is also part of the Department. Human Resource Management in Other Degrees As well as being offered as a business subject within the BA (Honours) degree in the Strathclyde Business School and the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Human Resource Management can also be taken within the following degree courses, offered by the Strathclyde Business School. For details about these courses, please refer to separate leaflets and the current Prospectus. BA (Honours) in International Business Masters in International Business and Modern Languages
Careers Graduates of Human Resource Management enter a variety of employment, some directly related to their study of HRM and others into broader business and administrative roles. Recent graduates who have specialised in HRM have found employment in insurance, retail, manufacturing, recruitment consultancy and in the public sector. Some are employed in jobs such as HR trainee, HR assistant and recruitment consultant while others are employed in general administration and management. Contact For advice on admissions and subject choices please contact: SBS Undergraduate Office t: 0141 548 4114 e: sbs-adviser@strath.ac.uk For further information about HRM, please contact the Department of Human Resource Management: t: 0141 548 3974 e: hrm@strath.ac.uk Find out more... visit the University website at www.strath.ac.uk the place of useful learning www.strath.ac.uk University of Strathclyde Glasgow G1 1XQ Information current at August 2014. Please consult the University website for the most up-to-date information. The University of Strathclyde is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC015263.