Human Resources Week 1

Edinburgh:
- Course Leader: Dr. Nima Ali (N.Ali@hw.ac.uk)
Dubai:
- Course Leader: Dr. Clemens Mielke (C.Mielke@hw.ac.uk)
Malaysia:
- Course Leader: Dr. Lai Ling Ng (Lailing.Ng@hw.ac.uk)
Note: Allow 3 days for a response (excluding weekends). Include course and campus information in emails. For more details, visit Canvas.

Introduce students to the role of managing people in organisations.
Develop an understanding of key human resource management functions.
Critically evaluate the theory and practice of HRM through case studies and activities.

Boxall and Purcell (2003: 1) define HRM as "all those activities associated with the management of employment relationships in the firm."
Boxall (2007: 13) elaborates that "Human resources include the knowledge, skills, networks and energies of people and, underpinning them, their physical and emotional health, intellectual capabilities, personalities and motivations."

Key Practices Leading to Success:
- Providing career development opportunities.
- Granting employees influence over their work.
- Designing jobs to be challenging and interesting.
- Offering good training.
- Regular performance appraisals.
- Promoting teamwork.
- Employing respectful and competent line managers.
- Involving employees in decision-making.
- Ensuring a good work-life balance.

Various themes have added layers to HRM activity:
- Social Justice: Focused on improving working conditions.
- Humane Bureaucracy: Transition from strict scientific management, promoting better employee relations.
- Negotiated Consent: Increased trade union influence, emphasizing industrial relations.
- Organisation: Development of personal growth and workforce planning techniques.
- HRM: Strategic approach aligning HR practices with business strategy; proactive management to maintain competitive advantage.
- A 'New HR': Moving towards a global perspective and treating employees as internal customers, focusing on legal compliance and multi-employer networks.

Aspect	Personnel Management	HRM	Strategic Partner
Time Period	Up to 1980s	1980s-1990s	2000s-present
Focus	Administrative tasks	Managing people and organizational culture	Aligning HR with business strategy
Key Functions	Hiring, payroll, employee records	Recruitment, training, performance appraisals	Talent management, leadership development, change management
Decision-Making	Centralized	Shared between HR and line managers	Collaborative with top management
Employee View	Cost to be controlled	Valuable resources to be developed	Key driver of business success

Report by Jeanne Meister on ongoing workplace trends, focusing on employee returns to office plans, shifting dynamics in HR due to AI, and creating inclusive workplaces.

Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2020). Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 15th Edition, Kogan Page.
Boxall, P F (2007). The goals of HRM. In P Boxall, J Purcell, and P Wright (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management, Oxford University Press, pp 48–67.
Boxall, P F and Purcell, J (2003). Strategy and Human Resource Management, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
Li, D., & Estacio, J. D. (2024). The evolution of hrm: from personnel management to strategic partner. Open Access Library Journal, 11(8), 1-5.

All teaching is to take place on-campus.
Lectures: 2-hour lecture per week for 11 weeks.
Tutorials: 1-hour long sessions for 8 weeks (weeks 3-5, 7-11). Week 6 is a consolidation week with no lectures or tutorials.

Weekly readings including professional and academic articles, blogs, and videos.
Core Text: Torrington, D., Hall, L., Taylor, S. & Atkinson, C. (2020). Human Resource Management, 11th Edition, Pearson.
Additional Optional Books:
- Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2023). Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 16th Edition, Kogan Page.
- Dessler, G. (2024). Human Resource Management, Global Edition, 17th Edition, Pearson.

Assessment weight: 50% coursework and 50% final exam.
Exam format will include 4 questions where students answer 2 within 2 hours.
Coursework Options:
- Essay topics include Human Resource Planning, Recruitment and Selection, or Learning and Development.

Essay Length: 1500 words (+/- 10%, excluding references & title page).
Minimum requirement: 15 academic journal articles/research reports.
Submission must occur through Canvas after completing the Academic Integrity Module and Declaration of Authorship quiz.
Late submissions incur a 30% penalty as per SoSS policy.