MN3075 Human resource management
Syllabus
The syllabus draws on the following theories: human resource strategy; psychological contracts; organisational commitment; motivation; organisational justice. These theories are used as a basis for examining the following traditional human resource areas: recruitment and selection; employment appraisal; pay, benefits and performance incentives; job redesign; training; management development and promotion; industrial relations and collective bargaining.
The syllabus examines current theoretical perspectives on the relationship between human resource practices and organisational performance. These include universalistic, contingency and configurational frameworks that offer different explanations of how HRM practices impact on organisational performance. Organisational commitment, defined as an individual's emotional attachment to an organisation, is central to understanding the effects of HRM practices on employees. The syllabus focuses on the antecedents and consequences of employees' commitment to their employing organisation. Organisational justice is also covered as it provides an alternative theoretical framework for assessing the implications of human resource practices for employees. The psychological contract captures the exchange relationship between employees and the employer, and can be viewed as a complement or alternative to a collectivist approach to employment relationships (collective bargaining).
Students are expected to always go beyond description and simple prescription. They will be required to know and understand the major theoretical frameworks and examine the empirical evidence supporting them. Different human resource policies will be assessed by discussing the underlying theories (for example, human resource practices such as payment systems and job redesign are based on particular theories of motivation). These theories will then provide the basis for considering the conditions under which HRM practices are more or less likely to achieve their hypothesized outcomes. From this, the potential limitations of each theory, and the subsequent implications for organisational practice will be assessed.
