| CODE | MGT5202 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Strategic Human Resources Management | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Business and Enterprise Management | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will re-visit organisational theories and HRM practices with a view to explore and understand the strategic role of the HR professional operating in complex and ambiguous market and organisational realities. An experiential learning approach will be adopted to revisit and explore alternative best practices in contemporary strategic people management, reflecting on the transformation of personnel management into HRM and potentially into managing human resourcefulness. The main domains of HRM namely, organisational structure and design, employment relations, human resource planning, recruitment and selection, reward and performance management and employee and organisational development will be discussed and critically reconsidered against this backdrop. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to: a. explain the reasons behind the evolving need to manage people strategically using critical thinking to move away from the idea that models and processes are readily available to be applied universally to the belief that HR professionals need to pro-actively construct their own model basing on the fast changing realities over space and time; b. demonstrate a series of alternative approaches to people management and the related best practices and processes to strategically translate theory into action; c. re-think and re-explore the main HR domains to transform them from tactical measures into strategic tools that enable organisations to reach the objective of becoming and remaining leaders in competition through their people. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a. critically evaluate organisational structures and designs to ensure that they are compatible with the current realities of the organisation and its market environment; b. formulate a pro-active approach to the application of theories pertaining to the main domains of HRM; c. recognise that managers cannot afford to stop learning and therefore need to continuously learn how to learn in order to be able to act as strategic partners contributing to creativity and innovation through the strategic management and development of employees and organisations. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a. apply diagnostic scales and tools to analyse organisations and their performance in order to ensure congruence between worker characteristics, job designs and organisational structure; b. differentiate between ranges of modes of management, learning styles and leadership styles and apply self-administered questionnaires in order to better understand the dynamics of the organisation and decide on the best way forward; c. apply strategic hard and soft approaches to people management that contribute to the realization of best practice in all HR domains. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Armstrong, M. (2016). Handbook of Strategic Human Resource Management. London: Kogan Page. - Baldacchino, G., Cassar, V. and Azzopardi, J.G. (2019), Malta and its Human Resources: Management and Development Perspectives. Msida, Malta: Malta University Press. Supplementary Readings: - Sadun, R., Bloom, N. and Van Reenen, J., (2017). Why do we undervalue competent management. Harvard Business Review, 95(5), pp.120-127. - Kaufman, B.E., (2015). Evolution of strategic HRM as seen through two founding books: A 30th anniversary perspective on development of the field. Human Resource Management, 54(3), pp.389-407. - Knowles, M., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2015). Adult learning within human resource development in: The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (8th edn). New York: Routledge. - Jacobs, R.L., (2017). Knowledge work and human resource development. Human Resource Development Review, 16(2), pp.176-202. - Kolb, A. and Kolb, D., (2018). Eight important things to know about the experiential learning cycle. Australian Educational Leader, 40(3), p.8. - Mello, J.A. (2011). Strategic Management of Human Resources (3rd Edition). South-Western: Cengage Learning. Relevant research papers and case studies for this study unit will be uploaded on VLE and/or distributed during the course of studies. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Stephanie Fabri |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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