BA Modern Language and Business & Management (Russian) / Course details

The course addresses four overlapping themes:

•       The Nature of Work is explored briefly introducing important theoretical ideas about the employment relationship and the labour process within the context of capitalist society.

•       The Organisation of Work is explored focusing on classical ideas about how work has been managed and organised. Foundational ideas about the management of work are introduced and critically examined. Connections are made between such ideas and practice.

•       The Changing Experience of Work is explored in relation to changes in the composition of workforces, with a particular focus on skills and careers. The theme of change is scrutinised with a focus on features prevalent in the service economy, such as equality and diversity and work-life balance.

•       The Response of Organised Labour is explored considering industrial relations issues, including representation and conflict at work and issues facing workplaces as a result from the increasingly sophisticated organisation of work by management and employers. A particular focus is given on the role of trade unions in resistance to forms of exploitation, as well as changes to traditional forms of worker representation.

BMAN24521 is a free choice option for students with prior agreement from their home schools.

The course aims to provide students with basic understanding of both traditional and contemporary ideas about work organisations. The course introduces students to several themes related to the organisation of work, focusing on the role of management and employers, as well as workers and trade unions. Management issues are explored from a historical, critical and gender perspective, combining theory with practical issues facing organizations today.

At the end of the course students should be able to:

•       Explain and assess key traditional and contemporary debates about work organisations.

•       Identify and review critical approaches to management.

•       Interpret empirical evidence about the changing nature of work in contemporary workplaces.

•       Explain different aspects that influence the changing experience of work.

•       Discuss the role of organised labour in response to new management practices.

One hour lecture per week for 10 weeks.
One hour seminar per week for 10 weeks.

Lecture hours:10
Seminar hours: 10
Private study: 80
Total study hours: 100

Total study hours: 100 hours.

Informal Contact Methods

•       Office Hours

1. Non-credit bearing formative assessment
2. Part see written examination paper (2 hours) - 100%
 - Section A (seen) - One question from two
 - Section B (unseen) - One question from four

 

• Informal advice and discussion during lectures and seminars.

• Specific course related feedback sessions.

• Written and/or verbal comments on non-assessed coursework.

• Written and/or verbal comments after students have given a group or individual presentation.

• Generic feedback posted on Blackboard regarding overall examination performance.

Preliminary reading

Selected use of:

Blyton P., Heery, E. and Turnbull, P. (2011) Reassessing the Employment Relationship, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Noon M. and Morrell K. (2013) The Realities of Work, 4 Edition, Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Bach, S. and Edwards, M. (Ed) (2013) Managing Human Resources, 5 Edition, Oxford: Blackwell.

Pre-requisites: N/A
Co-requisites: N/A
Dependent courses: N/A

Programme Restrictions: Available as a free choice option to students who have received prior agreement from their registering School. Not available to BSc in Management/Management (Specialism), IMABS, IM,or ITMB/ITMB (Specialism).

BMAN24521 is available to visiting and exchange students admitted through the University of Manchester’s International Programmes Office.

For Academic Year 2020/21

Updated: March 2020  

Approved by: March UG Committee