BSc Management / Course details

The Employment Relations and Human Resource Management course unit examines work, employment and the management of people within its wider social and economic context. A core focus in the course will be the British experience of these issues but wider European and global developments will also be assessed. The central theme of the course is the employment relationship, with a focus on the academic and practical nature of employment relations and human resource management (HRM), including the objectives and methods of the actors within employment relations and HRM; workers, trade unions, management/employers and governments/the state. The development of and relationship between employment relations and HRM, and the tensions between the two academic fields and areas of practice, will be assessed to develop theoretical knowledge of the study of the employment relationship. The approach is both descriptive and analytical, and draws on some concepts that students will have encountered in first-year foundation courses.

Available as option for BSc Mgt/Mgt Specialism, IM and IMABS. Core for BSc Management with HR Specialism.

None

The course unit aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of work, employment and human resource management within its wider social and economic context, combining strong academic foundations with practical insights of relevance to future careers involving the management of people.

• Introduction to the fields of employment relations and HRM 
• The changing nature of labour markets, employment relations and HRM  
• The role of the state in the employment relationship  
• Management, HRM and the employment relationship   
• Changing trade union influence, membership levels and union ‘renewal’  

20 hours lectures; 10 hours Seminars. 
Independent study: 170.  
Notional hours of learning: 200 hours

• Identify the factors which shape the nature and content of the employment relationship, e.g. management strategies; HRM policies and practices; government policies; trade union activities; economic and labour market conditions. 
• Appraise the nature of the objectives and methods adopted by the various parties who seek to influence the content and dynamics of the employment relationship (employers and HR managers, trade unions, employees and the state). 

• Analyse and critically assess the policies and practices of various interest groups (e.g. employers, unions and the state) e.g. HRM; collective bargaining; state regulation of employment rights; union-management partnership; union organising; industrial action. 
• Examine and critically assess current trends and issues in employment relations and HRM. 

• Use of library, electronic and online resources

• Demonstrate ability to independently gather, sift, synthesise and organise material from various sources (including library, electronic and online resources), and to critically evaluate its significance.

Formative:
Essay– optional formative assignment

Summative:
Individual Essay (100%)

Formative:
An individual feedback form will be returned to each student and this can discussed one-to-one prior to the final summative essay deadline

Summative:
As per school guidelines on summative written work 

Bingham C. Employment Relations : Fairness and Trust in the Workplace . Second edition. SAGE; 2023. https://read.kortext.com  

Williams S. Introducing Employment Relations : A Critical Approach . Fifth edition. Oxford University Press; 2020.  

Farnham, D. (2015) The Changing Faces of Employment Relations: Global, comparative and theoretical perspectives. Palgrave.  

Colling T and T. Work, the Employment Relationship and the Field of Industrial Relations. 3rd ed. (Terry Mike, ed.). Wiley; 2010. 

Pre-requisites: None
Co-requisites: None
Dependent courses: None

Programme Restrictions: BSc Management / Management (specialism), IM

Core to BSc Management (Human Resources) specialism

For Academic Year 2025/26

Updated: March 2025

Approved by: March UG Committee