Dr M.J. Ashleigh 1 11/03/2015

The UFHRD Teaching and Learning Resource Bank

Resource Title ‘Contemporary Issues and Debates in Human Resource Management’. This module introduces students to current debates and challenges within HRM incorporating team-work, knowledge sharing and independent learning.

Authors

Dr Mel Ashleigh, Associate Professor in OB and HRM, Business School, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ mja@soton.ac.uk

Key Words

Experiential and independent learning; applied HRM; practical case study; Teamwork; transferring knowledge.

Context The programme is a level 7 Master’s degree in HRM Strategy and this is a core module in the programme delivered over 10 weeks which is CIPD accredited and counts towards students’ accreditation. Students have to pass this module 50% or more to progress. Students are full-time, with some having work experience; diversity is extensive, covering 12 countries within an average cohort of 35 students.

Purpose This module aims to give students an understanding of a range of topics that are relevant to challenges within the HRM 21st century workplace. It provides opportunity to be reflective in students’ independent learning, critical in analysis of theory and practical in applying this learning to a simulated HRM problem as a group. Students have to present their identified problem and solutions to a panel as well as write a personal learning portfolio and an extended essay on one topic from essay questions developed from the eight content sessions across the module.

How it works The module is divided up into three assessed pieces of work which are all interdependent of each other, giving students both breadth and depth of understanding and applying theory to practice; allowing them to share knowledge and to be reflective through their own independent learning experience. A personal learning portfolio is assessed at 30%; an individual extended essay at 40% and a group practical presentation at 30%. Students are divided into action learning sets of 6 or 7 based on their learning styles (Honey 2006), (completed in week zero). Each member then chooses one of the content topics to study in depth. Through a case study of an applied HRM problem, each member of the group then shares their knowledge and understanding of their own topic, which culminates into one group presentation to a mock up HRM board in a 20 minute presentation in week 9. From their interaction with each other students learn to transfer knowledge of different topics as well as gain in-depth understanding of their individual topic which then supports them writing an extended essay

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in that topic. At the commencement of the module a session is given on independent learning, learning styles and detailed guidelines of the personal learning portfolio, the extended essay and the group presentation are explained (see appendix 1). Students are given detailed assessment criteria for all three parts of the module and guidelines of the feedback given. (see appendices 2 & 3). Individual peer assessment is also given for effort for the presentation, which helps to reduce social loafing. This is explained at the beginning of the module when students are put into their action learning sets (appendix 4). There is an online facility for references and a discussion board for each topic, where students discuss and critique literature, ideas and also add their own resources. Several visiting speakers are involved in bringing ‘real life’ experiences of HRD and HRM to the class which inspires students and helps them to understand the value of applying theory to practice in the workplace. NB many of the references are given in full in Appendix One. Where the resource refers to other unspecified papers/readings, educators are recommended to select relevant sources with which they are familiar.

Evaluation/Feedback Feedback from a 2012 student: ‘ I adopted a certain level of admiration for Mel - she is very motivating and inspirational in teaching this module and I now have such a better understanding of how to apply theory to practice and what independent learning really means now.’ Over the past five years of teaching this module it has received no less than 4.5/5 from student evaluations and in 2013/14 a UK student commented; ‘This module was highly interactive, challenging and the action learning sets and different combination of assessment methods made this module thoroughly enjoyable.’ This was demonstrated by the positive evaluation feedback that was received from students. The module was rated 4.66/5.00 overall with the academic co-ordinator scoring 4.9/5.0 Feedback from a 2014/15 student: The collaborative task not only helped us to understand what was in the lecture content but it also helped us experience real problems that could happen in the actual work place such as teamwork, leadership and managing diversity. Feedback from a Professor who taught on this module 2014: This programme was developed by Dr Mel Ashleigh and during 2014 I was very happy to contribute in some sessions in her absence. The module is well structured and professionally organised with clear instructions and supporting resources. The design of the module is excellent in terms of its content, sequence and the interdependency between assessments;

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culminating in one that reflects the aim of the programme, which is to equip students with the critical significance of HRM as a core competency in today’s globalised markets. Being accredited by the CIPD is also of great value for the students in pursuing their future careers. Significantly, the module also embodies almost all contemporary themes in HRM and offers sufficient time to critically explore them throughout its duration. Mel is very passionate and dedicated to teaching. She genuinely cares for the growth of each and every student. The success of this module is the produce of Mel’s attitude, care and creativity and has been amply demonstrated from the feedback of the students, as well as the transformation that we witnessed in the students at the final group presentation. Personally, I enjoyed very much working with Mel on this very interesting and challenging module. Sri Kandiah is a visiting professor at the University of Southampton and has held a Senior Management position in Sales, Marketing, Training and HR.

Appendices See appendices 1 2 3 & 4 below

Dr M.J. Ashleigh 4 11/03/2015

Appendix One

MSC in Human Resource Management Strategy

Unit Title: Contemporary Issues and

Debates in Human Resource Management

MANG 6178

Unit Co-ordinator: Dr. Melanie Ashleigh mja@soton.ac.uk

Room 4014 Ext 24738

20014/15

Dr M.J. Ashleigh 5 11/03/2015

Dear Student This unit is designed to meet your needs as HR specialists and policy makers in organisations. It is also accredited by the CIPD and forms part of your requirement in order to achieve your accreditation from the professional body. You may come from multidiscipline backgrounds, you may be very different in many ways, but you all share a common appreciation of how important human resource management is as a core competency of managing organisations efficiently in today’s globalised markets. This course introduces contemporary themes associated with HRM, with the objective of creating an in-depth and critical exploration of some challenges that we face in the workplace today. Such issues include topics such as, managing diversity, changing patterns of work and careers, becoming more employable, being our own entrepreneurs and the HRM implications such issues create. This will involve learning about the multiple and often competing perspectives that pertain to HRM in today’s workplace.

You will be required to undertake several tasks during this course. I have designed it to encourage you to be independent learners and I hope that this course will be a journey of discovering things about yourself as well as some contemporary issues in HRM. The topics covered are very broad but are challenging and you will have the opportunity to give your point of view, debate and discuss as well as share with others your own experiences of such issues. PLEASE NOTE Sessions will be held on Wednesdays at 9-11am and Thursdays at 2-4pm in Room 3043 Level 3 Building 2) unless otherwise stated. This handbook will be put on blackboard together with relevant references. It is important that you try and do the readings before the lecture so we suggest you start reading for week one as soon as you receive this handbook! Most readings are on blackboard electronically, although some we will give you manually.

1. Topics Covered

Weeks Topics and learning guidelines Facilitators

Week 1 01/10/14 02/10/14

What do we mean by Independent learning? Do the Honey (2006) learning style questionnaire (Licence No.: 2385 Reproduced

under Licence to University of Southampton. Must not be photocopied Licence Expiry: 100 copies / 17/09/2011 Page 24 © Peter Honey Publications Ltd.)

on blackboard before this lecture and you will be given a reading Theoretical approaches for critical thinking – what are organisations and why do we make assumptions about them?

Mel Ashleigh Read hardcopy Paper

Week 2 08/10/14 09/10/14

Inclusivity awareness - Are we talking real concern relating to global challenges or just political correctness?

Mel Ashleigh Read Ch. 5 in Contemporary management & papers on blackboard

Week 3 15/10/14 16/10/14

Ethics – what has this got to do with HRM? Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and HRM implications: What does it mean to be socially responsible within an increasingly financially driven market economy?

Mel Ashleigh Read chapter 4 in Contemporary Management & papers on blackboard

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.

Week 4 22/10/14 23/10/14

Teams - why are they effective – when are they not? (Wang, Ashleigh & Meyer 2006) (Ashleigh & Prichard 2011)

Mel Ashleigh Read Ch. 9 Psychology of People in Organisations & papers on blackboard.

Week 5 29/10/14 30/10/14

Highly Educated and Employable? The Importance of employability in 21st century organisations. Changing concept of careers and implications to career management. http://www.matchtech.com/graduates

Mel Ashleigh Read papers on blackboard and look up employability for students Guest speaker Ruth McGall Director of NHS

Week 6 05/11/14 6/11/14

Intrapreneurship & Entrepreneurship – how does this affect HRM? – Can anyone be an entrepreneur? The tension between innovations versus performance driven organisations

Guest Speaker Sri Kandiah Readings on blackboard.

Week 7 12/11/14 13/11/14

Knowing is not the same as becoming: Applying HRM in the real world.

Mel Ashleigh & Sri Kandiah & guest speaker& Karyn Woods. Readings on Blackboard

Week 8 19/11/14 20/10/14

The Importance of leadership in HRM

Mel Ashleigh Chapter 14 Contemporary Management or chapter 10 Ashleigh & Mansi plus papers on blackboard

Week 9 27/11/12

Group Collaborative Task – Presentation in groups – for full description see section 4.3. Collaborative Group Task

3 academics will form the role play board

Week 10 No lectures

Independent learning and reading time for essay due in 4th December 2014 3.30pm latest

Mel Ashleigh available for individual feedback

2. Teaching and learning methods and activities Teaching methods include Lectures, case studies, directed reading, small and large group discussion, debating, learning tasks and practitioner involvement. Learning activities include

Learning tasks and group presentations

Case study problem solving activities

Directed reading

Debating

Individual journal portfolio

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Individual extended essay

3 Summary of assessment methods (summative assessment) see appendices

for weightings and criteria

3.1 Feedback and student support during course unit of study Formative feedback will be provided throughout the course on student-led discussions and individual assignments. Tutor feedback on the learning tasks and your portfolio will be provided on a continuous basis. Peer group assessment and feedback of such tasks will also be incorporated in the learning and teaching scheme and you will be required to assess each other’s presentations as an internal reliability check. There will also be tutor time allowed every week for your groups. Summative assessment and written moderated feedback of three academics will be given for your presentations. Summative and formative assessment will be given in written form for your reflective learning portfolio and your extended individual essay. 3.2 Relationship between the teaching, learning and assessment methods and

the planned learning outcomes Using the concept of ‘constructive alignment’ (Biggs, 2003), the teaching and assessment methods are in conjunction with the planned learning outcomes. The individual coursework is designed to be worked on by students from the outset of the learning programme whilst exploring contemporary themes of HRM from a critical and in-depth perspective. This will require students to research a wide range of sources including academic and practitioner journals and databases to obtain information and material regarding the links between the themes discussed. You will have a 20 minute presentation to give as a group based around one of the topics. This will be informed by your reading, sharing knowledge with others, your individual experience within the workplace and your learning portfolio. This individual and group coursework will make up the total assessment marks and will enable students to achieve the unit’s planned learning outcomes.

Assessment method Weight Issue week

Deadline week

Submission

Date

Individual learning Portfolio &

Extended Individual Essay

30% 40%

1 1

8

10

21st

November 2014

5th December

2014

Collaborative Learning Task 30% 1 9

27th November 2014 times

TBC

Dr M.J. Ashleigh 8 11/03/2015

4. Assessment

4.1 Learning Portfolio

Please Read the following information very carefully Throughout this course you will be required to produce a Learning Portfolio which will form part of your continuous assessment. A Learning Portfolio represents a collection of your own thoughts, questions and feelings related to the topics that we will be studying. This will include critical evaluation of your readings and the theories we will be discussing. It may also include discussion about how you have personally brought theory to life through your own working experiences. The purpose of writing a Learning Portfolio is so that you develop as an independent learner. It will be used for assessing the process you’re going through rather than specifically assessing the content of the course. It aims to assess you as a reflective learner, for your effort in thinking around subjects and for evidence of your reading and critical thinking. The Learning Portfolio will also provide evidence of your progress and ongoing performance. Although it does not have to be a finished piece of work as such, a summary of your learning at the end of each topic would be useful both for you to progress and for assessment purposes. You will be asked to submit your Learning Portfolio in Week 8 on 21st November 2014 (word limit is 2,500). Guidelines to keeping a Learning Portfolio You should aim to write between 100 & 200 words per day. Some days you may want to write more and some days, less, but try to write an entry every day. Here are some suggestions of content to include:

A summary of your readings in your own words what you found easy or difficult what you enjoyed or disliked what problems you need to work on next and how you feel you are

progressing how you feel about your studies Your reflections on collaborative work and the process of preparing for the

presentation How have you managed working within an action learning set and relying on

others? You may choose to include information relating to areas of your life outside your study, but the focus should be on how this is affecting your learning process within this course. You should aim to analyse and reflect, not just to describe. Your journal should answer questions like 'Why...?' and 'How...?', not just 'What...?' and 'When...?' A good learning log will:

be written in a fairly personal style, using the first person singular (I) analyse, critique and comment, not just describe focus on your learning process make connections between ideas – these may come from the lectures, your

own reading and/or discussions with others. show links between entries from day to day show evidence of planning show evidence of looking back show evidence that you are reflecting on your progress

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reflective action – how are you going to change your behaviour in light of your learning?

Your Learning Portfolio will also help you to:-

1. demonstrate ability to master the major topics of the course 2. provide evidence of how the work on an assignment evolved 3. choose which assignment best represents one's strengths; articulate and track

accomplishments in and outside the classroom 4. link experiences and achievements within and between classes 5. recognize emerging patterns in your programs and areas of interest, leading to

more focus and better justification and substantiation of subsequent decisions and choices

6. self-analyse and reflect; to develop own learning curve; increase levels of self-understanding and your self-confidence as well as clarity of purpose and levels of motivation (in the lectures)

7. be more proactive in planning and pursuing your educational and post-graduate opportunities

4.2 Extended Individual Essay

The Extended Essay will be an individual piece of work and you will be able to choose from a selection of titles that relate generally to most of the topic areas, albeit may not necessarily include the specific content within the topic sessions. This means that you can begin to plan your essay from week two. The word count should not exceed 3,500 but not less than 3,000 words. The deadline for this piece of course work is week 10 (5th December 2013). Your essay should be written as a critical review or debate surrounding your chosen title (e.g. a debate discussing evidence for and against different issues and one view/theory against another). Your discussion should therefore be closely linked to the literature and your reading - not contain what you think! You will be required to write this in ‘academic speak’ which means you should not personalise this writing (do not use I) but write in the third person. For more information and help, please refer to academic writing skills at

http://www.academic-skills.soton.ac.uk/toolkit.htm. You can begin reading around the area of your chosen topic from day one and do not have to wait for the lecture slot. Your own Learning Portfolio and sharing knowledge with others may also inform your thinking and choice of essay. NB - Please note where possible each member of the group must choose a different essay topic. There are six titles which cover the whole content of the course. Only where it is necessary for there to be more than 6 in a group will duplicate essay titles will be allowed. Essay topics are as follows: Week 1 Many organisational theories have been developed in parallel or

response to socio-political changes (Scientific Management; Fordism). Are such theories still relevant in today’s globalised world or do we need new ways of thinking about organisations? – Discuss!

Week 2 The New Equality Act 2010 is the culmination of 40 years of

progressive legislation to create fairness across UK and the European Union. Discuss the challenges that can present in attempting to operationalise such new laws into the workplace.

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Week 3 CSR is also called corporate citizenship (Zappala 2004) – a key

function is corporate community involvement (CCI) – e.g. how policies of firms help both financially and philanthropically to the wider community. Considering may organisations pay ‘lip service’ to CSR, discuss how HRM could play a role in developing and operationalising policies towards a more philanthropic organisation.

Weeks 4 & 8 You work for a small, but specialised, electronics company, which

constantly strives to develop market-leading products. The department you work in has been tasked to take forward a new product in a very short time frame. In order to complete this challenging development, new members have had to join your team. Discuss the role of the team leader in fostering a climate for innovation and critically assess what needs to be in place for the new team to be successful.

Week 5 We live in a knowledge society and the industrialised world no longer

has a monopoly on knowledge. Competition for jobs is high and it is suggested that: Individual Competitiveness (employability) = what you know (your distinctive knowledge/skill) x who you know1 (your networks) Discuss!

Week 6 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Intrapreneurship for

large organisations today – how does Intrapreneurship affect HRM processes?

The Learning Portfolio will be worth 30% and the Individual Extended Essay

worth 40% making the joint contribution towards this course of s 70% of your marks. (see appendices for criteria and weightings of assessment).

4.3 Group Collaborative Task

The group collaborative task will be in the form of a group presentation which you will be required to present to your fellow students and a panel of judges (teaching staff) in the lecture slot in week 9 (27th November 2014). This will form 30% of your total assessment and you will be able to choose a title of your presentation and how you wish to present your work, (computers overhead projectors & white boards will be provided).

You are a team of HR specialists working for a multi-national company and have been tasked to find a new Continuous Improvement Manager for the newly opened Chinese branch of your company. The company has expanded over the last three years into the S.E. Asian market, but the CEO and board are now noticing problems with staff retention and training in some of their outlets compared with European branches and the board would like these issues addressed. They are therefore seeking to employ someone who will head up a team responsible for continuous improvement and who will be able to implement effective strategies to address some of these HR problems across the company. You will be presenting to a ‘mock up’ board where you will have to convince them of your identification and assessment of the problem and a possible solutions.

1 (Ridderstråle & Nordström, 2000 “Funky Business”, Pearsons, Harlow).

2 http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_5380000/newsid_5383200/5383268.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1

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Your company can make or manufacture any product or service you want to (this is open to your imagination and may come from your own working experiences) – Give your company a name though!

Your task is to prepare a presentation as to what you would look for in an ideal candidate for the new CI manager and why. (Think about all the issues that have been raised throughout this unit and consider both external as well as internal environments).

You and your fellow students may want to share real work experiences that you have had surrounding any of the challenging issues and bring some of these into the task

You should include something on every issue that we have discussed throughout the course. Where possible you may include theories/models from the literature, (but don’t forget to cite authors correctly!), as well as your discussions and debates throughout the course.

Your presentation should be no longer than 20 minutes and each member must contribute to the task. Your group will then have up to 10 minutes for a question and answer session.

NB Please see appendix for your marking criteria and weightings. You will also have the opportunity for peer assessment in terms of individual effort within your group which may affect your overall group mark if peers score you less than ‘3’.

5. Resources

Recommended Texts (In library, bookshop University Road or URL). You may want to purchase texts as a group to cut down on costs – which is perfectly acceptable. Ashleigh, M.J. & Mansi, A., (2012) The Psychology of People In Organisations. Pearsons, UK. Meyer, E & Ashleigh, M.J. George J.M & Jones, G.R., (2007) Contemporary Management (European Edition), McGraw Hill, UK. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007711115x/information_center_view0/ Background texts (in library or URL) Konrad, A. M. (2006) Cases in Gender and Diversity in Organisations, London, Sage Publications. Relevant reading material (i.e. journal papers) will be introduced at appropriate points in the learning programme. (all these will be posted on the blackboard site) Some journals which you may find useful are appropriate are:- Human Relations; The International Journal of Human Resource Management; Journal of Management; Human Resource Management journal. References Ashleigh M.J. & Prichard J.S.’ (2011) ‘Enhancing Trust through training’ In Searle,

Rosalind and Skinner, Denise eds. Trust and Human Resource Management. Cheltenham UK: Edward Elgar pages 125-138.

Biggs, J. (2003).Teaching for Quality Learning at University (2nd edition). Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education /Open University Press.

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Honey. P., & Mumford, A., (2006) Learning Styles Questionnaire 80-item July 2006 edition, maidenhead, UK. Jaw Kai Wang, J.K., & Ashleigh, M.J., & Meyer, E. (2006) ‘Knowledge sharing and Team trustworthiness’. Knowledge Management Research & Practice (2006) 4, 175–186. Zappalà, G., (2004) Corporate citizenship and human resource management: A new

tool or a missed opportunity? Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 42; 185 Other Library Support required http://www.soton.ac.uk/library/

Subject Librarian to offer assistance where necessary for using databases.

Useful Websites: BBC NEWS http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ The Economist: http://www.economist.com/ The CIPD http://www.cipd.co.uk/

The University Forum for Human Resource Development (UFHRD) http://www.ufhrd.co.uk/wordpress/

Dr M.J. Ashleigh 13 11/03/2015

Appendix Two Contemporary issues and Debates in HRM Mang 6178 2014/15 Assessment Criteria and weighting for individual learning portfolio and extended essay Learning portfolio

Analysis and critique of your learning process including content, experience, readings, being able to link these together

25%

Evidence of reflective practice – looking back at what you’ve done linking it to;

25%

Evidence of progress and learning. 25%

Evidence of reflective action – what you may want or need to change in light of your experiences and learning?

25%

This is marked out of 100 and worth 30% of your total marks and the minimum to pass is 50% Individual Extended Essay

Evidence of answering the question not simply describing what you have read about the topic

30%

Analysis and critique of the literature surrounding your chosen topic and how this relates to the question as a discussion/debate

30%

Evidence of linking your topic to the wider issues surrounding it (e.g. evidence of wider reading and how your topic impacts on HRM/HRD practice today).

25%

Structure of essay; English and grammar and correct referencing protocol.

15%

This is marked out of 100 and worth 40% of your total marks and minimum to pass is 50%.

Dr M.J. Ashleigh 14 11/03/2015

Appendix Three Feedback Form for Group Presentations: Overall weighting for group presentation will be 30% of your total mark for this

unit.

Contemporary Issues & Debates: Mang 6178

Group No.:

1-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10

Criteria

Presentation Style

Attractive introduction Effective use of visual aids Engagement of audience; pace and audibility Keeping within allotted time Response to questions

Presentation Content

Clarity of purpose, relevance & innovativeness Theoretical approaches towards organisations Diversity management (inclusivity) Employability Corporate social responsibility & ethics Intrapreneurship/Entrepreneurship Leadership Teamwork Critical analysis; quality of argument Conclusions

Group Mark (out of 150):

Tips for next time:

Dr M.J. Ashleigh 15 11/03/2015

Appendix Four Individual Effort Feedback Form for Group Presentations: Your group mark will be weighted according to your individual effort which means there is no room for any ‘free riding or social loafing’

Contemporary Issues & Debates: Mang 6178

Group No.:

YOUR OWN NAME: & ID NO 1 2 3 4 5

This will only be seen by your tutor and moderators

Please write the name of each of your group members plus their correct family name. Then assess each of them according to guidelines below

Name Any member receiving lower than a ‘3’ from their peers will receive a reduced mark

Anchor points to marking effort 1 - Denotes member made no effort in contributing to the group e.g. didn’t turn up to meetings, didn’t read anything; didn’t give feedback or contribute to discussions 3 - Denotes member making average effort e.g. sometimes turned up late for meetings, didn’t always contribute to discussions, and was not proactively contributing to the task. 5 - Denotes member making 100% effort in always turning up to meetings, always doing reading and contributing to discussions and the task.