Handbook : Unit informationEdith Cowan University

School: Business and Law

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

• Unit Title

  Strategic Human Resource Management III

• Unit Code

  MAN3205

• Year

  2016

• Enrolment Period

  1

• Version

  2

• Credit Points

  15

• Full Year Unit

  N

• Mode of Delivery

  On Campus
  Online

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Description

Students who take their first course in Human Resource Management (HRM) typically study the classical functions of HR practice - job design, recruitment, selection, training and development, compensation and so forth. This is intended to develop their understanding of the HR basics, sometimes referred to as the functions toolkit. However, you should not limit your study to the functions toolkit if you wish to become actively involved at the strategic level of an organisation. The learning experiences in this unit will help prepare you to perform the role of strategic partner through developing a strategic mindset or way of looking at and thinking about the management of work and people in organisations. HR practitioners play a strategic partner role when they have the knowledge and skills to be an essential part of the senior management team running the organisation and translate business strategy into action. As part of your preparation for enacting the role of strategic partner you will need to become familiar with the theory, concepts and research in the field of Strategic HRM. Strategic HRM integrates the fields of Strategic Management and HRM, and is a field of study that is still taking form. Two broad themes are apparent in the emerging body of literature on Strategic HRM. First, an organisations human resources are of critical strategic importance. This means that all the experience, knowledge, skills, judgement, risk taking propensity and creativity of individuals associated with the organisation have the potential to provide both the foundation for strategy formulation and the means for strategy implementation. Second, a firms HR practices are instrumental in developing the strategic capability of its pool of human resources. In Strategic HRM you learn about how the tools in the functions toolkit can be used to develop and organisations strategic capabilities.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must pass 1 units from MAN2145

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Analyse the array of factors that might influence strategic choices in HRM.
2. Apply Strategic HRM theory and concepts to a range of problems in authentic contexts.
3. Appraise the line managers role in implementing HR strategy.
4. Compare the idealised role of HRM in the strategic management process to the actual role of HRM in contemporary organisations.
5. Critically evaluate research into the link between HRM and organisational performance.
6. Distinguish HRs role in the managing strategic change.
7. Make a persuasive case for viewing employees as a potential source of sustainable competitive advantage.

Unit Content

1. 'Best fit' versus 'best practice'.
2. Employee voice.
3. Introduction to strategic human resource management.
4. Linking HR systems to organizational performance.
5. Managing individual performance and commitment.
6. Managing strategic change.
7. Organisational culture change
8. Resource-based view of the firm.
9. Strategy and the process of strategic management.
10. The goals of human resource management.
11. Work systems.

Additional Learning Experience Information

On-campus students will attend a single, weekly three-hour seminar. These seminars include a range of teaching and learning activities such as lectures, analysis of case studies and small group discussion of questions and problems. Students make oral presentations to the class on journal article readings and complete a written report on an organisation-based assignment. Off-campus students will cover the same content as the on-campus unit. Off-campus students complete a range of learning activities such as analysing case studies, answering review questions and participating in on-line discussions. Students complete a written report on an organisation-based assignment. Off-campus students access this unit via Blackboard. Regular on-line access is required.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

Text References

• Armstrong (2011). Armstrong's handbook of strategic human resource management (5th ed.). London: Kogan Page.
• Barney, J.B. & Clark, D.N. (2007). Resource-based theory: Creating and sustaining competitive advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Boxall, P., Purcell, J., & Wright, P. (eds.). (2007). The Oxford handbook of human resource management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Boselie, P. (2010) Strategic human resource management : A balanced approach Maidenhead. Berkshire, UK: McGraw-Hill
• Boxall, P. & Purcell, J. (2016). Strategy and human resource management (4th ed). Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Mello, J.A. (2011). Strategic human resource management (3rd ed.). Mason Ohio: Thomson South Western.
• Nankervis, A., Compton, R., & Baird, M. (2010). Human resource management: Strategies and processes (7th ed.). Melbourne: Thomson.
• Truss, C., Mankin, D. & Kelliher, C. (2012) Strategic human resource management. New York: Oxford University Press.

Journal References

• Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources.
• Human Resource Management Journal.
• Human Resource Mangagement Review.
• International Journal of Human Resource Management.
• Personnel Review.
• Strategic HR Review

Other References

• The following journals contain articles relevant to this unit. It is recommended that students consult the aggregated databases via the library website, including Proquest and Emerald.

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