MA Strategic People Management and Practice

This module sets the foundation for the postgraduate programme in human resource management, enhancing your ability to make strategic and ethical business decisions whilst also promoting lifelong learning and self-development. By completing this module, you will develop a set of core skills such as perception, critical thinking, communication, and teamwork. It is designed to promote understanding of how actions and inclusive behaviour impact on ethics and the organisation. By critically evaluating and applying theories and conceptual frameworks you will examine how the development of individual and interpersonal competencies can drive good working practices which are inclusive and influential.

This module develops a critical understanding of the relationship between human resource management practices and the changing macroenvironment and microenvironment. It builds a strategic awareness of the advances in people management and explores the evolving range of practices required within the workplace of today and the future.

The module explores how people professionals create value and deliver outcomes for organisations and employees, and how contributing to the achievement of business objectives improves performance and enhances the employee experience.

This module creates space to allow you to think critically about individual and organisational approaches to equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging, understand underpinning social concepts such as stereotyping, discrimination etc. and reflect how these influence organisational strategy and policy within the workplace. You will critically appraise the competing drivers for diversity, inclusion and belonging and their relationship with the labour market including an understanding of equal treatment and diversity approaches to equality both conceptually and in terms of workplace interventions to develop an inclusive culture.

This module explores the sociodemographic and legislative considerations to effective talent and development management. You will explore the strategic approaches to managing and developing talent and investigate how to sustain agile and effective people planning initiatives. You will critically evaluate succession planning and inclusive approaches to unlock internal talent within a business and analyse the influence of digitalisation and technological advancements in managing and developing talent, whilst also exploring strategic approaches to sustaining a pipeline of future talent within an organisation.

This module explores the different approaches organisations and people managers undertake to manage and develop employment relations. It investigates the historical development of collective workplace negotiations, the relationship with trade unions and staff representatives and the move towards the individualisation of the employer / employee relationship. You will critically evaluate employment relations theories and conceptual frameworks and how these influence leadership approaches and relationship management within contemporary organisational settings.

This module focuses on the principles of organisational development and change to achieve strategic goals and support organisational success.  Particular emphasis is on the role of strategic reward in attracting, motivating and retaining people at work in order to direct the actions and behaviours of individuals, teams and the organisation towards the achievement of organisational goals.

This module will involve you applying research philosophical approaches to a real-life workplace challenge. You will learn the whole research process through participating in workshops and conducting online exercises, working on a real research problem that will develop your skills in designing and implementing quantitative and qualitative research methods. The module will support your development of competencies in effective methodological approaches, decision-making, and designing qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method research and ethical research practice. It provides you with the core skills and knowledge in readiness to undertake research in a chosen area of interest.

This module aims to strengthen your academic and professional reading and writing skills. Through supported workshops, you will develop an independent academically rigorous research project using primary and or secondary research methods. This module requires you evaluate a range of sources, including academic journal papers, textbooks, government and sector reports, research by professional bodies and other material to compile your professional inquiry. You will produce a robust and business centred cost benefit analysis of your research to demonstrate the ability to translate your findings, conclusions, and recommendations to a practice base setting.