HRM-40045 - Module Specification
Keele Business School
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

This module explores how managers and workers interact in the workplace to regulate the employment relationship in both union and non-union environments. The module also identifies pay as a key concern for employers, employees, trade unions and the state, as well as other elements of reward. Pay is a vital component of managing human resources and a frequent issue of contention within employee relations - managers need to control costs; workers rely on wages for survival.
Students are introduced to worker organisation and collective bargaining, the role of managerial regulation, information and consultation requirements. The effects of state policy, particularly in relation to legal regulation, are also discussed. The module is centred on the UK, whilst integrating elements of international comparison.

The module aims to provide:
an appreciation of the political economy of pay and reward systems;
analysis of pay systems and structures;
an understanding of the theory and practice of negotiations;
a critical understanding of both collective bargaining and non-union forms of worker involvement and participation.

Intended Learning Outcomes

critically assess theories of pay determination;: 1,2
critically assess the main processes in the regulation of the employment relationship and the impact of change over time: 2
critically evaluate the policies and practices of trade unions and employers in the field of collective bargaining: 2
identify and critically evaluate the meaning of concepts of productivity and performance and some of their limitations: 2
critically analyse different pay systems and the methodologies for determining pay hierarchies, particularly in relation to low pay and discrimination: 2
evaluate the effects of state policy on pay, both in terms of distribution and level: 2
identify both direct and indirect methods of regulating the employment relationship and evaluate the evidence for their adoption: 2
develop skills in utilising evidence of pay dispersion contained in official data sources: 1

Study hours

15 hours lectures
6 hours tutorial work
3 hours structured tutorials and feedback on using pay data
26 hours tutorial preparation
30 hours assessment preparation
70 hours independent study

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment