Unit information: Contemporary Developments in Employment Relations in 2024/25

Unit name	Contemporary Developments in Employment Relations
Unit code	MGRC20001
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Gouzoulis
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School of Management - Business School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

This unit will introduce Year 2 students to key issues in the employment relations and HRM literature, like job quality, work intensity, collective representation and employee voice, working time, precarity, regional and international labour market regulation, inequalities, and migration. In particular, our emphasis will be on how broader emerging challenges and institutional complementarities like globalisation, financialisation, the ecological crisis, and digitalisation have reshaped the debates around these fundamental areas of research.

Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, the unit will examine these issues based on theories and frameworks from various disciplines like sociology of work, political economy, industrial relations, and labour economies. This approach will allow students to develop a critical understanding of competing and complementary arguments as well as appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of various analytical framework and tools, so they can make more informed choices when they need to use them.

In terms of topics, this unit will explore how the segmentation and globalisation of production have altered the standard employment relationship between employers and employees and have created a much more complex network of recruiting, middle managers, and business owners. In turn, this has created a number of challenges related to who is responsible to provide occupational training, who is liable for occupational risks and injuries, and who is responsible to implement and enforce current labour market rules. In addition, the rise of financialisation has assigned power to financial institutions and shareholders over the decisions and goals of non-financial firms and employees, thus, understanding how financialised subjects re-orient their strategies in terms of labour market decisions and HR practices in an increasingly financialise world will be key part of the unit. Finally, digitalisation and the rise of the gig economy has also altered the standard labour market divides, since the employment status of these workers varies across platforms, hence, issues around forms of employment, employee voice, and precarity have become pressing across the globe.

Your learning on this unit

Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to demonstrate in-depth knowledge, understanding and appreciation of:

1. The central concepts, frameworks and problems in the fields of employment relations and human resource management
2. Approaches to understanding and analysing contemporary developments, such as globalisation, financialisation, digitalisation, and the ecological crisis, and their effect on the world of work, employment and society
3. Different methodological approaches to explaining diverse and complex domestic and global processes concerning labour markets, institutions and actors in employment relations and human resource management.
4. The practical problems of managing people individually and collectively in the context of a range of organisational settings and structures, sand as part of broader social and political processes shaping the contemporary world of work and employment
5. The critical, analytical and communication skills needed to represent complex ideas and results of their study and research effectively in oral and written form

How you will learn

Teaching takes place through a combination of lectures and smaller group seminars. Lectures introduce the content of the course, including terminology, concepts, theories, and examples of practice. These ways of learning are best suited to the unit, the learning outcomes and the assessment choices because students are exposed to critical evaluation of theories and concepts, and to the analytical methods employed in undertaking such critique. Lectures will include elements of discussion and debate, and the use of digital technology to ensure participation and active learning.

A variety of teaching methods will be used in small classes, including: discussions based on reports and case studies, group presentations, debates and discussions. All are intended to develop students’ capacity to analyse and evaluate in an active and engaging way, and to gain skills in working as part of a group.

Different resources (e.g. space, technology and time) are required for these two options and so the delivery of teaching will depend upon student numbers and the availability of resources. Students are expected to undertake independent reading to develop a depth of understanding.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative)

Formative assessment will take place continuously in seminars as students in small groups of 3-5 people will present analytical work based on assigned case studies, shorter articles or stories from popular/professional press to the teacher and to the wider group (ILO 1,3,4,5). Students are required to offer/receive critical and constructive feedback to/from their peers. Formative group presentations in seminars will feed into the summative assessment, with the teacher providing written feedback and classmates providing verbal feedback. Additional feedback will be available during the teacher’s office hours.

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative)

1) annotated bibliography (ILOs 1,2,3,4,5) - 20%

2) 2,500 words research paper (ILOs 1,2,3,4,5) - 80%

When assessment does not go to plan

The re-assessment weightings on this unit will not be the same as the original assessment. This means if you do not pass the unit overall, then you will be reassessed with a single piece of assessment weighted at 100%, covering all Learning Outcomes for the unit.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MGRC20001).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.