| Unit name | International Employment Relations and Governance |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIMM0132 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Bondy |
| 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 |
Why is the unit important?
The relationship between labour, capital and the state within its broad political, historical, economic and social context is one that is experiencing dramatic changes. These changes raise important questions. Are traditional forms of labour market regulations sustainable and is it possible to produce voice, equity and efficiency at the same time? Will unions continue to play an important role in helping to protect the interests of workers? Do national institutions, actors and policymakers still have the most important role to play in shaping employment relations? What part do new governance actors at the international level have to play? Are new forms of representation developing and will they be as effective? This unit will provide students with the knowledge and understanding and conceptual tools they need to answer these and the many other employment relations-related questions raised by globalisation, technological advances and the increasing proliferation of trans-national organisations and their value chains.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Within the context of the MSc Human Resource Management and the Future of Work, this unit provides a valuable international perspective on a range of contemporary issues facing even those workers whose jobs constitute decent work. As such, students will be able to engage with some of the biggest issues facing current and future generations of managers and policymakers in relation to work in the global economy.
An overview of content
The content of the unit covers the identification of some of the key issues facing workers, both today and in the future, in the international labour market. This includes investigation of forced labour and modern slavery, labour migration and capital mobility, the rise of the multinational company and the growing dominance of global value chains. Furthermore, the unit will deal with the main international actors and frameworks that seek to regulate and govern the international employment relationship, in order to reduce the risks it brings to workers and promote decent work.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Through studying this unit, students will have an enhanced knowledge of key issues in international employment relations and their governance, in addition to understanding the complexities involved in addressing the challenges that result from them. As a result, students will have developed their research, writing, critical thinking, and analytical skills, as well as their ability to find appropriate solutions to difficult problems.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Teaching is conducted through ten weekly lectures (two hours) and seminars (one hour). The lectures are a mixture of teaching and interaction, and seminars are student-centred. This approach is taken in order to provide students with two important elements to their learning. On the one hand, this approach provides students with explanations and applications of theories as well as up-to-date examples and case studies. On the other hand, there is the opportunity for students to engage, ask questions, provide their views, and discuss and debate what they learn each week with their peers. This constates practice for the development of arguments that will be invaluable for the summative assessment. There is also weekly reading from journal articles chosen to represent a wide range of issues central to international employment relations, including forced labour, multinational companies, global value cahins and international governance of labour and employment. These are up-to-date research papers that will provide students with the most recent developments and knowledge on the topics covered. There are also advice and feedback hours each week, which provides students with the opportunity to ask questions outside of the classroom. The seminars are based on ‘real life’ organisational experiences where there is exposure to practical issues facing employment relations actors and institutions, based on case studies that requires problem-solving and decision-making, group and individual exercises; presentations, discussion, and debate.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
1 x 500 word individual essay where the students will select an international employment relations issue and related challenges, and then use the relevant academic and practitioner-focused literatures to justify why the selected issue is important and worthy to study.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative, 100% of overall unit mark):
1 x 2,000 individual report assignment whereby students will be required to write a report for the International Trade Union Confederation on one of their identified work-related ‘issues’ (e.g. child labour, climate changes, migration) (100%) [ILOs 1-3].
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, failed components will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis.
You will be reassessed via the same assessment task as originally undertaken for this unit but for the second submission you must choose a different employment relations issue from your first submission. Therefore this reassessment covers all learning outcomes above.
Reassessment: (100% of overall unit mark) 1 x 2,000 individual report assignment whereby students will be required to write a report for the International Trade Union Confederation on one of their identified work-related ‘issues’ (e.g. child labour, climate changes, migration) (must be different employment relations issue from original submission). [ILOs 1-3]
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. EFIMM0132).
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.
