Applied HR, Business and Society - MAN00191M

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Module summary

This module seeks to extend the HR pathway within the MSc HRM to enable students to develop a greater HR specialism at PG level - one which better meets the contemporary employment demands students face. The approach is research led, based upon the proposer’s research / scholarly work in this area over a number of years. Given an increasing number of our students at PG level have little / no organisational experience, and given the University’s increasing strategic focus upon public good and widening access, this proposal is considered timely. In addition, for students who have a level of organisational understanding, this module seeks to provide an opportunity to solidify that experience through a theory based performative arts-based learning approach which seeks to relocate an organisational experience within a safe educational setting. In doing so the module seeks to facilitate students’ a) understanding of the contemporary HR challenges faced by organisations across a range of sectoral / societal contexts. b) exposure to an innovative interdisciplinary theatre-based learning environment. In addition, the module should enable students to: - Observe in real time and importantly experience complex HR business matters they would not normally have exposure to until well into their career paths. - Analyse, diagnose and offer solutions to complex HR business realities while seeing their suggestions performed in real time. - Be supported and facilitated in how theory works in practice in the face of challenging business and societal contexts, even in the absence of students’ personal experiences of organisations. - Have an assessment design which is innovative, interdisciplinary and more in-keeping with the employment demands they will face after graduation. - Gain experience within a research led academic but creative theatre based teaching environment - one which will enable them to cite practical experience at interviews for future jobs - experience they would not otherwise have gained. - Enhance any industry experience given the module forms a versatile extension through which to further hone HR, business, societal experience and life-long learning. - Consider communication styles to better influence the outcome of HR business discussions. - Reflect upon organisational data and make recommendations which positively impact the value of the organisation and stakeholder experiences. - Be part of break-out groups, post each play, in which fellow students, external professional actors and the module leader engage with one another to share organisational experience and good practice with a view to anticipating future career and work priorities and practice. The module also seeks to offer important secondary gains for the School adding to the innovative and contemporary approach to our teaching, learning provision - which would also seek to a) compliment the wider degree provision and b) aid us in our student recruitment, admissions and career narratives more widely amid an increasingly competitive HR arena.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2026-27

Module aims

This module seeks to:
- Meet the changing learning needs of our student cohorts at PG level as well as recognising the changing nature of work within business and societal contexts and the central role that HR plays within those changes.
- Expose students to complex HR and business matters they would not normally gain experience in prior to commencing their careers – but through a supported learning environment.
- Support students in developing the relevant competencies (behaviour, knowledge and skills) in resolving and facilitating complex HR and business matters, to enable them to hone such competencies more effectively and intuitively within their careers.
- Gain experience within a research led academic but creative theatre based teaching environment - one which will enable them to cite practical experience at interviews for future jobs - experience they would not otherwise have gained.
- Be supported and facilitated in how theory works in practice in the face of challenging business and societal contexts through an innovative but relevant assessment design and more in-keeping with the employment demands students will face after graduation.
- For students on a year in industry track - this module will seek to offer a relevant and versatile extension of their placement year in which to further hone their HR, business and societal experience in the absence of students’ personal experiences of organisations.
- Provide students with an advantage over their peers, after graduation, within an increasingly competitive and changing employment market.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will:
- Resolve and act upon HR business matters while being cognisant of the societal influences of such matters.
- Critically analyse, diagnose and offer solutions to complex HR business realities – quickly and in real time, whilst drawing upon relevant theoretical principles.
- Demonstrate advanced understanding and application of a range of necessary, supportive and ethical responses and behaviours that would be appropriate when handling employee / employer work-based conversations.
- Appropriately apply a repertoire of organisational / business behavioural approaches necessary to pursue a career within HR and business related fields, within a changing societal context.

Module content

Indicative Content: 1. Context Setting 2. Performance and Talent Management – Contemporary Challenges. 3. Ethical Debates 4. Societal Influencers - Cancel Culture and the Employment Challenge 5. Recruitment and Selection – Contemporary Challenges 6. Historical Contributors to Contemporary Business Problems. 7. Societal Influencers : EDI – Demographic Considerations. 8. Compensation: Pay, reward and bonus debates. 9. Strategic Perspectives. 10. Societal Influencers: The changing nature of work – a covid perspective. Lectures: Given the module focus it is intended that formal lectures will be focused in the following way: HR Theory: x 3 Business Theory x 3 Societal Theory – Business & HR context x 3 Seminars: It is intended that seminars will support the students as normal in reflecting and critiquing the specific theories presented in each lecture - week to week and activities to help students align theory to the theatre performances / HR Short plays Workshops: These will be used to facilitate the theatrical performances x 3 undertaken by professional actors. Each will be based upon a scenario relating to each of the three lecture foci .i.e. Societal factors impacting Organisations; HR and Business – where each performance showcases a fictitious organisational scenario that demonstrates how related theories were applied in the given context; sometimes well; sometimes poorly and / or differently to how theoretical problems and solutions may have been presented within lectures. The specified duration of the workshops is to accommodate both the performance as well as a specific approach used to cultivate engagement of the students. Here students will be encouraged to critique, and if necessary correct, the ‘applied’ nature of the scenario either through advice to the performers and / or by displacing the performers and undertaking a role within the performance in order to demonstrate a more conducive approach – from the students’ perspectives. The workshops will also afford time to discuss and observe in greater detail than within seminars, some of the challenges which employment settings can present to students after graduation – but in a supported manner. These workshops also incorporate a practical element within the design.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	40.0
Practical	60.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	40.0
Essay/coursework	60.0

Module feedback

Formative feedback will be ongoing through the module, while a formative assessment will be offered and written / oral feedback provided; students will also be engaging in exercises, discussions and case studies etc. throughout the module, which also enable formative feedback to be provided. Each summative assessment will be supported with summative written feedback on competition of review and marking of each individual assessment component. Each student will also have the opportunity to ask for verbal feedback during office hours throughout semester.

Indicative reading

Preparatory Reading McCotter. S. (2022). Relocating the HR Department to the Lecture Room – an interdisciplinary approach, in Patterson, D. and MacCallum, K. (Eds). Industry Practices, Processes and Techniques Adopted in Education. Springer. Taylor, S. and Perkins, G. (2021). Work and Employment in a Changing Business Environment. CIPD / Kogan Page. Taylor, S. and Woodhams, C. (2022). Human Resource Management: People and Organisations. CIPD / Kogan Page. Costa, C. and Paiva, S. (2021). How Societies and Business Will Technologically Evolve with Covid-19 in Next Generation of Internet Things. Eds Kumar, P., Mishra, B. K. and Pattnaik, P. K. Springer.