Human Resource Management MSc

About the Course

With employees now recognised as a key resource, the MSc in Human Resource Management offers students the opportunity to explore in-depth the theoretical and analytical issues in the management of human resources and the roles these play in organisation success. Students will examine a full range of HRM approaches, techniques and methodologies. The course is designed for those who wish to become human resource practitioners in academic, consultancy or commercial settings.

The course is designed for those who wish to become human resource management practitioners and/or those looking to undertake further research in academic, consultancy or commercial settings. Students will study core modules in relation to Human Resource Management Contexts, Concepts and Practices I and II, and contemporary issues such as talent and leadership recruitment and selection, reward management, performance management and facilitating learning and development in organisations. Issues in International Human Resource Management such as expatriation, managing across cultures will also be covered, as well as HR systems and processes from an international perspective. A number of leading edge elective modules are available on the programme including Global Diversity Management; Ethics and Corporate Governance.

Aims

The aim of this MSc is to provide a critical theoretical and applied knowledge and understanding of human resource management. Graduates as prospective entrants to human resources management roles, as 'thinking performers', should be able to address business and professional situations knowledgeably making contributions to improved organisational performance and delivery of sound personnel/human resources practice and services.

Enquiries

Course Director: Dr Savita Kumra
Email savita.kumra@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 267699

For applications already submitted
Contact Admissions online
Tel +44 (0)1895 265265

Business School: enquiries prior to application
Email masterbbs@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 267124 or 265910

Related Courses

• Business Administration MBA
• Management MSc
• Human Resources and Employment Relations MSc

Special Features

• Tutors on this programme are leaders in the field of HR and active researchers within the Work and Organisation Research Centre (WORC).
• A number of Associate level memberships to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) are available free to graduates of this programme.
• Considers key HR systems and processes from an international perspective with a focus on Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Diversity Management.

Accreditation

Brunel Business School is proud to announce the accreditation of MSc Human Resources Management and MSc Human Resources and Employment Relations by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). CIPD is the world’s largest Chartered HR and development professional body working together with over 100 institutions around the world to set global standards for HR and support development of HR professionals.

CIPD accreditation enables students and graduates of the MSc Human Resource Management and MSc Human Resource Management and Employment Relations to gain access to the wealth of resources provided by the Institute. These include a bi-monthly magazine, People Management, which provides key insight into contemporary HR issues in practice. The CIPD also commission major research studies into key areas of HR and HR-ER practice, providing information to students and informing decisions of practicing managers. Through their nationwide branch network, the CIPD provide a forum for practitioners and students to meet on a regular basis, engage with high profile speakers and network in respect of areas of common interest.

Course Content

Core Modules

• Human Resource Management: Contexts, Concepts and Policy (Parts I & II)
  This module develops students’ knowledge and understanding of the theory and concepts pertaining to HRM such as the challenges of delivering personnel services in practice; critical approaches to HRM policy development and programme evaluation as well as of policies and practice relating to recruitment/selection, performance review, training, rewards/incentives and staffing information.
  
• International and Comparative Human Resource Management
  Over the course of this module, you will explore human resources strategy, practices and limitations for organisations operating across national boundaries and also consider staffing the international firm; recruitment issues and methods; employee development and the ‘international manager’. Different national systems of industrial relations/employment relations are reviewed as are the implications of different legal frameworks.
  
• Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation
  This module explores the intersection between knowledge, social network technologies and innovation. It examines how organisations create, utilise and communicate knowledge in the global knowledge-based economy and the wider social and economic factors affecting knowledge transfer. The module identifies the exploitation of Web 2.0 which enables social engagement and processes for business development.
  
• Organisational Behaviour
  This module explores the main theories and key functions of leadership and management and their application, and you will be able to critique these as well as appreciate the contemporary issues facing leaders and managers. You will also be able to critically evaluate characteristics of effective management and how this differentiates from leadership, and discuss and assess relative strengths and limitations of key approaches to developing leaders and managers in organisations.
• Understanding Business and Management Research
  This module provides students with a balanced view of social science and business research methods enabling a critical understanding of research information. It provides students with knowledge of relevant research methods and techniques for the Masters level project work.
• Dissertation
  A research-based dissertation is an integral element of the programme to which considerable importance is attached. It offers students the opportunity to demonstrate their academic competence and professional potential. There are few constraints on the research topic other than it must be directly relevant, amenable to enquiry and of appropriate intellectual depth. The dissertation involves the full cycle of proposal development, literature review, methodology, evaluation, and final reporting.
  

Elective Modules (one from)

• International Business Ethics and Corporate Governance
  This module focuses on business ethics and corporate governance in the international context. Both areas will be addressed from the perspective of the dual "business" models of the shareholder and the stakeholder approaches. Further the broader societal impacts of business activities will be considered in-depth. The full range of businesses will be considered – from large corporations through to SMEs. Empirical studies will be used to apply the theoretical resources of moral philosophy, CSR and corporate governance.
• Global Diversity Management
  This module provides an insight into Global Diversity Management by examining how organisations plan, co-ordinate and implement a set of management strategies, policies, initiatives such as training and development activities that seek to accommodate diverse sets of social and individual backgrounds, interests, beliefs, values and ways of work in organisations with international, multinational, global and transnational workforces and operations.
• Strategic Management
  This module enables students to appreciate the issues and challenges that confront managers responsible for strategic management. It introduces students to concepts, topics and methodological approaches and tools relevant to the analysis of the strategic position of the organisation and the development and implementation of strategies and policies, and their major operational implications.
  

Teaching and Learning

As a research intensive university, international level research findings by Brunel Business School tutors are regularly used in student lectures. Tutors on this programme are leaders in the field of HR and active researchers within the School’s Work and Organisation Research Centre (WORC).

Examples of tutor research used in MSc Human Resources & Employment Relations include:

• Professor Neil Anderson
  Professor Anderson provides several of his seminal review papers, empirical studies, and theoretical models for consideration by the students and additional readings are also provided. Students are asked to present back in small groups, having critically assessed research findings for themselves. As the findings are both confirmatory and non-confirmatory, the ensuing debate is used to improve their understanding of whether high-performance HRM practices do indeed contribute to organisational performance and profitability. Professor Anderson is also an Academic CIPD Fellow.
  
  
• Professor Mustafa Ozbilgin
  The programme’s Global Diversity Management module is designed around Professor Ozbilgin’s research in diversity management in multi-national organisations within the public private and voluntary sector. In particular, Professor Ozbilgin’s book Global Diversity Management: An Evidence Based Approach (2008) co-authored with Dr Ahu Tatli is used as the core text on the module. The book is the only empirical research based text in the field, and provides original field work on diversity management that spreads across eight years. Other Business School research by Professor Ozbilgin is used for the practice of literature reviews. Further to this Professor Ozbilgin is Academic CIPD Fellow and regularly uses CIPD reports that he has co-authored. Students also receive case studies and case reports by the tutor.
  
  
• Dr Savita Kumra
  In the programme’s module on Human Resource Management: Concepts, Context and Policy Dr Kumra’s research is integral to the teaching style adopted within lectures. Dr Savita Kumra is CIPD member and has conducted research into Gender and Diversity and her findings are integrated into the session on Ethics in HRM and assessments of Human Capital. Dr Kumra’s recently published book Equality and Diversity: Theory and Practice, also provides useful readings. Students also undertake a number of in-class activities based on recently developed theoretical work, for example, in the session on Diversity the class engaged in a debate inspired by the recent Economist debate which proposed that 'Women in the Western world have never had it so good'. Teams debated the pros and cons of the proposal and a number of key points and issues were raised in the session.
  

Assessment

• Modules are typically assessed by individual assessment, or an examination in May.
• Teaching methods include lectures and informal small study groups.
• Coursework and examinations place considerable stress on the ability think and reason critically, but constructively.
• The dissertation (12,000 words) is the capstone demonstration of these skills, requiring students to conceive, justify, design and execute a major project.
• Individual and or group presentations using laptops, PCs and digital projectors.

Employability

Previous students from MSc Human Resource Management have achieved graduate positions at:

• Accenture (UK) Limited
• Cap Gemini
• Cyprus (Government)
• PriceWaterHouseCoopers
• CORMED International

Employability Events, Visits and Training

 

The School’s Business Life Employability Programme is designed to help students to acquire a range of employability and networking skills, enabling them to gain a distinct edge in the labour market and to manage their career search and development more effectively. Typical events have included:

• BAT (Bloomberg Aptitude Test) with Bloomberg
  The BAT is offered as a three-hour online test taken on campus within an invigilated environment with a Bloomberg representative. BAT was designed in conjunction with leading financial institutions and academics to uncover an individual’s knowledge and skills relevant for a financial career. Students can choose to submit their names along with test scores or anonymously during job recruitment drives.
  
  
• Meet the Professionals Showcase
  A professional association is an organisation formed to unite and inform people who work in the same occupation. There are many advantages to joining professional bodies: typically they offer training and access to research, as well as networking opportunities like conferences and forums. Brunel Business School regularly invites key professional bodies to showcase these benefits to Business School students on campus. Professional bodies who regularly take part in the Showcase include: ACCA, ICAEW, CIPFA, CIMA, BCS, OR, CMI, CILT, CIPD, CII, CBI, CFA, CIM and CIPR.
  
  
• Psychometric testing
  A comprehensive overview of the tests currently being used by graduate employers for the selection of candidates for jobs and the opportunity to experience a range of on-line aptitude and ability tests under test conditions. Students will also receive confidential feedback on your performance and advice and tips to help you maximise your results.
  
  
• Assessment centres
  The opportunity to experience a range of assessment centre exercises and tasks from the  perspective of the candidate and the assessor.
  
  
• Myers Briggs Type Indicator
  Widely used in organisations for individual type assessment to help people understand team dynamics. This will help students to identify own preferred style of communication, information processing and decision making and help you gain an insight into how other team members prefer to communicate and make decisions.
  
  
• Belbin
  An opportunity to take the Team Role questionnaire with a personalized report. This will provide students with a common vocabulary to help form productive working relationships, select and develop high-performing teams, raise self-awareness, increase personal effectiveness, identify talent in the workplace and aid recruitment decisions.
  

UK Industrial and Commercial Visits
Where possible, events and external visits are arranged with UK organisations to help demonstrate theory in practice. .

Graduate School Workshops
In addition to the events and training sessions organised within the Business School, masters students have exclusive access to the workshops and skills training provided by the Brunel University’s Graduate School. Typical sessions have included:

• CV Writing for Masters Students
  A good quality CV is crucial and takes time to perfect. Students on taught masters are invited to attend this special training session on how to prepare Curriculum Vitae towards a targeted job or sector.
• CV Writing Drop-in Clinic for Masters Students
  Masters students are invited to bring along their CVs for a one-to-one review session with a careers advisor or as a follow-up to the Graduates School’s CVs writing for Masters Students.
• How to Succeed in Assessment Centres (Masters Students)
  This session will help students to prepare for assessment centres which are used as part of an organisation’s recruitment processes for jobs in industry or academia, in particular for highly competitive positions.
• Interview Techniques for Masters Students
  A training session especially for masters students that explores the whole competitive process of the interview from preparation to presenting and demonstrating your interest on the day.
• Transferrable Skills for Masters Students
  Students are encouraged to widen their skills base during postgraduate study in response to employer demand for transferrable skills as well as intellectual knowledge.

 

For further Masters Skills Training Courses, visit the Graduate School.

Careers

Graduates of this programme have a good record of securing employment in the field of Human Resource Management.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £8,000 full-time

International students: £13,500 full-time

Postgraduate Scholarships Available Now

Brunel University is offering Academic Excellence Scholarships to postgraduate students (15%) and scholarships for Brunel Alumni (15%). Those alumni who graduated with a first class degree would be able to benefit from a double scholarship of almost 30% discount. View information on the postgraduate scholarships.

Read about funding opportunities available to postgraduate students

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements

A good honours degree (2.1 or above) in management; business studies; or a related subject. Those with a 2.2 may be considered providing they can demonstrate significant relevant experience.

Candidates from non-business/management disciplines (and without any business/management element) will be eligible if they have a first class honours degree or the overseas equivalent.

English Language Requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• TOEFL Paper test: 580 (TWE 4.5)
• TOEFL Internet test: 92 (R20, L20, S20, W20)
• Pearson: 59 (51 in all subscores)
• BrunELT 65% (min 60% in all areas)

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.