GLOBAL AND CONTEMPORARY HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module builds on the knowledge and skills students gained as part of the previous HRM pathway modules (e.g. OBA, HRM) to explore a range of cutting-edge issues in human resource management and human resource development.

The content reflects contemporary themes and priorities. It is likely to include contributions from staff and/or invited speakers that are based on relevant special interests informed by research and/or professional engagement.

There is a cohering theme of managing and enhancing employee performance, including both prescribed job performance and other desirable work behaviours such as organisational citizenship and innovative contributions.

The module includes an international perspective and emphasises critical consideration of the practical implications of recent studies. 

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

CIACHIR Constantin (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

The indicative content of the module includes: 

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  Strategic HRM and Competitive Advantage 
  


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  Managing Performance Globally and Measuring HRM 
  


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  International HRM, Ethics and CSR: Divergent Models of Thinking/Reasoning 
  


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  Managing Diversity at Home and Abroad: International Enablers and Barriers 
  


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  Electronic HRM – Sustaining Global People Management 
  


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  International HRM – Managing Cultural Diversity in Multinational Organizations 
  


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  International HRM – Managing Expatriation and Repatriation 
  


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  Work and Family (Life) Balance – Global Agenda and Challenges 
  


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  Learning and Development and the Learning Organization 
  


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  Change Management and Emotion at Work 
  


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  Role of HRM in the 21st Century 
  

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate critical awareness and insight of contemporary issues in human resource management and human resource development at an advanced level (coursework). Students will be required to demonstrate knowledge of theory, research evidence and contemporary practice, as well as to apply this knowledge to solve problems, suggest alternatives, and debate dilemmas related to contemporary people management (case study-based examination).  
Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of: 

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  Coursework - (addresses learning outcomes 1 - 5) 
  


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  Online open-book case study-based examination - (addresses learning outcomes 3 & 4) 
  

   Formative assessment 

There is no formative assessment in this module, but generic feedback will also be provided for work undertaken in the seminars. 

 Feedback 

This module adopts an enquiry-based approach to feedback where the emphasis is on providing resources to students which allow them to identify their own strengths and weaknesses to develop learning strategies which will allow them to improve their performance. 

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  Prior to the assignment, lecture time will be spent discussing the assignment and feedback process. 
  


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  A detailed marking scheme which provides guidance on how marks will be awarded for each element of assessment. This marking scheme has benefits for both staff and students. For staff it allows for consistency of marking between markers and for rapid and rigorous marking. For students it makes it absolutely clear what is expected of them. Students will receive a mark for each element of the assignment which they can reference to the marking scheme for detailed individual feedback. 
  


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  Generic feedback which explains what students did well and did less well overall. This will take two forms. In the first lecture after submission, time will be spent explaining the key learning issues from the assignment and, once marking is completed, students will receive detailed generic feedback via SurreyLearn including a statistical breakdown of marks so that they can place their own performance into that of their cohort. 
  


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  Action Plans – students will be encouraged to produce action plans which demonstrate that they have engaged with the feedback resources, and which identify their strengths and weaknesses and form the basis of a learning strategy for the end of module assignment. Weekly seminars, and the discussions therein, are designed to enable students to continually refine their understanding and work on the assignment.   
  


• 
  Discussion Forum on SurreyLearn 
  

Module aims

• Provide a general overview of the value HRM adds to organisations both nationally and internationally.
• Enable students to develop a critical understanding of the relationship between HRM and organisational objectives, as well as its role in organisations' ability to address both internal and external factors which impact on their performance.
• Develop a critical understanding of selected contemporary issues in HRM and HRD.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to: develop students’ awareness of contemporary issues in human resource management and human resource development, drawing upon theory, empirical research and practice. The strong emphasis on connections between research and practice is reflected in discussions of the practical implications of research findings, analysis of case studies, and critical evaluation of relevant academic research. 
 
The teaching and learning methods are based around the delivery of a blend of learning activities that are both live and on-demand as well as on-line and face-to-face. Some of the content is designed to illustrate and explain theoretical concepts and models of HRM and weekly activities require application of these by reference to and explanation of a range of specific case studies. The strategy, therefore, develops both a theoretical and practical understanding of key contemporary HRM issues and practices. 

 

Independent learning:  

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  Students will be expected to participate in sessions by using their own experience and understanding of learning to evaluate a range of HRM issues and practices 
  


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  Not all elements of the curricula will be covered in detail in the lecture programme, students will be expected to engage in a (guided) literature search and review  
  


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  Students will be expected to prepare for all seminars. At a minimum, this requires them to read the case study in advance 
  


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  To gain high marks in the assignment, students will have to read widely which means going beyond lecture notes and the recommended reading list. A list of specific articles will be provided but the expectation is that this represents a starting point for reading and not an inclusive list 
  

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MAN3146

Other information

 

Global and Cultural Capabilities 

The whole module is geared around global aspects of people management. Students not only acquire knowledge on cultural and national differences in terms of HRM practices, they also apply this knowledge in the weekly seminars on relevant case studies. The demographic topography of our students and members of staff is rich and diverse. Therefore, students acquire and develop global and cultural capabilities by interacting with each other in completing the assessments, as well as with the academic members of staff.  

 

Employability 

The module is designed to equip students with people anagement knowledge, skills, and competencies - a fundamental requirement for a career in people management, as well as in management in general, given that people management happen in all departments of an organisation. Moreover, the knowledge, skills, and competencies gained in this module will benefit students’ employability not only in a UK context, but also internationally.  

 

Resourcefulness & Resilience 

Every week students work in groups to solve a relevant global people management problem or dilemma, testing their ability to think and be resourceful under pressure and in a context defined by ambiguity and uncertainty, as well as imperfect and incomplete information. The coursework is designed to provide students with an opportunity to make sense of global HRM dilemmas for which there is no current, factually accurate, simple answer. They need to sharpen their ability to be resourceful in identifying, synthesising, and communicating their finadings in writing in a logical, systematic, and confident manner. And so, challenging students to be resilience in the face of adversity (the dilemmas contained in the coursework are on-going issues for which no HR practice is confidently supported by empirical evidence – the findings to date are inconclusive).  

 

Sustainability 

Global or international HRM is an area of people management that can enhance, or otherwise, what has been termed sustainable HRM, or sustainable people management. The triple bottom line: people, planet, profits transcends all topics and activities covered in this module, with a special focus on people. Aspects of fairness, justice, wellbeing, and so on are not neglected, and the HRM decisions and practices discussed, promoted, and evaluated during this module are tested against the triple bottom line and sustainable people management principles.  

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.