SG Consultancy Services, MBA Human Resource Management (HRM) in Greenwich School of Management, London

The Greenwich School of Management Master of Business Administration (MBA) Human Resource Management pathway aims to promote a comprehensive understanding of how the human resource management role fits into the overall strategic decision –making and problem-solving functions of the organisation.

Today’s organisations are undergoing rapid change. No more so than in the area of the human resource. Organisations are becoming more diverse in respect of the staff employed: issues such as race, gender, culture and age confront the general manager. The management of people within an organisation is considered a strategic function rather than the responsibility of one particular functional area of the organisation.

The MBA Human Resource Management programme provides students with an organisation-wide perspective and aims to develop analytical skills within the context of human resource management. The focus of this MBA programme is on the interrelationship of human resource management problems and tasks.

Managers with the responsibility for staffing and personnel are adopting a more strategic approach to the issues of people in the organisation. The recruitment of the right people for the right job and the continual training and development of individuals to ensure their effectiveness within the organisation are strategic issues which concern both specialists and general managers as a whole.

Programme Modules

Module Description : This module introduces the nature of corporate culture and change in organisations and the roles played by managers, individuals, groups and teams. It is also designed to develop an understanding of both the strategy and operational aspects of the management of human resources in organisations, and also the ways in which the quality of HRM affects all the functions of management.
Module Content The nature of HRM and the principal problem areas; significant functional areas of HRM; human resource planning; organizational change and human resource deployment; causes of conflict and methods of resolution; nature of organisational culture and the factors contributing to it; individual perceptions and motivations; HRM and impact on other management functions; HRM and teams; career development and promotion of personal skills; strategy of HRM.

Module Description : Since the management of organizations is influenced by many external as well as internal factors, it is necessary to identify and understand the ways in which they influence management policies. It is also essential to understand how they influence strategic aims and how interrelationships affect long term planning and decision-taking.
Module Content The nature of strategic planning and its relationship to operational policies; organizational objectives and their impact upon resource acquisition and deployment; internal and external factors governing organizational objectives; compatibility of objectives; strategic choices, the direction and pace of change; evaluating strategic risks and methods of minimisation; methods of controlling strategic change; process of planning and managing organizational strategy; time horizons for long term planning, the effect of technological innovation and the emergence of new competition.

Module Description : Effective management depends not only on the right policy and techniques. It requires the appropriate management structure and allocation of responsibilities and accountability. It also necessitates reward systems which stimulate energy and provide incentives to achieve management objectives. These features of management will only work in organisations where effective leadership is present to plan, organise and communicate them.
Module Content Nature, purpose and structures of management organisation; allocation of responsibilities and accountability within organisation; influence of resources and objectives on organisation; changing size and technology on structure and organisation; role of leadership on structure and management organisation; management culture and the influence of leadership; symptoms of poor leadership; role of leadership in strategic change.

Module Description : For non-specialist accountants this module introduces the basic concepts and techniques of Accounting and Finance and demonstrates the tasks and methods of identifying and resolving management financial issues.
Module Content The purposes of accounting; the uses of accounting information; the role of the financial accountant and the management accountant; the nature of financial information; company financial statements; the use of financial statements for management decisions; nature and techniques of financial controls; investment appraisal; raising finance; allocation of resources; use of working capital.

Module Description : As an essential element of the management of organizations, marketing is significant as a theoretical and practical base for all managers. Whatever their specialist roles, all managers should be aware of the nature of the markets served and the relationships with their customers, since these factors have an impact on the ways in which all operations are planned and managed.
Module Content The strategic nature of marketing; market segment characteristics; bases of consumer behaviour; elements of marketing plans; assessing marketing opportunities by using market information; marketing mix; use of controls in marketing; integration of marketing communications; promotion and communications; integration of marketing policies with other management functions; applying marketing and customer communications to particular company situations and public sector organizations; setting a promotion plan; identifying the promotion mix; measuring the cost effectiveness of promotion; relating sales and promotion policy to market size and structure.

Module Description : Successful organizations depend upon the quality of the information available and the system of communicating both within the organisation and externally with suppliers and markets. Thus the technology employed is a crucial factor in effective management. It is therefore imperative that managers understand and are able to use this technology to enhance the quality of their decision-taking.
Module Content The dependence of management decision on information and communications systems; the strategic role of MICS; the technological features of MICS; innovation in MICS; the formation and integration of functional management policies; evaluation of MICS; the limitations of systems; the differing needs of organizations according to size, structure, technology employed and markets served; use of systems for control purposes; private and public sector management applications; developing MICS capabilities and knowledge management; e-commerce applications.

Module Description : The effectiveness of organisations depends upon the abilities and motivation of individuals recruited to undertake particular sets of responsibilities. It is of vital importance, therefore, that those who are charged with the task of making suitable appointments understand the most effective methods of fulfilling their task, particularly since unsuitable appointments are not easily reversed. Since the process of change in organisations calls for new skills and flexibility on the part of human resources, a commitment to a process of development is essential to maintain successful corporate performance.
Module Content The importance of an effective selection and recruitment policy; different approaches to interviewing job candidates; how to identify skills and motivation; strengths and weaknesses of psychometric tests; job simulation; employment legislation and its relevance to candidate selection and appointment; attracting suitable candidates; evaluating the success of recruitment practices; contemporary issues and controversies in the field of selection and recruitment; job descriptions and flexibility in response to change; nature of human resource development; why is a policy necessary and what are the main constituents; benchmarking human resource development; relationship to total quality management; sources of resistance to human resource development and how to overcome resistance; consequences of a failure to adapt a development policy; methods of human development; skills and attitudes; Human Resource Development as an on-going process in the context of organisational change; aligning personal motivation to corporate goals; importance of an effective communications system and personal incentives.

Module Description : This module provides a grounding in project planning, literature review and the principles of research methodology as a preparation for undertaking the major project as a culmination of the programme. The module covers the selection of an appropriate topic for the dissertation; methods of identifying and recording primary and secondary sources of information; strengths and weaknesses of different types of research methodology; methods of referencing information gathered from published work; compiling a bibliography; effective presentation techniques including a logical connection between objectives, methods, evidence and conclusions.

Module Description Managers should be capable of investigating the nature of optimal solutions to a major business problem (or set of related problems) in one company or a number of companies operating with similar technologies or in similar markets. Such an investigation encompasses knowledge acquired from the subject matter of the taught modules of the programme and also methods of research of both a primary and a secondary nature.
The dissertation element of the MBA programme involves the preparation and presentation of a project of approximately 15,000 words in length directed towards the identification of a significant business problem of a company or industry and recommendations for policy making and action based upon a thorough examination of evidence and information relevant to the problem. The dissertation will also contain an examination of the published literature and will select a methodology appropriate to the problem investigated.