Human Resource Management

Tony Keenan

Human resource management (HRM) is concerned with the effective management and utilisation of human resources in organisations. For most organisations, human resources are their greatest assets and their optimal utilisation is the key to competitive advantage in today's increasingly harsh economic environment. Moreover, because effective HRM is now so crucial for success, many organisations now regard it as the responsibility of all managers, not just specialists in personnel management.

By the end of this course, you will understand HRM from a strategic perspective and an operational perspective. Strategically, HRM policies and activities are designed to support and reinforce more general business strategies and objectives. Operationally, HRM is concerned with the design and implementation of procedures to optimise the day-to-day management of people in organisations.

Topics covered

The origins and nature of HRM.
Models of HRM.
Key themes in HRM.
Analysis of performance requirements.
Recruitment and selection.
Performance appraisal and performance management.
Training and development.
Careers and career management.

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Safwat Kabany
Syria

For Safwat Kabany, from Syria, doing his MBA with Edinburgh Business School was the most logical choice. "I'm in the petrochemical industry and Heriot-Watt University is one of the world-leading academic institutions in this field of industry. I therefore knew a lot about the high standards at Heriot-Watt and these are certainly evident in EBS's MBA programme."

Safwat decided to do the programme as a full-time on-campus student, which was not without its challenges, particularly for a foreign student. "I had to cope with both language and cultural differences, which at first were quite daunting. EBS, however, is very skilled at dealing with people from different backgrounds and cultures and it wasn't long before I felt very comfortable in this environment. The faculty are extremely helpful and take a keen interest in every individual. The facilities at Heriot-Watt for resident on-campus students are excellent and not having to worry about where I would live or how I would feed myself ensured that I could devote all my attention to my studies."...more