MA Human Resource Management (Work Psychology)

As a Human Resource (HR) practitioner, you will need to find solutions to critical issues. The course combines Human Resource Management (HRM) theory with psychology to develop a deeper understanding of people management. Having psychological knowledge provides a deeper insight into why people behave the way they do and how we may attempt to change or influence this in the workplace.

You'll gain a deep understanding of how we can respond to the challenges that arise from how and where people want to work in the current and changing work context. Organisations need to quickly respond to external factors. Whether they are routed in government policies, environmental issues, or changes in society. Our world is complex, and the challenges faced by organisations need an innovative approach. Psychology provides a useful and unique insight into human behaviour and how we may shape this. The course explores what drives and shapes human behaviour in the workplace and how a HRM practitioner may utilise these insights.

Central to this course are the themes of how to manage change and personnel development. HR practitioners need to think in radical ways to manage diverse attitudes and motivations of people entering the labour market.

The intrinsic link between human resource management, an organisation’s strategic and operational requirements, and the impact on society, can be powerful. This course will give you relevant and practical tools you need to respond to a range of HRM issues. New ways of thinking about work and the role organisations play in the world is crucial. We will guide you to become a critical, inspiring leader of the future, starting today. You will be able to immediately apply the learning to the workplace with our assessments geared to provide you with both academic and real life practical skills to enhance your career.

All HRM students complete the following core modules:

• Working lives in a changing environment
• Strategic People Management & Development
• Business research in people practice
• Personal effectiveness and leadership
• And a consultancy based HRM dissertation using psychology

The work psychology pathway has two core psychological modules, namely Effective Work Psychology and Contemporary Issues in Work Psychology. These modules provide you with key psychological theories and how to apply them in the workplace.

Students need to have an honours degree with classification 2.2 or better in any subject from a UK university or the equivalent from a recognised university overseas

or

a CIPD level 5 qualification and two years Human Resource Management experience

This course will give you everything you need to become a critical, practical, ethical and sustainable HRM practitioner or consultant in human resource management using psychological insights. It will particularly appeal to those interested in a career in human resource management, industrial/employment relations and to those responsible for managing people in organisations.

What job can I get?

The course will develop your HRM expertise and develop psychological knowledge to apply in the workplace. You could work as an HRM practitioner in fields as varied as general HRM, learning and development, change management and talent management or a management consultant in people management or business psychology.