Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations
Welcome to the Academic Program of Human Resource Management at the School of Business, University of Western Sydney.
Our programs equips graduates to gain professional employment in the area of Human Resource Management. HRM professionals plan, organise, direct, control and coordinate the human resource and employment relations activities within and between organisations and stakeholders. Graduates work in areas that focus on recruitment and selection, performance management, training and development, reward, equity and diversity management, agreement negotiation, dispute resolution, policy analysis and industrial advocacy. The type of roles undertaken by HRM&IR professionals include:
- undertaking negotiations on terms and conditions of employment, and examining and resolving disputes and grievances
- studying and interpreting legislation, awards, collective agreements and employment contracts, wage payment systems and dispute settlement procedures
- developing, planning and formulating enterprise agreements or collective contracts such as productivity-based wage adjustment procedures, workplace relations policies and programs, and procedures for their implementation
- overseeing the formation and conduct of workplace consultative committees and employee participation initiatives
- representing their organisation/constituents in employment relations tribunals
- arranging for advertising of job vacancies, interviewing and testing of applicants, and selection of staff
- maintaining personnel records and associated human resource information systems
- providing advice and information to management on workplace relations policies and procedures, organisation change, staff performance and culture matters
- providing advice and information to union members on rights and entitlements, undertaking advocacy on behalf of union members
- arranging the induction of staff and providing information on conditions of service, salaries and promotional opportunities
- receiving and recording job vacancy information from employers such as details about job description, wages and conditions of employment
- providing information on current job vacancies in the organisation to employers and job seekers.
Effective employment relationships have always been important, but intensified competition and rising community and employee expectations mean human resource management and industrial relations are crucial for organisation and personal success. Key functional areas are considered within a strategic and contextualised framework. This education builds the necessary knowledge base for working in employment relations, but the emphasis is knowledge in action, as inspired by the Australia Human Resource Institute’s (AHRI) Model of Excellence and UWS Graduate Attributes designed to bring knowledge to life. Employment for HRM/IR Professionals to 2015-16 is expected to grow strongly. Employment rose in the past five years and rose very strongly in the long-term (past ten years). There is a high proportion of full-time jobs (90 per cent and earnings are high - in the tenth earnings decile.
The Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations (HRM&IR) major in the Bachelor of Business and Commerce is accredited with the Australia Human Resource Institute (AHRI). The Master of Commerce (Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations ) is accredited also with AHRI. These programs are developed in conjunction with AHRI and leading academics in the field.
Academic staff in the Human Resource Management discipline group adopts a broad interdisciplinary approach to issues related to the ‘world of work’. Their research interests comprise a critical examination of the way individuals, groups, organisations and institutions shape the factors affecting the employment relationship. This perspective takes into account economic, political and social influences on the power of capital and labour, and the interactions between employers, workers, their collective organisations and the state. This focus is demonstrated by the research interests of academic staff and their contribution to a number of highly ranked domestic and international journals.
The program places a strong emphasis on teaching quality and innovation. Course management meetings of staff regularly revise subjects based on student feedback, and a number of our staff have won teaching excellence awards.
Members of the program also play an active role in the key academic associations including:
- the Pacific Employment Relations Association (PERA)
- the International Employment Relations Association (IERA)
- the Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australian and New Zealand (AIRAANZ)
Locations
The program is offered on Campbelltown and Parramatta campuses.
