Leaning Outcomes:

1.Understand the role of management of human resources.

• 1.1 Critically justify the importance of human resource management in organisations. 
• 1.2 Assess the role and purpose of the strategic human resource management function and  activities in an organisation. 
• 1.3 Evaluate how human resource management is related to other functional areas.

2. Be able to create a human resource plan for an organisation.

• 2.1 Assess the business factors to consider before human resource planning. 
• 2.2 Determine human resource requirements in different organisational contexts.
• 2.3 Develop a human resource plan for an organisation.

3. Understand the role of legal and  ethical issues in developing

• 3.1 Explain the purpose of human resource policy.
• 3.2 Assess the impact of regulatory and legal requirements on human resource policies in an  organisation.
• 3.3 Assess the impact of business ethics, CSR, and  sustainability requirements on human resource policies for an organisation.

4. Be able to plan develop human  resource strategies.

• 4.1 Critically analyse the impact of an organisational strategy, structure and culture on the management of human resources.
• 4.2 Develop a structured, relevant and comprehensive HR strategy.
• 4.3 Critically monitor the effectiveness of human resources management.

5. Understand HRM approaches  within organisations and their relationships with the organisational performance

• 5.1 Critically evaluate the relationships between  business strategy and human resource management. 
• 5.2 Explain the implementation and measurement of HR approaches using relevant metrics. 
• 5.3 Monitor and evaluate a human resource strategy that supports organisational mission, vision, values and objectives.

• Critical explanation of the nature and importance of human resource management in organisations

• Definition; features of HRM approach; HRM models: D Guest, M Patterson, best practice model, contingency model, Harvard Framework; personnel management and HRM; activities of HRM. 

Assessing the role and purposes: Strategy

• HRM strategy; organisational strategy; HRM strategy benefits for organisations; interrelationships between HRM and organisational strategies; organisational performance and HRM strategy; HRM strategy influence on organisational strategy; organisational strategy influence on HRM strategy; value creation; human capital management; HRM strategy business focus; effective HRM. 

Evaluating contributions of human resource management

• Evaluation of human resource management contribution e.g. characteristics, importance, techniques; the changing patterns of effective human resource management; the effect of globalisation; the use of IT. 

Analysing the business factors

• Growth in business; changes in business; labour market competition; labour cost substitution; development of employee; control of labour cost; operations location; work nature changing; productivity increase; efficiency increase; technological impact; competition in business; declination of business. 

Determining human resource requirements:

• Personnel prerequisites identification: experiences, skills, qualifications, numbers; personnel matching to organisational prerequisites; basic prerequisite factors: skills, demand and supply of labour, workforce; external factors: policies of governments, education, employment, regional or industrial training; competitions in labour market. 

Developing a human resource plan

• Human resource planning e.g. features and requirements; functionalities e.g. selection and recruitment, retention, skill development, up skilling, re-skilling, succession planning; outputs; resource demand; success factors; planning length e.g. short, medium and long; costs and benefits of business; Empowerment and talent management. 

Explaining the purpose of human resource policy

• Policy purposes; selection and recruitment; diversity and equality; development and training; expenses and benefits; discipline; performance improvement; rewards; pay; health and safety; discipline; information confidentiality; working time; paternity or maternity leave; harassment or bullying; management of change; grievance and dismissal; intellectual property: copyrights, patents; protected disclosure/whistle blowing; alcohol, drugs or smoking. 

Analysing the impact of regulatory and legal requirements on human resource policies in an organisation

• Legislation of employment; rights and responsibilities of employment; payment related regulatory and legal rights; data protection, conditions and contract terms. 

Analysing the impact of ethical requirements on human resource policies in an organisation. 

• Ethics in human resource management e.g. discrimination, harassment, racism, gender preference, nepotism, favouritism; employee satisfaction; compliance and grievance. 

Analysing the impact of an organisational strategy, structure and culture on the management of human resources.

• Culture and structure; culture led theoretical models: Schein, Hofstede, Handy; culture of organisation; interrelationships between HRM activities and culture. 

Proposing the effective appropriate HR strategy:

• The requirement for effective human resource strategies; SMART objective target settings (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-based).  

Critically monitor effectiveness of human  resources management and provide recommendations

• Importance of monitoring effective human resource management; policies, strategies, operations; HRM contributions; benefits; costs; use of resources; effectiveness; ineffectiveness; information collection on HRM performance; performance indicator development; evaluation of HRM performance indicators; quantitative measurement: person output, productivity, retention of employee, turnover of staff, cost saving; qualitative measurement: stakeholder  perspectives, employee attitude surveys, HRM performance benchmarking, service level standards and agreements of HRM; costs and benefits utility analysis; HRM improvement proposals and activities. 

Discuss relationship of people development and HRM

• Planning for people development and human resource management; functionalities: employment, development, retention, skill enhancement, planning of succession; HR resourcing; success criteria; planning of milestones: short, medium or long term; cases study of businesses: benefits, costs, SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time- based) target settings. 

Explain organisational theory underpinning HRM:

• Organisational structure theories: Handy, Mintzberg, Weber; HRM impacts and structure forms: product based, functional, divisional, geographical;  matrix: centralisation, decentralisation. 

Discuss the interrelationship of employee relations/HRM practices and the management of change:

• Employee relations e.g. concept, features and application; best fit practices; absence; discipline and grievance; consultation and communication; employee engagement;  psychological contract; flexible working hours. 

Developing the HRM process, recruitment and selections.

• The requirement of human resources; personnel requirement identification e.g. number, experiences, qualifications, set skills; human resource match to organisational demands; factors of human resource development, recruitment and selection e.g. person profile, requirement of labour, requirement of skills; external factors of recruitment and selection; demand of labour; labour supply; national level policies as related to human resource e.g.  education, empl9oyment, training,  regional, industrial; competition in labour market. 

Developing employee motivational and appraisal strategies

• Employee motivation e.g. features, importance and practices; career progression; rewards; bonus and pay rise; promotion; emotional support; job  satisfaction. 

Critically analysing role and employee retentions in organisations:

• Employee retention e.g. importance and trends; employee turnover; competitive remuneration benefits; stay interview; employee development. 

Explore and discuss purpose of leadership in different kinds of organisations:

• Leadership e.g. definition, features, characteristics, types, purposes of leadership; direct and indirect leadership; features of managers or leaders; leadership skills; followership; 10 managerial roles of Mintzberg. 

Evaluate leadership practices in an organisational context:

• Styles of management and leadership: persuasive; autocratic; charismatic; participative; laissez faire; management and leadership influence on an organisation; style impact on strategic decisions; situation led adaptation of management and leadership styles. 

Creating a human resource strategy that supports organisational mission, vision, values and objectives: strategic leadership

• Development; leadership requirement for organisational aspects e.g. mission, vision and objectives; strategic development; organisational strategy formulation. 

Monitoring and evaluating the human  resource strategy:

• Monitoring and evaluation e.g. general features, criteria; organisational mission, vision, values and objectives monitoring; monitoring and evaluating strategy formulation. 

Indicative reading list 

Core texts: 

• Rees, G. and Smith, P. E. (2017) Strategic Human Resource Management: An international perspective. Sage Publications

Additional reading: 

• Avery, G. (2004) Understanding Leadership. London: Sage 
• Bradley, F. (2005) International Marketing Strategy. New Jersey, FL: Prentice Hall. 
• Bratton, J., Grint, K. and Nelson, D. L. (2005) Organizational Leadership. New York: Thomson South Western. • Brooks, I. (2009) Organisational Behaviour: Individuals, Groups, and Organisations. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. 
• Buchanan, D. and Huczynski, A. (2007) Organisational Behaviour. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall 
• Colquitt J, LePine, J. and Wesson, M. (2010) Organizational Behaviour. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
• Daft, R. (2006) The Leadership Experience. New York: Thomson South Western. 
• Du Brin, A. J. (2007) Leadership: Research Findings, Practice and Skills. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 
• Gill, R. (2006) Theory and Practice of Leadership. London: Sage. 
• Gold. J., Thorpe, R. and Mumford, A. (2010) Leadership and Management Development, 5th Edition. CIPD • Kouzes, J. M. and Posner, B. Z. (2008) The Leadership Challenge. 4th Edition. New York: Jossey-Bass. London: CIPD. • Mabey, C. and Finch-Lees, T. (2008) Management and Leadership Development. London: Sage. 
• Martin, J. (2005) Organisational Behaviour and Management. London: Thomson Learning. Mullins, L. J. (2010) Management and Organisational Behaviour. 9th Edition. Harlow: Financial Times 
• Northouse, P. G. (2007) Leadership Theory and Practice. London: Sage 
• Northouse, P. G. (2009) Introduction to Leadership, Concepts and Practice. London: Sage 
• Robbins, S. and Judge, T. (2009) Organizational Behaviour. New Jersey: Person Prentice Hall 
• Storey, J. (2004) Leadership in Organisations; Current Issues and Key Trends. London: Rutledge. Times/Prentice Hall.

Entry requirements

To enroll The Doctoral Award, the learner must possess:

• Graduated with a Master’s degree from an accredited university or achieved a Level 7 Diploma according to the European Qualifications
• For a degree from non-global accredited universities; The learner should have followed Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning for Qualifications (APELQ) policy of SIMI and/or University Partners.
• Learners must be over 24 years old.

The SIMI Swiss reserves the highest decision-making power for admission whether to accept or not accept after a specific review of each candidate’s profile to ensure that they can comprehend and gain benefits when participating. For the fake university or diploma mills, University Partners shall not be accepted.

English requirements

If a learner is not from a predominantly English-speaking country, proof of English language proficiency must be provided.

• Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) level B2 or equivalent
• Or A minimum TOEFL score of 101 or IELTS 6.5; Reading and Writing must be at 6.5 or equivalent

After graduating with Doctoral Award, students receive all certified documents from the SIMI Swiss.

Certified Documents:

• e-Certificate from the Swiss Information and Management Institute (SIMI Swiss).
• Hard copy certificate from the Swiss Information and Management Institute (SIMI Swiss) – Optional.
•  Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning for Qualifications (APEL.Q) certified from University Partners for credit and tuition fee transfer.

Because the program is accredited and recognized, students can easily use certified in the working environment and have many opportunities for career advancement. In addition, in case if you want to study for a SIMI degree or university partner degree, students can convert all credits and the full paid tuition fee when participating in the program University Partners.

The SIMI Swiss’ Doctoral Award means:

SIMI Swiss Doctoral Award is the award at the doctoral level and is equivalent to:

• Level 8 certificate of Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) of UK
• Level 11 certificate of Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF)
• Level 8 certificate of Credit and Qualifications Framework (CQFW)
• Level 8 certificate of European Qualifications Framework (EQF)
• Level 10 certificates of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)
• Level 8 certificate of ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF)
• Level 10 certificate of the African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF)

Students can convert all credits and the full tuition fee when participating in the SIMI Swiss and/or University Partners academic programs if they want to study for an academic degree.

Credits transfer:

Learners can accumulate 20 credits from the Doctoral Award program when participating in the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) or PhD. Please see the credit transfer policy HERE

Tuition fee transfer:

When participating in the DBA/PhD program, students who have graduated 1 Doctoral Award will receive a discount of full tuition fee which you paid. Please see the tuition fee transfer HERE

The SIMI Swiss micro-credential program allows for the transfer of credits and tuition fees into full degree programs from SIMI Swiss and/or its university partners. SIMI Swiss reserves the right to limit admissions once the number of students exceeds the quotas.

Apply Policy:

• To participate in the SIMI Swiss micro-credential program, students need to meet the entry criteria corresponding to each level. Please see the “Entry” tab for more details.
• SIMI Swiss will not accept applicants if their entry qualifications are from diploma mill universities or schools/universities that are not accredited.
• For Doctoral Award programs, if an entry master is unavailable, students must demonstrate a minimum of 5 years of work experience in the relevant field. Please note that a master’s degree is required for the Doctoral program at SIMI Swiss and University Partners so that you could study Doctoral Award but could not move to the Doctoral program of SIMI and University Partners.
• English is not a mandatory entry requirement for short course programs, but candidates need to ensure that English is used in reading documents, listening to lectures, and doing assignments. Candidates should note that English is a mandatory requirement when switching to an academic program at SIMI Swiss and University Partners.

Apply Process:

1. Choose the program that suits your requirements. Note that applicants without a university degree will not be able to participate in the program at Master’s level, and applicants without a Master’s degree will not be able to participate in the program at the Doctoral level.
2. Email your application to support@simiswiss.ch with all the required documents. You could download the application form here.
3. Our admission department will contact you and guide you through further processes if the registration documents need to be supplemented.
4. SIMI Swiss will issue the Letter of Acceptant (LOA). You will proceed to the next steps according to the instructions and pay tuition fee.
5. SIMI Swiss will issue a student confirmation letter, login account to the e-learning system and related documents.
6. You have become an official SIMI Swiss student and enjoy your study journey.

The SIMI Swiss micro-credential program is fully online, allowing you to study anytime, anywhere. You have the option to attend live classes with SIMI Swiss. The final exam will be uploaded to the system and evaluated by the academic panel of SIMI Swiss. Students must submit assignments on time; failure to do so will result in the student being considered to have discontinued the program.