Empowering People for Societal Changes

Course Objective
The objective of ‘Empowering People for Societal Changes’ is to equip students with the academic and research skills to understand the different aspects of work that influence employee performance and well-being, and how HRM can be used to design them such that employees are empowered to face work-related changes. Bridging theory and practice, the course aims to enable students to recognize and discuss the practical problems associated with empowering people for changes in business and society, and design work in such a way as to empower oneself and others. As part of the course work, students will develop their interpersonal and presentation skills and become more self-aware of their own self-efficacy in facing change, and about what kind of (HR) professional they want to become. We aim to broaden our horizons by considering ethical dilemmas associated with the design of HRM in a diverse workplace.

Course Content
Changes in business and society challenge us as individuals, with change in the world of work challenge us as employees. Human Resource Management (HRM) is the business function concerned with ensuring employee productivity and well-being. In this course, we will discuss how HRM professionals can design different aspects of work to empower employees for current changes to the world of work. Specifically, considering how they will help empower employees, we will discuss the design and effects of (1) Individual-Level Work Characteristics, (2) Organizational and Group-level Factors, (3) Team characteristics, and (4) context and contingencies, referring also to individual employees’ characteristics such as motivation, ability, gender or cultural background. For each of these aspects, we will discuss their relevance for specific work-related societal changes. Examples of these changes are (a) an enhanced focus on an ethical and sustainable use of human resources ensuring employees’ mental health and work-life balance, (b) an increased workplace diversity e.g. with respect to employees’ cultural background and values and gender, and (c) the rise of artificial intelligence and new work arrangements such as gig work and the implications for the future of work and careers.

Teaching Methods
Discussion Teams, and work groups for preparing the individual essay.

Type of Assessment
Individual and group assignment

Recommended background knowledge
1.5 HRM Practices: A Global Perspective & 3.4 Leading Organizational Change