International Human Resource Management MA

Wednesday 25th October 2023, 5:30-7PM(BST)

Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), this specialist course focuses on international human resource management (HRM). As globalisation encourages companies to operate and trade in multiple locations, and provides more opportunities for staff to work abroad, managing and developing people has never been more critical – or complex. On our MA, you’ll learn to appreciate the unique challenges of international HRM – from the cultural, legal and economic differences to remote relationship building.

Our problem-based approach to teaching means you’ll get to apply what you learn to manage problems through assignments and projects based on actual situations. We’ll draw on everyday HR issues in the news, case studies and current examples, at times addressing some of our own students’ workplace experiences. By demonstrating evidence-based HRM, you’ll learn to collect and analyse relevant data and information, developing your ability to identify, evaluate and propose the most appropriate solutions, looking at issues ranging from expatriate employment, employee engagement, managing change and reward management.

Each year, our annual HRM conference offers you the chance to hear direct from a range of guest speakers who have previously covered issues such as immigration and labour supply and the impact of EU legislation on employee relations post-Brexit. You’ll also have the opportunity to develop essential HR practitioner skills through a series of practical workshops in areas such as finance, employment law, interviewing, disciplinary and grievance handling, counselling and negotiating. Working in teams, you might simulate dealing with a disciplinary hearing, for example, or conducting a job evaluation exercise. When studying people resourcing, you may participate in an assessment centre or practise your interviewing skills.

Fully accredited by the CIPD, this course is ideal if you’re coming to study from outside the UK or if you're looking to pursue or advance your HRM career with organisations operating at an international level. Successfully completing it will set you on the path to Chartered Membership and Fellowship, alongside the relevant professional practice. Past graduates have secured jobs as consultants (internal and external), HR managers, compensation and benefits managers, change management specialists, HR business partners/operations managers, civil servants and mediators.

Top reasons to study with us

• Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), the International Human Resource Management MA maps and aligns to the CIPD Profession Map core knowledge and core behaviour standards at the Chartered Level.
• We pay your joining fee and initial CIPD membership fee, giving you student access to CIPD knowledge resources and professional networking events, part of a 160,000-strong worldwide member network.
• Annual HRM Conference offers the chance to hear from leading experts, with past themes including making a difference at work, talent management and HRM in transition.
• Taught by accomplished professionals with specialist HR knowledge and experience in academia, research and training, some as senior HR professionals and consultants.
• The workshop series develops essential skills in interviewing, negotiation, counselling and disciplinary handling.
• Optional 8-12 week internship.

Why study this course?

• Build your analytical skills
  Learn which human resources information and data to source and analyse as part of evidence-based practice.
• Combine theory and practice
  Link theory to global practice through real-life case studies, guest lectures, workshops and assignments.
• Get industry insight
  Annual HR Conference gives you the chance to hear from experts on themes such as HRM in transition and talent management.

Accreditation

Westminster Business School is an accredited Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD) centre. The MA IHRM course maps and aligns to the CIPD Profession Map core knowledge and core behaviour standards at the Chartered level. Students who graduate with a Diploma will need to have passed all core modules in order to gain an Associate level of CIPD membership. Both Masters and Diploma students have the eligibility to potentially upgrade their membership to Chartered Member depending on evidencing their experience via the CIPD upgrading process. There is no CIPD accreditation for a post-graduate certificate exit award. Westminster Business School will pay your CIPD joining fee and your initial membership fee.

Graduates will be able to develop an international management career within a wide range of business management opportunities, potentially working locally, nationally and trans-nationally for global corporations, trans-European, trans-Asian, African or Australasian companies. You could pursue management consultancy, general HRM, become an expatriate HRM specialist or facilitate organisational development, such as a move from national to international operations.

Past students have gone on to become consultants (internal and external), HR managers, compensation and benefits managers, change management specialists, HR business partners/operations managers, civil servants, and mediators. Companies that have employed our students include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Capgemini, BBC, and Visa.

With a growing global network of 3,000 employers, our Careers and Employability Service is here to support you in achieving your full potential.

• Build key skills
  Practical skills workshops develop essential HR practitioner skills.
• Develop CQ skills
  Develop your cultural intelligence – or ‘CQ’ – by studying alongside students and staff representing more than 100 nationalities.
• Learn from experts
  Several members of staff are leading authorities in their respective fields, and many have practised at a senior level, often as HR consultants.

Industry links

We are a CIPD accredited centre. We have a long-established reputation for both leading-edge research and high-quality professional education for HR practitioners.

We enjoy a close relationship with the HRM profession and recently collaborated on a research project investigating diversity and inclusion practices in organisations. Launched in October 2019, our joint report, Diversity management that works: an evidence-based review, identified six priority recommendations for practice.

We have been deeply involved at CIPD branch level for many years and also have close links with other professional bodies, such as the British Universities Industrial Relations Association. Several members of staff are leading authorities in their respective fields, and many have practised at a senior level, often as HR consultants.

Job roles

This course will prepare you for roles such as:

• Change management specialist
• Civil servant
• Coach/mentor
• Compensation and benefits manager
• HR business partner/operations manager
• HR consultant (internal and external)
• HR manager
• Mediator

Graduate employers

Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:

• BBC
• Capgemini
• EY
• Harrods
• HSBC
• Google
• KPMG
• Linklaters
• PWC
• The Royal Household
• Transport for London
• Visa

Westminster Employability Award

Employers value graduates who have invested in their personal and professional development – and our Westminster Employability Award gives you the chance to formally document and demonstrate these activities and achievements.

The award is flexible and can be completed in your own time, comprising a set of core and optional extracurricular activities.

Activities might include gaining experience through a part-time job or placement, signing up for a University-run scheme – such as mentoring or teaching in a school – or completing online exercises.

We cover a range of interesting modules focused specifically on international HRM, comparative HRM, organisational analysis and development and management skills. This will give you a deeper understanding of the theory, practices and policies of HRM and what these mean for different groups of individuals and organisations at local, national and international levels.

The modules below are indicative of what you will study in this course. To be awarded the MA in International Human Resource Management, you'll take seven core modules and choose one option module.

Core modules

• Behaviour, Culture and Change
• Global Employment Relations
• HRM Research Project
• Human Resource Management and the Business Context
• International Human Resource Management
• People Practice
• Skills of the Manager/Consultant

Option modules

• Designing and Delivering Training
• Employee Relations and Employee Engagement
• HR Analytics
• Learning for Career Development
• Managing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
• Organisational Analysis, Design and Development
• Reward Management
• Talent Management
• The Psychology of Assessment and Selection

Accredited internship

• Accredited internship