HLSC606 - Workforce Management

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Health administrators today need to be able to effectively manage the health care workforce within their area of responsibility. Therefore, this unit is necessary for current and future health administrators, who will be able to apply evidence-based knowledge and skills to analyse, evaluate, generate and communicate solutions to complex problems such as forecasting workforce demand and supply, staff recruitment and retention and facilitating employee wellbeing and engagement. Health administrators who have specialised knowledge and skill in ensuring organisational best fit by aligning individual employee goals with organisational goals, who are skilled in evaluating workforce-related problems and who employ ethical approaches to workforce management are in a good position to provide their organisation with a competitive advantage within the health sector.

In this unit, workforce management principles and practices will be critically examined. Strategies and skills to promote employee well-being while maximising the allocation and use of resources and enhance accountability will be discussed. Employment relations, diversity, ethics, employee well-being and social responsibility will be critically analysed within this context.

This unit aims to provide students with an opportunity to discuss the theories that relate to the management of resources in health care organisations and to develop knowledge and skills relevant to workforce management to ensure that health care organisations are well-equipped to meet current and future workforce needs.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - reflect upon and explain how knowledge of workforce management theories, concepts, practices, policies and processes can influence quality and safety of life/care in contemporary health care organisations (GA1, GA2, GA4, GA6); 

LO2 - compare and contrast theoretically-based workforce management strategies that address potentially challenging issues and processes that may arise in employment relations in contemporary health care organisations (GA3, GA4, GA9); 

LO3 - critically analyse the components of an ethically-based workforce management plan that incorporates an employee well-being and retention strategy, and the concept of corporate social responsibility (:GA1, GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA6). 

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

Content

Topics will include: 

• Theories and foundations of workforce management in health care 
• scientific management 
• bureaucratic management 
• human relations theories 
• foundations of human resource management (HRM) 

• Strategic management and strategic HRM 
• strategic management concepts 
• strategic HRM concepts and practices 
• strategic planning process:  
• scanning the external environment   
• internal assessment of the organizational workforce 
• strategy and policy 
• HRM challenges in healthcare 
• effects of strategic management on quality and safety of life/care for staff/patients 

• Employment relations, diversity and employment equity 
• the employment relationship 
• occupational health and safety 
• equal employment opportunity 
• workplace bullying 
• workforce diversity  
• anti-discrimination policy 
• managing equity and diversity in organisations 

• Workforce planning, recruitment, selection and retention 
• workforce planning processes 
• managing the recruitment process 
• monitoring recruitment effectiveness and efficiency 
• factors influencing the selection decision 
• selection and quality assurance 
• retention strategies and talent management 
• performance appraisal and development 
• industrial relations 

• Employee wellbeing 
• theoretical concepts of employee wellbeing  
• Employee engagement and motivation 
• Individual and team wellbeing 
• Wellbeing and performance 
• Workplace Health and Safety  
• Employee assistance programs 
• Sustainability 
• Succession planning 

• Ethics and social responsibility 
• dimensions of organisational ethics 
• ethical treatment of employees 
• social responsibility 
• employees as stakeholders 
• organisations as social actors 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Located at the Graduate Certificate level of the course, this unit complies with adult learning principles in that the learning and teaching strategies will provide students with foundational knowledge and skills about workforce management that can be applied in the workplace. Teaching and learning strategies utilised in this unit will support students in meeting the aim and achieving the learning outcomes relevant to this unit as well as to the broader course learning outcomes. 

Multi-mode  

Modes of delivery in this unit include lectures, class-based discussion, debate, role play and interactive engagement with peers, as well as self-directed study and other learning activities. In addition, learning e-modules and links to electronic readings will be provided on the learning environment online (LEO) to guide students’ reading and extend the classroom learning while respecting the individual as an independent learner.   

The classroom learning environment and associated e-modules will create opportunities for students to reflect on theory that underpins ethical workforce management at the strategic level, the nature of the employment relationship and associated human relations processes, employee wellbeing, managing workforce diversity and social responsibility. In constructing knowledge about the health care workforce, students will develop skill in applying theory to ethical and effective workforce management in the health care environment.  

Online mode 

Modes of delivery in this unit include online lectures whereby students will engage in readings and reflections, e-Module activities and opportunities to collaborate with peers in an online environment. This can involve, but is not limited to, on-line discussion forums, chat rooms, guided reading and webinars. In addition, learning e-modules and links to electronic readings will be provided on the learning environment online (LEO) to guide students’ reading and extend the classroom learning while respecting the individual as an independent learner.   

Through an online learning platform, students will have the opportunity to reflect on theory that underpins ethical workforce management at the strategic level, the nature of the employment relationship and associated human relations processes, employee wellbeing, managing workforce diversity and social responsibility. In constructing knowledge about the health care workforce via an online platform, students will develop skill in applying theory to ethical and effective workforce management in the health care environment.  

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are expected to submit three graded assessment tasks. In addition, students must achieve a cumulative grade of at least 50% across all assessments. The assessment strategy used allows for the progressive development of knowledge and skills necessary for the student to be able to demonstrate ethical and effective approaches to workforce management in the context of safe, quality health care. 

Multi-mode  

To become effective as a health administrator, the student must develop comprehensive knowledge of workforce management. This will be facilitated through demonstration of the theoretical underpinnings, concepts and principles of strategic workforce management and confirmed by lecturer feedback. Student knowledge will be further extended through synthesis of theoretical knowledge to develop a repertoire of strategies aimed at meeting workforce-related challenges that can be applied to ethical workforce management, including forecasting demand and supply, employee wellbeing, managing workforce diversity and social responsibility.   

Online mode  

To become effective as a health administrator, the student must develop comprehensive knowledge of workforce management. This will be facilitated through online demonstration of the theoretical underpinnings, concepts and principles of strategic workforce management and confirmed by lecturer feedback via the learning environment online (LEO). Student knowledge will be further extended through online-mediated synthesis of theoretical knowledge to develop a repertoire of strategies aimed at meeting workforce-related challenges that can be applied to ethical workforce management  including forecasting demand and supply, employee wellbeing, managing workforce diversity and social responsibility.   

Overview of assessments

Multi-mode  ;

Online mode  

Representative texts and references

Armstrong, M. (2016). Armstrong's handbook of strategic human resource management (6th ed.). London: Kogan Page. 

Boxall, P., & Purcell, J. (2016). Strategy and human resource management (4th ed.). Basingstoke, NY: Palgrave Macmillan 

Chen, P. Y., & Cooper, C. L. (2014). Wellbeing. Hoboken: Wiley.  

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. S. (2016). Managing & organizations: An introduction to theory and practice (4th ed.). London: Sage Publications.  

Collings, D., Wood, J., & Caliguiri, P. (2014). Routledge companion to international human resource management. London: Routledge. 

Quelch, J. A., & Boudreau, E. (2016). Building a culture of health: A new imperative for business. Cham: Springer International Publishing : 

Nel, P., Werner, A., Fazey, M., Millett, B., Du Plessis, A., Wordsworth, R., . . . Suseno, Y. (2016). Human resource management in Australia (2nd ed.). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press 

Van Dijk, D., & Schodl, M. M. (2015). Performance appraisal and evaluation. In International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (pp. 716-721). London: Elsevier.  

Williams, D., & Applyrs, D. (2015). Making the case: Why diversity matters in the health care workforce. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 32(22), 28.