Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
In Belgium, social dialogue - relations between the employer's representatives and workers' representatives - is part of the daily life of many organizations, both from the public and private sector. Organized at multiple levels (European, interprofessional, sectoral, firm), social dialogue includes a large variety of practices, of which collective bargaining is the most significant. This is why this course aims to sensitize students to the practice of social dialogue with firms. After an introduction to the formal mechanisms, tools and procedures of social concertation (collective regulations, etc.) and the key actors of social dialogue (employer's representatives, workers' representatives, and their formal and informal strategies and practices), the course will build on interventions from external professionals (trade unionists, human resource professionals, social mediators, etc.)
Moreover, part of the course will be dedicated to negotiation in the context of the firm, a significant part of the human resource management field. Required skills and techniques to prepare and experience a process of collective bargaining will be developed through sessions with external guests. The course will tackle the preparation of a negotiation project and of a revendication list; it will also emphasize the informal mechanisms of social dialogue (e.g. power games, political aspects of negotiation, etc.)
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
- Discover social dialogue through concrete cases and interventions from experts;
- Explore contemporary challenges and issues related to social dialogue and its multiple objects (work organization, HRM policies, staff administration, large-scale projects, digitalization, etc.)
- Acquire skills and techniques for collective bargaining
- Practice social dialogue through roleplaying
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Basic knowledge of the firm theory, HRM practices, and the strategic analysis of organizations, as seen in bachelor courses.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The first sessions will aim to explore formal and informal mechanisms of social dialogue in organizations. Students will be invited to study, by small groups, a concrete case of social dialogue in a firm, through interviews with the employer's and workers' representatives. Following sessions will be dedicated through collective negotiation theory and practice. Several sessions will also be organized around external guests, such as HR professionals and trade unionists.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
The course is organized around classroom sessions. Participation to the sessions is mandatory.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Slides used during the course will be shared with students at the end of each session.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
Written work / report
Further information:
The assessment is divided into two parts.
The first part (70% of the final grade) consists of a written assignment analysing a concrete case of social dialogue. Based on a given theme, and within a specific organisation, students - working in small groups - are required to meet key actors of social dialogue (employer representatives and worker representatives) in order to clarify the modes of social consultation in place, the controversies and the actors' positions regarding the theme of interest, and the collective bargaining dynamics at work in the company under study. The report will draw on analytical frameworks that allow students to decode employer-side and union-side rationales as well as negotiation dynamics.
The second part (30% of the final grade) is based on a role-play scenario inspired by the real cases studied in the first part. During these role-plays, students are invited to act as employer/worker representatives and to enter into a process of collective bargaining. The assessment will focus primarily on students' ability to build an argument, to apply practical negotiation techniques, and to conduct the negotiation process in an ethical and responsible manner.
In the second examination session, the student's grade will be determined entirely by an individual oral examination covering their knowledge of 1) the course material and 2) the concrete case of social dialogue studied.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
A detailed agenda of the course's structure will be presented at the first session.
Contacts
Grégory Jemine (gjemine@uliege.be)