Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
| Master in human resources management (120 ECTS) | 4 crédits | |||
| Master in human resources management (120 ECTS) (Management) | 4 crédits |
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
Additional information:
The course is organized around classroom sessions. Participation to the sessions is mandatory.
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
Additional information:
The evaluation is structured in two parts. First, students will be ask to perform a diagnosis of a particular case of social dialogue, in which they will have to explore how social dialogue is performed, what controversies are significant, and how collective bargaining is structured within the firm (70%). Second, students will be evaluated on the basis of a roleplaying exercise in which they will be asked to place themselves in the shoes of a trade union representative or employer representative and bargain around a given issue; attention will be paid to students' ability to prepare the negotiation process, to deploy advanced bargaining tactics, and to pay attention to ethics and responsibility throughout the process (30%).
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. The first session will begin on September 22.
Contacts
Grégory Jemine (gjemine@uliege.be)