Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management

Purpose

The aim of the Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management is to adequately prepare learners with the requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes. Thus these learners will meet the increasing demand for Human Resource (HR) practitioners in South Africa. As well as to be effective HR practitioners, who can impact employees and organisations positively and therefore, society as a whole.

The purpose of the Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management is to educate and train learners in four critical areas based on the four pillars or foundation for professional HR practice. The curriculum builds specific core competencies aligned to its intended purpose.

Learners of HR must demonstrate specialist knowledge in

• Discourses in Human Resource Management and the unique applications and challenges within Human Resource Management both globally and within South Africa;
• Readiness plans to support the business strategy;
• Preparing HR business alignment through talent management, strategic HRM and HR Risk Management;
• Implementing HR service delivery and HR Technology;
• Implementing workable systems in workforce planning, learning and development, performance management, reward and recognition, employee wellness, employment relations as well as organisation development;
• Measuring HR systems through HR audits and metrics;
• Labour legislation governing business best practice and sound employee relations.

HR professionals should manage themselves professionally in acting and behaving like true professionals in the standard of HR work they deliver. Therefore, learners must be able to:

• Manage complex challenges with creativity and originality;
• Identify, engage and collaborate with various stakeholders in the design and implementation of effective strategies to enhance organisational efficiency and employee productivity;
• Manage projects at every level with an understanding of the different business units in the organisation;
• Account for leading and initiating processes and implementing systems, ensuring good resource management, ethical adherence and corporate governance practices;
• Communicate dynamically in defending learned discourses and substantiate ideas with a range of audiences with different levels of knowledge or expertise.

HR professionals should contribute to ethics in organisations and drive ethics with the SABPP HR Guide on Ethics and thus, learners of HR must:

• Have the ability to make autonomous ethical decisions which affect knowledge production, or complex organisational or professional issues, and the ability to critically contribute to the development of ethical standards in a specific context.
• Adhere to sound business practices to ensure legal compliance by the organisation;
• Have an awareness of employee safety and wellbeing in organisations;
• Act autonomously and operate independently;
• Be fully accountable for initiating processes that reflect sound ethical practice despite the complexity;
• Ensure good governance practises and adherence and contribution to ethical standards in a specific context.

HR professionals must have a duty to society in delivering quality HR work that has an impact on society. Learners must be able to:

• Consider the macro-environment in which organisations and individuals function;
• Understand the individual and business cost and impact of decisions;
• Manage and navigate the complexity of specific contexts;
• Identify best-fit interventions with minimal risk to those involved;
• Consider the impact of social technological, environmental, economic and political determinants of the work environment.

Rationale

Given that South Africa embraces diversity and organisations are transforming, the importance of the role of Human Resource (HR) Practitioner has become paramount to develop human capital and facilitate change across the organisation. The reality is that without the skills and knowledge of HR practitioners, organisations may not know how to undergo change processes effectively. Also, should further issues may arise, which may dampen the strategic goals of the organisation. These issues include, but are not limited to:

• Being unable to cater to a diverse worker population;
• Being unable to transfer skills across generations in the workforce;
• Being unable to create a harmonious relationship between the organisation and its employees and effectively manage employee issues;
• Being unable to offer training and development that is relevant to both employee and employer.

The rationale behind the Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management is to advance scholarship and research capacity around the human factor and human capital. Also, to enable organisations that is, wholly passionate about making a proactive contribution towards people and therefore, organisations. Create change agents to drive the development of individuals, transformation and the effectiveness and efficiency of organisations; scale-up human capacity to understand and manage the human factor and social capital. The qualification will provide learners with competencies in the area of HR practice, scholarship, research, leadership and ethical business practice.

The Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management complements other qualifications and is particularly well suited for learners with an undergraduate Human Resource Management qualification. This qualification targets those who wish to engage with Human Resource Management further at an Honours level, with a particular focus on Strategic Human Resource Management. Also, those who have a longer-term view of a career in people and organisation development. In this regard, Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management offers an ideal articulation pathway for qualifying learners of the undergraduate qualification, the Bachelor of Social Science with specialisation in Human Resource Management.

The Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management aims to attract learner who also wants to understand how important it is to put the 'human' back in Human Resource Management. The Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management, therefore, speaks to an essential gap in the academic qualification marketplace in providing additional articulation pathways for Bachelors learners.

The employment environment in South Africa demonstrates the need for learners with a level of training in the social sciences. These learners need to focus on developing individuals in the workplace and who will be able to adapt to changing skills demands in the workplace. Also, these learners need to be innovative in the way they position themselves in the employment market. Not only will learners with a Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management be adaptive and innovative themselves. Learners will be well-placed as HR practitioners to encourage the same with the employees they work.

The scarcity of HR professionals highlights the need for HR -specific qualifications. All learners will be well suited for employment in an extensive range of public and private sector enterprises. Learners can find employment in a variety of NPO's, NGO's and corporate companies where management of people and strategic partnership between people and organisations is needed.

In designing this qualification, the institution consulted the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP), which is the SAQA recognised body for HR professionals in South Africa. As such, the Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management will be meeting the need for professional body aligned HR training in South Africa.

Aligned with SABPP, the purpose of the Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management is to educate and train learners in four key areas. These areas are the four pillars or foundation for professional HR practice as set out by SABPP:

• HR and Business knowledge.
• Professionalism.
• Ethics.
• Duty to society.

The Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management prepares learners for a generalist HR role by covering a wide range of responsibilities and activities. However, via employment experience gained, a learner might choose to specialise their HR role and career. HR specialist roles include:

• Training and development (ensuring employees have adequate professional development opportunities);
• Labour relations (dealing with conflict or labour law dispute resolution);
• Recruitment (identifying, selecting and inducting the right people for the right roles).

The most appropriate learning pathway within which the qualification resides is human resource management. It builds on undergraduate studies in human resource management and articulates to Masters studies at NQF Level 9. SABPP has various professional designation categories that learners with various years of studies and concomitant years of experience apply for registration. The Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management will allow learners with the requisite four years of experience to be eligible to register as a Chartered HR Professional (CHRP).

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

In keeping with the objectives of the National Qualifications Framework, the institution supports wide and diverse access to higher education. Therefore, while there are minimum entry requirements, provision is made for an RPL for access as an entry route within the framework of national guidelines for higher education institutions.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Bachelor of Social Science in Human Resource Management, NQF Level 7.

Or

• Advanced Diploma in Human Resource Management, NQF Level 7.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory and elective modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 8 totalling 120 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, 110 Credits

• Research Methodology, 20 Credits.
• Strategic Human Resource Management, 15 Credits.
• Business Ethics for the HR, 12 Credits.
• Research Proposal, 0 Credits.
• Advanced Organisation Development and Design 15 Credits.
• Research Thesis, 36 Credits.
• Advanced Employee Relations, 12 Credits.

Elective Modules, 10 Credits (Choose/Select one)

• Utilising Assessment and Development Centres, 10 Credits.
• Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace, 10 Credits.

• Draw on knowledge, theories, models and techniques within the field of human resource management, and the more significant complex systems of the area, to engage in critical thinking and problem-solving with good HR and sound business knowledge.
• Reflect on their knowledge and practice concerning theory and best practice of local and international human resource management and make appropriate decisions.

Interrogate multiple sources of knowledge to manage themselves professionally in acting and behaving like real professionals in the standard of HR work they deliver.

• Demonstrate knowledge and a range of specialised skills to identify, analyse and creatively address complex problems by supplying systemic solutions to challenging human interaction situations in the work context to deliver high-quality HR work that not only has an impact in the work context but in greater society.
• Apply a systemic understanding in assessing situations and devising creative responses, through awareness of the roles and relationships between system elements and the HR function using their learned systematic research design, implementation and management capabilities.
• Identify and address ethical issues professionally within human resource management based on critical reflection on the suitability of different moral value systems to contribute to ethics in organisations and drive ethical behaviour in organisations.
• Communicate professionally and academically to a broad audience and appropriate context.
• Operate effectively within complex organisational and HR systems with a sound understanding of diversity, legislative and transformation practices in the local context.

The following Associated Assessment Criteria will assess the Exit Level Outcomes in an integrated manner.

• Show an understanding of the Human Resource Management (HRM) function and scope as found in best practice.
• Apply the core general Human Resource Management practices in an HRM and organisational context, with emphasis on a strategic perspective.
• Demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of HRM, with a particular emphasis on the principles and theories associated with local and international HRM practices.
• Demonstrate an applied understanding of the scope of Labour Legislation and the core industrial relations practices.
• Manage and interpret information and research data for Human Resource Management purposes.
• Demonstrate HRM knowledge and skills in a work context to solve problems.
• Demonstrate professional and ethical behaviour that shows responsibility and accountability towards the organisation and the community/environment.
• Communicate professionally across contexts.

Integrated Assessment

Assessment is a continuous and core component of the Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management. Learners will engage an independent structured process for gathering evidence to specified learning outcomes of a particular module of study and the Exit Level Outcomes of the qualification. The integrated assessment provides an opportunity for learners to show that they can integrate concepts, ideas and actions both within and across modules to achieve competence.

The integrated assessment philosophy assesses outcomes together via either formative or summative assessment. Assessments in Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Human Resource Management focuses on supporting learning and gauging whether the learner has met the requirements of the NQF Level 8.

The institution carries out the integrated assessment (including both formative and summative assessment) to support learning and determine the application of knowledge in authentic situations.

Assessment assesses whether the learner has achieved the Exit Level Outcomes. The following assessment types are case study applications, essays, article reviews, reports, open-book tests.