Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management

Purpose

The purpose of this Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management (PGDip(HRM)) is to enable working Human Resources (HR) professionals to strengthen and deepen their knowledge in the HR discipline. This is done by engaging a combination of high-level theories, concepts and principles (knowledge), with workplace processes and procedures in a range of contexts (practice) to develop intellectual independence and professional competencies, while embedding ethical conduct (professional engagement).

Rationale

This qualification was developed based on the situational analysis conducted that included the industry HR Advisory Committee, scrutinising job advertisements in line with the DHET list of occupations in high demand in 2018, including the World Economic Forum Top 10 Skills for Industry 4.0, and finally, alignment with the HR professional body, South African Board for People Practices (SABPP) HR Standards and Competency Model.

HR is a well-established business function in any organisation that caters for its procurement, development and maintenance of employees. However, in the 21st-century work environment in the knowledge-based, technology-orientated economy, HR is required to adapt to the human-machine interaction by analysing and predicting future changes in the labour market, and respond accordingly to recruitment, training and development, performance management and compensation trends (Abbott, 2019; SABPP, 2019). This was evident in the DHET list of occupations in high demand (South Africa, 2018) noting Labour Recruitment Manager as highest demand, with Skills Development Practitioner and Labour Market Analyst in higher demand, and HR-, Training and Development-, Recruitment-, Employee Wellness-, and Health and Safety Managers in high demand.

Furthermore, the HR Advisory Committee, consisting of industry employers and partners from both the public and private sectors, alumni and academic staff that have been instrumental in the re-curriculation of HR qualifications in alignment with the HEQSF. Once the initial benchmarking was conducted with other national Universities of Technology and similar international higher education institutions and scrutinising job advertisements key performance areas, the HR Advisory Committee was presented with the proposed outline of the qualification.

Therefore, this qualification is designed for working HR professionals to strengthen and deepen their knowledge in the HR discipline by engaging a combination of high-level theories, concepts and principles (knowledge), with workplace processes and procedures in a range of contexts (practice) to develop intellectual independence and professional competencies, while embedding ethical conduct (professional engagement).

The multidisciplinary (several different subjects) and interdisciplinary (various knowledge areas) approaches enable HR professionals to undertake advanced reflection and development via a systematic survey of current thinking, practice and research methods in the HR field of study. This qualification advances graduates professional registration with the SABPP from HR Associate to HR Professional or Charted HR Practitioner depending on the candidate's professional experience. This qualification will provide entry to qualifying learners in the related fields of study from Human Resource Development, Labour Relations, Industrial, Organisational and Social Psychology to further the specialisation in human resource management for career advancement.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

RPL is undertaken in the context of the institutional commitment to alignment with the principles of the NQF and the National Plan for Higher Education in South Africa, with specific reference to:

• Broadening the social base of higher education,
• Increasing access to higher education,
• The increasing mobility of learners across higher education institutions, and other learning contexts,
• Accelerating progress through learning programmes, and
• Increasing the number of graduates.

Following the National RPL requirements and the Institutional RPL Policy and practices, learners who submit a body of evidence of non-formal and formal learning will be considered for admission to this qualification. RPL applications will be dealt with according to the formal institutional procedure and require validation of prior informal and non-formal learning.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Advanced Diploma in Human Resource Management/HR Development (HRD)/labour Relations, NQF Level 7.

Or

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resource Management/ Industrial/Organisational/Social Psychology, NQF Level 7.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at NQF Level 8 totalling 120 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 8, 120 Credits

• Modern Themes in Human Resource Management, 26 Credits.
• Contemporary Human Resource Development, 24 Credits.
• Economics of Employment Relations, 24 Credits.
• Organisational Dynamics and Change, 24 Credits.
• Research Methodology, 22 Credits.

1. Structure a Human Resource framework that is aligned to business strategy and grounded in professional standards and practices.
2. Create strategic Human Resource Development solutions to address knowledge and skills deficiencies to ensure employees are future-fit.
3. Evaluate environmental influences on the 21st-century workplace to inform decisions in managing the employment relationship.
4. Appraise the dynamic nature of organisations to develop interventions that promote agile working environments where employees are engaged.
5. Plan, manage and execute an integrated, inquiry-based research project in an HR field of specialisation, under the supervision and according to stipulated timelines, culminating in a research report.
6. Write a research report that documents the ethical and professional execution of all phases of an integrated, inquiry-based research project.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Evaluate the implementation of the SABPP HR Standards Model to assess its impact on HR activities in an organization.
• Develop strategic HR and leadership effectiveness to improve overall HR effectiveness in an organizational context.
• Formulate interventions to support effective Human Capital and Talent Management strategies to create a talent management system focusing on current and future talent needs.
• Examine HR ethics and governance to minimise ethical challenges that arise in organisations.
• Design HR Risk Management systems to implement appropriate people-based risk management systems, metrics, risk controls and HR practices that will contribute to mitigating the potential risks.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Create an integrated working environment with innovative, dynamic approaches to learning while promoting a system of knowledge management.
• Ensure HRD policies and practices are formulated for talent development and supported by career management strategies to ensure human capital enhances an organisation's competitive advantage.
• Develop strategic learning initiatives supported by executive coaching to capacitate all managerial levels with technical and soft skills required for their specific job.
• Synthesise a continuing professional development process for all trade and occupational levels to continuously update and improve employees' capabilities.
• Design human resource development interventions from the needs analysis and linked to job tasks, with assessments focusing on learners' competencies.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Evaluate the direct and indirect effects of the new knowledge economy and 4th industrial revolution, specifically the market need for highly skilled employees in a technology-driven workplace to inform the employer's position during negotiations and collective bargaining.
• Synthesise the human capital theory with the national demand for skilled employees to develop measures to address the shortcomings and meet labour market demands.
• Examine the supply of labour against the demand for labour in the SA economy, specifically within the relationship between employment and economic growth.
• Dissect wages/salaries transactions concerning the supply and demand of labour, with its effects on the cost of labour in a free market economy.
• Appraise the role of trade unions in collective bargaining processes in SA, with recommendations for better collaborations in the employment relationship.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Structure management and performance consulting sessions that help organisations find systemic based performance solutions that will achieve performance excellence and advance business goals.
• Apply Organisational Development (OD) processes and intervention strategies to improve the organisation's overall functioning, and enable managers and leaders to better manage their team and organisational cultures.
• Design appropriate OD interventions based on the identified problems facing the organisation, facilitating change while promoting optimal organisational performance.
• Appraise the impact of organisational culture and climate, communication, power and politics, team functions and group dynamics during organisational change and productivity, and ensure that appropriate interventions are recommended and designed.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of work teams, their functions and the impact of group dynamics within a team to enhance positive group dynamics where team members trust each other and the overall creativity, productivity and effectiveness of the team are enhanced.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Apply standard aspects of research design, such as investigation, description and explanation of the research process to plan an integrated, inquiry-based project.
• Identify an authentic, practice-based research problem, after which the problem is interrogated to establish a suitable and manageable focus for an integrated inquiry-based research project.
• Prepare an integrated research project plan relevant to the research topic and HR field of study in the form of a written proposal, and deliver a presentation to explain its implementation in the field and context of the study.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6

• Adhere to institutional policies and requirements in terms of ethical considerations and plagiarism.
• Comprehend key current research theories and practices that are inferred into debates related to the research topic under study, through coherent arguments and insights.
• Make coherent judgements about the research data analysis about the research problem and questions, in critically reflexive ways to derive creative and insightful conclusions.
• Develop coherent arguments based on the research results regarding key ideas from the literature perspectives, to support conclusions in the research report.

Integrated Assessment

The assessment strategy is this qualification is competence-based, where the emphasis is placed on continuous assessments including formative and summative assessments to ensure that learners are active learners and experience deep learning.

Formative assessments are used to inform teaching and learning, involves giving learners feedback on how to improve academic performance, rather than grading learners. This is developmental and used to make learners aware of their strengths and improvement areas. Continuous assessments take place at more than one point in the learning process, provides learners with a variety of assessment methods to demonstrate competence and aligns with the levels of complexity of summative assessments. This occurs at the end of a term, relates to the aspect of the learning outcomes and assessment criteria, and takes place immediately after it has been taught. The focus is on engaging a combination of high-level theories, concepts and principles, with workplace processes and procedures in a range of contexts to develop intellectual independence and professional competencies. Summative assessments include the mid-and/or end-year written final assessment tests, which in conjunction with all other continuous assessment marks obtained, determine if the learner has passed and may progress to the next level of study.

A variety of formative assessment activities including case study analysis, presentations and simulation exercises aims to promote learners' engagement and reflection on learning. Continuous assessments include individual and group tasks in formal presentations, assignments, projects and class tests, with summative assessments written tests to assess learners' achievement of the learning outcomes against the Associated Assessment Criteria. Assessments are structured to enhance learners' ability to engage with complex theories, developing critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills that will enable learners to respond to the complexities of the world of work. This qualification provides a variety of assessment methods that assess learners holistically and fairly, giving all an equal opportunity to demonstrate competence.