Unit 3: Human Resource Management

Unit code J/618/5035

Unit type Core

Unit level 4

Credit value 15

Introduction
People are the lifeblood of any organisation and the ability to attract, recruit and
retain talented staff is critical to the success of any organisation, whether in business,
in voluntary organisations or in government. Human Resource Management (HRM)
provides organisations with the principles, knowledge and behaviours to focus
people-management activities on supporting and enhancing organisational success
and performance.
This unit will give students the knowledge and skills associated with Human Resource
(HR) occupational roles at either a generalist level, for example HR Assistant/HR
Advisor/Business Partner, or more specialist roles in areas such as recruitment, talent
acquisition and performance and reward management. Students will explore the
nature and scope of HRM and the organisational context of people management,
including recruitment and retention, training and development, reward systems,
employment relations and associated legislative frameworks.
The aim of the unit is to enable students to understand and be able to apply
principles of effective HRM in order to enhance sustainable organisational
performance and contribute to organisational success, holding business outcomes
and people outcomes in equal balance. Students will apply HR practices in a work-
related context, utilising their knowledge and practising skills and behaviours in
relevant professional areas, including resourcing, talent planning and recruitment,
learning and development and employee engagement.
On completion of the unit, students will understand the purpose and scope of HRM
activities. They will be able to apply a range of people-management skills to enhance
the performance of an organisation by finding solutions to people-related problems.

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Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit the student will be able to:
LO1 Explain the impact of the role of HRM in creating sustainable organisational
performance and contributing to business success
LO2 Assess the contribution of HRM in recruiting and retaining talent and skills to
achieve business objectives
LO3 Examine how external and internal factors can affect HRM decision making in
relation to organisational development
LO4 Apply HRM practices in a work-related context for improving sustainable
organisational performance.

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Essential Content

LO1 Explain the impact of the role of HRM in creating sustainable organisational
performance and contributing to business success

Nature and scope of HRM:

Definitions of HRM.
The different specialist areas of HR, e.g. resourcing, employee relations,
organisational development and design, learning and development.
Generic HR competencies, e.g. design of people strategies, creating people
management policies, employee engagement, supporting organisational change.
Typical roles in HR and responsibilities, e.g. HR advisor, HR officer, people data
analyst, HR assistant, employee relations officer.
Specific skills, e.g. communication skills across all levels of the organisation,
adaptability to changing work priorities and patterns, displaying tenacity and
being proactive, keeping ahead of trends and changing legal and policy
requirements.
Working within an ethical framework and within recognised best practice.

Strategic HRM:
The development of strategic HRM in terms of business vision, mission
statement, business objectives and strategic aims.
The nature and use of data analytics to support achievement of business
objectives and meeting strategic aims.
Hard and soft models of HRM.

Organisational performance:
The impact of HRM on organisational performance, e.g. effective recruitment and
selection to meet specific knowledge and skills requirements, growing internal
talent through training and development and focusing on longer-term resource
issues.
Performance management systems to support high-performance working.
Methods to measure organisational and individual performance.
Types of pay and reward systems.

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LO2 Assess the contribution of HRM in recruiting and retaining talent and skills
to achieve business objectives

Resourcing the organisation:

Workforce planning and application of data analytics.
Assessing skills and capabilities using audits and gap analysis for identifying
talent and skills gaps.
The elements of an end-to-end roadmap e.g. what is the plan, direction, skills
needs, skills gaps and solutions.
Workforce trends, including flexible working arrangements, remote working,
virtual meetings and social distancing measures.
Addressing diversity and inclusion.
Types of labour market and skills shortages affecting recruitment and hard-to-fill
vacancies, e.g. lack of digital skills, leadership skills, data analytical skills.
Impact of relevant legislation, including data protection.

Recruitment and selection:

Different models of recruitment and selection.
Sources of recruitment, e.g. internal vs. external.
Achieving cultural diversity in recruitment.
Stages in recruitment and selection.
Different types of selection methods, including competence-based selection.
Legal frameworks and regulatory standards.

Retention:
Factors influencing retention, including the influence of the culture of the
organisation on retention, selecting the right talent and performance
management.
Onboarding and induction, the value of effective employee socialisation.
Role of line managers in employee engagement and performance management.
Managing attrition, restructuring and redeployment, redundancy of employees.
Dealing with employee disciplinaries and misconduct cases that end in dismissal.

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LO3 Examine how external and internal factors can influence HRM decision
making in relation to organisational development

External and internal factors:

Identifying factors external to the organisation that influence HRM:
● impact of external factors on organisational performance, including the skills
gaps and labour force trends
● impact of globalisation on HR policies for equality, diversity and raising
cultural awareness and sensitivity within the workplace
● impact of legal and regulatory frameworks.
Internal factors, including:
● the impact and influence of leadership styles on organisational
transformation, culture and employee experience
● learning and development, how people learn, impact of digital learning
● the relationship between organisational culture and strategic planning and
development
● impact of motivation upon performance.

Organisational development:
The changing work environment, e.g. need for flexible organisations and
employees with adaptable skills and competencies.
Characteristics of agile organisations.
Digital transformation of HR functions, e.g. reporting dashboards and predictive
models for advanced people analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) for talent
acquisition, cloud capabilities for measuring team performance and calibration
decision making.

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LO4 Apply HRM practices in a work-related context for improving sustainable
organisational performance.

Job descriptions and person specification:

Referencing workforce planning.
Assessing the need to create and fill a post.
Preparing different types of job description, including competence based and
task based, assessing the merits of each type.
Identifying the qualities and attributes relevant to the design of a person
specification.
Designing a person specification relevant to a chosen job role.

Recruitment and selection in practice:

Designing and placing job advertisements.
Shortlisting and processing applications.
Interviewing preparation and best practice.
Selection best practice.

Performance management:
Performance management aligned to workforce planning.
Methods of financial and non-financial rewards.
Staff development, e.g. continuous professional development and training.
Providing support and maintaining wellbeing.
Embedding learning and reflective practice in personal development planning.
Managing under performance, disciplinary, industrial disputes and grievance
procedures.
Succession planning.

Employee relationship:
The employment relationship.
The psychological contract.
Employee voice and engagement.
Managing performance to attain competitive advantage and increase job
satisfaction.

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Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria
Pass Merit Distinction
LO1 Explain the impact of the role of HRM in creating
sustainable organisational performance and
contributing to business success
P1 Explain the main areas M1 Compare areas of LO1 and LO2
of HRM in their HRM to create D1 Critically evaluate the
contribution to creating sustainable strengths and weaknesses of
sustainable performance. organisational HRM in relation to creating
performance. sustainable organisational
P2 Review the effects of
the changing nature of M2 Examine HRM in performance and achieving
organisations on human relation to the changing business objectives.
resources skills and nature of the modern
knowledge. business organisation.
LO2 Assess the contribution of HRM in recruiting and
retaining talent and skills to achieve business
objectives
P3 Review relevant HRM M3 Evaluate the use of
practices in relation to HRM practices in
recruitment and retention recruitment and retention
of employees for the in relation to the
achievement of business importance of the labour
objectives. market.
LO3 Examine how external and internal factors can
affect HRM decision making in relation to
organisational development
P4 Investigate the M4 Discuss the key D2 Evaluate key factors
external and internal external and internal affecting HRM decision
factors that affect HRM factors that affect HRM making to make valid
decision making to decision making, using recommendations.
support organisational relevant organisational
development. examples to illustrate
how they support
organisational
development.

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Pass Merit Distinction
LO4 Apply HRM practices in a work-related context for
improving sustainable organisational performance.
P5 Apply HRM practices in M5 Illustrate how the D3 Determine strengths and
a work-related context, application of specific weaknesses of HRM practices
using specific examples to HRM practices in a work- to make recommendations
demonstrate related context can for improving sustainable
improvement to improve sustainable organisational performance.
sustainable organisational
organisational performance.
performance.

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Recommended Resources

Textbooks
ARMSTRONG, M. and TAYLOR, S. (2020) Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource
Management Practice. 15th Ed. London: Kogan Page.
BRATTON, J. and GOLD, J. (2017) Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice.
6th Ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
TORRINGTON, D. et al. (2018) Human Resource Management. 10th Ed. London: Pearson.
LEATHERBARROW, C. and FLETCHER, J. (2018) Introduction to Human Resource
Management. 4th Ed. Kogan Page.

Websites
www.cipd.co.uk Chartered Institute for Personnel and
Development
(General reference)
www.hr-guide.com HR Guides
(General reference)
www.personneltoday.com Personnel Today
Topics and webinars
(General reference)
www.shrm.org Society for Human Resource Management
(General reference)

Links
This unit links to the following related units:
Unit 7: Business Law
Unit 12: Executive Recruitment Solutions
Unit 13: Human Capital Management
Unit 20: Organisational Behaviour
Unit 30: Resource and Talent Planning
Unit 31: Employee Relations
Unit 32: Strategic Human Resource Management

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Unit 5: Accounting Principles

Unit code Y/618/5038

Unit type Core

Unit level 4

Credit value 15

Introduction
Management accounting is a profession that supports management decision making,
planning and performance management systems. Management accountants provide
expertise in financial reporting and control to assist management in the formulation
and implementation of an organisation's strategy by providing appropriate financial
information and undertaking related accounts administration.
The overall aim of this unit is to introduce fundamental accounting principles that
underpin financial operations and support good and sustainable decision making in
any organisation. Students will develop a theoretical and practical understanding of a
range of financial and management accounting techniques.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to assist senior colleagues
in producing and analysing budgets, drawing up simple financial statements and
using financial ratios to interpret performance. Students will also explore wider
aspects of accountancy, especially ethics, transparency and sustainability, and gain
fundamental knowledge and skills that will enable them to progress to a higher level
of study.

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Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit a student will be able to:
LO1 Examine the context and purpose of accounting
LO2 Prepare basic financial statements for unincorporated and small business
organisations in accordance with accounting principles, conventions and
standards
LO3 Interpret financial statements
LO4 Prepare budgets for planning, control and decision making using spreadsheets.

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Essential Content

LO1 Examine the context and purpose of accounting

The accounting function in an organisation:

Different branches of accounting, e.g. financial, management, auditing, tax and
forensic accounting.
Career opportunities in accounting and roles and responsibilities, e.g. accounts
clerk, accounts assistant, qualified accountant.
Roles in commercial finance, e.g. cost analyst, business controller, pricing
professionals and the global business services, e.g. purchase to pay (P2P)
professionals and report to report (R2R) professionals.
Skills required for positions in accountancy and finance, e.g. numerical skills,
problem solving, integrity, negotiation, customer service.
Key skills and competences for accounting roles, e.g. managing the sale and
purchase ledger, ensuring accounts are up to date, supplier reconciliations,
inputting sales invoices on an accounts system and recording payments
received.
Users and uses of financial information.
Interrelationships between the accounting and finance functions of other areas
of the organisation and increasingly complex operating environments.

Context and purpose of financial and management accounting:

Purpose and scope of accounting, to include recording, reporting, and analysing
information to inform decision making.
Role of supporting and new information technologies to support accounting and
decision making.
Management accounting information, including systems, e.g. cost accounting,
inventory management, job costing.
The benefits (streamline reporting, accuracy), risks and limitations (security
threats, loss of data through power outages) of management accounting
information.
Presenting financial information in a reliable, accurate, timely and persuasive
way to satisfy needs of internal and external stakeholders.
Accounting in an increasingly complex and fast-changing business environment,
e.g. increased regulation and accountability, role of International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS), risk management, reputation, sustainability,
governance.
Pros and cons of shared service centres and outsourcing accounting services.

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LO2 Prepare basic financial statements for unincorporated and small business
organisations in accordance with accounting principles, conventions and
standards

The accounting concept:

The accounting concept as the foundation for all financial statements.

Capital and revenue items:

Classifying revenue and capital income and expenditures.

Producing basic financial statements:

Preparation of a profit and loss statement (income statement) and balance sheet
(statement of financial position) for unincorporated organisations from a given
trial balance.
Different types of income statements for sole trader, partnership and
not for profit organisations.
Adjustments required for accruals, prepayments, bad debts, depreciation.
Value of using digital software for accounting and preparing for financial
statements, e.g. QuickBooks, Sage, Xero.

LO3 Interpret financial statements

Importance and purpose of analysing financial statements:

To communicate financial positions and intentions with a range of stakeholders.

Ratio analysis:
Calculate profitability, liquidity, efficiency and investment ratios from given data.
Using calculated ratios to evaluate organisational performance.
Apply and critique relevant benchmarks, including time series, competitors,
sector and internal.

Limitations of ratio analysis:

Ratio analysis as one means of measuring and evaluating the performance of an
organisation, e.g. use of qualitative/non-financial measures.
Limitations of using ratios as a performance measurement tool.
The interrelationships between ratios.

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 Importance and purpose of analysis of financial statements:
The interpretation and analysis of financial statements in the business
environment.
Interpreting the relationship between the elements of the financial statements,
profitability, liquidity, efficient use of resources and financial position.
Interpreting financial statements for meeting key performance indicators (KPIs)
and sustainable performance.
Application of financial statements in different business contexts and value of
presenting to end user of the financial statements.

LO4 Prepare budgets for planning, control and decision making using
spreadsheets

Nature and purpose of budgeting:

Budgets as a key management accounting tool.
Definitions and reasons organisations use budgets.
Stages in the budgeting process, master and functional budgets.
Corrective action to inform resource allocation and decision making.

Budget preparation and budgetary control:

Importance, role and limitations of budgets in controlling activity.
The principal budget factor and budget types, including fixed, flexible, zero
based, incremental, rolling, activity based, value proposition.
Variance analysis.
The steps for the preparation of a cash budget.

Producing a spreadsheet:
The numerical and other information requirements for a spreadsheet and how it
should be structured to meet user needs.
Using a spreadsheet and techniques to enter, edit and organise numerical and
other data.
How to format spreadsheet cells, rows, columns and worksheets effectively using
appropriate tools and techniques
Use of formulas and filters to enter, edit and present numerical data.
Visual representation of data and data analysis using pie charts, bar charts
and graphs.
Inserting spreadsheet data into Word® documents.

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Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Pass Merit Distinction

LO1 Examine the context and purpose of accounting
P1 Examine the purpose M1 Evaluate the context D1 Critically evaluate the role
of the accounting function and purpose of the of accounting in informing
within an organisation. accounting function in decision-making to meet
meeting organisational, organisational, stakeholder
P2 Assess the accounting
stakeholder and societal and societal needs within
function within the
needs and expectations. complex operating
organisation in the
environments.
context of regulatory and
ethical constraints.
LO2 Prepare basic financial statements for
unincorporated and small business organisations in
accordance with accounting principles, conventions and
standards.
P3 Prepare financial M2 Produce financial LO2 and LO3
statements from a given statements from a given D2 Critically evaluate financial
trial balance for sole trial balance, making statements to assess
traders, partnerships and appropriate adjustments. organisational performance
not-for-profit using a range of measures and
organisations, to meet benchmarks to make justified
accounting principles, conclusions.
conventions and
standards.
LO3 Interpret financial statements
P4 Calculate and present M3 Evaluate the
financial ratios from a set performance of an
of final accounts. organisation over time.
using financial ratios with
P5 Compare the
reference to relevant
performance of an
benchmarks.
organisation over time
using financial ratios.

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 Pass Merit Distinction
LO4 Prepare budgets for planning, control and decision
making using spreadsheets.

P6 Prepare a cash budget M4 Identify corrective D3 Justify budgetary control

from given data for an actions to problems solutions and their impact on
organisation using a revealed by budgetary organisational decision making
spreadsheet. planning and control for to ensure efficient and
effective organisational effective deployment of
P7 Discuss the benefits
decision making. resources.
and limitations of budgets
and budgetary planning,
and control for an
organisation.

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Recommended Resources

Textbooks
ATRILL, P. and McLANEY, E. (2018) Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists.
11th Ed. Harlow: Pearson.
DRURY, C. (2015) Management and Cost Accounting. 9th Ed. Cengage Learning.
SEAL, W. et al (2018) Management Accounting. 6th Ed. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.
WEETMAN, P. (2019). Financial and Management Accounting: An Introduction.
Harlow: Pearson.

Websites
www.accountingcoach.com Accounting Coach
Online free courses
(General reference)
www.accaglobal.com Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
(General reference)
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
www.cimaglobal.com Tutor Resource Hub
Corporate Finance Institute
Resources
www.corporatefinanceinstitute.com Knowledge
(General reference)

Links
This unit links to the following related units:
Unit 10: Recording Financial Transactions
Unit 21: Financial Reporting
Unit 22: Management Accounting
Unit 23: Financial Management
Unit 29: Managing and Running a Small Business

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