Dr Tanya Beauregard NAB4.14

This course is available on the MPhil/ PhD in Management, MSc in International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management, MSc in Management and Human Resources and MSc in Organisational Behaviour. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

The primary aim of the course is to develop students' understanding and critical awareness of issues associated with managing a workforce characterised by diversity in age, gender, race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation. The course endeavours to combine academic rigour with a practical focus on promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, enabling students to both develop a critical understanding of relevant theoretical and empirical literature and apply acquired knowledge to specific diversity management scenarios. Seminars will require participation in group exercises designed to enhance students' appreciation of the wide range of issues associated with categorizing individuals as members of different groups, on whatever basis.

Students will become familiar with the drivers of increased workforce diversity, the psychological and sociological theories underlying discrimination and exclusion in organisations, current employment legislation related to diversity in the UK, and the barriers to equality of opportunity in the workplace for minority groups. The emphasis of the course will be on demographic diversity in the context of work organisations, in order to avoid overlap with existing offerings from other departments. Students will examine "best practice" in diversity management programmes and learn to critically assess organisational policies and practices for managing workplace diversity with regard to their ability to enhance organisational performance and avoid costly litigation.

10 hours of lectures and 13 hours and 30 minutes of seminars in the LT. 1 hour of lectures and 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the ST.

Students are required to submit a two-page essay outline.

A full reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course. Key texts include:

Kirton, G., & Greene, A-M. (2010). The dynamics of managing diversity: A critical approach (3rd ed.). London: Elsevier.

Essay (30%, 1800 words) and class participation (10%).
Take home exam (60%) in the ST.