BUU44701 Managing People and Leading Change

(5 ECTS)

Lecturer: Dr Kiera Dempsey-Brench 

Email: Kiera.dempsey-brench@tcd.ie 

Office Hours: By appointment (please email to arrange) – room 206 TBS

Available to Exchange students 

Module Description

Organisations are stuck in a tricky bind: Firstly, since the pandemic, employees expect more from their organisations, and as such, a war for talent has begun. Now more than ever, organisations are wanting to attract, select, and retain star candidates. Secondly, the increase in grand challenges means that organisations are having to implement change initiatives often and fast. This process of managing and leading people is therefore a process that will either make or break an organisation. In this module, students will be introduced to the core tenants of people management to showcase how organisations can flourish and drive sustainable competitive advantage. The module looks at two distinct, yet interrelated components: the management of people and leading through change. Students will be exposed to frameworks and strategies to assist them to attract, select, manage, and lead people in accordance with the organisation’s values, mission, culture, and strategy, whilst understanding the knock-on effects and consequences organisational change initiatives can have on the individual and organisational level.

Learning and Teaching Approach

The module is built around a series of 28-hours of contact time, which will include a mix of lectures, guest speakers, group work, presentations, case studies, tutorials, and interactive discussion.

The prescribed materials (e.g., articles and activities) for this module are used to complement the material we will cover each week in class. You will be able to download or view relevant content for each week in advance of class. Please review this content and complete the recommended reading prior to class so you can participate in class discussions and exercises.

For each topic, reading references are provided, but you are encouraged to read widely around each topic. It is also important to keep informed about recent developments in the wider business context, as students will be encouraged to connect class content to modern-day business examples.

Students are expected to actively participate in the in-class activity and group work, with the aim of facilitating the formation of their capacity for independent inquiry, critical appraisal and sound judgment. Preparation for lectures (i.e., reading prescribed material in advance) and attendance at lectures are essential.

Learning Outcomes

• Critically evaluate the role and responsibilities of people management in organisations and the context in which professionals operate.
• Critically evaluate the use of HR practices in specific organisations in terms of their alignment with the organisation’s (1) strategy, and (2) performance.
• Understand and evaluate leadership strategies and its impact on managing and leading people.
• Understand the roles of organisational culture, leadership and within-organisation process/dynamics in leading change.
• Craft critical and persuasive arguments to a general management audience about people management related issues.
• Search for and identify reliable, appropriate, and high-quality HR and people management research and evaluate its relevance to real-world practice.

Workload

Textbooks and Required Resources

Required core course textbook

There is no required textbook for this course.

General Readings

Reading will be provided on Blackboard to students.

Student Preparation for the Module

The responsibility for learning for this module is on the student. The lectures are designed to provide the ideal learning environment. To get the best out of the lectures, preparation must be done by the student.

You are expected to read materials in advance of lectures where advised. If you don’t you may be at a disadvantage in class discussions. From time-to-time additional reading will be recommended in notes on specific lectures. Participants are strongly encouraged to read outside the essential and recommended material.

Printouts of some of the slides which will be used over the course of the module will be made available on Blackboard.

Lecture notes are not published material and should not be the sole resource to be used for revision purposes or for preparing continuous assessments. Lecture notes, particularly slides, should be considered part of each lecture, they are offered to assist participants through the taking of notes, but should never be considered a substitute for taking notes. When notes are offered in advance of a lecture certain slides may be incomplete or left blank. It is up to learners to complete these notes.

Course Communication

Communication will be through the course Blackboard site: http://mymodule.tcd.ie

Students must ensure that they check their college email and visit the Blackboard course site regularly. Notifications of the course will be posted on Blackboard.

Please note that all course related email communication must be sent from your official TCD email address. Emails sent from other addresses will not be responded to.

Biographical Note

Dr Kiera Dempsey-Brench is an Assistant Professor in Human Resource Management at Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin. She holds a BSc (Hons) in International Business with Spanish, an MSc in Management and Corporate Sustainability, and a PhD in Business. She has held previous positions as an Assistant Professor in Management at Maynooth University.

Kiera’s research is guided by an overarching agenda on how organisations and business schools can develop employees’ and students’ professional and leadership skills, whilst simultaneously making a positive impact on the community. Kiera is passionate in driving forward human resource management (HRM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in research and practice, so that social challenges can be mitigated. As such, a large line of her inquiry looks at the intersection of HR and CSR. She explores how HR and CSR functions break down silos in order to collaborate to create value, and what factors influence or inhibit the collaboration process. She is also interested in responsible management and social initiatives, such as employee volunteering and international service-learning assignments.

Kiera’s research appears in high-rated journals, such as International Journal of Human Resource Management, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Human Resource Management Review. Her work has also been recognised internationally and won awards, such as the Best Paper in the 2021 Management Education Division of the Academy of Management Conference. Lastly, Kiera advocates for bridging the scholarly-practitioner divide, and has collaborated and consulted a number of Fortune 500 organisations to solve existing business problems and create new knowledge.

Assessment