2022/23 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

LUBS5342M People Analytics: Strategy and Practice

30 creditsClass Size: 150

Module manager: Xanthe Whittaker
Email: busxwh@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2022/23

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary

The world of business, management and human resources becomes increasingly dependent on data. Data comes from different sources, capturing a variety of performance outcomes and determinants of human behaviour. The contemporary HR profession increasingly depends on teh ability to process and analyse data, and to translate quantitative outcomes into viable solutions to organisational problems.The module will introduce you to the fundamental principles of analytics in the context of human resource management, drawing on strategic human capital theory and other relevant perspectives. You will gain exposure to and understanding of quantitative techniques and software packages essential for developing analytical literacy. Using practical examples from the NHS and other large organisations, the module will help you to understand how HR analytics can be used to address organisational challenges.The module aims to provide the student with experience of analysing HR data and critically assessing outcomes of data analysis in light of practical HR problems.

Objectives

The key objective of the module is to develop your capacity to use data and analytical tools to address strategic people management challenges in organisations. The module will develop understanding of how different analytical methods can be used in an organisational context, and how results can be developed into actionable management insights.

Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this module, students will be able to:
- Evaluate the rationales, fundamental principles and theoretical underpinnings of analytics in the context of human resource management;
- Analyse the types and complexity of HR data including main data sources and their use
- Critically evaluate use and limitations of HR analytics
- Synthesise debates about the types of HR outcomes and common measurements in HRM;
- Gain experience in statistical software packages pertinent to analysing HR data
- Evaluate the use of data analytic skills in practice

Skills outcomes
Upon completion of this module students will be able to:

Transferable:
- work with organisation-level data, understand relevant quantitative techniques and software packages that can be applied beyond the area of human resource management.

- Subject specific: navigate through a variety of HR data sources and measurements, with subsequent application of analytical skills to real world organisational and business problems.

Syllabus

Indicative content:
- Analytics in the context of HRM: what is analytics and how can analytics be applied to HR and human capital?
- Strategy and analytics involving strategic human capital theory, strategic management, evidence based management and critical evaluation of these concepts
- Understanding HR data: data generation and administration; classes of data involving attitudinal data, soft performance data and hard performance outcomes
- An introduction to the principles of causal inference, including the development of causal graphs and how these can be used to understand the people dimensions of business challenges
- Understanding how statistical modelling combined with causal inference can be used to gain insights into employee engagement, employee attrition and relationships between people and performance
- The ethical dimensions of people analytics
- The future of people analytics: analytics as craft; analytics as software and products; machine learning and automation

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	10	1.00	10.00
Practical	4	2.00	8.00
Seminar	6	2.00	12.00
Private study hours			270.00
Total Contact hours			30.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			300.00

Private study

Students are expected to spend significant time outside of lectures checking their learning of techniques introduced in lectures, reading suggested materials and practicing software packages used to read, visualise HR data and conduct relevant analytical procedures.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Formative feedback based on tutorial exercises

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Report	5,000 word project report	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

The resit for this module will be 100% by 5,000 words coursework

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 31/10/2022

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