Workforce Management
PostgraduateACU-HLSC6062023
Course information for 2023 intake
Enrolments for this course are closed, but you may have other options to start studying now. Book a consultation to learn more.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Part of a degree
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Loan available
- FEE-HELP available
Workforce Management
About this subject
On successful completion of Workforce Management, students should be able to:
- Reflect upon and explain how knowledge of workforce management theories, concepts, practices, policies and processes can influence quality and safety of life/care in contemporary health care organisations (GA1, GA2, GA4, GA6)
- Compare and contrast theoretically-based workforce management strategies that address potentially challenging issues and processes that may arise in employment relations in contemporary health care organisations (GA3, GA4, GA9)
- Critically analyse the components of an ethically-based workforce management plan that incorporates an employee well-being and retention strategy, and the concept of corporate social responsibility (GA1, GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA6)
- Theories and foundations of workforce management in health care
- - scientific management
- - bureaucratic management
- - human relations theories
- - foundations of human resource management (HRM)
- Strategic management and strategic Human Resource Management
- - strategic management concepts
- - strategic HRM concepts and practices
- - strategic planning process:
- * scanning the external environment
- * internal assessment of the organizational workforce
- - strategy and policy
- - HRM challenges in healthcare
- - effects of strategic management on quality and safety of life/care for staff/patients
- - using digital technologies to support strategic workforce planning
- - facilitating digital capacity in your workforce
- Employment relations, diversity and employment equity
- - the employment relationship
- - occupational health and safety
- - equal employment opportunity
- - workplace bullying
- - workforce diversity
- - anti-discrimination policy
- - managing equity and diversity in organisations
- Workforce planning, recruitment, selection and retention
- - workforce planning processes
- - managing the recruitment process
- - monitoring recruitment effectiveness and efficiency
- - factors influencing the selection decision
- - selection and quality assurance
- - retention strategies and talent management
- - performance appraisal and development
- - industrial relations
- Employee wellbeing
- - theoretical concepts of employee wellbeing
- - employee engagement and motivation
- - individual and team wellbeing
- - wellbeing and performance
- - workplace Health and Safety
- - employee assistance programs
- - sustainability
- - succession planning
- Ethics and social responsibility
- - dimensions of organisational ethics
- - ethical treatment of employees
- - social responsibility
- - employees as stakeholders
- - organisations as social actors
Health administrators today need to be able to effectively manage the health care workforce within their area of responsibility. Therefore, this subject is necessary for current and future health administrators, who will be able to apply evidence-based knowledge and skills to analyse, evaluate, generate and communicate solutions to complex problems such as forecasting workforce demand and supply, staff recruitment and retention and facilitating employee wellbeing and engagement.Health administrators who have specialised knowledge and skill in ensuring organisational best fit by aligning individual employee goals with organisational goals, who are skilled in evaluating workforce-related problems and who employ ethical approaches to workforce management are in a good position to provide their organisation with a competitive advantage within the health sector.
In this subject, workforce management principles and practices will be critically examined. Strategies and skills to promote employee well-being while maximising the allocation and use of resources and enhance accountability will be discussed. Employment relations, diversity, ethics, employee well-being and social responsibility will be critically analysed within this context.
This subject aims to provide students with an opportunity to discuss the theories that relate to the management of resources in health care organisations and to develop knowledge and skills relevant to workforce management to ensure that health care organisations are well-equipped to meet current and future workforce needs.
In order to pass this unit, students are expected to submit three graded assessment tasks. In addition, students must achieve a cumulative grade of at least 50% across all assessments. The assessment strategy used allows for the progressive development of knowledge and skills necessary for the student to be able to demonstrate ethical and effective approaches to workforce management in the context of safe, quality health care.
To become effective as a health administrator, the student must develop comprehensive knowledge of workforce management. This will be facilitated through online demonstration of the theoretical underpinnings, concepts and principles of strategic workforce management and confirmed by lecturer feedback via the learning environment online (LEO). Student knowledge will be further extended through online-mediated synthesis of theoretical knowledge to develop a repertoire of strategies aimed at meeting workforce-related challenges that can be applied to ethical workforce management including forecasting demand and supply, employee wellbeing, managing workforce diversity and social responsibility.- Reflective Journal/Essay - Enables students to reflect on and evaluate theories, concepts and principles of strategic workforce management in the context of safe, quality health care. (30%)
- Online Group Word - Enables students to collaborate with peers in an online environment to evaluate challenging issues and processes relevant to the employment relationship. (20%)
- Essay - Enables students to critically analyse the ethical and effective dimensions of workforce management and broader responsibilities. (50%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
Established in 1991 after amalgamating four eastern Australian Catholic tertiary institutes, Australian Catholic University now has seven campuses, from Brisbane to Melbourne and welcomes students of all beliefs. Specialising in arts, business, education, health sciences, law, theology and philosophy, ACU encourages its students to think critically and ethically and bring change to their communities and offer this online through Open Universities Australia.
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 34
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 29
Entry requirements
To enrol in this subject, you must be admitted into a degree.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.