21928 Managing Staff and Volunteers
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Postgraduate
Result type: Grade and marksThere are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 21844 Managing Work and People AND 21870 Strategic Human Resource Management
Description
This subject focusses on the important role of the modern manager in leading people and teams in relation to both paid staff and volunteers. By exploring the sources of individual and group behaviour and the impact of organisational dynamics, students gain insights into the new world of work and the critical role of people management in organisational success. By using concepts, theories and research from organisational behaviour and human resource management, students develop a comprehensive understanding of individual and interpersonal behaviours such as motivation, conflict, influence, leadership and teamwork. The role of the ‘line manager’ in the execution of HR policies is emphasized and students explore the critical differences between the management of paid employees and volunteers. Students develop both awareness and skills in the course and extend their managerial and interpersonal effectiveness with workshop style experiential learning.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| 1. | Identify key strategic choices associated with the recruitment, selection, training and management of paid and/or unpaid staff and their implications |
|---|---|
| 2. | Demonstrate an understanding of legislative, economic, technological and other factors impacting upon effective management of staff and volunteers |
| 3. | Critically examine the variations in line management involvement in staff and volunteer management activities and line managers responsibilities in executing these activities |
| 4. | Appraise knowledge of ethical and legal considerations in the specialist area of staff and volunteer management to lead with integrity |
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
The subject provides managers with functional-related competencies needed for the effective management of paid and/or unpaid staff in a work context, and for problem-solving and critical analysis of the challenges facing organisations concerning their human resources, including ethical and legal considerations. The emphasis of this subject is on the strategic and operational aspects of a line managers role in the acquisition, development and performance management of an organisation’s paid and unpaid workforce. As such, this subject aligns with the graduate attributes of professional and technical competence and social responsibility and cultural awareness.
This subject also contributes to the development of the following program learning objective for the Master of Management, Master of Human Resource Management, Master of Event Management, Master of Sport Management, and Master of Not-for-Profit and Social Enterprise Management courses:
- Integrate advanced professional knowledge, including Indigenous perspectives, and technical skills to lead professional practice within a specialised management context (4.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
The teaching and learning strategies used in in this subject promote critical and reflective thinking, research, evaluation and collaborative learning and also focus on literacy skills. The strategies have been designed to enable students to make progress in their achievement and maximise their accomplishment of the learning outcomes. Students engage in the essential content through lectures, seminar style discussions, case studies and student-led dialogue through face-to-face and online collaboration.
It is expected that students will complete all allocated activities and readings for each lesson prior to attending class. Completing activities and readings prior to class allows for in-class time to be spent on collaborative discussions that address interesting and challenging aspects of the material rather than simply recapping the content and facts.
Formative and summative feedback will be provided to all students studying 21928 Managing Staff and Volunteers. Formative feedback exercises are used during tutorials to prepare and assist students with assessments. For example students will be required to share with their peers their responses they have prepared prior to class to tutorial activities. These exercises aim to help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work. The practice case study exercises help tutors recognise where students are struggling and address problems immediately through individual and collective class feedback.
Summative feedback will be provided to students for formally composed submissions such as the individual case study assessment (task 1). The goal of the summative feedback is evaluate student learning by comparing it against the prescribed assessment criteria.
An aim of this subject is to help you develop academic and professional language and communication skills to succeed at university and in the workplace. During the course of this subject, you will complete a milestone assessment task that will, in addition to assessing your subject-specific learning objectives, assess your English language proficiency.
Content (topics)
- The changing landscape of staff and volunteer management
- The employee value proposition
- The link between organisational strategies and the management of paid and/or unpaid staff
- Ethical practice and social responsibility for managers
- Sustainability principles for managing paid and/or unpaid staff
- The legal context of employment decisions
- Engagement, Motivation and Retention
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Case Study Analysis (Individual)
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 2 and 4 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 55% |
| Length: | 2000 words maximium |
| Criteria: | In this task, students will be assessed according to the following criteria:
|
Assessment task 2: Portfolio (Individual)*
| Objective(s): | This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3 and 4 |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 45% |
| Length: | 2000 words |
| Criteria: | In this task, students will be assessed according to the following criteria:
*Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero. |
Minimum requirements
Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks.
Required texts
Highly recommended text:
Cole, K. 2023, Leadership and Management: Theory and Practice, 8th edn, Cengage Learning Australia, South Melbourne, VIC
ISBN 9780170403856
UTS Library call number: 658.302 COLK (ED.7)
In addition to the above text journal articles and other book chapters are also used in this subject. A full list of the weekly readings is available on Canvas.
Recommended texts
A range of relevant resources may be made available as e-readings for this subject via the library website. Additional materials might be distributed in class.
Students interested in pursuing more in-depth information regarding people, work and employment will find links to additional readings, organised in sections around topical content on Canvas. The additional reading material addresses current issues and events and represents a wide-ranging compendium of people, work and employment issues, with formats including both research studies and industry commentary.
References
Laasch, O. & Conaway, R.N. 2015, Principles of Responsible Management: Global Sustainability, Responsibility, and Ethics, Cengage Learning, US.
Samson, D., Donnet, T., & Daft, R.L. 2017, 'Management', 6th Asia-Pacific edn, Cengage Learning Australia.
Shaw, W.H., Barry, V., Issa, T., Catley, B. & Muntean, D. 2016, 'Moral Issues in Business', Cengage Learning Australia.
The following academic journals are likely to prove relevant and useful for this subject:
- Academy of Management Journal
- Academy of Management Review
- Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources
- Cyberpsychology and Behavior
- Harvard Business Review
- Human Resource Management
- Human Resource Management Review
- Human Resource Planning
- Industrial Relations Journal
- International Journal of Disability Management
- International Journal of Human Resource Management
- International Journal of Manpower Studies
- International Journal of Workplace Health Management
- Journal of Applied Business and Economics
- Journal of Applied Psychology
- Journal of Industrial Relations
- Journal of Management
- Journal of Managerial Issues
- Journal of Managerial Studies
- Journal of Wolrd Business
- Labour Economics
- Organization Development Journal
- Personnel Review
- Personnel Psychology
- Strategic HR Review
- Work & Stress
The above journals can be obtained from the UTS Library Electronic Fulltext Databases: www.lib.uts.edu.au/databases/search_databases.py
Other resources
Canvas is an integrated teaching and learning component of this subject. It is an internet platform which utilises software called Blackboard. As a UTS student you will be required to become familiar with this software. In this subject, Canvas may be used for the following purposes:
- as a noticeboard for announcements relating to the subject
- as a one-to-many or one-to-one communication tool between staff and students and among students
- as a discussion board for open discussion of ideas relating to the subject
- to provide subject support materials such as the subject outline and lecturer’s PowerPoint presentation slides
- to provide external links to useful web pages
- as a subject feedback tool.