Business and Human Resource Management BA (Hons)
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
Course Overview
This course aims to provide you with a distinctive insight into the challenges of managing people at work, and how these can be addressed in a world of fast-paced technological change and increased internationalisation.
Why you should study this course
- Practice your skills – develop your business skills through a variety of international case studies, problem-based learning, simulated business and human resources activities in our Business Simulation Suite4. The simulation suite is equipped with modern technology, from inter-communication, built-in mics, cameras and the use of virtual reality headsets.
- Real-world exposure – industry field trips to organisations within a range of sectors and diversified HR functions. You might also be able to attend events to build your professional network.
- Industry insight and professional network development – learn from experienced staff, whose consultancy, training and research links with organisations are deep and wide-ranging (staff are subject to change).
- Lecturers at the forefront of HR developments – our research-active staff aim to be able to share the latest thinking, new developments and specific challenges of a changing work environment. We have lecturers who focus on areas such as new ways of working, diversity management, multi-cultural teams, identity, HR professionalisation, the organisation of change and the changing nature of management, social network analysis, shared perceptions, organisational psychology and organisational behaviour (staff subject to change).
- Career ready – upon graduation, you should be well prepared to begin your career in HR or to pursue further professional human resource management (HRM) or human resource development (HRD) qualifications, such as the Advanced Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) Level 7 or an MA/MSc in Human Resource Management.
If you choose to start this course in January you will study exactly the same course but over a slightly shorter timescale in Year 1. This is ideal if you missed the September start, want to transfer from a different university or course or just need a bit more time to prepare for life at university.
What you will study
FOUNDATION YEAR IN BUSINESS
Start date: 15 September 2025
Fall semester:
- Development of Academic Language & Skills
- Business Communications
Spring semester:
- Success in Academic Language & Skills
- Management Skills
- Marketing for Business
In addition to the Foundation Year modules, students at Coventry University Kazakhstan will also need to complete the following modules as mandated by Kazakhstan regulations:
- Kazakh language
- History of Kazakhstan (in English)
FOUNDATION YEAR IN BUSINESS - January Intake
Start date: 12 January 2026
This is ideal if you missed the September start or want to transfer from a different university.
Spring semester:
- Success in Academic Language & Skills
- Business Communications
- Management Skills
- Marketing for Business
In addition to the Foundation Year modules, students at Coventry University Kazakhstan will also need to complete the following modules as mandated by Kazakhstan regulations:
- Kazakh language
- History of Kazakhstan (in English)
During your Foundation Year, you will study alongside students who are pursuing related degrees. This offers you the chance to establish connections and form friendships with a diverse group of people who share similar interests and aspirations.
This course has a common first year.
The common first year enables you to work alongside students doing similar courses to you, to widen your knowledge and exposure to other subject areas and professions. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other students, so you can share your insights and experience which will help you to develop and learn.
If you discover an interest in a specific subject you have studied, upon successful completion of your first year, you could swap degrees with another course in your common first year (subject to meeting progression requirements).
The aim of this module is to enable you to engage critically and creatively with entrepreneurship in the context of responsible management practice. Following an introduction to the key concepts and debates of general entrepreneurial principles, you will actively explore social, economic, and environmental challenges.
The aim of this module is to introduce you to the process of entrepreneurial ideation. Entrepreneurial ideation is the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas. Through authentic and applied assessment, you will be invited to present your ideas to business and organisational leaders.
This module explores how people interact with each other in the workplace and the impact that leaders and managers have upon that interaction. It examines the role of people management practices and how these affect individual behavior in the workplace.
This module introduces you to the essential building blocks of business and organisational management through a range of theories, concepts and approaches. You can expect to explore the organisational structure, organisational design and business operations before learning about contexts which impact organisations, such as national culture, capitalism, demography and climate change.
This module introduces the fundamental concepts and principles of data analytics, and how they can be applied to assess and enhance organizational and functional performance and support decision-making. This module is designed to help you develop an analytical mindset, deepen your understanding, and prepare you to use innovative data analytic tools, techniques, and methods.
This module develops your knowledge and understanding of the fundamental concepts in marketing, including digital and social media. You should develop an understanding of the role of marketing within an organization, and the influence of factors in the external environment on marketing decisions.
In year two, you will continue to develop the skills and knowledge you’ve learnt. We do this by embedding the following four principles into the curriculum and developing your:
- Technical skills – digital fluency, backed with the right academic knowledge
- Study skills – to be an adaptive, independent and proactive learner
- Professional skills – to have the behavior and abilities to succeed in your career
- Global awareness – the beliefs and abilities to be a resilient, confident and motivated global citizen
The aim of this module is for you to work collaboratively with organisations to develop innovative solutions to ‘wicked problems’. We aim to further enhance the curriculum with guest speaker sessions from entrepreneurs and key organizational leaders.
This module is designed to help equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to undertake your final year project.
This module will provide you with a wide understanding of how performance management and reward strategies interlink and can drive sustained organisation performance, competitive advantage, employee engagement and employee well-being.
This module introduces you to the strategic approaches that organizations take, to position themselves as employers in the labor market and to plan effectively so that they are able to meet their current and anticipated organisational skills needs.
You will explore the theories and frameworks underpinning organisational change and evaluate how new developments in how people work can help deliver change and improve organisational effectiveness for the future.
You will examine how analytics can help organisations to look forward in their decision-making, reducing errors and costs whilst increasing optimisation.
The final year aims to bring you to the level to enter the world of work by consolidating your knowledge and skills from years one and two. You could also work on a large final project in an area of your interest, with the support of a mentor.
This module will provide you with the opportunity to apply and develop your research skills and extend your knowledge, understanding and ability to critically analyze a topic in a specialist area of interest. You will choose a research topic related to your programme of study and apply critical analysis skills acquired through this and other modules to research the topic in depth.
Gain a critical understanding of the regulation by law of the management of workplace relationships and place the legal rules in their broader economic and socio-political context.
You will critically examine how and why work and workplace conflict are regulated at an organisational and societal level, and by whom.
You will critically explore the policies and practices for the management of people across international boundaries, as well as the complex human resource and employment strategies and policies in multinational corporations (MNC).
The aim of this module is for you to develop a broad understanding of the theories and concepts used to manage corporate reputation, including the corporate brand, corporate identity and corporate communication strategies. The module also aims to develop your understanding of the role of corporate communications, corporate branding and reputational status in relation to other functions and the strategic development of an organisation. It also explores how organisations use corporate brand management to communicate with stakeholders in a variety of contexts.
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
How You'll Learn
We want you to take an active role in your learning, not simply sit in a lecture theater. You will have opportunities to take part in or observe role-play activities in recruitment and selection, negotiations, mock tribunals, problem-solving, managing change issues, and working on the implications for HRM with regards to changes in legislation, policy and employment trends.
Teaching Contact Hours
As a full-time undergraduate student, you will study modules totalling 120 credits each academic year. This is made up of teaching contact hours, guided and independent study.
Guided and independent study:
Throughout your studies, you will be expected to spend time in guided and independent study to make up the required study hours per module. You'll be digging deeper into topics, review what you've learnt and complete assignments. This can be completed around your personal commitments. As you progress through your studies, you'll spend more time in independent study.
Assessment
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.
Assessment methods may include:
- phase tests
- essays
- group coursework
- individual and group presentations
- reports
- projects
- video pitches
- simulations
- critical reflections
- role play
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.
Careers and opportunities
Upon successful completion, you will:
- have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the function of and context in which Human Resource Management operates
- understand best practice approaches, contemporary theories and empirical evidence concerning the effective management of people within a business environment
- have the ability to evaluate and present reasoned arguments for adopting different approaches to effectively manage people within various business contexts
- be able to design a range of human resource processes and procedures e.g. recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, grievance and disciplinary
- have experience in conducting a range of interviews associated with managing people, including selection, appraisal, counselling, grievance, and exit interviews
- have developed a broad range of transferrable professional skills, e.g. Individual initiative and enterprise, effective performance within a team environment and interpersonal skills of effective listening, negotiating, persuasion and presentation
- demonstrate intellectual independence including addressing and resolving legal and related questions, identifying gaps in your own knowledge and acquiring new knowledge, tolerating ambiguity and engaging in critical analysis and evaluation.
Where our graduates work
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