Bachelor Thesis - Human Resource Management

Introduction

The bachelor thesis will be combined with the course BST 1410 Human Resource Management 15 credits, representing a specialisation in the field of 30 credits.
Students taking a Bachelor degree in Marketing, Retail Management or Business Administration with this combination will have an inscription of specialisation on their final academic transcript/diploma.

Human resource Management (HRM) is a core subject in the study area of organisation and organisation culture. The subject will teach the student how organisations can gain advantages by exploiting skills, abilities and knowledge of their employees. The course also focuses on how organisations have the opportunity to facilitate learning, sharing of knowledge, motivation, optimising work condition and job satisfaction. Applying HRM theory in an organisation will create optimal conditions for profitability, productivity and prosperity in all types of businesses. Evidence-based HRM are one of the strongest success-factors in competing business markets, and thus provides expertise for future oriented managers, HR managers and HR employees.

Students will by writing a bachelor thesis in HRM get the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the subject HRM through a critical eye. A bachelor thesis offers the student both valuable depth knowledge on a special selected topic and hence, knowledge of various analysis methodology. This type of knowledge will be valuable for students considering a future as a HRM manager or other key HR functions.

Course content

Students will primarily work in groups of three, two as a secondary option and individually by application only. Students undertaking a bachelor thesis in HRM will choose one out of five specialisation areas. These are:

1. Competence: Learning/training/career
2. Work/stress/health
3. Management (leadership)
4. Motivation and job satisfaction
5. Recruitment and selection

Students are required to choose one specialisation topic only for their bachelor thesis. On special occasions, students may seek guidance from teachers in other disciplines. Students will be provided with readings from each specialisation area on approx. 400 pages respectively, in addition to research methodology literature on approx. 400 pages. The students are also required to demonstrate ability to find individual literature related to their topic of choice on approx. 400 pages. Each thesis group will be offered up to three hours of supervision. Additional lectures will be given, depending on the number of students participating on the sessions. These lectures will more or less focus on:

Introduction

• General information related to the bachelor thesis
• Brief review of the five specialisation topics
• Information from the library
• Individual literature and information search
• Choice of topic and group formation

Data collection

• Relationship between research question and methodology
• Preparing for data collection (theoretical, qualitative and quantitative)
• Methodological requirements for measure observation, interview, case studies and undertaking theoretical and summary activities.
• Planning a survey/observation basis

Implementation of analysis

• Qualitative and Quantitative analysis