Diploma in Business Practice (International Human Resources Management)

Entrepreneurship

This module introduces students to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. Designed specifically to equip students with core foundational know-how in setting up a business, this programme brings students through the value creation process from generating and evaluating various business ideas to other key topics such as marketing and sales, as well as the finance and legal aspects of setting up a business.

Students will be encouraged to learn experientially and develop the attributes, ways of thinking and behaviour of the entrepreneur. They will gain first-hand practical insights through case studies that expose them to real-world entrepreneurial practices. From there, they will learn how to apply the concepts learned within their classes to solving real-life examples or situations.

Management Accounting

Management accounting is an area of finance dealing with the use of accounting and financial information within an organisation to provide managers and employees with the basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions. This module focuses on how to manage costs within a company to ensure that the company or a specific project is profitable.

Students will learn how to evaluate the financial viability of a project, review the financial success of a project or company, carry out costing and budgeting, and design financial models with the use of spreadsheets. Topics covered include the basics of accounting, costing concepts, costing systems, data and variance analysis, capital budgeting, revenue and pricing management, cost-volume-profit analysis, forecasting, and budgeting.

Microeconomics

Microeconomics is applied to all individuals in all spheres of business: (i) Consumer – the buyer and user of end products (ii) Producer – the one who makes/sells the product (iii) Government – the one who intervenes in the marketplace This module aims to explain individual choice under scarcity and its implications for the behaviour of prices and quantities in individual markets. It describes how and the quantities in individual markets.

It describes how individual persons, markets and institutions make their choices given finite resources, and the impact they have on one another, shedding light on the interlocking relationships among various entities in the marketplace. The module instils in students the ability to discover and apply basic microeconomic concepts to the understanding of everyday phenomena in the marketplace. Topics covered include how prices and quantities are determined in the marketplace, how firms make strategic choices given their constraints, and how governments can intervene in the marketplace when there is market failure.

Employee Relations and Communication

This module focuses on in-depth understanding of the labour legislation within the framework of Singapore's manpower system. It focuses on the essential obligations required by key employment statutes, and also allows an understanding of the framework and operations of the Singapore Industrial Relations system.

In addition, this module also introduces communication principles and concepts needed to develop effective employee communications. In addition, students will develop practical skills in handling grievances, conflicts, negotiations and change communications as well as managing the communication aspect in terminations, disciplinary proceedings and transmission of negative information. The students will also be equipped to conduct internal investigations on staff issues effectively.

Cross Cultural Communication

In this module, students will learn about cultural norms, values, beliefs, and practices, with a focus on oral communication and speech writing. They will learn about the characteristics of intercultural communication, their significance and sensitivities in order to communicate effectively in a cross-cultural context. In the process, they will also develop confidence and competence in oral communication. Regions of focus include Southeast Asia, East Asia and South Asia.

Introduction to Counselling and Communication

This module is designed to reinforce the concept that counselling is a special relationship built on confidentiality, mutual respect and open communication with the intention to help people identify their problems and achieve resolution where possible. Through the counselling process, students will embark on a fulfilling and satisfying journey of self-discovery and be introduced to the professional issues in a helping relationship.

Topics covered include theoretical approaches, the counselling process, ethics and confidentiality, and the interpersonal skills required to conduct a session in individual or group settings

Manpower Resourcing and Management

In this module, students will learn practical skills and support knowledge for end-to-end manpower management. The students will examine the process of planning manpower needs, implementing external recruitment locally and sourcing overseas, instituting internal recruitment processes and selecting staff. Some practical skills acquired will include developing advertisements for positions, developing tools and conducting structured interviews, as well as developing and evaluating results of selection tests.

The students will discuss practical issues such as fair employment practices, the impact of legislation such as mandatorily re-employment, employment of senior workers and manpower risk management for business continuity. Additionally, they will examine the process of planning and conducting redundancy exercises and involuntary termination.

Performance, Remuneration and Benefits

The first part of this module introduces students to the objectives of total reward, pay structures and compensation design, pay-for-performance practices, employee benefits and work-life harmony strategies, as well as salary and benefits administration. The students will learn practical skills such as preparing salary proposals and manpower budgets, doing Central Provident Fund and tax-related submissions, costing for benefits and preparing payroll spreadsheets.

In addition, they will evaluate current issues, such as improving the salaries of low-wage workers and consider how recommendations of the National Wage Council are implemented. In the second part, students will examine the current context of career planning, how to institute career development programmes and provide career advice. In addition, they will examine the process of identifying high-potential staff and how line managers can use various methods, such as stretch assignments and coaching, to develop talent in their departments.

Learning and People Development

In this module, students will examine the broad suite of activities within staff training and developing organisational capabilities. The students will learn to conduct needs analysis, translate these into learning goals, develop a total company learning plan, choose suitable learning interventions and evaluate the results of these interventions. In addition, they will gain basic knowledge of designing and conducting classroom and on-the-job training. They will acquire skills in managing training administration, such as sourcing for vendors, developing feedback forms and servicing internal customers.

Additionally, students will examine how coaching, mentoring, overseas postings and developmental programmes can be implemented to develop high-potential talents. At a macro-level, students will consider the alignment of their practices to frameworks such as the People Developer Award, as well as issues in coordinating training and development programmes across international subsidiaries.

Expatriate and International Staff Management

In this module, students will examine management, staffing, compensation and other HR policy choices in establishing an international subsidiary. They will discuss how various factors impact whether these practices should be similar or different from the HQ. In addition, students will acquire practical skills in selecting and preparing staff for international assignments, preparing overseas compensation packages, as well as handling the administration of staff and their families settling into the new country.

The students will also examine the same for the inflow of expatriate staff to the HQ. They will discuss legislative and social constraints in Singapore and regional countries on the use of expatriate staff, issues in managing culturally-diverse workforce and how to improve integration, as well as overcoming challenges in coordinating programmes across international subsidiaries.

Asian Industrial Relations Environment

In this module, students will examine the evolution of industrial relations in Singapore and other countries in the region. This will enable them to appreciate the psyche of workers in different countries and evaluate its impact on HR policies and practices. In addition, students will examine the impact of the industrial relations environment on the day-to-day operation of business.

International Business Perspectives

In this module, students will examine practical and ethical issues related to starting and running an overseas business, with particular emphasis on people issues. The first part of the module will discuss globalisation trends and appraise the factors that impact the choice of host locations, such as manpower considerations and socio-political climate.

In the second part, students will delve into considerations such as fair trade, diversity in business ethics across countries, child labour, working conditions and fair wages for workers in developing countries and the influence of cultural-religious issues in business operations.

Organisational Behaviour

This module is designed to help students understand how people think, feel and behave as individuals and groups in and around organisations. Students will acquire insights into the cognitive and affective elements underpinning behaviours of individuals in workplace settings, the design and development of work teams and organisations, and the management of behavioural issues affecting organisational effectiveness.

The module aims to enable the students to become better employees and people managers, as well as develop effective organisations. It is a multidisciplinary module that draws from sociology, psychology and management, with a focus on applying research-based theories and concepts to anticipate how people will behave, explain the behaviours and get things accomplished in organisations. This is done through the examination of issues from individual, team and organisational levels.

Social Psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. As a part of this module, students will get an opportunity to study intrapersonal phenomena such as attitudes, persuasion, social cognition, self-concept, and cognitive dissonance.

Since society is all about the interpersonal interactions of individuals, students will also look at a range of interpersonal phenomena such as social influence, group dynamics, relationships with others, and interpersonal interactions.

Organisational Development

This module will examine the process of planning organisation-wide efforts to improve effectiveness and staff satisfaction, with emphasis on understanding organisational climate and managing change. The students will learn to measure and report survey results of organisational climate as well as identify suitable intervention programmes.

In addition, they will learn to develop and implement a change management plan, as well as how to improve the engagement of staff in change management.