Unit information: Global Production, Work and Employment in 2025/26

Please note: Programme and unit information may change as the relevant academic field develops. We may also make changes to the structure of programmes and assessments to improve the student experience.

Unit name Global Production, Work and Employment
Unit code EFIM30037
Credit points 20
Level of study H/6
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Dr. Schwartz
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

None

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one

None

School/department School of Management - Business School
Faculty Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

The purpose of this unit is to deepen and extend your knowledge and understanding of the global economy by examining the institutional, organisational and social structures shaping work and employment, and the relationship between these and global business and management. Drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks and empirical studies, you will develop the skills for a critical understanding of different aspects of contemporary global problems as they impact the world of work, employment and organisational change. Problems of global governance will be analysed alongside the developing networks of production and consumption. The effects of governance of labour via various national, supra-national and inter-organisational regulations and laws will be examined alongside problem of the uneven and combined development, changes in manufacturing and services, transnational labour mobility and its relationship to economic policies, standard and non-standard employment, as well as technological change and job displacement created by global production.

How does this unit fit into your programme of study

The unit fits into a teaching series of the Work, Employment, Organisation and Public Policy teaching group, building on the foundations of the themes introduced in EFIM20022 (People, Work and Organisation) and EFIM20003 (International Business Management), and the advanced themes taught in EFIM30024 (International Human Resource Management). It will develop advanced understanding and critique of the global division of labour and types of employment in global production, how work is socially shaped by prevailing institutions and relations between international financial, economic and political bodies and actors, and how global interacts with the national.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

This unit provides an analytical view on the developments in the global economy using the angle of the effects of changes in global production models and methods on the nature of work and employment. Crucial social problems that affect different dimensions of society in different parts of the world will be assessed in relation specifically to work and employment.

How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit

You will be intellectually enriched in relation to questions of social significance. You will be able to critique and describe in detail a range of issues and identify examples of these in a range of settings, recognise differences between theories, define their main axes of analysis and distinguish theoretical traditions. You will be able to name the key social, political and economic actors involved in the transnationalisation of production and be able to recall the conflicts and relations that define the current economic environment. Finally, you will be able to recognise, explain and summarise complex theories, and to formulate well informed arguments by illustrating and interpreting the data by developing and organising these in written and spoken form. Through a range of exercises and engagement with peers and teachers, you will enable and develop your personal and professional effectiveness, and master transferrable skills for post-education endeavours.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this unit, you should be able to delve deeper and engage intellectually with leading theories, analytical frameworks, and empirical studies, developing your understanding of a range of themes and their intellectual and communication skills. Specifically, you should be able to:

  1. effectively recognise and demonstrate deeper understanding of the nature, scope and role of corporate, political and civic actors in shaping the global economic order and how these shape production, work and employment
  2. summarise different theories and frameworks, explaining the range and complexity of problems connected with global production and work and employment processes
  3. interpret the empirical examples of management and organisational processes, illustrating the social and political dimensions of global production
  4. analyse a range of evidence, appraising and comparing data, contrasting the evidence in this unit with that of other units or sources of learning, producing critiques of empirical studies and frameworks of management in global production and labour and employment
  5. develop ideas in elaborate and complex ways, arriving at more advanced forms of knowledge and understanding, judging or evaluating distinct explanations, creating analytical presentations and synthesising theories, models and examples
  6. effectively argue and communicate complex data and ideas, demonstrate these skills through channels appropriate for the stakeholder audience

How you will learn

You will learn through a combination of teaching and learning methods, including through reading materials and familiarising yourself with presentations/slides ahead of and after lectures, engaging in individual contributions in classes and discussions with classmates, both during ad hoc questions from the lecturer and structured group discussions in tutorials. Individual and group work will also be involved outside lectures and tutorial classes, as well as obtaining and engaging with learning resources through IT and Blackboard, including videos, podcasts, wikis, reports, etc. Formative assessments are meant to be used as feedback and to inform revisions and preparation for subsequent work (and as basis of wider learning outside this unit), all forming part of the independent study that is itself a crucial part of learning in a final year unit like this.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):

- Annotated bibliography

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

- Individual written assignment (100%), which covers ILOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

When assessment does not go to plan

Reassessment of units within the final year of undergraduate modular programmes is not usually permitted.

When exceptional circumstances apply, students will be reassessed on a like for like basis: Individual written assignment (100%), which covers ILOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIM30037).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.

The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.