Head of School: Associate Professor Lucy Taska
Administrative Officer: Terry O'Callaghan

The School of Organisation and Management was formed on 1 July 2004 by the merger of the School of Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour and the School of International Business. Consequently course codes which previously started with IROB and IBUS are now under the MGMT prefix.


Undergraduate Programs

The school offers three distinct disciplinary streams to Honours level: Human Resource Management, International Business and Industrial Relations. It also offers a disciplinary stream in Management.

The specialisation in Human Resource Management provides a strong applied and theoretical grounding in all aspects of the management of people in paid employment. The School's programs are designed to provide both the breadth required for successful career mobility in the 'HR' field and the opportunity to acquire advanced, applied knowledge in specialised human resource functions, including staff planning, recruitment, selection and development, training, gender equity, employee motivation and performance management, remuneration management, superannuation, employment law, workplace negotiation, international and cross-cultural human resource management, and occupational health and safety. These areas are increasingly being influenced by wider corporate strategy and business plans and are often seen as the key to enhancing organisational performance. Accordingly, the School’s programs place a strong emphasis on the strategic aspects and importance of human resource planning, policy and practice. The program in Human Resource Management provides a solid career basis for those involved in, or contemplating becoming involved in, managing people in paid employment.

The Industrial Relations program focuses on the processes, relationships, institutions and public policies associated with paid employment in contemporary society. As well as equipping students with a solid working knowledge of all key institutional players, namely trade unions, management, employer organisations and industrial tribunals and government, 'IR' courses are designed to furnish a detailed and practical understanding of current employment relations issues, developments and practices. The specialisation in Industrial Relations provides knowledge and skills suitable for a wide range of careers in employment relations areas, such as industrial advocacy or research with trade unions and employer organisations, as well as careers as industrial relations or labour policy specialists with government bodies and international labour organisations. Recent changes to industrial relations policies, including a growing focus on the 'micro' or workplace issues, have increased the demand for industrial relations expertise at all levels of corporate management.

International Business is a rapidly growing field of study dealing with the development, strategy, and management of multinational enterprises in the global context of complex and dynamic business environments. Besides the study of multinational enterprises, the field necessarily includes business context studies and culture and communications, including language studies. Doing business and making decisions internationally involves greater complexity and is much more challenging compared to decision making restricted to the domestic context. Special knowledge and skills are required to be successful at international business. Strategic decisions have to be made about which countries to operate in and whether or not to export or license, whether to set up a new facility, establish a joint venture or acquire an existing business and how to sustain competitiveness internationally. Critical issues requiring analysis and judgement at the international level include global strategy, country risk, business negotiations, cultural difference, and performance measurement and evaluation

The Management specialisation examines the processes, conceptual expertise and work functions involved in managing people and organisations effectively. Broadly, management is concerned with building and developing relationships between people and organisations, formulating goals, designing organisational structures, fostering innovation, controlling resources and facilitating productive activities. Rather than focusing purely on the tasks, roles or functions of managers, this specialisation examines the complex relations between power, people and resources that are the key challenges to effective management. Theories and predictions concerning new organisational forms, future business trends, international strategy, and more effective management practices are studied in addition to established knowledge in the discipline. The overall objective is to equip future managers to apply knowledge and skill effectively to the complex problems facing organisations in today's dynamic global environment.


Postgraduate Programs

The School offers coursework and research study in three disciplinary streams: Human Resource Management; Organisation and Management Studies; and International Business.

The program in Human Resource Management provides a strong applied and theoretical grounding in all aspects of the management of people in paid employment. The School’s programs are designed to provide both the breadth required for successful career mobility in the 'HR' field and the opportunity to acquire advanced, applied knowledge in specialised human resource functions, including staff planning, recruitment, selection and development, training, gender equity, employee motivation and performance management, remuneration management, superannuation, employment law, workplace negotiation, international and cross-cultural human resource management, and occupational health and safety. These areas are increasingly being influenced by wider corporate strategy and business plans and are often seen as the key to enhancing organisational performance. Accordingly, the School’s programs place a strong emphasis on the strategic aspects and importance of human resource planning, policy and practice. The program in Human Resource Management provides a solid career basis for those involved in, or contemplating becoming involved in, managing people in paid employment.

International Business is a rapidly growing field of study dealing with the development, strategy, and management of multinational enterprises in the global context of complex and dynamic business environments. Besides the study of multinational enterprises, the field necessarily includes business context studies and culture and communications, including language studies. Doing business and making decisions internationally involves greater complexity and is much more challenging compared to decision making restricted to the domestic context. Special knowledge and skills are required to be successful at international business. Strategic decisions have to be made about which countries to operate in, whether or not to export or license, whether to set up a new facility, establish a joint venture or acquire an existing business and how to sustain competitiveness internationally. Critical issues requiring analysis and judgement at the international level also include global strategy, country risk, business negotiations, cultural difference, and performance measurement and evaluation.

The program in Organisation and Management Studies focuses on how best to coordinate the structure and resources of a work enterprise in order to effectively attain designated organisational goals. Particular attention is given to the nature, determinants and management implications of individual, group and collective behaviours within organisations. Drawing on theories from organisational behaviour, sociology, psychology, management, cultural and gender studies and the social sciences in general, this program provides an in-depth understanding of human relations and organisational dynamics and their associated interaction. This knowledge is also applied to practical issues of employee management and to the development of appropriate organisational design. There is increasing demand for more professionally oriented managers and for consultancy expertise in the areas of organisational redesign and change in both private and public sectors. The School's programs have been designed to address this demand.

The School Office is in Room 4096, 4th floor, South Wing of the Rupert Myers Building.