Ateneo - UPO

The course examines, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the interrelationships between labour law, industrial relations, business organisation, technological change, territorial dynamics and human resource location strategies.
The course is divided into two modules.
The Human Resource Localization Strategies module (Professor Carla Ferrario) provides the geographical and economic methodological foundations required to analyse human resource location strategies and the ways in which they evolve over time and across space. Particular attention is paid to the relationships between population, migration flows, gender, geographical and social background, the social division of labour and territorial economic systems.
The Labour Law and Industrial Relations module (Professor Roberto Pettinelli) examines advanced topics in labour law, with particular emphasis on trade union law and on a number of contemporary aspects of the relationship between the employment contract and business organisation, including the impact of technology on the performance of work, artificial intelligence, remuneration, disability and protection against discrimination.
Overall, the course aims to provide students with the legal, geographical and economic tools required to understand and assess the dynamics of work within contemporary organisations, taking into account workers’ individual and collective rights, business strategies, and territorial, cultural and social transformations.

For the relevant reading lists, students should refer to the Syllabus of each modules.

The course is designed to provide students with advanced conceptual and analytical tools for understanding, examining and assessing labour-related phenomena within contemporary forms of work organisation, by integrating a legal perspective with a geographical and economic analysis of human resources.
On the one hand, the course aims to develop specialist knowledge of labour law and industrial relations, with particular emphasis on collective bargaining and the ongoing transformations of the employment relationship. On the other hand, it seeks to provide students with territorial, geographical and economic analytical tools for understanding the location, distribution and management of human resources across different economic and organisational contexts.
The course is intended to enable students to assess human resource organisation and management strategies critically, taking into account the applicable legal constraints, the individual and collective rights of workers, and the processes of human resource acquisition and development shaped by geographical and economic dynamics.
By the end of the course, students will have acquired an interdisciplinary analytical methodology, an appropriate command of the relevant specialised and technical terminology, and the ability to apply the knowledge gained to the analysis of practical problems and, at the most advanced level, to devise innovative solutions.
The course carries a total of 8 ECTS credits (CFU), corresponding to an overall student workload of 200 hours. Of these, 60 hours are allocated to in-person teaching activities, comprising both lectures and interactive learning sessions, while the remaining 140 hours are devoted to independent study, including the individual study of the prescribed texts, legislation, teaching materials, case studies, documents and any additional resources made available through the DIR platform.
The course is divided into the following modules: (i) Labour Law and Industrial Relations: 6 ECTS credits (CFU), corresponding to an overall student workload of 150 hours, of which 45 hours are allocated to in-person teaching activities and 105 hours to independent study; and (ii) Human Resource Localization Strategies: 2 ECTS credits (CFU), corresponding to an overall student workload of 50 hours, of which 15 hours are allocated to in-person teaching activities and 35 hours to independent study.

The general prerequisites established by the Degree Programme apply. The Human Resource Localization Strategies module requires a sound knowledge of the fundamental principles of human and economic geography.

The course is delivered through lectures supported by multimedia resources, together with the analysis of legislation, collective agreements, case law, documents, reports, digital resources and supplementary materials. Teaching activities also include multimedia presentations, guided discussions and, where appropriate, group work.
In the Human Resource Localization Strategies module, particular attention will be devoted to the analysis of case studies through the examination of relevant documents, reports and digital resources. Guided group discussions will also be organised to foster critical reflection and the exchange of views.
In the Labour Law and Industrial Relations module, teaching is primarily focused on the analysis of legislation, collective agreements and case law. Students’ active participation is encouraged through guided case discussions, the examination of interpretative issues, critical engagement with legislative materials and judicial approaches, as well as review and self-assessment activities.
In both modules, supplementary activities and opportunities for sharing materials and engaging in discussion will be made available through the University’s DIR (Didattica in Rete) online learning platform.

Refer to the course page on DIR for supplementary material and support for the lessons, as well as for the detailed programme. Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via reference office consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Assessment is designed to ascertain whether the intended learning outcomes of the integrated course as a whole have been achieved, while taking into account the specific characteristics of the two modules.
For the Labour Law and Industrial Relations module, assessment consists of an oral examination covering the entire syllabus. For the Human Resource Localization Strategies module, assessment is based on the completion of a project work. The specific assessment methods for each module are set out in the relevant syllabus.
The final grade for the integrated course is expressed on a thirty-point scale and is determined jointly by the instructors responsible for the two modules, in proportion to the number of ECTS credits (CFU) allocated to each module. More specifically, the marks awarded for the individual modules contribute to the final grade according to their respective credit weightings, using a weighted-average method.

The integrated course is divided into two modules.
The Labour Law and Industrial Relations module covers trade union law and the law governing employment relationships. In particular, the following topics will be examined: the function of trade union law; freedom of association; trade unions and employers’ organisations; workplace trade union representation; collective agreements; the structure of collective bargaining and the relationship between its different levels; anti-union conduct; strikes and lockouts. The module will also explore the function of the employment contract and the employee’s obligation to perform work under the employer’s direction; the impact of technology on the performance of work; remote working; employee privacy; the employer’s power to monitor employees through technological tools; algorithm-based workforce management models (so-called algorithmic management) and artificial intelligence; the sustainability and legal implications of remuneration; disability and employment; and protection against discrimination, with particular emphasis on gender.
The Human Resource Localization Strategies module covers the following topics: population and development; the location of human resources and geopolitics; social sustainability; immigration and human resources in the workplace in relation to gender, ethnicity and religion; the structure and evolution of human resources in relation to economic development; and human resources within multinational enterprises.
Integration of the gender dimension. The integrated course devotes specific attention to the gender dimension. In the Labour Law and Industrial Relations module, one lecture examines the relationship between the principle of equality and the prohibition of gender discrimination from a historical perspective, with particular attention to measures supporting and protecting women in the employment relationship. In the Human Resource Localition Strategies module, one session focuses on the gender relations underlying the construction of space in the workplace, gender integration in the labour market, and gender-based pay and career gaps.

By the end of the course, students will be expected to demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge, subject-specific competences and transferable skills relating to the content of each module.
Students will be expected to know and understand the fundamental legal concepts and institutions, as well as the specialist issues, pertaining to labour law and industrial relations. They will also be expected to understand population structures, the organisation of the workforce within a given territory, and the principal methods of geographical, demographic-anthropological, economic-geographical and human-geographical analysis as applied to human resources.
Students will also be expected to apply the knowledge acquired to the analysis of practical issues concerning the management of employment relationships and relations with trade unions, as well as to interpret and analyse workforce organisation strategies from a systemic and multi-scalar perspective.
Students will be expected to assess the topics covered by the course critically and to present knowledge, information and opinions concerning those topics clearly and effectively. In doing so, they must use appropriate technical terminology, demonstrate conceptual clarity and argumentative rigour, and establish connections between concepts, problems and methods drawn from different disciplinary fields.
Finally, students will be expected to acquire the methodological tools required to update and develop their knowledge independently.