Dr Tara Reich NAB4.15

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Management. This course is not available as an outside option.

This course seeks to understand individual attitudes and behaviour in an organizational context. It does this by reviewing psychological theories as they apply to organisations, demonstrating the contribution of a psychological perspective to understanding human behaviour at work, and critically evaluating the empirical evidence. The course attempts to strike a balance between theory and practice by applying the theories to practical problems in organizations.

Topics covered include personality and individual differences, work motivation, decision making, rewards systems, psychological contracts, organizational justice, performance and counter-performance (organizational citizenship and retaliatory behaviour), leadership, groups and group processes, design of work, organizational culture and creativity.

20 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT. 2 hours of lectures and 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the ST.

The teaching is highly participative and includes lectures and seminars. Group work in seminars is an integral part of the course and students are expected to actively contribute to all group exercises. The course is demanding of students and its success depends partly upon student commitment and willingness to participate fully.

The course relies heavily on journal articles (for example, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behaviour). An extensive reading list is provided at the start of the course. No suitable textbook exists but students may wish to consult one of the following: R Steers, L Porter, G Bigley (2003) Motivation and Work Behaviour, McGraw-Hill; D Nelson and J Campbell Quick (2006) Organizational Behaviour: Foundations, Reality and Challenges (5th edition) Thomson South-Western; J. Greenberg (2003) Organizational Behaviour: The State of the Science (2nd edition) Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; J Barling and C. Cooper (2008) The Handbook of Organizational Behaviour, Sage.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.