Psychology in Organisation and Leadership

SOL1 Psychology in Organisation and Leadership

Autumn 2024

  • Topics

    SOL1 provides a psychological perspective on leadership and organizations. What motivates us? How do we make decisions? And what does a good workplace really look like?

    The purpose of the course is to provide insight into the human factor in organizations and work life, and what can be done to create a better workplace. From the individual to the group level, the course will provide a research-based introduction to key theories of human behavior in organizations. The overall goal is for students to acquire a scientific perspective on which factors create well-being, health and productivity -- and which factors can be detrimental to an organization. The academic basis for this course is research in psychology, leadership, and teams.

    SOL1 consists of two main parts.

    - Part 1 focuses on how we can understand the individual in organizations and work life. Specific topics include: Personality, cognitive resources and attitudes; motivation and performance; job satisfaction and health; decision-making and rationality.

    - Part 2 takes a more social perspective, and focuses on how we can understand the interaction between individuals, groups and leaders. Specific topics include: Groups and team collaboration; relationships and morality in organizations; communication; characteristics of good and bad leadership; and societal considerations of sustainability, diversity and equal treatment. In addition, the course will provide a basic introduction to academic writing and scientific thinking.

  • Learning outcome

    Knowledge

    The candidate:

    • Has a scientific understanding of what characterizes the individual's functioning in organizations and work life.
    • Has a scientific understanding of the interaction between the individual and social processes at the group and organizational level.
    • Has knowledge of the role that individuals and the interplay of individuals play in sustainable organizations.

    Skills

    The candidate:

    • Is able to identify challenges related to the interplay between individuals and groups in an organizational context.
    • Can assess which measures that can be implemented to deal with key challenges related to leadership, well-being, and collaboration.
    • Has the ability to present relevant academic insights in a reflected and systematic way, in the form of written case reports.

    General competence

    The candidate:

    • Has insight into the relevance of psychology for leadership and organizations, both at the individual and group level.
    • Can communicate one's own insights and discuss key issues in psychology and leadership.
    • Masters academic writing, independent search for scientific literature and source criticism.

Overview

ECTS Credits
7.5
Semester

Spring. Will be offered spring 2024.

Course responsible

Lecturer Bård Fyhn, at the Department of Strategy and Management.