SOL1 Psychology in Organisation and Leadership

• 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.