Basics of Work & Organisational Psycholgy

Brief description

The Motivation to Work: need-based theories (Maslow, ERG, Herzberg, etc.), process-based theories (equity, organizational justice), application-based theories (goal setting, job characteristics, reinforcement & incentives), practical issues in motivation (measuring, generational differences)

  • Attitudes, Emotion, and Work: work attitudes (job satisfaction, commitment, organizational identification, employee engagement), antecedents, correlates & consequences of work attitudes, measuring of work attitudes, foundation of organizational commitment, distinction between moods, attitudes and emotions, core evaluations (self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus of control,
neuroticism) and work attitudes, early warning signs and withdrawal behaviour
  • Stress and Worker Well-Being: stressors and consequences of stress, theories of stress, reducing and managing stress, violence at work
  • Leadership: concept of leadership, traditional theories of leadership, new approaches to leadership

Mode of delivery

face to face

Type

compulsory

Recommended or required reading and other learning resources/tools

Conte, M. J. & Landy, F.J. (2016). Work in the 21st century: An introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology (6th edition). Wiley.
Jex, S. M. (2014). Organizational psychology: A scientist-practitioner approach (3rd edition). John Wiley & Sons.
Steffens, N. K., Rink, F., & Ryan, M. K. (2022). Organisational Psychology: Revisiting the Classic Studies. SAGE. //

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Blended learning (online and presence, inverted classroom with e-learning material for self-study), online quizzes and discussion in online forums as formative assessments during self-study phases

Assessment methods and criteria

Written exam: 30 % MC questions, 20 % short definitions, 50 % open questions: 3 open questions.
Criteria: Correctness and completeness of the answers, application and reflection of concepts to practical contexts

Prerequisites and co-requisites

Grundlagen der Arbeitsgestaltung, Grundlagen Organisationslehre

Infos

Degree programme

People & Culture Management (Bachelor)

Cycle

Bachelor

ECTS Credits

3.00

Language of instruction

English

Curriculum

Part-Time

Academic year

2025

Semester

2 SS

Incoming

No

Learning outcome

After successful completion of this course, students are able to

  • explain major concepts and theories across a broad array of topics in the field of WO psychology: motivation (e.g. need-, process-, and application-based theories of motivation, metaphors for motivation),
attitudes & emotion (job satisfaction, commitment, organizational identification, employee engagement), stress & worker well-being (Selye and Cannon, Demand-Control and Person-environment fit models), leadership (leader emergence vs leader effectiveness, Ohio-state and Michigan Studies of leadership behaviour);
  • understand how classic theories of WO psychology affect current topics in WO psychology, e.g. digitization, New Work,
  • understand how emotions experienced at work affect work and non-work behaviour,
  • describe antecedents and consequences of job satisfaction,
  • explain the distinction between moods and emotions in the work context,
  • explain Leader-Member Exchange theory and the distinctions between in-group and out-group members,
  • explain the challenges of leadership in the changing workplace,
  • describe the concept of commitment in its different forms,
  • understand the emergence of psychological strain at work and are able to describe common physical and psychological stressors at work,
  • distinguish between the concepts of leader emergence and leader effectiveness,
  • apply concepts and theories of motivation to common organizational approaches,
  • apply concepts and theories of stress & worker well-being to organizational stress management programmes and
  • apply principles of WO psychology to understand affect, behaviour, and cognition at work.

Course code

1582-24-01-BB-DE-16