Business and Organisational Psychology MSc

The main study themes of this course are:

• Work and Wellbeing: An introduction to employee wellbeing, based in applied theory and practice looking at workplace behaviours and issues, such as work life balance, stress and bullying, performance coaching and counselling including emotional triggers, mental and physical health symptoms related to the workplace, disorders and potential coping strategies and interventions. 
• Psychological Assessment at Work: The principles, theories, methods and legal issues concerning recruitment, selection and assessment.
• Learning, Training and Development: How to design, implement and evaluate training programmes according to the context and requirements. Consumer Psychology: Provides an overview of consumerism and buyer behaviour, marketing research linked to the psychological concepts of consumer decision-making. Considering how to reach consumers effectively, through an exploration of their behaviours and attitudes and effective advertising.
• Leadership, Engagement and Motivation: The concepts of leadership, power and influence and their impact on employee engagement and motivation.
• Consultancy/Management:  How to critically evaluate and develop solutions to complex, inter-related, multi-faceted issues that can be found in a variety of organisations and professional contexts.

Modules

• Psychological Assessment at Work - 20 credits

  The module provides the basis for critically evaluating and analysing the principles and methods of recruitment, selection and assessment. The module is designed to provide you with an in-depth understanding of issues surrounding the selection process in order that they can synthesise key information to make informed choices of methods when developing selection processes. This includes the critical evaluation of theories, approaches and methods. Further legal and ethical issues concerning selection and assessment will be discussed so that you can evaluate and apply theory to practice. Applied skills including evaluating different approaches to workplace psychometric assessment will form part of your learning and practical application.

  Compulsory

• Project Planning and Research Skills - 20 credits

  This module aims to prepare you with the knowledge, skills and abilities required to undertake a literature review in business psychology. The module will introduce you to the core principles and strategies of the review, including the ways in which reviews can vary such as in, scope, research question, methodology and data synthesis. The module will encourage you to reflect upon and test out various review stages including formulating research questions, literature searching, critically appraising research studies, planning and designing a review and time management. The module will seek to enable you to appreciate the contexts in which literature reviews are conducted, how they are produced and used to gain a deeper insight into how literature reviews are reported and disseminated.

  Compulsory

• Work and Well-being - 20 credits

  The module introduces you to Work and Well-Being. The aim of the module is to provide an understanding of how work links with individuals’ personal and organisational well-being. The module will examine how work is structured (work and non-work), negative aspects of work including stress, workplace bullying and the role of emotions. Mental and physical health will be considered including symptoms and disorders as well as potential interventions to increase well-being.

  This module examines factors related to employee well-being, including stress-related paradigms such as the demand and control model. These models will aid your understanding and help you to identify interventions that organisations can actively assist in the welfare of their employees, improving psychological well-being at work.
  
  The module adopts a case study based approach, which examines problems arising in the workplace and how strategies can be employed to ameliorate issues for employees, supervisors and organisations.

  Compulsory

• Leadership Engagement and Motivation - 20 credits

  The module provides an overview of theories and empirical research of work motivation and its relationship to performance appraisal and performance management. The module covers the concepts of leadership, and motivation and their impact on employee engagement. Issues of positive and negative responses to work will be outlined (organisational citizenship and derailment). An overview of theories and research concerning group and teamwork will be explored as well as perceptions related to psychological contracts and organisational justice.

  The wide-ranging debate on the variety of approaches to strategic management is investigated. You are encouraged to tackle complex issues, understand the interrelated aspects of organisational change, and develop solutions to multi-faceted problems. You are expected to explore the rich academic literature with a consistent view of the importance of applying theory in a number of different business contexts.

  Compulsory

• Learning, Training and Development - 20 credits

  The module introduces training and development in the workplace. The aim of the module is to provide you with an understanding of theory and conceptual approaches to design, implementation, and evaluation of training programmes. You will gain an in-depth and applied understanding of the training cycle and how approaches to training can be applied according to the context and requirements. A detailed approach to how learning and skills are acquired by individuals will be provided and opportunities to test your learning styles will be given during the sessions. Knowledge of how training is applied to groups and teams and the related issues will be practiced during the sessions. An understanding of the technical approaches to training design will be developed through the application and development of a training plan. Knowledge of evaluation of training and feedback mechanisms will be developed and applied.

  You will aim to develop skills in both understanding the theoretical basis to training and applying this to differing contexts. Skills of analysis, information gathering, and technical knowledge will be developed in this module.

  Compulsory

• Consumer Psychology - 20 credits

  This module provides an introduction to understanding consumerism and the effects of marketing and market research methodologies. In addition, this module explores buyer behaviour linked to psychological concepts including consumer decision-making, emotions, cognition and attitudes. This will include advertising psychology, brand management and the selling process. It focuses on how to reach consumers effectively, through an exploration of behavioural and environmental influences.

  This module is applicable to the consumer-driven world that has developed. Examination of consumer goal-directed behaviours, motivations and methods of persuasion are all factors that will be considered when evaluating consumer actions, attitudes and behaviour. You will have the opportunity to gain skills in communication and analysis as you engage in the investigation of the underlying factors of consumer behaviours. Individual differences and motivational theories will be considered, along with examining sustainability in consumerism. Strategies will be developed to consider effective actions when marketing and selling, culminating in analysing a popular or controversial product/brand and designing a research strategy and subsequent advertising plan.

  Compulsory

• Leading Strategic Change through Creativity and Innovation - 10 credits

  Module run by the Chartered Institute of Management - CMI.

  This module aims to provide you with a framework of knowledge and understanding of how to manage change using creativity and innovation whatever the master’s degree of specialisation you elect to follow, in different types of organisational scenarios.

  You will critically assess strategies for change and change management and explore the leadership skills required to lead successfully. You will explore for example, the complexity of innovative strategic plans, implementation plans and how to apply analytical techniques, theories, models and creative problem-solving to manage change with confidence.

  Ultimately, you will be given the opportunity to develop an innovative framework to deliver a change management strategy in a changing organisational context.

  Finally, the module requires you to reflect critically on your personal learning and development needs and how you work with others, from an ethical and professional standpoint to encourage their continuing professional development.

  Compulsory

• Systematic Literature Review and Evidence-Based Practice - 50 credits

  This module forms two parts.

  The first part is to conduct a thorough and contemporary systematic literature review on a business psychology topic of your choice. You will be encouraged to work on a topic that is of interest to you from a business-related setting or an area of professional practice; this will have been encouraged through the Project Planning and Research Skills module, where you were asked to research a topic that was of psychological business interest. You will be expected to complete a critical and evaluative review of the relevant literature, including peer-reviewed journal articles to produce a systematic literature review in a format that would be suitable for publication in an appropriate review journal.

  The second part of the module will be to introduce an intervention that is drawn from the conclusions of the systematic literature review. It will be the application of knowledge gained through the review and turned into an evidence-based intervention/workplace change or practice plan. You will seek to gain experience in translating scientific evidence into professional practice.

  Compulsory