Close
Industrial/Organisational and Business Psychology deals with human capital issues and is instrumental in helping businesses become more effective and profitable, as well as improving employees' wellbeing and performance. This MSc prepared students for academic research and professional practice in this field.
The programme provided an understanding of all the fundamental psychological issues concerning the behaviour of individuals at work, including their job performance, motivation, and occupational health.This MSc equipped all students with a wide range of skills, methods and theories concerning key applications of psychology to organisations and businesses today. Areas of application will include: finance (psychology of money and banking); marketing and advertising (social psychology of attitudes and consumer preferences); personnel selection, training and development, and workplace motivation (organisational psychology).The MSc emphasised applied, consulting and practical skills to enhance students’ employability by helping them develop key psychological business skills and knowledge.
Students enrolled on this programme to maximise their employment prospects, enhance their employability, and develop as professional psychologists within large government or commercial organisations (as HR executives, recruitment consultants, executive coaches, leadership and management consultants, etc.)
The programme was made up of the following modules:
Core Modules
- 1. Consulting Psychology
This module reviews the most frequent topics organisational psychologists encounter as practitioners. The topics covered include talent management, performance management, organisational change, negotiation and persuasion, self-awareness, coaching and mentoring, creativity and innovation, counterproductive work behaviours, emotional intelligence and competencies at work. For each topic there will be an overview of the main psychological theories, what the academic literature tells us and what it doesn’t and the key issues facing consultants and organisations when implementing the findings from research. An important aspect of this module is an understanding of where and why there is divergence between academics and practitioners, the limitations of academic research and the practical constraints organisations face when implementing the insight gained from academic research. This module is ideal for those interested in pursuing a career in human resources, recruitment, training, leadership development, behavioural analytics and people consulting. This course does not cover how to build a consulting business, how to get consulting clients, or how to write consulting proposals. It provides insight as to how to effectively apply the academic literature as an organisational consultant to aid organisations in getting the best out of their employees whilst maintaining their health and happiness.
- 2. Talent Management
This module reviews the current state of knowledge regarding themes, core processes, methods, and theories of personnel selection, training and development, and career success. In particular, lectures will discuss the psychological determinants of job performance and career potential, interventions designed to motivate and retain employees, and the socio-economic implications of selecting, developing and retaining talent. Core constructs to be examined include abilities and personality traits, and the most widely used methods for selection (interviews, references, letters of recommendation and psychometric testing). Lectures will also discuss executive coaching techniques and training strategies in the current world of organisations. Thus this course examines the practical implications of talent management, as well as how psychological theories and methods can help us predict, understand, and influence talent in organisations.
- 3. Statistics
This course provides an introduction to statistics for analysing the results of psychological experiments and observational studies. The course covers different types of data and how to describe them, the principles underlying null hypothesis significance testing, and common tests and analyses, including ANOVA, correlation, regression and the general linear model. The course will focus on how to decide on the suitable analysis for a given problem, and how to evaluate the appropriateness of a statistical model and its underlying assumptions. Emphasis is placed on a conceptual understanding of statistical methods, and in most cases definition rather than computational formula are presented. Practical experience in applying the methods will be developed through exercises in Microsoft Excel and with the statistics package SPSS.
- 4. Business Psychology Seminars (Guest Speakers)
This module will consist of 20 x 1 hour sessions facilitated by visiting speakers. Speakers will include business psychologists who work as consultants or who are eminent researchers in the field, as well as leading figures from the world of HR, psychological test publishers, etc. The module is designed to give students direct exposure to opinion formers in applied psychology, and speakers will represent different key areas of application of industrial/organisational and business psychology.
- 5. Influence & Negotiation
Negotiation is the science of securing agreements between two or more interdependent parties, and it is a part of our everyday lives.
The primary goal of this course is to provide students with the fundamentals of effective negotiation and communication through a series of group simulations, exercises, feedback, and debriefing sessions. Students will become equipped with a toolkit to address a range of contexts that call for negotiation skills. The experiential learning approach will guide students toward a better awareness and understanding of negotiation strategies and tactics that they can apply to real-world negotiations.
The core concepts presented in the course will help them develop wiser decision-making strategies under pressure, a more systematic framework to prepare for and execute negotiations, and greater facility in approaches for creating and capturing value in negotiation.
- 6. Consumer Behaviour
This module reviews the current state of knowledge regarding themes, core processes, methods, and theories of consumer behaviour and psychology. In particular, lectures will discuss the psychological determinants of consumer implicit decision-making as well as, we will be exploring the role of affect and persuasion in a number of academic and applied fields of consumer behaviour. Core constructs to be examined include the impact and role of affect and decision process in light of some resent theoretical developments with practical implications. Lectures will also discuss consumer behaviour techniques and strategies may influence the success of a number of behavioural change initiatives within a number of industries (i.e., health promotion, fiscal management, media, and politics). Thus this course examines the practical implications of consumer behaviour, as well as how psychological theories and methods can help us predict, understand, and behavioural change.
Learning Outcomes: Through the course, students are expected to develop knowledge and understanding of:
Implicit Consumer Cognition
Theories and methods of behavioral proving
Attitude Change and Persuasion
Goal directed consumer behaviour: motivation and affect
Social Values in Consumer Psychology
Experimental Designs in Behavioral Change applications
Self-regulation- 7. Research Dissertation
The dissertation requires students to carry out independent research under supervision. It is an opportunity to identify a research question, generate hypotheses and identify appropriate methods, collect and analyse data, report the work in an article format with 10,000-12,000 words. Students can choose a supervisor and a topic from a list. The topic can be in any area of IO/B broadly defined. Your supervisor will advise in the following areas: Choice of topic and methods, access to relevant sources, thesis plans and scholarly presentation of ideas. The dissertation a substantial part of the course and will contribute 30% of the final overall weighted mark for the programme. The research is typically conducted at the end of term 2 and during term 3, after you have been familiarised with domains, concepts and methods in cognitive and decision sciences. Part-time students should also decide on a project by the end of their first year.
Optional Modules
Plus two optional modules from this list:
- Applied Decision Making (Psychology)
- Judgement and Decision Making (Psychology)
- Social Cognition: Affect and Motivation (Psychology)
- Current Issues in Attitude Research (Psychology)
- Psychology of Health (Psychology)
- Understanding Individuals and Groups (Psychology)
- Social Psychology
- Principles of Cognition (Psychology)
- Project Management (Management Science and Innovation)
- Mastering Entrepreneurship (Management Science and Innovation)
- Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice (Management Science and Innovation)
- Applied Cognitive Science (Human-Computer Interaction)