Management Psychology

This workshop-style module is run in collaboration with the owner-director of an occupational psychology consultancy organisation and a number of their staff. Using role play and other in-class activities, the workshop provides an opportunity for students to:

• Develop an understanding of skills and competencies required of a consultant and reflective practitioner
• Translate psychological knowledge, concepts and ideas into a language understandable by a non-psychologist
• Interpret basic statistical evidence and convert this into proposed consultancy activities
• Pitch for a possible piece of consultancy to a panel of people from the client organisation

This module has four main aims:

1. To provide an introduction to the nature and contribution of applied psychology to the world of work
2. To focus on core topics of relevance to management psychology
3. To help participants develop the critical skills required for postgraduate study and to undertake their research project.
4. To introduce students to concepts and tests relevant to quantitative workplace data.

Students will gain the knowledge and skills to effectively plan and design research as well as to critically appraise published research. You will be introduced to how to write a literature review in a systematic way, how to write a research proposal, study designs (including developing research questions), ethics and practical issues when planning and conducting research.

The module also covers designing questionnaires, psychometric issues such as reliability and validity, using interviews and focus groups, evaluating interventions and use of the internet and an introduction to online research methods.

This module introduces the important issues of leadership, employee motivation and engagement at work, and considers the contribution that psychological theory makes to our understanding of these areas. The module also considers the role of the psychological contract and organisational justice as concepts for understanding employee relations and explores the opposing issues of citizenship and counterproductive behaviours. There is also a focus on appraising employee performance with emphasis on exploring the global move towards engaging with multi-source feedback.

This module begins with outlining theories of learning and the application of these to training development and design in organisations. Elements of the