Business and Organisational Psychology MSc

" Business and Organisational Psychology MSc

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— Coventry University (@covcampus) September 26, 2012 OVERVIEW

MSc Business and Organisational Psychology (HLST142)

MSc Business and Organisational Psychology with Professional Experience (HLST143)

This course has a September, January and May intake

12 months full-time

20 months full-time with Professional Experience

24 months part-time

Please note: Blended option is only available for the January intake.

The course provides a sophisticated understanding of applying psychology in business settings, including understanding consumer behaviours, employee engagement and the impact of globalisation on organisational behaviours. The course is accredited by the Association of Business Psychology and designed for both home and international students. The course is informed by the academic and professional disciplines of Business, Organisational and Occupational psychology.

The MSc Business and Organisational Psychology with Professional Experience, is an extended full-time Masters programme with a substantive professional experience component. Within the professional experience modules, students have the option of undertaking an internship with a host organisation or, alternatively, campus-based professional experience.

Internships are subject to a competitive application and selection process and the host organisation may include the University. Internships may be paid or unpaid, and this will depend on what is being offered and agreed with the host organisation. Students who do not wish to undertake an internship or are not successful in securing an internship will undertake campus-based professional experience, which will deliver similar learning outcomes through supervised projects and activities designed to offer students the opportunity to integrate theory with an understanding of professional practice.

WHY CHOOSE THIS COURSE?

• Multi-disciplinary degree, open to candidates without psychology as a first degree.
• It has a distinctly international flavour so as to enable graduates to compete in a global business environment.
• Consumer psychology forms a separate module in this course and provides a critical understanding of marketing and advertising practice.
• Students will be taught systematic review methods for analysing literature and relate this to an entrepreneurial idea via a business plan.
• Accredited by the Association for Business Psychology.
• The 20 month version of the course includes professional experience.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

Work and Wellbeing

This module provides an introduction to employee engagement and well-being. The main aim is to introduce theoretical and applied concepts that relate to ways in which employees are engaged within the organisation. The module will include how work is structured (work and non-work) the negative aspects of work including stress, work-place bullying and the roles of emotions. Mental and physical health will be considered including symptoms and disorders as well as potential interventions to increase wellbeing.

Psychological Assessment at Work

The module provides an introduction to the principles and methods of recruitment, selection and assessment. The module is designed to provide students with an understanding of issues surrounding the selection process in order that they can make informed choices of methods when developing selection processes. Theories, methods and legal issues concerning selection and assessment will be discussed so that the student can apply theory to practice.

Learning, Training and Development

This module provides students with an understanding of theory and conceptual approaches to design, implementation and evaluation of training programmes. Students 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

Project Planning and Research Skills

This module also provides the preparation for the literature review by supporting students in developing a viable project proposal and developing the skills to conduct a systematic review. Students will develop the ability to plan and conduct psychological literature review projects. This includes a range of skills such identifying relevant topic areas, developing key word search terms and locating literature using relevant sources. This module provides a preparation in the skills required to successfully complete an independent literature review in business psychology.

Consumer Psychology

This module provides an introduction to understanding the function of marketing, competitor analysis, market research methodologies, and approaches to marketing including the marketing mix, market segmentation, measuring the effectiveness of marketing, thinking and creativity. This module also provides an introduction to consumerism and buyer behaviour linked to psychological concepts of consumer decision making. This will include advertising psychology, brand management, the selling process and time management. This module will focus on how to reach consumers effectively, through an exploration of their behaviours and attitudes.

Leadership, Engagement and Motivation

This 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, power and influence and their impact on employee engagement. Issues of positive and negative responses to work will be outlined (organisational citizenship and derailment).

Critical Thinking

This module provides an opportunity for students to reflect on the nature of knowledge. The module offers a thoughtful inquiry into different ways of knowing, and into different kinds of knowledge. Purposive questioning is at the heart of this module, stimulating reflection, thought and debate.

Business Psychology Literature Review and Business Plan (module for the 20 month programme)

This module forms two parts: the first part is to conduct a systematic review of contemporary literature on a Business and Organisational Psychology topic of their choice. Where students work in a business setting they will be encouraged to choose a topic that was related to their business work/practice. Students will be expected to complete a critical and evaluative review of the relevant literature, predominately peer reviewed journal articles, to produce a 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 create a business plan that is drawn from the conclusions of the literature review. It will be the applied application of knowledge gained through the review and turned into an entrepreneurial business idea and related plan. Students will gain experience of developing ideas into a practical business plan.

HOW WILL THIS COURSE BE TAUGHT?

This course will be taught on campus with materials on the University's virtual teaching online system. For the Blended learning delivery, materials will be accessed online only with residentials to support study.

HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?

You will be assessed through a variety of assignments, including applied case studies and reports, essay, reviews, posters and presentations.

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