MN3295: Individual at Work
2010-2011
Overview
Brief Outline and Aims of the Course
In this course, we look at psychological models of the Individual at Work and apply them to the HRM
processes of selection, motivation, training, appraisal, stress management, leadership, moderating
power, teambuilding, facilitating ethics, and managing conflict.
The main aims of the course are:

To develop conceptual and theoretical frameworks for understanding the behaviour of
individuals and groups within work organisations

To explore and critically evaluate research in and theories of individual and group behaviour
at work

To develop diagnostic and analytical skills for dealing with various kinds of individual and
group problems within the work setting

To consider and question the role of individuals in the workplace, and the implications of
stress and conflict

To evaluate critically the nature of organisations and their objectives with respect to
individual employees

To improve cognitive skills, effective problem solving, effective communication, effective
self-management, learning to learn, self-awareness, effective team working, interpersonal
and research skills
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you should be able to:

Evaluate critically social scientific concepts and theories about the behaviour of individuals
and groups at work

Analyse the inter-relationships between individual and group level factors that influence
behaviour

Evaluate different theoretical and practical approaches to understanding individual and
group processes

Demonstrate concrete knowledge on practices and techniques for dealing with individual
and group-related problems at work

Present a reflective understanding of this body of knowledge in written and spoken form
Page 1 of 6 Individual at Work (MN3295), Royal Holloway University of London, 2010-11
Organisation
Classes
We meet once a week on Friday afternoons from 14:00 to 17:00 except for weeks 5 and 7 when we
finish one hour earlier at 16:00. Each session is a mixture of conventional lectures, hands-on
activities and group discussions.
Essay
Students write one essay of 2000 words chosen from a list of ten topics. The essay is due in both
electronic and hard formats on the last Wednesday of the autumn term at noon. Following this
section are the list of topics and some reminders about the submission procedures. The reading list
is in a separate document should you wish to look at the reading for all the topics in one document.
The reading list for each topic is also provided on Moodle under each topic. Your essay mark counts
towards your final course mark with a weighting of 30%.
Examination
The examination is held in May 2011 and students write TWO essays chosen from a list of TEN topics.
Your examination mark counts towards your final course mark with a weighting of 70%.
Essay and Examination Weights for your Final Mark
Your essay mark counts towards your final course mark with a weighting of 30%. Your examination
mark counts towards your final course mark with a weighting of 70%.
Topics and Class Schedule
Our list of topics, with dates, are listed below. Please note that on weeks 5 and 7 we finish at 16:00.
Week Date
Topic
1
Friday, 1 October 2010
Individual Differences (& selection)
2
Friday, 8 October 2010
Motivation (& reward systems)
3
Friday, 15 October 2010
Learning (& training and development)
4
Friday, 22 October 2010
Perception (& appraisal)
5
Friday, 29 October 2010
Stress (& employee performance)
6
Friday, 5 November 2010
Leadership (& group performance)
7
Friday 12 November 2010
Power and Political Processes
8
Friday 19 November 2010
Group Dynamics (& project management)
9
Friday, 26 November 2010
Group Decision Making (& business ethics)
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
ASSIGNMENT DUE IN at NOON
Friday, 3 December 2010
Managing Conflicts in Groups (& negotiation)
10
Page 2 of 6 Individual at Work (MN3295), Royal Holloway University of London, 2010-11
Course Co-ordinator & Tutor
Jo Jordan
jo.jordan@rhul.ac.uk
Moore Annexe MX03
Office Hours: Fridays 13:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 18:00 (autumn term only)
Office Telephone: 01784 27 6411
Textbooks
Many textbooks are suitable for this course. A book tilted at psychology may be more suitable but a
book unread is not very useful. Rather choose a book that you find inviting and appealing to read.
Four possibilities are:
Fincham, R., & Rhodes, P. (n.d.). Principles of Organisational Behaviour. Oxford University Press.
McKenna, E. (n.d.). Business Psychology and Organisational Behaviour. Psychology Press.
Mullins, L. J. (n.d.). Essentials of Organisational Behaviour. Prentice Hall.
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (n.d.). Organizational Behavior. Prentice Hall.
(N.B. When citing a textbook, add the date and place of publication for the edition that you have
used.)
Academic Journal Articles and Other Resources
Internet resources and contemporary reviews and journal articles are listed topic by topic in the
combined reading list and under each topic on Moodle.
The major journals in the psychology of management include
Annual Review of Psychology
Applied Psychology
Journal of Applied Psychology
Personnel Psychology
European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
Additional good sources to gain an overall perspective of applications of work psychology are
Academy of Management Review
Academy of Management Perspectives
Harvard Business Review
Page 3 of 6 Individual at Work (MN3295), Royal Holloway University of London, 2010-11
Essay
To complete your coursework, write a 2000 word essay to answer any ONE of the following topics.
Submit your essay electronically and in hard format by NOON on the last Wednesday of the autumn
term (Wednesday 1 December 2010). See the next section for more details.
The topic guides below will be adjusted slightly to provide essay questions and will be posted on
Moodle. Resource lists for each topic are also posted on Moodle.
Individual Differences & Selection
1. “. . . recent research has discovered evidence that the mean and rank order of employee
performance tends to change over time” (Iddekinge & Ployhart, 2008, p. 909). To what
extent are psychologists able to predict our performance at work?
Human Motivation & Reward Systems
2. “Few fundamentally new models of work motivation have appeared with the
groundbreaking impact that Maslow’s need theory, Vroom’s expectancy theory, or Locke &
Latham’s goal-setting theory had when they were initially promulgated.” (Latham & Pinder,
2005, p. 507). Where are the present frontiers in our understanding of motivation?
Learning & Training and Development
3. “ . . . training has been a topic traditionally studied at the individual level of analysis and
more recently at the team level of analysis, this review also includes organizational and
society levels of analysis.” (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009, p. 453) Are we able to improve our
ability to deliver effective training by taking a systemic approach to training & development?
Perception & Appraisal
4. “It has been more than a decade since Balzer and Sulsky (1990) noted that performance
appraisal research had focused on issues important to academics (i.e. rater accuracy)
instead of on variables important to employees and organizations . . .” (Whiting, Kline, &
Sulsky, 2008, p. 223). When and how does performance appraisal contribute to
organizational effectiveness?
Stress & Employee Performance
5. “ . . . cultivate positive emotion in themselves and those around them, not just as endstates in themselves, but also as a means to achieving psychological growth and improved
psychological and physical well-being over time” (Frederickson B. L., 2004, p. 1367). Is a
proactive positive attitude possible, desirable and practical?
Leadership & Group Performance
6. “. . . leadership can be enacted through any interaction in an organization . . . leadership
is an emergent phenomenon within complex systems” (Hazy, et al. 2007, p.2 quoted in
Aviolio, Walumbwa, & Weber, 2009, p. 430). What opportunities are there for you to
exercise leadership in your career?
Page 4 of 6 Individual at Work (MN3295), Royal Holloway University of London, 2010-11
Power & Political Processes
7. “Legitimacy is an endorphin of the democratic body politic; it is the substance that oils the
machinery of democracy, reducing friction that inevitably arises when people are not able to
get everything they want from politics.” (Tyler, 2006, p. 381). To what extent is this
observation true for work organizations?
Group Dynamics & Project Management
8. “. . . the ability of individuals to coalesce quickly into effective teams” (Salas et al., 1995, p.
55). How well does psychological research explain our ability (or not) to form effective
teams quickly?
Group Decision Making & Business Ethics
9. “. . . the ‘moral’ viewpoint in business is an oxymoron” (van Liedekerke & Dubbink, 2008, p.
273). What moral dilemmas do you expect to face in your career and how will you prepare
yourself to meet them to your satisfaction?
Managing Group Conflict & Negotiation
10. “. . . differences of opinion or contradiction of interests among two or more people,
parties or factors . . .” (Shetach, 2009, p. 83). How much is known about individual skills
for resolving conflict at work?
Moodle, Resources & Study Groups
All the documentation and links to internet resources are available at the course node on Moodle.
We also have a forum that you may use to coordinate with other students and in particular, to find
colleagues who are working on the same topic as you. You may work with other students to read
and explore your topic but your final submission should be your own work.
My office hours (for the autumn term only) are Friday 13:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 18:00. I am
always available by email.
Page 5 of 6 Individual at Work (MN3295), Royal Holloway University of London, 2010-11
Assessment Details & Instructions for Submission
Examination (70% of total course mark)

May 2011

Closed book, unseen

Two hours

Choose and answer any TWO questions from a choice of SEVEN questions
Coursework assignment (30% of the total course mark)
1.
Choose any ONE of TEN questions (one for each topic on the course).
2.
A seed list of journal articles is provided for each question.
3.
The essay must be handed in by Noon on the last Wednesday of term (Wednesday, 1
December 2010).
4.
You need to submit
5.

an electronic copy via Turn-it-in and

a hard copy at the Reception in the Moore Building.
For further information about formats and regulations regarding the assignment, please
consult the School of Management Student Handbook 2010/2011.
Late submissions and extensions
Please note the College policy for late submission of assignments. Work handed in up to 24 hours
after the deadline is marked, but a penalty of 10 percentage points is deducted. However, if the work
is worthy of a pass mark, the application of a penalty will not result in failure. For example, if you
received 45% for a piece of work, the penalty will reduce the mark to 40%, not 35%. Work submitted
more than 24 hours late is awarded a mark of ZERO.
Page 6 of 6 Individual at Work (MN3295), Royal Holloway University of London, 2010-11