BUSINESS/ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY - 2026/7

Module Overview

Business and Organizational Psychology is the study of people and their behaviour at work. Organizational psychologists develop psychological theory and apply the rigour and methods of scientific inquiry to issues that are important to organizations. The key goals of the field are to advance understanding of individual, group and organizational effectiveness at work, and the well-being and satisfaction of people working in or served by organizations. In this module, some of the key topics of Work and Organizational Psychology are covered, emphasizing theory and research on which the discipline is built, major areas of practical application of the discipline, and how these contribute to management of performance and organizational effectiveness.

By the end of the module students will have gained an understanding of how organizational psychology research and practice influence different levels at work including the individual, group, organization, and society. A central feature of the module will focus upon developing critical thinking skills by engaging in desk research and analysis of scientific knowledge and organizational problems.

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

HUO Yuanyuan (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Psychology and Organisational Performance
• Psychological Contract and Employee Commitment
• Workplace Wellbeing and Stress
• Work-life Balance and Flexible Working
• Organisational Culture and Climate
• Leadership
• Psychological Assessments in Organisations
• Talent and Career Management
• Teamwork
• Change in Organisations
   

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Alternative assessment for group project – individual project

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of module learning outcomes.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Consultancy project, enabling students to develop knowledge-based solution to organizational problem, commutated in appropriate manner to a business audience


• Individual portfolio assignment

Formative feedback will be provided during weekly learning sessions and activities and on request during consultation hours.

Students will receive written and rubric feedback on each element of assessment with marks.

Module aims

• To explore theoretical and empirical knowledge of business/organizational psychology.
• To develop independent critical thinking and synthesizing a range of theories and evidence in the field of business/organisational psychology.
• To recognise the value of rigorous applied research in management profession.
• To develop skills in identifying knowledge-based solutions to organizational problems.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to adopt a problem ¿based learning approach, applying academic knowledge to organizational issues.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Weekly contact sessions, comprising formally taught lectures, seminars, assessment preparation, and interactive problem-based learning exercises linking theory and practice.
• Students are expected to engage in independent research and reading on a weekly basis.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MAN2135

Other information

This module promotes the Student Competency Framework Pillars as follows:

Global and Cultural Capabilities

The demographic topography of our students, and members of staff, is rich and diverse. Students acquire and develop global and cultural intelligence by interacting with each other during live lectures and workshops, and working together in preparation for consulting project assessment.

Employability

This module enables students to develop critical and problem-solving skills, ability to research and apply knowledge in finding solutions for advancement of managerial practice, teamwork and cooperation skills, and ability to effectively communicate broad and complex ideas and knowledge verbally and in writing.  

Resourcefulness & Resilience

This module enables students’ development of independent critical thinking, ability to find good quality sources of knowledge, cooperate with peers, and identify solutions to real-life organizational problems.

Sustainability

This module supports our students’ development of ability to influence a more sustainable future of work and business as we consider quality of working lives and effective management of organizational performance, reducing waste of manpower, ill health, and societal costs.

Digital Capabilities

This module enables students’ engagement with digital content, and development of ability to find relevant and good quality sources of knowledge online. Students also develop their digital capabilities by being encouraged to access digital platforms such as LinkedIn; CIPD podcasts; the University virtual learning environment, share online sources and communicate via MS TEAMS.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2026/7 academic year.