GRA 2423 Persuasion and Power in Organisations

GRA 2423 Persuasion and Power in Organisations

Course code: 
GRA 2423
Department: 
Leadership and Organizational Behaviour
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Linda Lai
Course name in Norwegian: 
Persuasion and Power in Organisations
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Leadership and Organisational Psychology
Semester: 
2020 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

Attempts to build power and influence others represent crucial facets of human interaction within every social and professional domain, including the work context. This course provides insights into the nuts and bolts of social power and influence in organizations. Insight into bases of power as well as effective principles of influence is of high potential value to leaders as well as other organizational members. Examples will be drawn from a variety of areas in the work domain. 

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

The course will provide students with insight into:

  • different types of power and influence tactics in organizations, as well as the contingencies determining their effectiveness.
  • the determinants of power
  • the psychological and behavioral effects of experiencing power
  • resistance to persuasion and techniques for overcoming resistance
  • ethical aspects of power and influence
  • experiments as a scientific research method
Learning outcomes - Skills

The course will provide students with a better basis for:

  • identifying their own as well as other individuals' bases of power
  • developing and improving effective and constructive influence behavior
  • resisting undesired and/or unethical influence attempts
  • performing high quality empirical experiments based on scientific principles
General Competence

The course will provide students with a better foundation for reflecting on:

  • their power bases and influence behavior
  • their potential for improving their persuasive effectiveness
  • ethical aspects of power, influence and empirical research
Course content
  • The concept of power: Different types of power
  • Bases of power
  • Building personal power
  • The corruptive effects of power
  • Psychological principles of influence
  • Influence tactics in organizations
  • Rhetorics
  • Digital influence
  • Ethical aspects of persuasion and influence in organisations
  • Resistance to persuasion
Teaching and learning activities

The course will be offered digitally, based on Zoom as the main platform. Activities include lectures, videos, exercises, and discussions.   

Software tools
Software defined under the section "Teaching and learning activities".
SPSS
Additional information

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course starts.

At resit, all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.

Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Covid-19

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be deviations in teaching and learning activities as well as exams, compared with what is described in this course description.

Required prerequisite knowledge

GRA 2204 Judgment and Decision Making or equivalent.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
50
Grouping: 
Group/Individual (1 - 3)
Duration: 
1 Semester(s)
Comment: 
Project report
Exam code: 
GRA 24231
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Structured test
Invigilation
Weight: 
50
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • Bilingual dictionary
Duration: 
2 Hour(s)
Comment: 
Written examination under supervision (multiple choice).
Exam code: 
GRA 24231
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Continuous assessment
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
36 Hour(s)
Student's own work with learning resources
62 Hour(s)
Group work / Assignments
60 Hour(s)
Examination
2 Hour(s)
Sum workload: 
160

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.