ORG 3500 Group psychology

ORG 3500 Group psychology

Course code: 
ORG 3500
Department: 
Leadership and Organizational Behaviour
Credits: 
7.5
Course coordinator: 
Elin Akre Trønnes
Mats Glambek
Course name in Norwegian: 
Gruppepsykologi
Product category: 
Bachelor
Portfolio: 
Bachelor of Organisational Psychology, HR and Leadership - Programme Courses
Semester: 
2022 Spring
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Bachelor
Teaching language: 
Norwegian
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

This course aims at providing the candidates with a solid foundation for recognizing and relating to different group processes in life at work. The candidate is going to gain research-based knowledge about human interactions at the workplace, like different forms of psychological processes that occur in groups, social influence, conflict, and harassment. The student will have a broad overview of how groups are established and developed, but also gain knowledge of factors that threaten the effectiveness of groups. Furthermore, the candidate ought to have nuanced knowledge about the difference between groups and teams, and how different teams perform different tasks and functions at work.

The student must also acquire nuanced knowledge of social influence strategies. Conflicts in the workplace are also an important topic as conflicts often take place within work groups or in other contexts in the workplace. The candidate must have knowledge of different types of conflicts, and develop a nuanced knowledge that it is particularly harmful when the conflict develops into bullying. Sexual harassment will often be a special variant of bullying. The student should also have a good knowledge of conditions that can contribute to de-escalation and dealing with the types of interaction problems in the workplace that staff conflicts, bullying and sexual harassment represent. This is key knowledge that managers and HR employees need in their meetings with people in organizations.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

After this course you should have:

  • Knowledge of groups' processes, what strengthens and what hinders collaboration
  • Knowledge of groups' level of maturity, development and performance
  • Knowledge of conflicts, bullying and harassment
  • Knowledge of conflict as a positive factor for learning and team effectiveness
  • Knowledge of influence and influence strategies
Learning outcomes - Skills

After this course you should have:

  • Increased skills in conducting mapping of group functioning, interpersonal conflict, bullying and harassment
  • Increased awareness of organizational danger signals in relation to bullying and sexual harassment, which provides a better basis for early intervention
  • Increased understanding of when it is necessary to intervene (intervene) in a conflict situation
  • Increased understanding of the importance of morality and organizational justice for a team's functioning
General Competence

Students will develop their ability to reflect on group processes, how an individual affects a group, and how the group affects the individual (and the importance of each individual’s contribution). It is also important to realize that individual contributions influence a team’s performance, where individuals support each other and provide a synergetic effect. Students will further develop a sensitivity in relation to conflicts and bullying, and be aware of their individual responsibility to intervene when social tensions and conflicts develop in a destructive direction. Furthermore, students must have developed an understanding of the negotiation conflict as a positive interaction situation, which can both generate learning, respect, and a possible win-win benefit for all parties.

Course content
  • Group processes and group function
  • Different maturity levels and performance for groups and teams
  • Factors that threaten the effectiveness of groups
  • Group size, group diversity, group effectiveness and social facilitation
  • Different types of groups, the distinction between groups and teams
  • Social influence strategies and influence tactics
  • Functional areas and work areas for different types of teams
  • Conflict and conflict management
  • Bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment
Teaching and learning activities

Kurset legger opp til en kombinasjon av teoriundervisning og erfaringsbasert læring. I kurset vil du dermed både møte mer tradisjonelle forelesninger, i tillegg til undervisning der deltakerne utfører og reflekterer rundt teambaserte øvelser som stimulerer og illustrerer gruppepsykologiske prosesser, refleksjon og teoriforståelse.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Qualifications

Higher Education Entrance Qualification

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.

Teaching

Information about what is taught on campus and other digital forms will be presented with the lecture plan before the start of the course each semester.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Invigilation
Weight: 
100
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • No support materials
Duration: 
3 Hour(s)
Exam code: 
ORG 35001
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination every semester
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
42 Hour(s)
Prepare for teaching
30 Hour(s)
Student's own work with learning resources
125 Hour(s)
Examination
3 Hour(s)
Sum workload: 
200

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.