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Psychology of Organizations

Code: 102559 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Psychology OB 3

Contact

Name:
Enrique Baleriola Escudero
Email:
enrique.baleriola@uab.cat

Teachers

Joan Moya Kohler
Maria Beatriz San Roman Sobrino
Enrique Baleriola Escudero
Alex Romani i Rivera
Joan Rovira Martorell
Estrella Valeria Claramunt Marco

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

There are no strict prerequisites for studying "Psychology of Organizations". However, students are recommended to have knowledge about subjects such as Social Psychology, Groups Dynamics and Work Psychology.


Objectives and Contextualisation

Psychology of Organizacions is a subject taught in the second semester of the third year of the Psychology Degree. Its main aim is to introduce students in the world of organizations in the 21st Century.

Objectives:

- This subject provides students with a general description of the basic characteristics of modern organizations.

-This subject offers a list of the main topics, approaches and applications in Psychology of Organizations.

-This subject analysis the suppositions and the propositions of the most important theories in the discipline.

-This subject reflects on the theoretical and research limitations of the discipline.


Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Analyse the demands and needs of people, groups and organisations in different contexts.
  • Apply techniques to collect and produce information about the functioning of individuals, groups and organisations in context.
  • Distinguish and relate the principles of psychosocial functioning of groups and organizations.
  • Evaluate, contrast and take decision on the choice of adequate methods and instruments for each situation and evaluation context.
  • Make changes to methods and processes in the area of knowledge in order to provide innovative responses to society's needs and demands.
  • Prepare and write technical reports on the results of the evaluation, research or services requested.
  • Recognise personal limitations and limitations of the discipline in the different areas of professional practice.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Use different ICTs for different purposes.
  • Work in a team.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse a situation and identify its points for improvement.
  2. Analyse the sex- or gender-based inequalities and the gender biases present in one's own area of knowledge.
  3. Apply models of organizational analysis such as SWOT (weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities).
  4. Ask viable and relevant objectives or goals from the analysis of the demands of groups and organizations.
  5. Assess the impact of the difficulties, prejudices and discriminations that actions or projects may involve, in the short or long term, in relation to certain persons or groups.
  6. Communicate in an inclusive manner avoiding the use of sexist or discriminatory language.
  7. Describe the characteristics of the main theoretical models of the discipline.
  8. Design the structure of a report or presentation of the contents depending communicate and characteristics of the recipients.
  9. Identify significant issues and disciplinary knowledge relevant to the demands and needs of groups and organizations.
  10. Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
  11. Identify the different levels of analysis and intervention (individual, group and organizational).
  12. Identify the dimensions of organizational phenomena.
  13. Identify the principal forms of sex- or gender-based inequality and discrimination present in society.
  14. Identify the social, economic and/or environmental implications of academic and professional activities in the area of your knowledge.
  15. Interpret information gathered from questionnaires and individual and group interviews consistent with the conceptual models used.
  16. Plan the different steps in the diagnosis of an organization taking into account the particular case.
  17. Produce diagrams, tables and conceptual maps that promote the communication of the results of evaluation, research or intervention to the actors involved.
  18. Propose new experience-based methods or alternative solutions.
  19. Propose projects and actions that incorporate the gender perspective.
  20. Propose viable projects and actions to boost social, economic and/or environmental benefits.
  21. Recognise personal limitations and limitations of the discipline in the different areas of professional practice.
  22. Recognise the basic elements of an organization.
  23. Select relevant concepts for the analysis of information gathered.
  24. Select the appropriate techniques and instruments diagnosis in each case.
  25. Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  26. Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  27. Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  28. Use different ICTs for different purposes.
  29. Work in a team.
  30. Write reports that argue clearly and in detail the critical aspects of the evaluation, investigation or intervention process.

Content

This subject is structured into the following units:

1. Introduction: Why is it so interesting to study organizations?

2. Role Theory and Organizations

3. The phenomenon of leadership in organizations

4. Communication and organizations

5. Relationships of power

6. Conflict in organizations

7. Culture and anthropology of organizations

8. Gender and organizations 

9. Subjectivity and organizations


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
D1. Lectures 13.5 0.54 7, 12, 9, 27, 25, 26
D2. Group work 22 0.88 2, 1, 3, 6, 11, 14, 13, 10, 15, 16, 4, 18, 19, 20, 27, 25, 26, 22, 23, 5
Type: Supervised      
S1. Individual Assessment 1 0.04 8, 27, 26, 23, 24
S2. Case analysis in moodle 2.5 0.1 12, 27, 26, 22, 23
Type: Autonomous      
A1. Bibliography search 14 0.56 26, 23, 24, 28
A2. Essays 18 0.72 8, 17, 27, 25, 26, 30
A3. Reading texts 22 0.88 7, 12, 26, 22
A4. Analysis of data 25 1 3, 15, 26, 21, 23
A5. Collecting data in organizations 30 1.2 11, 16, 25, 26, 24, 29

This subject includes two different types of activities: a set of lectures, linked to the content of the subject and a series of work sessions carried out in small groups and made up of by combinations of activities such as: seminars (reading and discussion of previously selected texts), workshops and presentation of lines of research, projection and discussion of audiovisual materials, etc.

N.B. The teaching methodology and assessment proposed may be subject to change depending on circumstances that arise during the semester. The teaching team will provide details via the Moodle classroom or the usual means of communication regarding the face-to-face or virtual/online format of the various guided activities and assessments, taking into account the faculty's instructions.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
EV1. Participation 30% 0 0 1, 3, 14, 13, 10, 18, 27, 25, 26, 22, 28
EV2. Group work 40% 0 0 2, 6, 8, 17, 11, 12, 9, 15, 16, 4, 19, 20, 27, 26, 30, 23, 24, 29, 5
EV3. Test 30% 2 0.08 7, 11, 21

Assessable activities are as follows:

1. Participation in the activities of the working sessions (30%). Participation will be assessed by handing in the answers to the activities set at the end of the class (e.g., cases analyzed, progress of group work). This is an individual evidence. It is considered that the student has passed the evidence if he/she has attended to the 80% of the programmed working sessions. If this is not the case, the evidence will not be qualified. It is worth noting that this evidence will count in the 2/3 of the necessary activities to be reassessed if the student has attended in 5 of the programmed activities.

2. Group work. (40%). It would be delivered through moodle the week 12

3. A test (30%). It would be carried out at the end of the semester (second assessment period).

The translation of the in-person assessment tests will be delivered if the requirements established in Article 263 are met and the request is made online (e-form) during week 4 (more information on the faculty website).

 

Student are considered to have passed the subject when the sum of their marks in the different assessable activities is greater or equal to 5. 

Students are considered not assessable when they have given learning evidences with a weight lower than 4 points.

The type of feedback will be carried out via Moodle for the final exam, with the correct answers being posted during the week of the exam. For group work and participation in work sessions, this will be carried out in the classroom, both in the weekly follow-up and in the final presentation of the work. As for participation in the working sessions, feedback will be given orally in class during practical lessons, based on progress made during the week.

Students are considered assessable but not to have passed the subject when they do not obtain a grade of 5. 

Students can be reassessed if their grade is 3.5. Thereassessment will be a global text of the whole subject and its mark will be the final mark of the subject.

The subject offers the possibilityof carrying out a single assessment:

 

SINGLE ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES TABLE

Name and description of the evidence

 

percentages

Duration in hours (of the face-to-face act)

Realization/delivery date

EV1.  Analysis and resolution in the classroom of two cases

30%

3h.

Second evaluation period

EV2.  Delivery of a poster

40%

Ev3.  Test exam

30%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The same retake system will be applied to the single assessment as to the continuous assessment. The single assessment must be requested online (e-form) during the specific period (more information on the faculty website). This course does not include a specific synthesis assessment. 

THE GENERAL ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES OF THE FACULTY CAN BE CONSULTED AT THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://www.uab.cat/web/estudiar/graus/graus/avaluacions-1345722525858.html

 For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translations. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. Failure to disclose the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in partial or total deduction of the activity grade, or more severe penalties in serious cases.


Bibliography

All the books are introductions to the topics refered in this subject. However, the reference handbook in the classes is:

Tirado, F.; Gálvez, A. y Baleriola,E. (2017). Las organizaciones en el siglo XXI. Un enfoque psicosocial y político. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

 

Anderson, N., Ones, D.S. y Viswesvaran, C. (Eds.), (2001). Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology (Vols. 1 y 2). London: Sage.

Brown, S. D y Lent, R. W. (Eds.). (2005). Career development and counseling: putting theory and research to work. Hoboken N.J.: John Wiley and Sons.

Cooper, G. L. (Ed.). (2000). Classics in management thought. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Denison, D. R. (1996). What is the difference between Organizational Culture and Organizational Climate? A native's point of view on a decade of paradigm wars. Academy of Management Review, 21(3), 619-654.

Grey, C. (2005). A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying organizations. London: Sage.

Hatch, M. (2006). Organization theory: modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives (2da ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Jex, S.M. (2002). Organizational Psychology a Scientist-Practitioner Approach (2da ed.). New York: Wiley.

Mintzberg, H. (1993). Structures in fives. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Peiró, J. M. (1991). Psicología de la organización (Vols. 1 y 2). Madrid: UNED.

Perrow, C. (1973). The short and glorious history of organizational theory. Organizational Dynamics, 2(1), 3-15.

Quijano de Arana, S. D. (1993). La psicología social en las organizaciones: fundamentos. Barcelona: PPU.

Rodríguez, A. (1992). Psicología de las organizaciones: teoría y método. Barcelona: PPU.

Rodríguez, A. (Coord.), (1998). Introducción a la psicología del trabajo y de las organizaciones. Madrid: Pirámide.

Rodríguez, A. (Coord.), (2003). Psicología de las organizaciones. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

Tirado, F.; Gálvez, A. y Baleriola,E. (2017). Las organizacionesen el siglo XXI. Un enfoque psicosocial y político. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

Tirado, F.; Baleriola, E. y Gálvez, A. (2017). Critical Management Studies. Hacia unas organizaciones más éticas y sostenibles. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

 

Web links

European Associaton of Work and Organizational Psychology:http://www.eawop.org/web/

European Network of Work and Organizational Psychologists:http://www.enop.ee/

Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology:http://www.siop.org/


Software

It is not used any kind of special software


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(SEM) Seminars 111 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 112 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 113 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 114 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 211 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 212 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 213 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 214 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 311 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 312 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 313 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 314 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 411 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 412 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 413 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 3 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 4 Spanish second semester morning-mixed