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PSYU3338 – Organisational Psychology

2020 – Session 1, Weekday attendance, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Ben Searle
ben.searle@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(130cp at 1000 level or above) including (PSYC104 or PSYU1104 or PSYX104 or PSYX1104) and (PSYC105 or PSYU1105 or PSYX105 or PSYX1105)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit introduces students to psychological perspectives of the world of work, including both individual and organisational aspects. We cover topics such as personnel selection, job attitudes, stress, personality, and human factors at work. Students discover some of the ways organisational psychologists have used the science of psychology to learn more about the human condition and to assist in the effective management of businesses. This unit provides a valuable background for the application of scientific principles and findings to workplace policies and practices that involve people. Through tutorial exercises and discussions, the unit ensures that students gain an appreciation of job analysis, recruitment and selection techniques, occupational stress management, and other psychological issues in the workplace.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://students.mq.edu.au/important-dates

Learning Outcomes

  • ULO1: Conduct simple job analyses - to systematically collect and analyse information about jobs, enabling an accurate description of the job and the competencies required to be successful at the job.
  • ULO2: Apply appropriate assessment principles to employee selection -- to write effective behavioural interview questions and choose assessment tests based on a knowledge of their strengths and limitations.
  • ULO3: Identify stressors - to recognise major sources of employee stress in a workplace situation.
  • ULO4: Engage others in a survey process - to follow an ethical procedure of providing informed consent to recruit employed people to complete a carefully-designed survey.
  • ULO5: Research discoveries in organisational psychology - to locate, understand and apply the most theories and findings about psychological and behavioural issues in the workplace.
  • ULO6: Communicate about organisational psychology - to write reports for different audiences on conceptual and practical aspects of psychological factors that relate to the modern workplace.

General Assessment Information

Two Evaluation Systems

Participation tasks assess your level of engagement with learning opportunities. The weekly online quiz tracks active participation rather than performance level, although scores provide you with feedback. You will also have a chance to participate in collecting data for the written report assignments.

Graded assessment tasks assess achievement of learning outcomes. Two reports indicate your understanding and communication of organisational psychology; first as a process for scientific enquiry, and second as a resource for business. The final exam assesses knowledge and understanding of organisational psychology concepts and their application. 

 

Assessment activity I:       Weekly online quiz

Description:  Weekly quizzes encourage you to keep a regular routine of watching the lecture videos each week, and to provide you with feedback about how much of the video content you understand and remember.

Requirements:  You can access quizzes via the unit iLearn website. After the first few weeks of semester, each quiz will be available for one week only, typically concluding at midday on Monday of the week after the quiz topic. The quiz must be completed by independently, without collaborating with others. Note that it is not possible to re-open the quiz for individual students who missed the quiz deadline without a formal application for Special Consideration.

Standards:  For each quiz, a Pass grade (50%) or better earns 0.6 marks, to a maximum of 6 marks. If you Pass at least 10 of the 12 quizzes, you will earn the full 6% for quiz participation. You can take each quiz up to three times, and only the highest score will count.

 

Assessment activity II:      Survey recruitment exercise

Description:  This exercise provides experience in using surveys to advance knowledge in a way that also has practical workplace applications. Your task is to invite four working adults to participate in an online survey on a topic relevant to organisational psychology, and to collect their contact emails. More information about the task and methods, along with the due dates, will be provided by Week 3. You are responsible for checking iLearn for this information.

Requirements:  You receive the participation marks if enough of the people you recruited commence the survey. If they subsequently do not complete the survey you will not be penalised. If you notify us in advance that you are unable to recruit participants, or if your recruitment attempts prove unsuccessful, other research participation opportunities will be offered.

Standards:  It is essential that you follow the specified procedures for participant recruitment.

 

Assessment activity III:     Introduction to a Scientific Report

Description:  Students follow the style and structure of the introduction section to a scientific report to provide a background suitable for the survey study we conduct as part of this unit. From among the range of variables measured in the study, students get to choose a subset on which to focus their report. This exercise helps develop greater understanding of organisational psychology theory and research, as well as skills in communication, critical analysis, and capability for evidence-based argument.

Requirements:  Specific requirements will be described in an assessment guide (available on iLearn by Week 3). 

Standards: The assessment standards upon which reports will be evaluated are:

  • Introduce the context, topic and research aim (up to 7 marks);
  • Define/explain important constructs (up to 5 marks);
  • Explain and evaluate relevant theories and research findings (up to 13 marks); and
  • Present clear, testable, well-justified hypotheses (up to 5 marks).

 

Assessment activity IV:     Research Summary

Description:  Students will describe some of the findings from our survey study in an accessible manner, focusing on the relevance of these findings to business. This exercise is designed to develop greater understanding of applications of organisational psychology, as well as to develop skills in communication of research to an audience of non-scientists.

Requirements:  Specific requirements will be described in an assessment guide (available on iLearn before the end of the mid-semester break).

Standards: The assessment standards upon which reports will be evaluated are:

  • Summarise the article’s key point, introduce the topic area, and explain the importance to business (up to 9 marks);
  • Describe central constructs and terminology clearly, replacing jargon where appropriate (up to 3 marks);
  • Briefly describe the study and explain some relevant findings (up to 6 marks); and
  • Explain some implications of study findings, including recommendations for business practice (up to 12 marks).

 

Penalties

The two written reports (Introduction to a Scientific Report and Research Summary) are assessed against specific criteria that will be supplied via iLearn. Penalties apply to assignments that are not submitted in accordance with specified requirements. Some penalties are applied in units of 5% of the assignment mark, which for both reports (30 marks) is 1.5 marks. For example, assignments submitted late are penalised 1.5 marks per day late, and long assignments are penalised 1.5 marks per 100 words over the set limit. At the convenor's discretion, penalties may apply to reports where spelling, grammar, or use of reference material is noticeably poorer than the standard expected at this level (3rd year university). 

As described in the Academic Integrity Policy, plagiarism is a particularly serious case of unprofessional and unethical academic misconduct. All written assignment submissions are evaluated using the Turnitin database system to determine if material has been copied from other students, published academic papers, or other online sources. If evidence of plagiarism is found it will be reported to the appropriate university authorities. Do not take the risk.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Weekly online quiz 6% No Midday each Monday
Survey recruitment exercise 4% No 10:00am March 25
Scientific report introduction 30% No 6:00pm April 08
Research summary 30% No 6:00pm May 20
Final examination 30% No (Semester One examination period)

Weekly online quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 8 hours
Due: Midday each Monday
Weighting: 6%

Between four and eight multiple choice questions weekly delivered online. Each quiz is available for one week. Students have 20 minutes to complete each quiz.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Conduct simple job analyses - to systematically collect and analyse information about jobs, enabling an accurate description of the job and the competencies required to be successful at the job.
  • Apply appropriate assessment principles to employee selection -- to write effective behavioural interview questions and choose assessment tests based on a knowledge of their strengths and limitations.
  • Identify stressors - to recognise major sources of employee stress in a workplace situation.

Survey recruitment exercise

Assessment Type 1: Field work task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 2 hours
Due: 10:00am March 25
Weighting: 4%

This exercise is designed to give students experience in using surveys to advance psychology knowledge in a way that also has practical workplace applications. The task is to invite four working adults to participate in an online survey on a topic relevant to organisational psychology, and to enter the details correctly in the form
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Engage others in a survey process - to follow an ethical procedure of providing informed consent to recruit employed people to complete a carefully-designed survey.

Scientific report introduction

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 6:00pm April 08
Weighting: 30%

Students write up to 800 words about the survey study being conducted as part of this unit, following the style and structure of the introduction section to a scientific report.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify stressors - to recognise major sources of employee stress in a workplace situation.
  • Research discoveries in organisational psychology - to locate, understand and apply the most theories and findings about psychological and behavioural issues in the workplace.

Research summary

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 6:00pm May 20
Weighting: 30%

Students will write an 800 word report about findings from the survey study being conducted as part of this unit, focusing on their relevance to business. The writing style must be that of a business news article.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify stressors - to recognise major sources of employee stress in a workplace situation.
  • Communicate about organisational psychology - to write reports for different audiences on conceptual and practical aspects of psychological factors that relate to the modern workplace.

Final examination

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 18 hours
Due: (Semester One examination period)
Weighting: 30%

An invigilated one hour multiple choice examination comprising of 60 questions.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Conduct simple job analyses - to systematically collect and analyse information about jobs, enabling an accurate description of the job and the competencies required to be successful at the job.
  • Apply appropriate assessment principles to employee selection -- to write effective behavioural interview questions and choose assessment tests based on a knowledge of their strengths and limitations.
  • Identify stressors - to recognise major sources of employee stress in a workplace situation.

1 If you need guidance or support to understand or complete this type of assessment, please contact the Learning Skills Team

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Online lecture videos

Given the high proportion of students listening to lecture recordings instead of attending in person, the lectures have been created as online resources that can be viewed as videos or downloaded as audio for offline listening. The lectures explain key points and provide concrete examples linking theory to practice. To get the most out of these resources, you should read relevant chapters of the textbook before viewing lectures for that week, and then explore the online resources provided such as organisation websites, podcast episodes, and interviews with subject matter experts. While questions for the final examination will be drawn primarily from the lectures (exceptions will be flagged in advance), these additional resources will complement learning acquired from lecture videos. If you utilise these resources, you are more likely to understand, remember and be able to apply the lecture content.

 

Tutorials

Tutorials are your opportunities to discuss and apply organisational psychology. Tutors are all current or former students of the Macquarie University Master of Organisational Psychology program, and they have valuable knowledge and practical experience of this field that they are keen to share. Tutorial content is examinable in the final examination.

 

Reading

Students are encouraged to obtain one of the following two books in hardcopy or e-book format (the latter may only be available as an e-book):

Arnold, J., & Silvester, J. (2016). Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace (6th ed). Pearson Education.

Landy, F. J, & Conte, J. M. (2018). Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology (6th ed.). McGraw Hill.

In addition to reading appropriate sections from the textbook, students are encouraged to read articles published in journals in the field of organisational psychology to provide the information required for the Introduction to a Scientific Report assignment, as well as furthering their understanding of this field.

You will also notice, on the iLearn site, links to other online resources that will develop your understanding of this field.

 

Feedback

Feedback is an important part of the learning process, but it can only improve your performance if you actively seek and apply it. Make the most of the following opportunities to obtain feedback about your understanding of the unit content.

Activity Maximising Your Feedback Opportunity
Tutorials Try to answer questions and get involved in discussions. See how well you can apply your new knowledge in class activities. Your tutor is also a good person to ask about anything you've found confusing in the lectures. 
Weekly quizzes See how much you learned from the lecture videos. If your first score isn't great, review the videos, the textbook and other resources to see what you misunderstood. Before the final exam, look over your quiz performance to identify the topics in which you need to devote the most study time.
Introduction to a Scientific Report Use the evaluation criteria for this assignment to guide your efforts and to make regular assessments of the strengths and limitations of your work. When your assignment is marked, look closely at the specific feedback you received and consider how you could apply it in the future.
Research summary Use the evaluation criteria for this assignment to guide your efforts and to make regular assessments of the strengths and limitations of your work. When your assignment is marked, look closely at the specific feedback you received and consider how you could apply it in the future.

 

Unit Schedule

Week Starting Primary online lecture topic(s) Tutorial topic
1 24 Feb Introduction to organisational psychology  
2 02 Mar Job analysis and its applications Job analysis
3 09 Mar Personnel selection Job interviews
4 16 Mar Occupational stress Stress
5 23 Mar Training and career development Report writing
6 30 Mar Motivation, attitudes, and justice Motivation
7 06 Apr Personality at work Personality
    Mid semester break (Apr 10-26)  
8 27 Apr Organisational behaviour Incivility
9 04 May Climate and culture in organisations Communication
10 11 May Human factors at work Human error
11 18 May Teams and their leaders (no tutorial)
12 25 May Measuring and managing performance Performance evaluation
13 01 Jun (reading week) Careers & Revision

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Enquiry Service

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Equity Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.