Managing Organizational Behaviour

Course information

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students

• Understand the psychological and social psychological factors that impact behavior and performance on individual, team and organizational levels.
• Can acquire, discuss and apply evidence-based knowledge in the workplace.
• Can analyse and address challenges related to managing human and organizational performance.
• Has the aptitude and skills to design, implement and influence effective processes in teams and organizations.
• Understand the immediate and secondary organizational and societal consequences of people management related decisions and actions and is committed to ethical and inclusive professional practice.

Content

Drawing on organizational psychology, organizational behavior and HRM literatures, this course offers participants a deep dive into the psychological and social psychological factors and processes at the level of an individual, a team and an organization that help explain human and organizational performance. For the purposes of this course, performance is broadly understood. The course provides you with understanding and knowledge that can help you successfully lead individuals, groups and organizations. Specifically, knowledge acquired in this course is valuable in many important areas of people management, such as recruitment and selection, conflict resolution, negotiation, goal setting, personnel assessment, leadership development and performance management, among others. Specific focus is set on bridging the gap between scientific knowledge managing human and organizational performance, and the day-to-day decisions made in organization to help the participants develop into effective professionals and managers in the future. 

Course content

• Evidence based management
• Understanding theories of motivation
• Designing motivating work environment
• Managing stress and emotions
• Managing teams and team performance
• Addressing conflicts and negotiations
• Managing ethical issues and conflicts
• Understanding power and politics
• Managing resistance to change 

Teacher

Marjo-Riitta Diehl

Study material

Announced in the course syllabus.

Workload

• Lectures
• Preparation for lectures
• Team assignments
• Exercises
• Independent study
   

This course requires attendance and active participation to the lectures.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites.

Evaluation

Team assignments:

• A paper pitch video
• A research-based assignment 

Individual assignments:

• A written assignment 

Teaching time and location

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected  

3. From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
    

   Exam instructions at the Open University

The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.

Online learning environment for the course  

MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.

Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses

More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below: 
Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 8.12.2025 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 29.12.2025 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

The number of participants is limited to 3.

This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Business.

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules

Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication

You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID

Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.

Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication