People Management

Learning outcomes

• To understand the critical significance of people and people management in the strategic and sustainable management of organizations.
• To understand and critically evaluate key concepts and theories of people behaviors and dynamics within organizations at individual, group, and organizational levels.
• To understand and critically evaluate key processes and practices utilized in strategic and sustainable people management.
• To apply the principles and theories of people management to real-life business issues and cases.

Content
 This course integrates a theoretical understanding of organizational behavior with the practical aspects of people management in ‘real world’ organizations.

It is comprised of three parts. The first part introduces the field of people management by explaining its concept (what people management is), classic and contemporary issues of people management (how people management has evolved), and strategic importance of people and people management in organizations (why people and people management deserve strategic attention).

The second part aims to familiarize students with key concepts and theories of organizational behavior, or how people behave and interact with each other in the workplace. This will be discussed at three different levels: individuals (e.g., personality, motivation), groups/teams (e.g., group work and power dynamics in groups), and organizations (e.g., organizational culture).

Based on the basic understanding of organizational behavior, the last part of the course is concerned with how organizations can effectively manage their people in practice. Various issues and functions of people management, including recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management and compensation, will be critically examined.

Teacher
 Saija Katila

Study material
 This course does not have a required textbook but supplementary learning materials will be provided. 

Online learning environment for the course & Activating Aalto ID

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. 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 IDDigital workspace of the course: MyCourses

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

Workload
The course does not have compulsory attendance but it is highly recommended to join the lectures.

During the course, you are expected to invest around 127 hours in the independent study: 

• Preparation for lectures
• Individual and group assignments
• Exam preparation

Prerequisites
 This course does not have specific prerequisites but a basic understanding of management in general will be desirable. 

Evaluation
Throughout the course, you are required to complete various individual and group activities and assignments, which will be part of your assessment. 

The exam will comprise 40% of your total score. Detailed information regarding the exam will be provided during the course.
 

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 2023-2024 is selected  

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

   Exam instructions at the Open University

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done in Sisu-service. 

Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 11.12.2023 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 1.1.2024 at 23.59

The number of participants is limited to 10.

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 rulesAccess Token on Aalto University Campus

To be able to enter campus premises and classrooms you need the student access token of Aalto University. You can get the student access token from campus lobby services. The access token need to be activated with your Aalto account and password before you can use it. Please, arrive the campus well in advance before your first class so that you can make the access token work. Please, see the instructions how to get and activate the access token:How to get an access tokenOtaniemi Campus, Espoo:Campus mapFurther information
Equivalences: 21C00350 Human Resource Management, A21C00300 Henkilöstöjohtaminen

Individual study arrangements

If you need individual study arrangements in order to attend a course, contact the Open University office [email protected] in good time, at least 14 days before the start date of the course or the examination date. Further information about individual study arrangements:
Individual study arrangements at Open University