1. Analyse how organisations unlock the potential of their employee’s human capital and human attributes.

Knowledge and Understanding

Analysis

Learning


2. Understand, evaluate and apply effective human resource management techniques in the process of employee engagement, employee development.

Knowledge and Understanding

Application

Enquiry


3. Critically apply key theories that underpin effective human behaviour in the workplace to unlock organisational competitive advantage.

Knowledge and Understanding

Application

Enquiry


4. Identify self attributes, skills, and personality using the basis of business psychology.

Knowledge & Learning

Application

Reflection

Students will be required to deliver a group presentation from a choice of topics which will be specified by the course team during the study of the module. Topics covered will include key concepts of human attributes, personality testing and key skill assessments in recruitment and selection processes. The presentation will last for 15 minutes followed by a Q&A session of 10 minutes. This assessment covers Learning Outcomes 1 and 4.



Individual report of 2500-words that will be based on an industry case study exploring employee engagement and development in an organisation This assessment covers Learning Outcomes 2 and 3.

It is widely accepted that for modern, complex, organisations the route to competitive advantage is through the successful management of people, in terms of their engagement, development, and wellbeing. Therefore, an understanding of how and why people behave in the workplace the way that they do and how to unlock the human capital of employees is essential.

This module will examine areas such as personality, motivation, and attributes, using concurrent research and theory. Starting with recruitment the module will follow the route of the employee through the modern workplace, looking at how managers can use their knowledge of motivation and engagement within the context of organisational culture, linked to emotional intelligence, thus unlocking the capacity of employees and gaining competitive advantage through this process.


This module will also support enhancing personal attributes, attitudes, skills and personality types of individuals with the exposure from behavioural, social and organisational psychology.


This module will look at:


Personality Psychology

Behavioural Psychology

Cognitive Psychology

This module introduces the foundational concepts of business psychology, focusing on how organisations can unlock the potential of their human capital. Students will analyse strategies for maximising employee attributes and human capital, understanding and evaluating effective human resource management techniques essential for employee engagement and development. The module also emphasises the critical application of key theories that underpin effective human behaviour in the workplace, aiming to achieve and sustain organisational competitive advantage. Additionally, students will identify and assess their own attributes, skills, and personality traits through the lens of business psychology. By combining theoretical knowledge with practical applications, this module prepares students to leverage psychological principles to enhance both individual and organisational performance.

Lectures will be interactive and you are required to engage in study materials by answering the questions posed by the lecturer related to materials studied. The lecture led sessions will follow a general pattern of introduction of a topic and provision of frameworks and models for student learning, followed by application by students to appropriate data or case study materials in tutorial sessions. Tutorials will contribute to a thorough understanding of the module concepts and issues with the aim of testing your understanding and developing problem-solving skills. You will be expected to perform set exercises/case study, etc., these will include the analysis, discussion and presentation of case-based work both individually and as part of a learning group. Digital tools will be used to enhance learning. You are expected to obtain supplementary information from several sources as part of your preparation, as recommended by your lecturer.


You will undertake formative assessments during the module to help you monitor your learning and provide you and us with ongoing feedback on your progress, that helps you prepare for the summative assessment at the end of the module.

Clegg, S.R., 2021. Managing and organizations: An introduction to theory and practice



Leong, F.T. and Austin, J.T. eds., 2023. The psychology research handbook: A guide for graduate students and research assistants. SAGE publications



Schultz, D.P. and Schultz, S.E., 2020. Psychology and work today: An introduction to industrial and organizational psychology. Routledge



Workman, L. and Reader, W., 2021. Evolutionary psychology: An introduction. Cambridge University Press

The University Library and Learning Resources

Westlaw e-library

The module VLE (LMS T & L material)

Selected contemporary problem/practice-based case examples