MSc Management Psychology

What is Management Psychology? How can Psychology be applied in organisations? This introductory module examines where psychology has an impact work, management and organisations. The module will briefly consider the psychological perspectives on the selection and development of workers, and the management of individuals, teams and organisations.

Recruiting and selecting the right staff enhances company productivity. But how do you assess individual skills, abilities, characteristics and competencies? This module will tell you how. The module introduces employee selection as a system, starting with job and competency analysis. Specific selection methods such as assessment centres, psychometric testing and interviewing are introduced and discussed. Finally, methods of selection system evaluation are examined.

How can applied psychology help managers evaluate and improve the performance of workers? Why do some work training programs succeed while others fail? This module firstly examines performance appraisal processes and how they can be used to improve employee performance. Secondly, it considers individual development and learning, with a focus on training processes and their evaluation. It also examines organisational learning, which some management theorists consider to be the single most important competitive advantage for any organisation.

This module covers conceptual and practical approaches to improving individual motivation and performance through coaching and mentoring. Students will look at different theoretical approaches (experiential learning theory, inner game, cognitive-behavioural counselling), different relationships (counselling, coaching, mentoring) and different needs (executive coaching, career counselling, performance coaching, personal development planning). These will be integrated into a two-day workshop which also develops the practical skills of coaching and mentoring.

How can managers integrate effective business and human resource strategies? This module focuses on the nature of strategic management and strategic human resource management with a particular focus on the issues of strategy formulation and implementation. It aims to equip participants with the skills of strategic thinking, by examining environments facing organisations, competitive and development strategies and the achievement of strategic change. Overarching themes of the module are effective business strategy and human resource policies and practices.

Change is a critical issue for all modern businesses. This module considers how we can use psychology to think about change processes more clearly, in order to implement them more effectively. The module focuses on different perspectives and theories on organisational change, the management of change and the consequences of change. It also considers theories of organisational behaviour and the role of training in organisational development.

Management Psychologists can predict the future. How? By using well designed psychological tests that indicate how a person is likely to behave or perform in their job. In this module you’ll find out how to use psychological tests appropriately and ethically. The module focuses on core aspects of psychometrics: personality theory, reliability, validity, test error, and test fairness. It also examines practical processes of test administration and performance interpretation and feedback.

The module also qualifies you for the internationally recognised Level A and B certificates in psychological testing, accredited by the British Psychological Society.

At I-WHO, we believe that good applied psychologists must be good scientists. Research methods allow us to use good science to solve practical problems. This e-learning module allows you to learn about research methods at your own pace. The module will cover the collection of data through survey, interview and focus group methods. It will also introduce applied data analytical methods: correlation and regression analyses, tests of difference and ANOVA, and advanced techniques such as factor analyses and multi-level modelling.

In the second year of your course, you will complete an applied research dissertation, allowing you to specialise in one of the three areas of Management Psychology. The dissertation is a practical, scientific investigation of an important management issue within a real organisation. You can choose to write up your dissertation as a business report or a scientific paper. Either way, your dissertation will allow you to use what you have learned to solve an applied management problem, and help you further develop project management skills. You will work closely with a supervisor to design and complete the project.