Group Processes in Organizations

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 5
• Convenor: Caroline Kamau
• Prerequisite: Quantitative Methods
• Assessment: a 2000-word critique report (100%)

The study of groups is one of the core components of psychology. It is also a core area of practice in organisational psychology. Business psychologists are often called upon to troubleshoot and solve problems faced by work teams.

This module will explore, in detail, social cognitive processes pertinent to group performance in workplaces. These include self-categorisation, social identity, leadership, group productivity and group decision-making. At the applied level, these concepts form the foundation for your understanding of team performance, team/organisational identity, team/organisational commitment and leadership. Organisations often commission business psychologists to troubleshoot and solve these problems. This module will therefore also explore practical solutions to problems with organisational identity, organisational commitment, leadership and employee engagement.

By the end of this module, you will:

• understand social identity theory
• understand self-categorisation theory
• understand causes, symptoms and solutions to poor group productivity
• understand contingency and social identity theories about leadership
• understand causes, symptoms and solutions to faulty group decision-making
• be able to evaluate implications for organisational identity and commitment
• be able to evaluate implications for group decision-making and group performance in workplaces.