Course Syllabus
Positive Organizational Psychology |
 |
| Semester & Location: |
Summer 2021 - DIS Copenhagen |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective - 3 credits |
| Major Disciplines: |
Psychology |
| Faculty Members: |
Gitte Vonsild |
| Program Director: |
Helle Rytkønen |
| Program Contact: | |
| Time & Place: |
See Course Schedule Room: V10-D11 |
Description of Course
Work settings have a significant impact on people’s lives, but what makes work life worth living? How can we improve the effectiveness and quality of life in organizations? The field of Positive Organizational Psychology (POP) has been defined as “the scientific study of positive subjective experiences and traits in the workplace and positive organizations, and its application to improve the effectiveness and quality of life in organizations” (Donaldson & Ko, 2010). Guided by this definition, we will explore the science of positive psychology applied to work and organizations. Specifically we will emphasize topic areas such as positive organizational scholarship, positive organizational behavior, psychological capital, positive leadership, organizational virtuousness, coaching, and flow at work. Scandinavia and European cultural perspectives will also be considered.
Learning Objectives
Investigating the theoretical perspectives and research findings within the field of POP
Understand how to apply positive psychology theories and concepts to work and organizations
Devise pathways to improve people’s quality of life in organizations
Apply specific methods for development in the workplace, e.g. employing flow design, coaching, and facilitation techniques
Understand how leaders can create positive change in organizations
Faculty
Educational background: Master of Positive Psychology, and a minor in Psychology. MSc in Economics. Gitte Vonsild is specialized in the field of Applied Positive Psychology and is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) from the Coaches Training Institute, CTI.
Professional background: International leadership background as leader and CFO 1997-2005 at Darguner Brauerei GmbH and the Harboe Group; an international beverage group with facilities in Denmark, the Baltics, and Germany. Self-employed coach and workshop leader since 2005, and lecturer/associate professor at Metropolitan University College 2008-2012 in Coaching & Counseling, Positive Psychology, Positive Psychology coaching, change theory, and stress management. With DIS since 2011.
Readings
Books:
Bakker, A.B. (ed.). (2013). Advances in Positive Organizational Psychology. Vol. 1. Erasmus University. Rotterdam. Netherlands
Dutton, J.E. and Spreitzer, G.M. (2014). How to be a positive leader. Insights from Leading Thinkers on Positive Organizations. Small Actions, Big Impact. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. San Fransisco.
Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading Change. Harvard Business Review Press
Selected articles:
Bakker, A. B., & Van Woerkom, M. (2018). Strengths use in organizations: A positive approach of occupational health. Canadian Psychology, 59, 38-46
Bakker, A.B. (2014). Top-down and bottom-up interventions to increase work engagement. In P.J. Hartung, M.L. Savickas & W.B. Walsh (Eds.), APA Handbook of Career Intervention (Vol. 2; pp. 427-438). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017) Job Demands–Resources Theory: Taking Stock and Looking Forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology . Vol. 22, No. 3, 273–285
Berg, J. M. et al. (2010). Perceiving and responding to challenges in job crafting at different ranks: When proactivity requires adaptivity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31, 158- 186
Biswas-Diener, R. et al. (2017). Psychological Strengths at Work. In Oades, L.G. et al. (eds). The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Positivity and Strengths-Based Approaches at Work, pp.34-47
Bushe,.R. (2011). Appreciative inquiry: Theory and critique. In Boje, D., Burnes, B. and Hassard, J. (eds.) Ta.he Routledge Companion To Organizational Change. Pp. 87-103. Oxford, UK: Routledge.
Carmeli, A. et al. (2009). Learning behaviours in the workplace: The role of high-quality interpersonal relationships and psychological safety. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 26: 81-98.
Carmeli, A. et al. (2015). Respect as an engine for new ideas: Linking respectful engagement, relational information processing and creativity among employees and teams. Human Relations, 68, 1021-1047
Carton, A.M. (2018). ‘‘I’m Not Mopping the Floors, I’m Putting a Man on the Moon’’: How NASA Leaders Enhanced the Meaningfulness of Work by Changing the Meaning of Work. Administrative Science Quarterly 2018, Vol. 63(2)323–369
Caza A. & Carroll, B.Critical Theory and Positive Organizational Scholarship. In Cameron, K.S. and Spreitzer, G. (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Scholarship. Oxford, 2013. pp. 965-978
Chancellor, J. et al. (2018). The propagation of everyday prosociality in the workplace. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2018. vol. 13, no. 3, 271-283
Clifton, D.O. and Harter, J.K. (2003), Investing in Strengths. In Cameron, K.S. et al. (Eds.). Positive Organizational Scholarship. Foundation of a New Descipline. Pp. 111-121
Cooper, C. (2008). Elucidating the bonds of workplace humor: A relational process model. Human Relations, 61(8), 1087–1115
Deci, E. L. et al., (2017). Self-determination theory in work organizations: The state of a science. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 19-43
DeRue, D.S. and Workman, K.M. (2012). Toward a Positive and Dynamic Theory of Leadership Development. In Cameron, K.M. and Spreitzer, G.M. (eds.).The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship, pp. 784-797
Dutton, J.E. et al. (2010). Pathways for Building Positive Identity Construction at Work: Four Types of Positive Identity and the Building of Social Resources. Academy of Management Review 2010, Vol. 35, No. 2, 265–293
Dutton, J. E., Workman, K. M., & Hardin, A. E., (2014). Compassion at Work. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1, 277-304
Froman, L. (2009). Positive Psychology in the Workplace. J Adult Dev (2010) 17:59–69
Fullagar, C.J.; Kelloway, K. (2009). Flow at work: An experience sampling approach. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 2009, 82, 595-615
Grant, A. M. & Campbell,E. M. (2007). Doing good, doing harm, being well and burning out: The interactions of perceived prosocial and antisocial impact in service work. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80, 665-691.
Grant, A. M. (2007). Relational job design and the motivation to make a prosocial difference. Academy of Management Review, 32, 393-417
Grant, A.M. and Spence, G.B. (2010). Using Coaching and Positive Psychology to Promote a Flourishing Workforce: A Model of Goal-Striving and Mental Health. In Linley, A.P. et al. Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work. Oxford Library of Psychology.Pp.175-188.
Guckenheimer, D. Social Movements in Organizations. In Cameron, K.S. & Spreitzer, G. (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship. Oxford. 2013. Pp. 989-1000
Hakanen J.J. & Roodt, G. (2010). Using the damands-resources model to predict engagemet: Analysing a conceptual model. In Bakker A.B. & Leiter, M.P. (Eds.). Work Engagement. A Handbook of Essential Theory and Research. Psychology press pp. 85-101
Harter, J.K. & Blacksmith, N. (2010). Employee Engagement and the Psychology of Joining, Staying in, and Leaving Organizations. In Linley, P.A. et al. (eds). Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work. Oxford. Pp. 121-130
Helliwell, J. F., Aknin, L. B., Shiplett, H., Huang, H., & Wang, S. (2018). Social capital and prosocialbehavior as sources of well-being. In E. Diener, S. Oishi, & L. Tay (Eds.), Handbook of well-being. SaltLake City, UT: DEF Publishers. DOI:nobascholar.com
Hoffman, A.J. and Haigh, N. Positive Deviance for a Sustainable World. Linking Sustainability and Positive Organizational Scholarship. In Cameron, K.S. & Spreitzer, G. (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship. Oxford. 2013. Pp. 953-964
Ilies, R. et al. (2017). Flow at Work and Basic Psychological Needs: Effects on Well-Being. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 2017, 66 (1), 3–24
Kroon, B. et al. (2017) Mindfulness as substitute for transformational leadership. Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 32 Issue: 4, pp.284-297
Ko, I., & Donaldson, S.I. (2011). Applied positive organizational psychology: The state of the science and practice. In S.I. Donaldson, M. Csikszentmihalyi, & J. Nakamura (Eds.). London: Routledge Academic, pp. 137-154
Luthans, F. and Avolio, B.,(2003). Authentic Leadership Development. In Cameron, K.S. et al. (eds.). Positive Organizational Scholarship. Foundations of a New Discipline. pp 241-258
Luthans, F. et al. (2010). The development and resulting performance impact of positive psychological capital. Human Resource Development Quaterly, 21(1), 41-67
Martela, F. et al. (2020). The Nordic Exceptionalism: What Explains Why the Nordic Countries Are Constantly Among the Happiest in the World. In Helliwell, John F.et al. (eds.). World Happiness Report 2020. New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Link:
Morris, D. and Garrett, J. (2010). Strengths: Your Leading Edge. In Linley, A. et al. (Eds.). Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work. Oxford Library of Psychology. Pp.95-105
Olafsen, A. H., et al., (2017). On the dark side of work: A longitudinal analysis using self-determination theory. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 26(2), 275-285
Salanova, M. et al. (2003). Flow at work: evidence for an upward spiral of personal and organizational resources. Journal of Happiness Studies (2006) 7:1–22
Salanova, M. et al. (2010). The gain spiral of resources and work engagement: Sustaining a positive worklife. In Bakker A.B. & Leiter, M.P. (Eds.). Work Engagement. A Handbook of Essential Theory and Research. Psychology press pp. 118-131
Spurlin, A. and Csikszentmihalyi (2017). Will Work Ever be Fun Again? In Fullagar, C. & Delle Fave, A. (Eds.). Flow at Work. Measurement and Implications. Current issues in work and organizational psychology. pp. 176-189
Warren, S. (2010). What's Wrong with Being Positive? In Linley, P.A. et al. (Eds.). Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology at Work. Oxford. 2010. pp. 313-322
Additional selected cases and peer reviewed articles will be uploaded on Canvas
Field Studies
Clowning and Caring: Field Study meeting with Stephanie Deideu from Danske Hospitalsklovne
Exploring Team Flow
Mindfulness
Guest Lecturers
TBA
Approach to Teaching
The teaching in this course is based on experiential learning, so students will participate actively in exercises, reflection, presentations, discussion in class and on canvas as described below:
Expectations of the Students
In this course, each one of us has the equal and unique responsibility to facilitate the most optimal learning outcomes.
Students are expected to:
- complete all reading assignments prior to coming to class
- contribute actively in a constructive manner to class discussions and team activities
- be punctual and attend all classes; missing classes without a legitimate excuse will result in a lower final grade
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated on their participation in class, on individual papers, and on student team assignments and research presentations. Emphasis in evaluation is on active and constructive engagement with the subject and with the rest of the class. Creativity and critical academic reflection is highly valued in your written work as well as in class.
In your papers I expect you to use high quality, credible and relevant sources and to cite all your sources in your text using APA style references. Please make sure that all statements and claims are supported by academic references.
Grading
|
Methods of Evaluation |
How
|
Percentage |
| Engaged participation | Individual | 20% |
| Research presentation incl. documentary video | Team/individual | 25% |
| Students as Leaders: Putting Theory and Research into Action | Team | 25% |
|
Case: Designing an evidence based positive organizational psychology intervention strategy to improve the effectiveness and quality of life in an organization |
Individual | 30% |
Engaged participation
Your attendance and active participation are essential in all aspects of this course including: class sessions, course-related field studies, engagement in class discussions, team work, and general contribution to the progress of the class. In addition to discussion classes, Research Presentations and Experiential Work Sessions with Students as Leaders, class meetings will involve lectures and experiential learning activities, movies, and guest speakers. Please be aware that the comments and discussion questions you create based on the assigned readings must be up on Canvas no later than 10:00 am.
Team Project 1: Research Presentation (25%)
In a team with your fellow classmates (teams of two-three students) you will present and lead a discussion on a research related to the topic you are presenting. At the beginning of the course we will form the presentation teams and allocate the weeks/topics to the teams.
The presentation team will summarize and present the research findings and lead a discussion about the important findings, especially in relation to implications for employees, leaders, and organizations.
Each presentation must include:
-
Summary of research and findings
-
Outline of the elements of the research
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Class discussion about the findings and their implications in relation to employees, leaders, and organizations
Presentations will be 25 minutes (including discussion).
Presentation Objectives:
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Find, analyze, and apply a relevant research article to the topic of the week and discussions
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Deliver a concrete and engaging review of material to the class
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Direct and support the class discussion
-
Develop and refine teamwork skills
Team project 2: Students as Leaders: Putting Theory and Research into Action (25%)
How can leaders use the theoretical frameworks and research findings within the field of positive organizational psychology to create and promote positive change? At the beginning of the course we will form the Students as Leaders teams (teams of two-three students) and allocate the topics.
This facilitated in-class activity will be 45 minutes, including a wrap-up discussion.
Each team will:
- Prepare, create, and organize an activity in the form of a practical application of theory and research related to the specific topic of the week
- Introduce the class to your activity and explain it with theory including relevant research findings
- Guide the class through your activity
- Facilitate a wrap-up discussion focusing on deepening the learning about the topic and the practical implications
Case assignment: Intervention design (minimum 22 slides incl. notes and excluding cover & reference slide pages. (30%)
Due: e-mail to gvo@dis.dk before 22:00
Based on a specific case analysis, students will use theory and research findings to design an evidence based intervention strategy to improve the effectiveness and quality of life in an organization.
(More specific instructions will be uploaded on Canvas)
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
Class room policies
Late papers will not be accepted and the use of laptops or phones in class is not allowed.
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Course Summary:
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