THE ROLE OF

PSYCHOLOGY IN B Y P R O F. S H I L PA

MANAGEMENT G A U R B H A R G AVA

EDUCATION
 It Can Promote:

• Self awareness.
WHY HAVE
PSYCHOLOGY • Understanding the basis of behavior of people
IN THE (as workers, subordinates, clients, customers).
BUSINESS • Understanding the bases of decisions affecting
CURRICULUM? work organization.

• Understanding the bases of decisions affecting

the relationships among organizations.
 The Individual as the Focus:
WHAT • Models of individual judgment and decision making
CONSTITUTES • Models of impression formation and impression
USEFUL management
KNOWLEDGE • Models of (emotional) self regulation

FOR THE • Models of (social) learning and (workplace) adjustment

• Models of individual performance
BUSINESS • Models of social influence
STUDENT? • Models of interpersonal conflict
 The collective as the focus:
• Models of group or team processes

WHAT • Models of emerging influence

• Models of group and team performance
CONSTITUTES • Models of socialization/social learning
USEFUL • Models of social-categorization and social identity
KNOWLEDGE? • Models of leadership
• Models of intra and inter-group conflict
• Models of nested systems (multilevel models)
 WHAT ARE SOME CHALLENGES OF TEACHING
PSYCHOLOGY IN BUSINESS SCHOOLS?
• Finding opportunities for exposure in a crowded curriculum
• Overcoming (naïve – showing lack of experience, wisdom or judgement) resistance (of
students/faculty)
• Staff availability and qualifications
• Moving from “awareness” to skill acquisition to performance (and the important role of practice
with feedback)
• Assessment and the assurance of learning and performance
• Translating methods of research to methods (skills) in critical thinking, inductive and deductive
reasoning.
• Translating a Psych preference for empirical evidence into a habit of “evidence based management
 WHAT ARE SOME INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS OF
TEACHING PSYCHOLOGY IN BUSINESS SCHOOLS?

• Social science faculty hired in business schools must adjust to a “demand” vs.
“supply” perspective.
• Psychologists are often seen as “outsiders” by sub-groups of business school
faculty.
• Business curriculum requirements for content coverage often preclude adequate
time for student skill development.
• Class sizes often too large for appropriate pedagogy
• Facilities not designed for pedagogy (small rooms needed for skills building) •
General education courses not geared to the career needs of majority of students.
 WHAT ARE SOME INSTITUTIONAL
OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEACHING PSYCHOLOGY IN
BUSINESS SCHOOLS?
• Faculty shortage in business disciplines offers employment options for
Psychologists.
• Psychology can rightly claim expertise in human development, learning,
performance management -they can take the lead in directing these core functions
of universities.
• Psychology can rightly claim expertise in helping universities address key
problematics-program evaluation, competency modeling and assessment design.
• The models of psychology can help universities promote both personal and
professional development.
• Psychologists have a tradition of working well in interdisciplinary settings.
• Psychological theories and models can and do serve as the foundation for many
business relevant phenomena-worker behavior, consumer behavior, leader behavior.
ON BALANCE:

• Psychology must be an
• Some psychologists • Collectively we, as
indispensable
are key players in psychologists, can do
component of
contemporary business more to insure that we
contemporary business
education in the world will be seen a relevant
education in the world
today. well into the future.
today.
 TOP REASONS TO STUDY PSYCHOLOGY
1.You Learn Why People Can Act Strangely –
People are fascinating creatures! We all enjoy learning about the crazy things people do. This is what makes psychology,
especially social psychology, fascinating. For instance, you will learn about the bystander effect (states that individual
are less likely to offer help to a victim when there are other people present, which explains why you are more likely to
be helped when one person sees or hears you in your hour of need than when a large group is watching
2. You Learn to Do Research –
Studying at university is cool because you learn academic skills. As a result, you end up with a more critical attitude,
and you do not believe everything published or broadcast. And at one time or another, you'll get to do research about a
topic of personal interest.
One of the most important tools that a psychologist has to his disposal is research. Research provides insight into human
behavior, provided the psychologist makes use of scientific methods.
3. You Learn About Mental Disorders and Treatment Options –
Many psychologists also deal with mental disorders and options for their
treatment. Mental disorders are many and can have a debilitating (weak) effect on
people's lives. Fortunately, various psychological treatments have been developed
for many mental issues. Best practices have been written down in treatment and
diagnosis protocols.
The prospect of being able to help others in their struggle to live a "normal" life
appeals to many students.

4. You Gain Insight Into People's Behavior –

Doing, thinking, feeling, and acting—as a student of psychology, you will get to
study all aspects of human behavior. You will learn not only about the general
characteristics of human behavior, but also about the differences.
What drives people? And how can you influence human behavior? These two
questions are central to the practice. Examples of questions psychologists address
include:

• How do people react to stress?

• Do athletes perform better after mental training?
• What is love, anyway?
• Why does one child perform better in school than the other?
• How is it that some of us are friendly and relaxed while others are often tense or
stressed out?
OBJECTIVES

• To understand how to manage change, stress and personal

problems.
• To understand how to work with a diverse group of people.
• To understand how to conduct conflict resolution and the
importance of effective confrontation skills.
• To understand the importance of ethics in the workplace.
• To identify effective leadership styles and the importance of
leadership and what make someone a successful leader.
• To learn how to identify skills, motivate, develop and
persuade others.
THANK YOU