Organizations and Psychology in the International Context

Presentation

Current challenges to organisations posed by globalisation, information flows, internationalisation of organisations, and free movement of workers in the European space can, on the one hand, open up competitive advantages for businesses and professionals, but translate, on the other hand, into difficulties associated to the confrontation between different cultural patterns and uprooting of workers from their own culture. Thus, cultural diversity in organisations and between organisations may be an added value, but only if it is well-managed.

Part of this Programme

Social and Organizational Psychology

Level of Qualification|Semesters|ECTS

| Semestral | 5

Year | Type of course unit | Language

1 |Mandatory |Português

Code

ULHT1705-14596

Recommended complementary curricular units

not applicable

Prerequisites and co-requisites

n/a

Professional Internship

Não

Syllabus

1. Society and globalisation

1. Concept of  globalisation
2. Migration and acculturation
3. Intercultural communication

1. Foundations of the relation between organisations and culture

1. Culture and organisation: national cultures and organisational cultures
2. Cultural values and cultural model
3. Cultural dimensions and implication for the organizations

1. The psychologist in an international context

1. Global and Individual measures
2. Culture training
3. Cultural values and leadership
4. Other impacts of cultural aspects: work teams, gender issues, values and ethics

Objectives

This CU has the objective of making students able to apply work psychology to international and multicultural contexts.

On completion of the course, students should be able to:

• Introduce and frame the problem of globalised society
• Describe what culture is and how this influences relations between people in an organisational context
• Describe the main processes of cultural transition
• Explain the application of psychology to the analysis of psychological problems in the diverse fields of international relations
• Apply knowledge gained to the analysis of psychological problems of actors in international relations, in different organizational contexts 
• Suggest forms of intervention in the management of cultural diversity within organizations as well as in the integration of expatriates.

Teaching methodologies and assessment

The CU adopts a methodology based on classroom discussion of practical case studies, together with the exploration of papers in which theoretical concepts and empirical examples that frame the analysis of those cases are presented. Students shall read materials for this autonomously and should, in at least one of the case studies, suggest forms of intervention. Continuous evaluation consists of: a) one group assignment with classroom presentation (20%), b) one individual report on the group assignment (30%) and c) one written test (50%). Students must also participate in 70% of classes. Students who fail continuous assessment have recourse to a final exam on all points of the syllabus. Students must obtain a minimum grade of 10 to pass.

References

• Berry, J. W., Poortinga, Y. H., Brengelmaus, S. M., Athanasios (2011). Cross-cultural psychology: Research and applications. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications.

• Finuras, P. (2011). Gestão intercultural: Pessoas e carreiras na era da globalização. Lisboa: Edições Sílabo.

• Friedman, G. ( 2012). A próxima década. Onde temos estado e para onde nos dirigimos. Lisboa: D. Quixote.

• Hofstede, G.J., Pedersen, P.B., Hofstede, G. (2002). Exploring culture. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultrual Press.
• Silverthorne, C. (2005). Organizational psychology in cross-cultural perspective. New York: New York University Press.

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