Course Overview

To fulfill the leadership component of LeADERS, I took Organizational Psychology (PSYC 345) during the fall semester of 2021. My instructor was Dr. Konstantin Cigularov and Christina Ju, a doctoral student, was the teaching assistant.

PSYC 345 expands upon the content of two cross-curricular disciplines, Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior. This course examines human behavior in workplace settings and organizations. PSYC 345 explores the different behaviors which can influences employees, teams, and organizational development and productivity. Some topics include diversity, leadership, motivation, and organizational change. Some activities of PSYC 345 include discussion boards, journals, quizzes, mind-mapping assignments, personal inventory assessments, and organizational case incidents.

My Work Samples

Midterm Mind-Map

Mind-Maps were one of my favorite assignments. These assessments were substituted for traditional examinations. The Mind-Map above was completed for my midterm. The purpose of this assignment was for me to showcase my knowledge of the course content discussed in modules one to six. The prompt was to exhibit my version of what the best workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic conditions looks like. The main topics that must be covered on the Mind-Map include workplace characteristics, management practices, and organizational policies. Finding related course content for each main topic was the equivalent of giving recommendations to organizations on how they can effectively operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the Final Mind-Map, completed during finals week, I expanded upon my previous Mind-Map by incorporating more course content from other modules.

Final Mind-Map

Reflection

Overall, I had a great experience in this course! I further developed my skills in the areas of planning, organizing, and prioritizing work; making decisions and problem solving; obtaining and processing information; communicating verbally;  and demonstrating technical knowledge. These skills helped me in my leadership positions and academic experiences. I also further developed my interpersonal skills which is important as I interact with others verbally and nonverbally on a daily basis. My greatest takeaway from this course is learning how human behaviors impacts individuals, teams, and organizations.