Contemporary Issues in OB and HRM

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Business and Management, HRM & OB

English

5 ECTS

The course aims to introduce students to the leading concepts and current research discussions in Organizational Behavior (OB) and Human Resource Management (HRM) fields of studies with a particular focus on those that are shaped by and relevant to the contemporary societal changes, developments, and global challenges.

The course is structured as a five-week course, where each week is dedicated to a discussion on one of the following society-relevant topics and how OB and HRM research addresses them:

Leading Innovation – understanding theory and evidence on how leadership can foster innovation in organizations
Meaningfulness and Sustainability – current research considering the importance of individual and organizational purpose, responsible organizational policies and practices and their impact on individuals in organizations;
Careers and Employbaility – employees’ contemporary career attitudes and behaviors, sustainable careers; career mobility and employability.
Workforce Diversity and Inclusive HRM – multifaceted understanding of how HRM addressed diversity (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, etc.) and stimulates inclusion in organizations.
New Ways of Working – individuals working in teams under ‘new normal’ conditions, and how the introduction of AI changes how we work.

Prof. dr. Svetlana Khapova is a full-professor of Organisational Behaviour at the School of Business and Economics (SBE) of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She is Head of Department - Management & Organisation, and Head of Section - HRM/OB.

Between 2009-2017, she served as a founding Director of Amsterdam Business Research Institute (ABRI). ABRI caters for doctoral education in management and organisation studies at VU. She also served as Director of Doctoral Education between 2009-2015. Since 2013, she is Director of the part-time PhD programme in Business Studies. Her research focuses on the link between careers and institutions. Topics:

Individual careers as a resource for innovation
Employees who take initiative to make changes
Nascent entrepreneurs who make their careers successful
Board members who define the future of their firms

View the profile of Svetlana Khapova

Dr. Evgenia Lysova is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the department of Management and Organization, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her work has been published in the international peer-reviewed journals such as Human Relations, Personeel Psychology, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Frontiers in Psychology, and Career Development International. She was a lead author of the article “The role of the spouse in managers’ family-related career sensemaking” that has received Emerald Literati Network Award for Excellence 2016: Outstanding Paper. In 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018, Dr. Lysova received the Best Reviewer Award from the Careers Division of the Academy of Management.

Research profile

Course Description & Study Characteristics

Course Description

Upon completion of the course, students will:

• Develop an understanding of issues addressed by OB and HRM field of studies;

• Develop an understanding of how OB and HRM research can address societal changes, developments, and challenges;

• Acquire the latest knowledge on how individuals, teams/groups, structure/context, and organizational policies/practices impact individual experiences and behaviors in organizations;

• Develop reflective and critical skills in understanding the role of OB and HRM in the productive and healthy functioning of individuals and organizations;

• Develop the ability to discuss and utilize current theories and research in the field of OB and HRM.

Please download a preliminary version of the course manual here.

Study Characteristics

Study period: March 2025 – May 2025 (Period 5)
Credits: 5 ECTS
Tuition fee: €1250 (20% discount for early bird registration)
Registration deadline: 17-03-2025 (early bird registration: 24-02-2025)
Recommendation: This is an ideal course for first year students.
Assessment: For each of the sessions, students will be asked to write a blog input guided by a learning question from the instructor that would serve as a basis for the class discussion (30%). At the end of the seminar, students will be given a take-home assignment in the form of an essay (70%).

Course Description & Study Characteristics
Course Description

Upon completion of the course, students will:
• Develop an understanding of issues addressed by OB and HRM field of studies;
• Develop an understanding of how OB and HRM research can address societal changes, developments, and challenges;
• Acquire the latest knowledge on how individuals, teams/groups, structure/context, and organizational policies/practices impact individual experiences and behaviors in organizations;
• Develop reflective and critical skills in understanding the role of OB and HRM in the productive and healthy functioning of individuals and organizations;
• Develop the ability to discuss and utilize current theories and research in the field of OB and HRM.
Please download a preliminary version of the course manual here.

Study Characteristics
Study period: March 2025 – May 2025 (Period 5)

Credits: 5 ECTS

Tuition fee: €1250 (20% discount for early bird registration)

Registration deadline: 17-03-2025 (early bird registration: 24-02-2025)

Recommendation: This is an ideal course for first year students.

Assessment: For each of the sessions, students will be asked to write a blog input guided by a learning question from the instructor that would serve as a basis for the class discussion (30%). At the end of the seminar, students will be given a take-home assignment in the form of an essay (70%).

Please register with the Apply Now button at the top of this page. For more information please contact the course coordinator Dr. Evgenia Lysova:

e.lysova@vu.nl

Contemporary Issues in OB and HRM

Prof. dr. Svetlana Khapova

Prof. dr. Svetlana Khapova

Evgenia I. Lysova

Evgenia I. Lysova

Course Description & Study Characteristics

Study Characteristics

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