Organizational Behavior Programs: Elective Courses
- Organizational Development
- Power Strategies
- Human Resource Planning
- Strategies for Change
- Organizational Assessments
Organizational behavior students who are looking for the most popular electives in a master’s program have landed on the right page! To complete a program in organizational behavior, students will be required to complete several elective courses in addition to their program-related coursework. These courses should ideally be selected according to the type of position that students will want to acquire after graduation. And while there are typically many choices available, five of the most popular choices are described below.
Related Resource: 50 Most Affordable Master’s in Organizational Behavior Degree Programs
1. Organizational Development
One popular elective in organizational behavior programs is Organizational Development. This course focuses on teaching students effective ways to create and maintain stress-free work environments. Students will also learn how stress can affect productivity in businesses. Other topics that are examined in this course include the employee learning process, employee participation, theories and practices of change in organizations, monitoring success, and organization development interventions. A somewhat large portion of the class is dedicated to teaching students how to plan, implement, and assess programs of change.
2. Power Strategies
An elective that is great for organizational behavior majors who would like to acquire leadership positions after graduation is Power Strategies. For leaders to be effective in organizations, they must possess a certain amount of power. But just how much power is enough, and how much is too much? This course answers these questions and many more. During the duration of this course, students will examine theories behind power, measures of power, and how staff members view power as well as how they react to it. Upon completing the course, students will understand how power can affect such things as motivation, organizational climate, and interpersonal communications.
3. Human Resource Planning
Organization behavior graduates who would like to work in human resources after graduation may want to consider completing the elective that is known as Human Resource Planning. Positions in human resources are currently growing at a rate of nine percent according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the average salary for HR professionals in 2017 was just over $110,000 per year. Areas of study in this class include strategic human resource planning, HR recruitment, training and development programs, managing employee relations, compensation, affirmative action, and other employment laws and regulations.
4. Strategies for Change
Another terrific elective that is perfect for organizational behavior majors who are interested in leadership is known as Strategies for Change. The main focus of this course is to teach students how to handle change in business environments. Other topics that students will explore during the class are developing and implementing change effectively, overcoming employees’ resistance to change, selecting change methods and processes, and developing diagnostic skills to promote change. Obstacles to change, change agents, political issues relating to change, and employee involvement are also examined during the course.
5. Organizational Assessments
Organizational Assessments is a terrific elective for organizational behavior students who would like to obtain positions in consumer research, marketing, or business consulting after earning their degrees. This is a research-based course that explores such topics as theories of organizational research and assessments, common models of organizational assessments, organizational assessment and research tools, and assessments in diagnostic interventions. During the course, students will use what they learn to complete a variety of individual and group projects.
To earn a degree in organizational behavior, students will be required to complete a variety of program-related and elective courses. For students who are looking for some of the most popular electives in an organizational behavior program, the courses described above can help them earn the credits they need for their degrees.
