The course offers a systematic overview on the emerging discipline of Organizational Neuroscience (ON), an interdisciplinary field that combines neuroscience, psychology, organizational behaviour, business organization, and management to explore how brain functions, cognitive processes, and neurological mechanisms may influence human behaviour within workplaces and organizations. The course will address the neural underpinnings of behavior at both the individual (micro), group (meso) and organizational (macro) level of analysis.

Satisfies "Psychobiology Area" or "Sociocultural Area" core course requirements for Psychological Science majors.

Through a combination of lectures, class discussions, group activities, and case studies, students will be first introduced to the principles of organization science. They will then explore various aspects of organizational life (e.g., motivation, leadership, team processes, entrepreneurship, organizational change) in terms of their underlying neurobiology. Ethical considerations will also be explored, along with good practices to lead ON projects.

·     Understand the foundation of organizational theory and how to relate neuroscience principles to organizational behavior. (LOS1)

·      Analyze the neural basis of organizational life, from the individual to the organizational level of analysis. (LOS 1)

·      Evaluate the application of neuroscientific methods to understanding real-world organizational challenges and management practices. (LOS 2)

·      Exhibit effective presentation skills and teamwork capacity (LOS 3 & 5) 

Attendance is mandatory (no more than five unjustified absences are allowed).

Examination policy

You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed.

Week 1 - Introduction and overview of the course

Overview on organization science and introduction to Organizational Neuroscience

Suggested readings:

Becker, W. J., Cropanzano, R., & Sanfey, A. G. (2011). Organizational neuroscience: Taking organizational theory inside the neural black box. Journal of Management, 37(4), 933-961.

Available at: https://www.siopsa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2011-Becker-Organizational-neuroscience-taking-organizational-theory-inside-the-neural-black-box.pdf

Week 2 - Neuroscience: Theory and methods

Overview of the nervous system. Imaging: fMRI EEG, Eye Tracking, EDA, HRV and other methods.

Suggested Readings:

From p. 89 to p. 102, of Hall C.N. (Ed.) (2023). Introduction to Biological Psychology, University of Sussex Library.

Available at: https://openpress.sussex.ac.uk/introductiontobiologicalpsychology/

Massaro, S., & Baljević, D. (2022). Organizational Neuroscience. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management.

Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358623629_Organizational_Neuroscience

Week 3 - Individual and group behavior

Individual behavior (micro-level of analysis) and team processes (meso-level of analysis)

Suggested Readings:

Chapters 2 and 9, of Organizational behavior (2019), OpenStax College.

Available at: https://openstax.org/details/books/organizational-behavior

Week 4 - Organizational behavior

Organizational behavior (macro-level of analysis). Good practices for Organizational Neuroscience projects, neuro-ethics

Suggested Readings:

Chapter 16, of Organizational behavior (2019), OpenStax College.

Available at: https://openstax.org/details/books/organizational-behavior

Week 5 - Neural basis of individual behavior

Individual differences

Suggested Readings:

Markett S, Montag C, Reuter M. (2018). Network Neuroscience and Personality. Personality Neuroscience. Vol 1: e14, 1–14.

Available at:  https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/139572EBAC8018952B86738A513401C8/S2513988618000123a.pdf/div-class-title-network-neuroscience-and-personality-div.pdf

Week 6 - Affect and cognition in decision-making

Individual decision-making and dual process theory

Suggested Readings:

Cristofaro, M., Giardino, P. L., Malizia, A. P., & Mastrogiorgio, A. (2022). Affect and cognition in managerial decision making: A systematic literature review of neuroscience evidence. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 762993.

Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.762993/full

Week 7 - Review and Exam

Week 8 - Neuroleadership

Neural basis of leadership

Suggested Readings:

Waldman, D. A., Balthazard, P. A., & Peterson, S. J. (2011). Social cognitive neuroscience and leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(6), 1092-1106.

Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984311001524?casa_token=gZIM962p_j0AAAAA:dQalpBIwJrRBksom1pY2JNp1KMtgfiLaad-m4X_tN7ojQ6RHJSivYDkm-XOa4GJb4exTtPgOWA

Week 9 - Neuroscience and team processes

Neural bases of emerging processes in team dynamics

Suggested Readings:

Wang, D., Waldman, D. A., Balthazard, P. A., Stikic, M., Pless, N. M., Maak, T., ... & Richardson, T. (2021). Applying neuroscience to emergent processes in teams. Organizational Research Methods, 24(3), 595-615.

Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1094428120915516?casa_token=SiuN_sEWn5oAAAAA:by3jCUJCLOVqbeU04XafPBK72ngMFF4v8WmbMorezvv813gUY3bgqv3f6CYUMTO8DvqW8VPHRo8B

Week 10 - Neuroentrepreneurship

Neural bases of entrepreneurial behavior

Suggested Readings:

Cucino, V., Passarelli, M., Di Minin, A., & Cariola, A. (2021). Neuroscience approach for management and entrepreneurship: a bibliometric analysis. European Journal of Innovation Management, 25(6), 295-319.

Available at: EJIM-01-2021-0015_proof 295..319 (emerald.com)

Week 11 - Organizational learning

Neural bases of exploration and exploitation

Suggested Readings:

Laureiro-Martínez, D., Brusoni, S., & Zollo, M. (2010). The neuroscientific foundations of the exploration− exploitation dilemma. Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, 3(2), 95-115.

Available at: The_Neuroscientific_Foundations_of_the_E20161111-31547-ihcv8u-libre.pdf (d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net)

Week 12 - Guest Speaker

Week 13 - Future directions of Organizational Neuroscience

Promises and perils of Organizational Neuroscience

Suggested Readings:

Cropanzano, R., & Becker, W. J. (2013). The promise and peril of organizational neuroscience: Today and tomorrow. Journal of Management Inquiry, 22(3), 306-310.

Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Russell-Cropanzano/publication/258153473_The_Promise_and_Peril_of_Organizational_Neuroscience_Today_and_Tomorrow/links/0f317533b7730b08ff000000/The-Promise-and-Peril-of-Organizational-Neuroscience-Today-and-Tomorrow.pdf

Week 14 - Review and Final Exam

Finals Week - Team Project presentations