Teaching at the Chair of Organizational Behavior
Companies and employees influence each other: on the one hand, the behaviour of people in organisations is decisive for the success of the company, while on the other hand, the working relationship has a significant impact on the well-being of employees. Organisational behaviour is therefore interdisciplinary, drawing on economic, sociological and psychological theories. It is also empirically orientated, i.e. explanatory approaches are tested on the basis of empirical data using statistical methods.
In our courses, we teach theoretical and methodological foundations in the field of organisational behaviour. Students should learn how to systematically analyse specific problems, make current research findings usable in practice and develop solutions for corporate practice on this basis. In addition, students should be trained to critically analyse management tools and concepts.
We use various forms of teaching and examination. Students are encouraged to actively participate in the learning process, critically scrutinise content and apply newly acquired knowledge. To this end, we combine lectures, exercises (e.g. in the form of business games or the application of empirical methods) and structured self-study. Guest lectures and case studies also provide insights into business practice.
Teaching programme
Bachelor's degree
| Module no. | Module name | Semester | ECTS | Responsible/ additional lecturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M.184.2157 | Case studies on organisational behaviour | winter/summer semester | 5 | Prof. Dr. Kirsten Thommes |
| M.184.2159 | Fundamentals of scientific work for research projects | winter and summer semester | 5 | Prof. Dr. Kirsten Thommes/ Thorsten Auer |
| M.184.3152 | Organisational Behaviour | summer semester | 10 | Prof. Dr. Kirsten Thommes/ Thorsten Auer/ Miro Mehic |
| Module no. | Module name | Semester | ECTS | Person responsible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M.184.6153 | Field Experiments | summer semester | 5 | Prof. Dr. Kirsten Thommes |
| M.184.6154 | Doctoral colloquium Organisational Behavior | winter / summer semester | 5 | Prof. Dr. Kirsten Thommes |
| M.184.6176 | Communicating Research | winter semester / summer semester | 5 | Prof. Dr Wendelin Schnedler; Prof. Dr Kirsten Thommes |
Department-specific study programmes
Final theses
At the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, the allocation of theses is organised via a central web-based registration procedure.
This system does not replace the official examination registration, but initially serves to allocate theses within the four participating departments. The assignment of students to their supervisors takes about 1 - 1 ½ months. You will then be informed by email about your acceptance and contact person. The official registration of your thesis will only take place afterwards via the chair.
If you have any organisational questions about the central registration procedure, you can contact abschlussarbeiten[at]wiwi.upb.de. Please note that the information regarding your assignment will be sent to your IMT e-mail address.
Registration for theses in the winter semester 2023/2024 is possible from 19 June to 30 June 2023 on the following page.
If you would like to write your Bachelor's thesis with us, you can choose one of the given research topics, on which you should then write an empirical or literature-based thesis. You can find an overview of the topics in the document linked at the end of this section.
As a Master 's candidate, you can at our chair
- choose one of the topics provided by the chair,
- submit your own proposal that matches the topics of the chair,
- or carry out a relevant practical project in a company.
Please indicate your preferred topic( s) in your application. For applications with your own topic, please submit a short synopsis of your topic. If you are accepted by the chair, please arrange a consultation appointment with the assigned supervisor as soon as possible.
Information on procedure & topics
Special features of the Chair of Organizational Behavior
For Bachelor's and Master's theses, the latest time for registration is the second week of November/April.
To register, you must submit the completed and printed registration form from PAUL to us at the chair (secretary's office or post office box).
We will inform you of the introduction procedure and all other components of our supervision concept as soon as your thesis has been accepted by our department (see supervision concept and additional module).
Choice of subject
In your application, please give a clear indication of your preferred topics, which we have called for proposals for the respective semester on this page. Please also include a short description with 2-3 paragraphs for each topic, indicating the possible motivation (from an academic rather than a personal perspective) for the topic.
For applications for your own proposed topic or a practical project for Master's theses, please submit a short exposé with a research question and possible research methodology for your proposed topic.
If you are accepted at the chair, please arrange a consultation appointment with the assigned supervisor as soon as possible.
If you are writing a thesis at our department, we will register you via PAUL for the additional module Fundamentals of Scientific Work for Research Projects(M.184.2159 for Bachelor and M.184.4159 for Master). The seminar is intended to familiarise you with the procedure for scientific work and thus support you in the preparation of your specific research work.
In preparation, you will continuously expand your exposé until you register. We will support you with the additional module and in personal meetings with the methodological approach and organisational matters. The exposé must be submitted once for checking and preparation of the subsequent presentation. After the presentation, the exposé should be finalised and submitted again before the thesis is registered. In this way, we want to create planning security for you and us and ensure a certain quality standard that will benefit you.
| Information on the allocation of supervision | WiSe: end of August, SoSe: beginning of March |
| Contact and topic agreement | Winter semester: By the end of September, Summer semester: By the end of March |
| Registration and access to the additional module | Winter semester: By the first week of October, Summer semester: By the first week of April |
| Submission of the first draft of the compulsory synopsis to the supervisor | WiSe: Third week in October, SoSe: Second week in April |
| Presentation of the interim results | Winter semester: First week of November, Summer semester: Penultimate week of April |
| Submission of the final exposé and official registration | Winter semester: Second week of November, Summer semester: Last week of April |
| Meetings with the supervisor | Spread over the semester by individual arrangement |
| Submission of the thesis | 3 months (BA)/ 6 months (MA) after registration |
A guide to the formal design of academic papers and a format template for your thesis, exposé and presentations at our chair can be found here. In general, we follow the APA guidelines for formatting and citation.
Vacancies
Become part of our team, either during your studies as a student assistant or research assistant with a Bachelor's degree or after your Master's degree as a research assistant. We also have good contacts in the business world and will inform you about current external calls for proposals