Gudela Grote: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2020

Name Prof. Dr. Gudela Grote
FieldWork and Organizational Psychology
Address
Arbeits-& Organisationspsychologie
ETH Zürich, WEV K 507
Weinbergstr. 56/58
8092 Zürich
SWITZERLAND
Telephone+41 44 632 70 86
Fax+41 44 632 11 86
E-mailggrote@ethz.ch
DepartmentManagement, Technology, and Economics
RelationshipFull Professor

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
351-0778-00LDiscovering Management
Entry level course in management for BSc, MSc and PHD students at all levels not belonging to D-MTEC. This course can be complemented with Discovering Management (Excercises) 351-0778-01.
3 credits3GB. Clarysse, S. Brusoni, S. Feuerriegel, G. Grote, V. Hoffmann, T. Netland, G. von Krogh
AbstractDiscovering Management offers an introduction to the field of business management and entrepreneurship for engineers and natural scientists. The module provides an overview of the principles of management, teaches knowledge about management that is highly complementary to the students' technical knowledge, and provides a basis for advancing the knowledge of the various subjects offered at D-MTEC.
ObjectiveDiscovering Management combines in an innovate format a set of theory lectures and a series of case studies. The learning model for Discovering Management involves 'learning by doing'. The objective is to introduce the students to the relevant topics of the management literature and give them a good introduction in entrepreneurship topics too. The course is a series of lectures on the topics of strategy, innovation, leadership, productions and operations management and corporate social responsibility. While the different theory lectures provide the theoretical and conceptual foundations, the experiential learning outcomes result from the case studies.
ContentDiscovering Management aims to broaden the students' understanding of the principles of business management, emphasizing the interdependence of various topics in the development and management of a firm. The lectures introduce students not only to topics relevant for managing large corporations, but also touch upon the different aspects of starting up your own venture. The lectures will be presented by the respective area specialists at D-MTEC.
The course broadens the view and understanding of technology by linking it with its commercial applications and with society. The lectures are designed to introduce students to topics related to strategy, corporate innovation, leadership, value chain analysis, corporate social responsibility, and information management. Practical examples from case studies will stimulate the students to critically assess these issues.
Prerequisites / NoticeDiscovering Management is designed to suit the needs and expectations of Bachelor students at all levels as well as Master and PhD students not belonging to D-MTEC. By providing an overview of Business Management, this course is an ideal enrichment of the standard curriculum at ETH Zurich.
No prior knowledge of business or economics is required to successfully complete this course.
363-0301-00LWork Design and Organizational Change Information 3 credits2GG. Grote
AbstractGood work design is crucial for individual and company effectiveness and a core element to be considered in organizational change. Meaning of work, organization-technology interaction, and uncertainty management are discussed with respect to work design and sustainable organizational change. As course project, students learn and apply a method for analyzing and designing work in business settings.
ObjectiveThe purpose of this lecture is to introduce the high relevance of work design for employee well-being and satisfaction as well as for individual and company performance and to present and discuss different approaches to bringing about the necessary changes in organizations.

Specific learning objectives are the following:
- Know effects of work design on competence, motivation, and well-being
- Understand links between design of individual jobs and work processes
- Know basic processes involved in systematic organizational change
- Understand the interaction between organization and technology and its impact on organizational change
- Understand relevance of work design for company performance and strategy
- Know and apply methods for analyzing and designing work

In the first part of the lecture, criteria for good work design and the empirical evidence for their impact on individuals and organizations are presented and discussed.

In the second part of the lecture, organizational change is discussed, both based on research as well as many company examples. In this part, several guest lecturers from consulting companies present their approaches to helping organizations manage change. Moreover, the role of technology as a source and catalyst of change, such as in the current digital transformation, is examined.

In addition to the lectures, students will work on a project in small groups in which they will analyze a work system in a company according to a set pf criteria for good work design and develop a proposal for organizational change to improve work design.
ContentThe course is organized in a highly interactive fashion, where discussion in class is as important as the input by the lecturer. Understanding the dynamics in organizations is helped enormously by concrete examples, which will be provided by the lecturer, by talks by guest lecturers, and also the students themselves based on their prior expreience from working in cvarious roles (as employees, volunteers, student assistants etc.). Through class discussion we aim to deepen the understanding of the
themes covered in the course. The current changes in organizaions brought about by Covid-19 will also be an important example which allows to illustrate and discuss many of the key concepts of the course.

Specifically, the course will cover the following topics:
- Work design: From Adam Smith to job crafting
- Effects of work design on performance and well-being
- Approaches to analyzing and designing work
- Modes of organizational change and change methods
- Balancing stability and flexibility in organizations as design criterium
- The organization-technology interaction and its impact on work design and organizational change
- Example Flexible working arrangements (e.g. home office)
- Strategic choices for work design

All through the course, students will be guided to work on their projects also, with about 25% of class time devoted to the projects. In the final session, students will present the main results of their projects and discuss main insights also across projects.
Lecture notesSlides for the lecture and a set of readings that cover the different parts of the lecture will be provided.
LiteratureA list of readings will be provided at the beginning of the course.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course includes the completion of a course project to be conducted in groups of four students. The project entails applying a particular method for analyzing and designing work processes and is carried out by means of interviews and observations in companies chosen by the students.
363-0311-00LPsychological Aspects of Risk Management and Technology Information Restricted registration - show details
Number of participants limited to 65.
3 credits2VG. Grote, N. Bienefeld-Seall, J. Schmutz, R. Schneider, M. Zumbühl
AbstractUsing uncertainty management by organizations and individuals as conceptual framework, risk management and risk implications of new technologies are treated. Three components of risk management (risk identification/evaluation, risk mitigation, risk communication) and underlying psychological and organizational processes are discussed, using company case studies to promote in-depth understanding.
Objective- You know how risk and risk management is defined and applied in different industries
- You know the challenges of decision making under risk and uncertainty and its effects on organisations
- Know about and (partially) apply some risk management tools
- Gain some more in-depth knowledge in a selected field within risk management through the semester project (e.g. transport systems, IT, insurance)

This course consists of three main elements:

A) Attendance of lectures that provide the theoretical foundations of “Psychological Aspects of Risk Management and Technology” together with reading assignments for each lecture.

B) Attendance of guest lectures that provide a rich source of practical insights and enable the transfer of theory into practice by discussing real-life cases with experts from various industries.

C) Furthermore, this course enables you to apply what you have learned in the classroom into practice by participating in a group assignment in which you gain insights into various risk industries (e.g., aviation, healthcare, insurance) and topics (e.g., risks in cyber-attacks, mountaineering, autonomous vehicles). These projects help students understand key aspects through in-depth application of the course material on real-life topics. Each group project will be mentored and graded by one of the lecturers (70% of course grade). To round off the course at the end of the year, you will have the opportunity to present your group’s findings to the lecturers and to your peers (30% of course grade).
ContentThe course is organized into fourteen sessions. Sessions comprise a mixture of (guest) lectures, case discussions, and presentations. Through class discussion we will further deepen understanding of the topics and themes of the class. For each session you are required to prepare by reading the assigned literature or case material provided on the Moodle e-learning platform. Topics covered include:

- Elements of risk management:
o Risk identification and evaluation
o Risk mitigation
o Risk communication

- Psychological and organizational concepts relevant in risk management
o Decision-making under uncertainty
o Risk perception
o Resilient organizational processes for managing uncertainty

- Case studies on different elements of risk management (e.g., rule-making, training, managing project risks, automation)

- Group projects related to company case studies
Lecture notesThere is no scirpt, but slides will be made available before the lectures.
LiteratureThere are texts for each of the course topics made available before the lectures.
Prerequisites / NoticeThe course is restricted to 40 participants who will work closely with the lecturers on case studies prepared by the lecturers on topics relevant in their own companies (SWICA, SWISS, University Hospital Zurich).