The Moral Organisation

About

This interactive course on (im)moral behaviour in organizations will help students understand why (people in) organizations often have good intentions to act in a societally responsible way but are frequently unable to act upon them.

Scandals in public and private organizations are an everyday occurrence. Money laundering by banks, sexual abuse by employees of NGOs, and the marketing of unsafe products, are just a few of the reoccurring events that harm society. At the same time, many organizations are undertaking corporate social responsibility activities, with the clear intention to contribute positively to society. It is important for both scientists and the general public to better understand why organizations often want to act morally, yet fail to do so, and why others could be regarded as exemplary organizations.

We will discuss insights from moral psychology, grounded in Social Identity Theory (SIT), to explain (im)moral behaviour in and by organizations. SIT argues that individuals derive their identity from (ideally positive) group memberships and that their behaviour usually follows from their self-definition as group members. For most people, the organization they work for is a very important 'group', with which they can identify, and which contributes to their self-image.

Our students will learn that many issues regarding (im)moral behaviour in and 'by' organizations stem from high levels of identification with the organization, leading to a disregard for societal outcomes, sometimes even leading to negative outcomes for their own organization. They will also learn to understand how organizations may change - or can be helped to change - to avoid such detrimental outcomes and become a moral organization

Our interactive course teaches students the latest insights into moral behaviour in and by organizations, through interactive lectures, video clips, short cases, discussion sessions and in-class team assignments. Guest lectures by experts from organizations that have a special interest in moral behaviour or visits to an organization may also be part of the program.

Course leader

Dr. Dick de Gilder

Target group

Advanced 3rd year Bachelor's students, as well as Master's students and PhD candidates are allowed to participate. The course will be most useful for students with a background in social sciences, psychology, business, and economics.

Course aim

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

- Understand the intricacies of moral behaviour in organisations;
- Understand the moral dilemma's in organisations and contribute to ways of dealing with them;
- Present their analysis of a moral organisational issue in a short essay and video.

Fee info

Students, PhD candidates and employees of VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC or an Aurora Network Partner €545 Students and PhD candidates at partner universities of VU Amsterdam €705 Students and PhD candidates at non-partner universities of VU Amsterdam €815 Professionals €1035