Management skills

The general objective of the subject is to provide students with the basic competences related to an effective performance of the so-called "Management Skills" or "soft skills"; transversal, non-technical competences that will allow them to increase their employability and to respond, in an effective way, to many of the demands derived from the performance of their professional activities.

This general objective is implemented in the following specific objectives:

• To acquire a repertoire of knowledge and information about the main processes involved in the management of organizational behavior.

• To become aware of the importance of the human factor in the organization.

• To know in an introductory way methods, techniques, instruments, strategies and procedures of intervention on human behavior in organizations.

• To acquire habits of observation, analysis, understanding and interpretation of the problems on which he/she will have to intervene to contribute to their solution.

1. Effective communication in interpersonal relationships and in organizations.
1.1. Functions of communication.
1.2. Interpersonal communication in the organizations.
1.3. Formal organizational communication: internal communication flows in the organization.
1.4. Informal organizational communication.
1.5. Organizational communication networks.

2. Work motivation.
2.1. Motivation in the organizational context: Concept.
2.2. Content Theories of Motivation.
2.3. Process Theories of Motivation.
2.4. Application of the theoretical principles to HR management.

3. The decision making process.
3.1. Definition, problems, and conditions.
3.2. Normative models of decision making: The Economic Man.
3.3. Descriptive models of decision making: The Administrative Man.

4. Leadership and team management.
4.1. Organizational leadership.
4.2. Work teams.
4.3. Leadership and participation: Vroom and Yetton's model.

5. Conflict and conflict management strategies.
5.1. Organizational conflict: concept.
5.2. The conflict process.
5.3. Strategies for conflict management.
5.4. Negotiation.
5.5. Mediation and arbitration.

BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Robbins, S.P. y Judge, T.A. (2017). Comportamiento Organizacional (17ª ed.). Pearson. [CALL NO.: Q9 422 | Available as eBook]

- Robbins, S.P. y Judge, T.A. (2010). Introducción al Comportamiento Organizativo (10ª ed.). Pearson. [CALL NO.: PE 1136 | Available as eBook]


COMPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Albadalejo, M. (2007). La comunicación más allá de las palabras: Qué comunicamos cuando creemos que no comunicamos. Graó. [CALL NO.: 37 5888]

- Hargie, O., & Dickson, D. (2004). Skilled interpersonal communication: Research, Theory, and Practice (4th ed.). Routledge. [Available as eBook]

- Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., & Platow, M. J. (2020). The new psychology of leadership: Identity, influence, and power (2nd Ed.). Routledge. [CALL NO.: PS17 123]

- Gil, F. y Alcover, C.M. (Coords.) (2014). Introducción a la Psicología de las Organizaciones. Madrid: Alianza editorial. [CALL NO.: PS15 618 | Available as eBook]

- Gómez-Mejía, L., Balkin, D. y Cardy, R. (2008). Gestión de Recursos Humanos. Pearson-Prentice Hall. [CALL NO.: Q10 69]

- Luthans, F. (2008). Comportamiento Organizacional (11ª ed.). México: McGraw Hill. [CALL NO.: PS15 999]

- Munduate. L. y Medina, F.J. (2013). Gestión del conflicto, negociación y mediación. Madrid: Pirámide. [CALL NO.: PS14 2019 A | Available as eBook]

- Rees, W. D., & Porter, C. (2015). Skills of management and leadership: Managing people in organisations. Macmillan International Higher Education.

- Salas, E., Tannenbaum, S., Cohen, D., & Latham, G. (Eds.). (2013). Developing and enhancing teamwork in organizations: Evidence-based best practices and guidelines. John Wiley & Sons.

- Van-der Hofstadt, C. y Gómez, J. M. (2013). Competencias y habilidades profesionales para universitarios. Ediciones Díaz de Santos. [CALL NO.: EM 1192]


NOTE: At the same time, students will have different sections to support teaching and learning in the Virtual Campus, where they will find a wide range of tools and resources at their disposal.

BASIC COMPETENCES
CB6. Students should be able to possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity to be original in the development and/or application of ideas, often in a research context.

CB7. Students should be able to apply the acquired knowledge and problem-solving skills in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their area of study

CB8. Students should be able to integrate knowledge and face the complexity of making judgments based on information that, being incomplete or limited, includes reflections on the social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.

CB9. Students should be able to know how to communicate their conclusions and the ultimate knowledge and reasons that support them to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous way.

CB10. Students should be able to possess the learning skills that will allow them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.


GENERAL COMPETENCES
GC1. Students should be able to identify and state environmental problems.

GC6. Students should be able to manage and organize companies, as well as production and service systems, applying knowledge and skills of industrial organization, business strategy, commercial and labor legislation, financial and cost accounting.

GC7. Students should be able to lead and manage the organization of work and human resources applying criteria of industrial safety, quality management, occupational risk prevention, sustainability, and environmental management (best practices).


TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCES
CT1. Students should be able to develop skills associated with teamwork: cooperation, leadership, listening skills.

CT2. Students should be able to lead and define multidisciplinary teams capable of solving technical changes and managerial needs in national and international contexts.

CT7. Students should be able to master time management and critical situations.

CT8. Students should be able to acquire the ability for interpersonal relationships.


SPECIFIC COMPETENCES
CE7. Students should be able to lead and manage technically and economically projects, facilities, plants, companies and technological centers in the environmental process industry and related industrial sectors.

CE8. Students should be able to approach a real Environmental Engineering problem from a scientific and technical perspective, recognizing the importance of the search and management of the existing information and of the applicable legislation.

CE10. Students should be able to apply environmental management tools (environmental impact studies, life cycle analysis, industrial ecology, clean technologies, ISO standards, EMAS) when preparing reports or projects.

The subject contents will be taught through different types of teaching methodologies, namely:

1) Participative expository classes (lectures), which are oriented to the acquisition of knowledge related to the topics included in the program.

2) Seminars and interactive classes. Seminars have the purpose of deepening in some of the topics of the program through a more specialized treatment. On the other hand, interactive classes will be of two types: (a) "expressive" classes, oriented to experience and experimentally demonstrate some of the processes or effects previously explained; and, (b) "instrumental" classes, which aim to provide the students with the necessary professional competences to apply in real situations the skills treated at a theoretical level.

3) Tutorials, which involve a direct and face-to-face relationship, for continuous counseling and addressing in depth the theoretical contents exposed, the follow-up of the application of the practical contents included in the students' work, as well as answering doubts.

4) Assessment activities. The ongoing assessment activities, together with the tutorial sessions, are intended to provide feedback for students’ progress during the term. The end-of-term exam will assess the amount of knowledge acquired about the subject contents.

In addition, each student will have at his/her disposal, in the Virtual Campus of the USC, an e-classroom to support face-to-face teaching.

Remote teaching, if necessary, will be carried out through the Microsoft Teams platform.

The evaluation of the acquisition of skills and attitudes will be carried out continuously, based on attendance, participation and performance of students in the tasks scheduled throughout the semester (e.g., seminars, case studies, simulations, tutorials, etc.).

The evaluation of competencies related to the acquisition of the theoretical knowledge presented in the in-class sessions (expository and interactive), will be carried out through a double way: (1) A written exam (type "test"). All students enrolled in the subject must do so. And (2) a final group project, which will be evaluated according to its quality (e.g., structure, originality, viability, and quality of presentation).

The final mark of each student in this subject (maximum of 10.0 points) will result from the sum of the scores obtained in each of the proposed criteria, according to the following table of values:
- Continuous assessment activities: 2.0 points (CB6, CB7, CB8, CB9, CB10, CG1, CG7, CT1, CT2, CT7, CT8, CE10).
- Tutorials: 1.0 point (CB8, CB10, CG1, CT1, CT2, CE10).
- Consulting project: 4.0 points (CB7, CB8, CB9, CG6, CG7, CT1, CT2, CT7, CT8, CE7, CE8, CE10).
- End-of-term exam: 3.0 points (CB6, CB8, CB10, CG1, CT7, CE8).

The conditions of evaluation of the subject in the second opportunity and for repeaters will be the same as those set for the first opportunity. In the case of repeaters, the mark obtained in the continuous assessment will be kept for another academic year.

Students with dispensation of the attendance obligation will have the right to the teaching and the corresponding tutoring in a non-attendance way, according to the specificities of the subject. In order to verify the acquisition of the foreseen competences, they will have to periodically access the virtual campus and carry out the programmed continuous assessment, respecting the proposed calendar of activities.


NOTE: For cases of fraudulent performance of exercises or tests, the provisions of the Regulations for the evaluation of the academic performance of the students and the revision of grades will be applied.

Students are estimated to need a total of 75 hours to pass the subject (26 hours for in-class activities and the other 49 hours for out-of-class work), allocated as follows:

IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES:
- Lectures (12h).
- Specialized seminars (4h).
- Practical classes (6h).
- Tutorials (2h).
- Assesmente (End-of-term exam) (2h).
Total hours of in-class activities: 26 hours.


OUT-OF-CLASS ACTIVITIES:
- Reading and preparation of the expository classes (5h).
- Reading, analysis, and discussion (in group) of the materials for the interactive classes. Preparation of practical reports (25h).
- Preparation of tutorials (4h).
- Preparation of the End-of-term axam (15h).
Total hours of out-of-class activities: 49 hours.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Attending the lectures facilitates comprehension and acquisition of the subject contents; also, it provides students with a large number of practical examples of the theoretical contents as applied to diverse organizational contexts.

Attending the practical classes is essential to train basic skills and experiment with some of the models, techniques, and concepts necessary to be able to succesfull intervene in the organizational context.

Each student will have at his/her disposal, in the Virtual Campus of the USC, an e-classroom to support face-to-face teaching that will be used as the backbone of all the activities to be carried out in the subject.


RECOMMENDATIONS ON MONITORING AND TUTORING
Each student will have, at all times, the support and tutoring needed, by the professor of the subject, for the correct completion of the tasks that are entrusted to him/her; both during and outside class hours. Thus, it is recommended that students, both individually and in groups, make frequent use of the possibilities offered by the teacher's schedule of attention to students, respecting everyone's time:
*Carlos Montes Piñeiro (Office 91 - 2nd floor, Module B of the Fac. of Psychology): Monday, Tuesday and Friday, from 10 to 12h.

It is recommended not to leave until the last minute the elaboration of the reports corresponding to each one of the practices or readings done, in order to be able to deliver them within the fixed deadline (which is immovable). If the aforementioned work is not planned and executed with sufficient time, in the end the load of tasks assigned to the students for the different subjects that make up the semester may be excessive.

Students with specific educational support needs must personally notify the University Participation and Integration Service (SEPIU) in order to proceed to carry out, if necessary, the corresponding curricular adaptation.


RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REMOTE TEACHING
It is necessary to have a computer with microphone and camera to carry out the telematic activities that are programmed throughout the course. It is recommended the acquisition of computers with MS Windows environment, since other platforms do not support some of the software available at USC.

Classes will be taught in Spanish.