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PhD Program

 

Organizational Behavior

The PhD Program in Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business emphasizes preparation for careers in scholarlyresearch. Graduates of the Program usually pursue careers in academic or research institutions.

A variety of social science disciplines and topic areas are relevant to the study of human behavior in organizational settings. A distinguishing feature of Stanford's PhD Program in Organizational Behavior is the broad interdisciplinary training it provides. The field is often broken down into two broad subareas.

Micro Organizational Behavior

The study of how individuals and groups affect and are affected by organizations. Drawing primarily on psychology, this area includes such topics as cognition, decision making, learning, motivation, negotiation and bargaining, cooperation and altruism, emotions, impressions management, group processes, stereotyping and injustice, power and influence.

There is also a formal institutional link between the behavioral side of marketing and the micro side of OB, which is called Behavioral Interest Group. The GSB Behavioral Lab links this group. This lab fosters collaborative work among the behavioral people across field boundaries.

Macro Organizational Behavior

The study of organizations as systems, relations among organizations, and organizational environments, drawing primarily on sociology, this area includes such topics as organizational structure and demography, technology, culture, organizational change, employment relations, organizational networks, and environmental demands and constraints. Both public- and private-sector organizations are analyzed, as are organizations in other countries.

The Department of Sociology and the Graduate School of Business jointly sponsor the Stanford Seminar on Social and Economic Organization. Its goal is to serve as a forum for sociologists and members of related disciplines in various schools and departments across campus to discuss the latest research in several related fields, including: economic sociology, organizations, industrial organization, and social stratification.

Unique Aspects of the Stanford Program

The interdisciplinary resources available to students in the Stanford program are unique. The faculty of the Graduate School of Business have a reputation for excellence in fields such as accounting; economics; finance; marketing; and operations, information, and technology. Doctoral students in the organizational behavior program have frequent contact with faculty and students in these fields, many of whom show an interest in topics germane to organizational behavior.

A second source of interdisciplinary contact is colloquia presented by visiting scholars, seminars, off-campus conferences, and many other informal opportunities for interaction between faculty and students. The result is intellectual stimulation and active research collaboration across traditional disciplinary boundaries - a phenomenon that is unfortunately rare, yet obviously essential to the study of organizations.

Interdisciplinary contact is a natural extension of the fact that Stanford University as a whole emphasizes interdisciplinary cooperation. Cross-registration in courses, access to faculty, and participation in colloquia are encouraged by such Stanford departments as Psychology, Statistics, and Sociology. Students in the Organizational Behavior PhD Program have ease of access to a unique range of interdisciplinary resources. The GRE is required for admission.

A small number of students are accepted into the field each year, with a total of about 19 organizational behavior students in residence. Student-faculty relationships are close, both professionally and socially. This permits the tailoring of the program of study to fit the background and career goals of the individual.

Preparation and Qualifications

All students are required to have, or to obtain during their first year, mathematical skills at the level of one course each of calculus and linear algebra, probability, and mathematical statistics.