Minor in Personnel & Leadership

The minor study program in Personnel and Leadership focuses on how organizations can attract, motivate, develop, and retain people – and how people behave and perform at work. It offers a broad and research-based portfolio of courses in personnel economics, human capital and labor markets, leadership, organizational behavior, governance, and empirical research methods.

Within this pool, students are free to design their own profile. Depending on their course choices, they may deepen their skills in quantitatively analyzing human behavior at work, personnel policies, and labor markets – with some courses placing stronger emphasis on econometrics and economic theory, and others drawing more on organizational behavior and management perspectives on emotion and behavior, leadership, and decision-making in organizations. Teaching formats include lectures, seminars, and project-based courses with case studies. Across all options, the minor emphasizes critical thinking, evidence-based decision-making, and the ability to translate academic insights into practical solutions for managers and executives, firms, and public institutions.

The minor covers core subject areas in Personnel and Leadership, allowing students to combine them into an individual specialization:

1. Personnel Economics & Personnel Policies
   Economic perspectives on how organizations design incentives, contracts, and HR policies to attract, motivate, and retain talent.

2. Human Capital, Labor Markets & Governance
   Understanding the formation and development of skills, labor market dynamics, and the institutional and governance frameworks shaping employment relationships.

3. Leadership & Organizational Behavior
   How leadership, social dynamics, culture, ethics, and emotions influence behavior, decision making, and performance in organizations.

4. Empirical Research Methods & People Analytics
   Methods for analyzing human behavior at work and evaluating personnel and leadership practices with data, including quantitatively oriented approaches.

Target group and degree program:

• The minor is designed primarily for students from the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics and is, to a limited extent, also open to students from other faculties. This minor is designed for those who want to understand people-related challenges in organizations and labor markets and who are interested in combining analytical thinking with insights into leadership and social dynamics at work. I

ECTS:

• The program requires a total of 30 ECTS credits
• all ECTS credits must be earned within the core elective area BWL 3 (Personnel & Leadership) and the PL minor area

After completing the minor, students are able to:

• understand and critically evaluate key theories and empirical findings on human behavior at work, leadership, and personnel policies;

• analyze how organizations and institutions shape incentives, motivation, performance, and workforce development;

• use evidence and (where chosen) quantitative methods to assess personnel strategies, labor-market outcomes, and leadership practices;

• translate academic insights into practical recommendations for managers, organizations, and public institutions;

• integrate economic reasoning with an understanding of organizational behavior, ethics, and culture in people-related decision making.

Career perspectives

Graduates of this minor are well prepared for careers in people management and people analytics, consulting, public policy, organizational development, and international organizations. They combine economic and analytical thinking with a strong understanding of social dynamics, leadership, ethics, and organizational culture — a skill set that is highly valued in today’s labor market.

Typical professional paths include roles such as HR/people analytics specialist, leadership development or organizational development roles, strategy or HR consulting, labor-market and policy analysis, as well as positions in NGOs or international organizations dealing with workforce, governance, and employment topics.