Introduction to The World of Work

INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF WORK

www.humanikaconsulting.com

OVERVIEW: INDUSTRIAL/ ORGANIZATIONAL (I/O)

PSYCHOLOGY

What is I/O Psychology?

I/O Psychology as a Career

History of I/O Psychology

INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

I/O psychology examines how individual behavior affects, and is affected by, the physical environment and the organizational structure of the workplace

Human factors psychology: how to improve machine design and function

Personnel psychology: worker recruitment, testing, and training

Organizational psychology: managerial style

The application of psychological principles to the workplace (anywhere people work)

Help people do their jobs

help employers treat employees fairly

help make jobs more interesting and satisfying

help workers be more productive

What is I/O psychology?

TREAT EMPLOYEES FAIRLY

Treat people from diverse backgrounds fairly

select people for jobs

provide training

reward promotions/raises

address harassment

What is I/O psychology?

MAKE JOBS MORE INTERESTING/SATISFYING

Design jobs people will find satisfying

rewarding work

safe, efficient work areas (Human Factors)

Motivate employees to perform

Create teams that work well together

combine diverse talents and perspectives

What is I/O psychology?

HELP WORKERS BE MORE PRODUCTIVE

Design work patterns that enhance efficiency

Provide skills training and development

Help to meet the challenges of competition

Move past downsizing

What is I/O psychology?

I/O PSYCHOLOGY: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE

As a SCIENCE, I/O psychology uses scientific methodology to research and advance knowledge about people at work

And as a PRACTICE, I/O psychology is a profession concerned with the application of psychological knowledge to solve real-life problems in the world of work

Science and Practice Scientist-Practitioner Model: Interaction of scientific knowledge and application

Practitioner:

Create Plan

Problem

Science:

Turnover Theories

Past Empirical Studies

A call center has a three week training program for new

employees. The average employee quits after three months.

THE MOST POPULAR I/O RESEARCH TOPICS IN EIGHT COUNTRIES

Country

Topics

Canada

Career development, Employee selection,

job stress, leadership

England

Employee selection, gender, job stress,

leadership, turnover

Germany

Job Stress, motivation, training, work

environment

India

Job satisfaction, job stress, motivation,

organizational level

Israel

Career development, job satisfaction,

motivation, performance appraisal, values

Japan

Career development, job stress, leadership,

motivation

Scandinavia

Gender, job stress, shift work,

unemployment

United

States

Career development, employee selection,

leadership, performance appraisal

Note: From Erez, M. (1994). Tow

MAIN JOURNAL FOR I/O PSYCHOLOGY

I/O main journal: Journal of Applied Psychology

Other top journals (NFE)

Personnel Journal

Academy of Management Journal

Academy of Management Review

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Administrative Science Quarterly

Journal of Management

Journal of Organizational Behavior

Organizational Research Methods

Journal of Vocational Behavior (very little cross-fertilization OBM/IO, JOBM

missing from top ten journals - recognized;

rankings in IO)

Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Industrial

Recruitment

Selection

Classification

Compensation

Performance Appraisal

Training

Organizational

Socialization

Motivation

Occupational Stress

Leadership

Group Performance

Organizational Development 12

Organizational Psychology is part of a broader field of Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

I/O Psychology

ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY/HUMAN FACTORS

Person-machine systems

Working conditions

Equipment, tool, and machine design and function in recognition of operator limitations in strength, perception, reaction-time, etc.

I/O Psychology

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Labor-union relations

Employee/employer relations

Cooperation & conflict resolution

Arbitration, negotiation & bargaining

I/O Psychology

VOCATIONAL & CAREER COUNSELING

Career choice, change, and retirement

CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY

Consumer choice and preference for products

Purchasing behavior & decision making

I/O Psychology

Activities and work settings of I/O psychologists

Employment in I/O psychology (salary surveys)

Training for I/O psychology

Professional involvement of I/O psychologists

Licensure

16

Overview: Professional Life of the I/O Psychologist

I/O PSYCHOLOGY AROUND THE WORLD

At one time I/O was almost entirely American

I/O interest has exploded over the past 10-15 years and accelerating

American consulting firms have become international, reflected in names DDI--Developmental Decisions Inc. to International

PDI--Personnel Decisions Inc. to International

Number of graduate programs increasing rapidly around the world

18

WHERE DO I/O PSYCHOLOGISTS WORK?

Dual orientation (science & practice) reflected in principal work settings of I/O psychologists

Universities

(37%)

Consulting firms

(38%)

Industry (18%)

Gov't (7%)

MEAN SALARIES OF I/O PSYCHOLOGISTS IN THE US IN 2000

M.A.

$67,000

Ph.D.

$90,000

Top 10%

$200,000 or more

Professors

$73,000

Companies

$100,000

New Ph.D.

$60,000

Men

$93,000

Women

$77,000

Note: Gender difference mostly accounted for by women being more likely to be M.A.

level and being younger. Source: Katkowski, D. A., & Medsker, G. J. (2001).

Professor of . . . Psychology, Management, Organizational Behavior, Industrial Relations

Staff member, Manager, Dir, VP of . . . Personnel, HR, Organizational Planning, Personnel Development, OD, Management Development, Personnel Research, Employee Relations, Training, Affirmative Action

Management Consultant

Common Job Titles for I/O Psychologists

I/O AS A PROFESSION Graduate degree necessary (MA or

Ph.D.)

Content of graduate training

Basic psychology

Research methods (heavy emphasis)

I/O content

Thesis, Dissertation

Qualifying exam

Internship, practica

Entry requirements very competitive

SIOP website for most US programs (www.siop.org)

Employment

Little or no unemployment

Academic and nonacademic market strong

Field expanding and becoming popular

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS RELATED TO I/O PSYCHOLOGY

American Psychological Association (APA: www.apa.org)

Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology (SIOP: www.siop.org)

Academy of Management (AoM: www. aom.pace.edu)

Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM: www.shrm.org)

American Society for Training and Development (ASTD: www.astd.org)

LICENSURE FOR I/O PSYCHOLOGISTS

Licensure requirements vary by state SIOP’s policy – recognize the

requirement and offer guidance SIOP’s Guidelines for the Education and

Training of I/O Psychologists Organizational requirements for

licensure

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HISTORY OF I/O

Began early 1900s

World War I first mass testing

Between wars psychology helping business: I side

Hawthorne studies impact of social aspects: O side

World War II: Psychology and the war effort

Civil rights movement: Job relevance

Technological change

LEADING HISTORICAL FIGURES

Hugo Münsterberg: Psychology and Industrial Efficiency

Walter Dill Scott: The Theory of Advertising

Frederick Winslow Taylor: Scientific Management

Robert Yerkes: Army Alpha and Beta tests

Lillian Gilbreth: Time and motion; Human factors

Bruce V. Moore: First I/O PhD?

Roethlisberger & Dickson: Hawthorne Studies

HUGO MUNSTERBERG: “THE FATHER OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY”

Pioneered the application of psychological findings from laboratory experiments to practical matters

He was the first to encourage government funded research in the area of industrial psyc.

HAWTHORNE STUDIES

Early I/O psychologists studied worker productivity in the factory

What physical factors (e.g. lighting) govern worker productivity?

1924 study conducted at the Hawthorne factory of Western Electric failed to find that physical environment factors controlled productivity

Rather, any changes made increased productivity

Conclusion: Mere observation of a worker is sufficient to change their behavior (termed the Hawthorne effect)

HUMAN FACTORS PSYCHOLOGY

The focus of human factors psychology is to improve the design and function of machines and the work environment

Humans and machines form an interdependent system

Machine has displays and controls (displays allow for human perception, controls allow the human to control the machine)

Displays and controls can be fine-tuned to prevent accidents and improve performance

HUMAN-MACHINE INTERACTION

PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

Finding the right person for the job:

Job analysis: What knowledge, skills, and abilities are required to do the job?

Candidate selection: Who best matches the job analysis?

Interview process

Job training: How is the person trained after hiring?

Orientation is designed to clue new hires into the new organization culture

WORKER EVALUATION

Performance evaluation is the formal procedure used to asses the multidimensional job performance of employees

Provides feedback on job performance

Can be used to identify training and development needs

Used to make decisions on promotions, transfers, and termination

ISSUES IN EVALUATION

Evaluations can be objective (units sold) or subjective

Often cannot identify objective criteria

Subjective evaluations suffer from rater bias

Halo effect is the tendency to rate a person as too high or too low based on one outstanding trait

Halo effect can be countered by having multiple persons contribute to the evaluation

The evaluation can be focused on rating behaviors rather than traits

MYTHS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

It’s a minor problem

Number of complaints are rising

It’s overreported

75% of harassment may be ignored

It’s an expression of sexual desire

Is actually an assertion of power

ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

The focus of organizational psychology is how interpersonal relations in the work setting affect productivity

Managerial style makes a difference:

Theory X managers believe that employees are lazy, avoid being productive and have to be prodded to work

Use quotas and commissions to motivate workers

Theory Y managers believe that employees like work and can direct themselves

Do not use close supervision of employees

WORKER MOTIVATION

I/O psychology has sought answers for what motivates workers

Goal-setting theory argues that having specific and difficult goals will lead to higher performance

Equity theory suggests that workers compare their contributions and rewards to those of their fellow workers; if these are out of line, the worker adjusts output accordingly

Expectancy theory argues that worker motivation is related to expectancy of outcomes

JOB SATISFACTION

Job satisfaction leads to

Reduced resignations means lower costs to replace workers

Increased productivity means more output

Improved employee health is a benefit that accrues to the office and outside the office

Holland argues that job satisfaction is a match between the personality and their occupation

TIMELINE OF MAJOR EVENTS

PROSPECTS FOR I/O FIELD

Rapidly growing

New areas/topics

Attracting more graduate students

More graduate programs

More psychologists in the world

Job market strong: Academic and applied

Area of psychology making an impact on the world Relevant to anyone who works

Interdisciplinary connections Business, engineering, health fields, other areas of psychology

REFERENCES

SIOP, 1998, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP

Spector, E.,P., 2005, Industry and Organization Psychology,

Huffman, Vernoy & Vernoy, 2000, Psychology in Action, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 5 edition.