Organisational Psychology Flashcards

Flashcards covering key concepts from Organisational Psychology lecture notes, Weeks 1-12.

Organisational Psychology

The application of psychological principles, theory, and research to work settings.

Factors that increase the risk for mental ill health at work

High cognitive and emotional demands, low control or decision latitude, poor social support, unfair rewards, insecurity, and injustice.

Systems studied by Organisational Psychologists

Selection process, training, performance management, promotion.

Problems addressed by Organisational Psychologists

Human error, occupational stress, incivility, procrastination, and absenteeism.

Areas of growing interest in organisational psychology research

Individual differences, leadership styles, motivation, satisfaction, attitudes, justice.

Focus of the 'Employee Theft as a Reaction to Underpayment inequity' (1990) study

Employee theft as a reaction to underpayment inequity.

Focus of the 'Losing Sleep Over Organizational Injustice' (2006) study

Insomniac reactions to underpayment inequity.

Educational model used to train psychologists in Org Psych

Scientist-Practitioner Model (SPM).

Key premise of the Scientist-Practitioner Model

Knowledgeable in both research (science) and practice; practice needs to be evidence-based, and research questions should be guided by practical issues.

Job Analysis

A process where tasks associated with a position are identified, usually broken down and classified according to operational areas, identifying how the job contributes to the organization’s goals.

Job Description

Used to inform job holders of core duties and responsibilities.

Job Specification

Details minimum acceptable skills and characteristics required to perform job effectively.

Task/Job-Oriented Approach to Job Analysis

Examines the job by the tasks performed and rates these tasks on criteria metrics.

Worker-Oriented Approach to Job Analysis

Examines the job in terms of human attributes (KSAOs) needed to perform it.

KSAOs

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Attributes.

Critical Decision method in Job Analysis

Helps reveal overlooked skills and is used when the stakes are high for employees.

Purpose of Recruitment

To identify suitable people, make them aware of the job, and encourage them to apply.

Purpose of Selection

From the applicant pool, identify the candidate(s) most suitable for the role.

Criterion-related 'cut-scores'

Specified point in a distribution of scores below which candidates are rejected.

Criterion-related validity

Correlation between test scores and performance on the job.

Trained/untrained in 'Losing Sleep Over Organizational Injustice'

Whether the manager was trained in interactional justice or not.

Steps completed during Recruitment and Selection

What are the goals of this job?, How does the job contribute to the goals of the organization?, What competencies are required to meet the job goals?, How should the job be remunerated?

Just-in-time job analysis

Process used when information about a job’s duties, requirements, or qualifications is collected right before hiring, training, or restructuring decisions are made—not in advance.

Motivation

The conditions responsible for the direction, intensity, and persistence of effort.

Campbell's Model (1993) of the Determinants of Job Performance

Declarative Knowledge,Procedural Knowledge and Skills, Motivation.

Making connections: Motivation & Personality

neuroticism is negatively related to performance motivation, conscientiousness positively related to performance motivation.

Early Studies of Motivation

Metaphors of the early studies of motivation initially saw people as machines, pushed by internal needs or pulled by environmental stimuli.

Management Theory X

Reflects a pessimistic view of workers that often results in micromanagement and strict control..

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

People are motivated to meet needs, but are motivated most by the lowest-level of need that is unmet

Herzburg's Two-Factor Theory

Hygiene factors and motivator factors

Overpayment inequity

Investing less inputs and/or getting more outcomes

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Motivations are influenced by three important cognitive evaluations - Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence

Goal-Setting Theory

Motivation arises from clear perceptions of purpose and objectives

Process Theories for Motivation

Process theories focus on the ability of cognitive mechanisms to affect behavior-related judgements.

What are Attitudes?

Affective, Behavioural, Cognitive

Job Satisfaction Effect

Positive evaluation of one's job increases performance and lowers absenteeism.

Organisational Commitment Effect

Emotional attachment to the organisation leads to loyalty, lower turnover, and extra-role behaviour.

Employee Engagement Effect

High emotional and cognitive investment in work leads to proactivity, higher effort, and productivity.

Turnover Intention Effect

Intention or plan to leave the organisation leads to Absenteeism, withdrawal, actual resignation

Affective Commitment

Feel good about being part of the organisation

Normative commitment

Feel a sense of loyalty to the organisation

Continuance Commitment

Feel unable to leave due to sacrifices and alternatives

Discretionary Work Behaviour

Voluntary work behavior, extra-role behavior, and contextual performance.

Organisational citizenship behavior (OCB)

Discretionary behaviors beyond formal job requirements that contribute to the goals of the organisation.

Five factors of OCB (Organ, 1988)

Altruism, Civic virtue, Courtesy, Conscientiousness, and Sportspersonship

OCB Influenced Traits

Conscientiousness and Agreeableness

Counterproductive work behavior (CWB)

Discretionary behaviors beyond formal job requirements that harm the wellbeing of the organisation.

Proactive behaviour

Starting change and not just being reactive (adaptive)

Forms of proactive behaviour

fit between self & the internal work environment, internal organisational environment, & organisation's strategy & fit with the environment

Proactive CWB

Anticipating, planning and taking action towards a proactive goal in which future harm to the organization, or its stakeholders, is intended or expected

GRPI model of team effectiveness

Having clear, shared goals, defined roles, procedures, and interpersonal relationships.

Types of teams

Production teams, Project teams, Quality circles, Virtual teams.

Five Stages of Development

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning

Hackman's Team Effectiveness Model

Compelling shared direction, Strong structure, Supportive context, and Expert coaching and guidance available.

“Enabling conditions” for teams to thrive to Maximise performance

Being a ‘real’ team, Shared direction, Strong structure, Supportive context, and Coaching and guiding available

Quality Circles Teams - benefits and limitations

Teams meet regularly to identify problems & generate ideas. Positive outcomes in short term, gains rarely sustained.

Enables understanding of how teams perform & how to maximize performance

Input-Process-Output Model

Input-Process-Output Model: Team Processes

Norms, Decision making, communication and Coordination, and Cohesion

Transformational leadership

The quality of leadership that allows inspirational leaders can motivate followers to strive for personal improvement and altruistic goals

Padilla, Hogan, & Kaiser, 2007 - Destructive Leadership

The Toxic Triangle of Destructive Leadership, composed of destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments.

Traditional Models Of Leadership

Includes trait theory, behavioural approaches, and contingency approach

Contempory Models of Leadership

Refers to leader-member exchange, transformational leadership, authentic leadership, and servant leadership

Leadership Behaviours

Laissez-faire, Management by exception, management by objectives

Transformational leadership strategies

Idealised influence, Inspirational motivation, Intellectual stimulation, and Individualised consideration

Authentic Leadership

Self-aware leaders, tends to be marked by integrity, positive self-concept and sincere, optimistic leaders who demonstrate integrity may be more trustworthy

Servant Leadership

Servant leaders lead by serving their followers and helping them reach their full potential.

Occupational Stress

A term used to refer to many different things

Digitisation of the Workplace

A process of adopting existing tools and processes in new digital forms. Electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that generate, store or process data. Ex. video conferencing and cloud computing

Teleworking / Tele-Commuting

Workers don't work at one site with other workers using tech to enable remote and virtual work

Why A Worker Cannot Thrive due to Work

Worker’s job lacks meaning, the organisation lacks integrity (dishonest communication, lack of care for environment for the worker), leadership is not supportive (does not enable a worker to achieve high performance)

Training Scope

Training deals with knowledge and skill deficits, changes to attitudes, values, and motivations will be harder to achieve via Training

Personality's effect on performance

Personality can influence performance capabilities, attractiveness of personality factors is a useful determinant.

Situational Strength Theory

An approach that emphasizes the interaction between the environment and the individual, stating that in weak situations personality characteristics are more effective in prediction than in strong situations.

Trait Activation Theory

An approach that states that jobs will be able to stimulate expression of traits like conscientiousness (detail checking); openness (learning); extraversion (sales; management) and that these expressions are then more effective or desired.

The Goal of Human Factors

To optimise the relationship between humans and the systems with which they interact.

What Human Factors Attempts to Avoid

Make sure designs are designed for a maximum number of people possible (disabilities/neurotypical etc) and without that the outcomes of errors are intentional

HIP Steps - Perceptual Recognition

Pattern recognition to long-term memory.

HIP Steps - Response Execution

To make decision and response steps easy, but distinctive i.e. press to accelerate quickly or to stop immediately.

HIP Steps - Lapse (in Perception)

There is no actual pre-perception of brake lights.

Improving Human Performance - in design & training

Ensure that systems are designed to facilitate the acquisition, processing and response to information operators will use.

Improving Human Performance

To engage in the process of learning to perform tasks and operations using the tools one intends to use. This may take time or it may not. The goal is to ensure competency and success in use.

Latent Failure

Lies dormant in a system and is active after activation by an event or an error

Improving Human Performance - Error steps & Reporting

These errors precede one another/occur quickly, & are dependent (cannot lapse/make a mistake), typically cause a small to large accidents unless they may lead to small accidents that are not reported/negligible .

Situational Awareness.

The timely and accurate perception of elements pertaining to the situation

Situational Awareness Steps

Perception , Comprehension, & Planning

Measuring situational awareness using Freeze Testing (The Situational Awareness Global Assessment Technique)

Pause screens and evaluate controller to decide which of several factors occurred most recently/effectively

The future of Situational Awareness

A mental model is like an internal map in your mind that helps you understand how something works, predict what will happen, and decide what to do next; a prototype or exemplar, is when it recognizes familiar patterns from past experience to understanding environment and to reacts quickly

Approaches to training situational awareness

Construction and building a metal model; Generate an executive script; Use environmental data and continuous interrogation; Self-direction of resultant data and action-responses.

Distributive Justice

Perceived fairness of outcomes (e.g., monkey vid).

Procedural Justice

Perceived fairness of processes used to determine outcomes (+ promotion process).

Interactional Justice

Perceived fairness in interpersonal treatment and communication of decisions.

Interactional-informational & Interpersonal Justice

Explanations about procedures/outcomes (and timeliness); extent to which people are treated with respect, kindness and dignity e.g., how sensitive a manager is about payment?

Psychological Contract

The shared set of beliefs about mutual obligations for orgs and staff

EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) Philosophy

All individuals have the same opportunity, allowing success to be dictated by merit.

Affirmative Action.

Philosophy to Provides specific mechanisms for reducing under-representation of particular demographic groups.

Relational demography.

Tendency for homogeneity rather than diversity in group settings (groups valuing this Homogeneity initially perform higher, but heterogeneous groups will be come more effective over time)..

Ideal Diversity Model: the Value Model

Recognises the value of each diverse element of the organisation for what it uniquely brings to the organisation.