Chapter 13 INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY?

  • A branch of psychology that examines how human behavior and psychology affect work and how work impacts individuals.
  • Industrial-Organizational (I-O) psychologists work in various settings:
    1. Academia
    2. Government
    3. Consulting firms
    4. Business

AREAS OF INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Industrial Psychology
  • Focuses on:
    • Job characteristics, applicant characteristics, and the matching process.
    • Employee training and performance appraisal.
  • Emphasizes hiring and retaining employees.
  • Addresses legal issues regarding discrimination in hiring.
Organizational Psychology
  • Studies interactions among people within organizations and how these interactions affect productivity.
  • Interests include:
    • Worker satisfaction
    • Motivation
    • Commitment
    • Management and leadership styles
    • Social norms and role expectations
  • Considers issues like harassment and workplace violence.
Human Factors Psychology
  • Investigates how workers interact with tools and how to design those tools for optimal productivity, safety, and health.
  • Known as Ergonomics in Europe.
  • Areas of focus include interaction with machines, workstations, information displays, and environmental factors (e.g., lighting).

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

Early 20th Century
  • Key figures:
    • James Cattell
    • Established the Psychological Corporation, focusing on psychological consulting.
    • Hugo Munsterberg
    • Authored "Psychology and Industrial Efficiency" (1913), focusing on employee selection, training, and advertising.
    • Walter Dill Scott
    • Pioneered the application of psychology to advertising, management, and personnel selection.
World War I
  • Robert Yerkes:
    • Organized the development of methods for screening enlisted men.
    • Created the Army Alpha test to assess mental abilities.
  • Scott and Walter Bingham:
    • Developed selection methods for military officers.
Elton Mayo
  • Conducted studies at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works (1929-1932) focusing on:
    • Interpersonal relations
    • Motivation
    • Organizational dynamics
  • Findings indicated that productivity was influenced by human interaction and that changes to working conditions consistently improved productivity.
Hawthorne Effect
  • Describes the phenomenon where awareness of being observed leads to improved performance.
  • Defined as the increase in performance of individuals who are noticed and interacted with by supervisors or researchers.
Kurt Lewin (1930s)
  • Researched leadership styles and team dynamics, coining the term group dynamics.
Frederick Taylor
  • Proposed the Principles of Scientific Management, analyzing workflows to enhance economic efficiency and labor productivity.
Lilian Gilbreth
  • Known as the Mother of Modern Management; sought methods to improve productivity and efficiency in tasks.
    • Innovations include refrigerator door shelves and foot-pedal-operated garbage cans.
    • Investigated employee fatigue and time management.

INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY: SELECTING AND EVALUATING EMPLOYEES

Candidate Analysis and Testing
  • Involves methods such as:
    • Tests
    • Interviews
    • Work samples or exercises.
  • Personality tests assess traits matching job requirements, alongside other tests like IQ and physical capability assessments.
Job Advertising
  • Job analysis includes:
    • Task-oriented: details specific tasks for the job.
    • Worker-oriented: defines necessary characteristics for successful job performance (knowledge, skills, abilities).
  • O*Net: A database compiling job analyses across various occupations.
Interviews
  • Influenced by social dynamics and body language factors, such as:
    • Similarity to interviewers
    • Nonverbal cues (e.g., eye contact, gestures).
  • Types of Interviews:
    • Unstructured: Varies for candidates.
    • Structured: Same questions for each candidate, utilizing a standardized rating system.
Training
  • Typically begins with orientation covering:
    • Company policies and culture.
    • Values and norms.
  • Mentoring: Involves experienced employees guiding newcomers, beneficial for career advancement and satisfaction.
Evaluating Employees
  • I-O psychologists help create fair performance-appraisal systems.
  • Performance appraisals aim to evaluate job success and motivate employees.
  • 360-degree Feedback Appraisal: Involves feedback from multiple sources (supervisors, peers, etc.) to assess performance.
Bias & Protection in Hiring
  • Discriminatory practices based on group memberships unrelated to job performance must be avoided.
  • Legal protections exist against discrimination based on criteria such as pregnancy, religion, and age.

THE U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEOC)

  • Enforces federal anti-discrimination laws regarding race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40+), disability, and genetic information.
  • Key laws include:
    • Equal Pay Act: Requires equal pay for similar work regardless of gender.
    • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964): Prohibits unfavorable treatment based on race/color.
    • Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978): Protects against discrimination due to pregnancy.
    • Americans with Disabilities Act: Prevents discrimination based on disabilities, including mental impairments.
  • Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ): Permits qualified candidates to be selected based on religion, national origin, age, or sex when directly relevant to the job.

ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY: THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF WORK

Job Satisfaction
  • Arises from cognitive assessments and emotional experiences related to work.
  • Influenced by:
    • Job characteristics, individual personality, cultural aspects.
    • Measured through employee questionnaires at a global or specific factor level.
Factors in Job Satisfaction
  1. Autonomy: Control over decisions.
  2. Work Content: Variety and challenge in tasks.
  3. Communication: Quality of feedback.
  4. Financial Rewards: Salary and benefits.
  5. Growth and Development: Training and personal development.
  6. Promotion: Opportunities for advancement.
  7. Coworkers: Professional relationships.
  8. Supervision & Feedback: Support and recognition.
  9. Workload: Balance of time pressure and task tedium.
  10. Work Demands: Additional workload or role insecurity.
Job Stress
  • Arises from various occupational stressors leading to:
    • Decreased health and job performance.
    • Family life disruption.
  • Common stressors include:
    • Role overload, lack of job security/control, workplace bullying/discrimination.
Threats to Job Security
  • Downsizing: Reducing employee numbers for efficiency.
  • Corporate Mergers/Acquisitions: Often lead to job cuts due to functional duplication.
Work-Family Balance
  • The equilibrium where work demands and family responsibilities are managed successfully.
  • Greenhaus & Beutell (1985): Identified three sources of work-family conflict:
    1. Time constraints.
    2. Role strain from work to family interactions.
    3. Behavioral conflicts between work and family requirements.
  • Strategies to ease conflicts include:
    • Home support and workplace flexibility (e.g., telecommuting).
Management & Organizational Structure
  • Douglas McGregor (1960): Integrated management theories into leadership behaviors.
    • Theory X: Assumes workers are lazy and require control.
    • Theory Y: Assumes workers are self-motivated and seek productivity.
  • Donald Clifton: Advocated for strength-based management focusing on individual strengths for organizational growth.
Goals, Teamwork & Work Teams
  • Team-Based Approaches optimize task delegation across diverse groups.
  • Types of Teams:
    1. Problem resolution teams
    2. Creative teams
    3. Tactical teams
  • Challenges:
    • Social loafing, poor communication, and conformity effects.
  • Gender diversity can create both challenges and benefits within teams.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

  • Defined as values, hierarchies, norms, and employee interactions shaping an organization.
  • Three Layers of Organizational Culture:
    1. Observable artifacts (language, practices).
    2. Espoused values (stated beliefs).
    3. Basic assumptions (inherent, unexamined beliefs).
Sexual Harassment
  • Defined as unwanted, sexually-based behavior that adversely affects employment or creates a hostile environment.
  • Types include:
    1. Quid pro quo (exchanging rewards for favors).
    2. Hostile environment (intimidating workplace conditions).
Violence in the Workplace
  • Includes physical violence or threats towards employees.
  • Warning signs may involve intimidating behavior or significant changes in co-worker behavior.
  • Predictors of violence include feelings of unfairness or unjust treatment.
  • Annually, nearly 2 million workers face physical assaults or threats.

HUMAN FACTORS PSYCHOLOGY & WORKPLACE DESIGN

Human Factors Psychology
  • Focuses on human-machine interface integration in the workplace for safety and efficiency.
  • Research areas include cognitive engineering, task analysis, and optimizing attention.
WORKPLACE SAFETY
  • Checklists: Essential for reducing accidents, e.g., pilots ensure all aircraft components function correctly before flying.
  • Time limits on operating machinery to prevent fatigue and ensure operator effectiveness.