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.