Ch 13: Industrial/Organizational Psychology
OVERALL: a branch of psychology that studies how human behavior and psychology affect work and how they are affected by work
Human factors psychology: studies how workers interact with the tools of work and how to best design tools for workers’ productivity, safety, and health
Challenges to Studying Industrial/Organizational Psych:
- Hawthorne Effect: employees behave differently when observed
Industrial Psychology
studies job characteristics, applicant characteristics, and how to match them
studies employee training and performance appraisal
Employee Selection
How do you advertise the position?
- task-oriented: lists expected job tasks in detail
- worker-oriented: describes ideal candidate characteristics
How do you interview?
- tests, interview structures, etc.
Employee Training
How do you train and introduce employees to the job?
- orientation at a small and large scale
- informal/formal mentoring from a current, experienced employee has been proven to be beneficial for both the company and employee
Employee Evaluation
How do you evaluate your employees?
- performance appraisals can focus on whether or not the employee is fulfilling job responsibilities, company goals, etc.
- 360-degree feedback system: involves constructive criticism between peers, customers, self, and management
Organizational Psychology
studies interactions between people working in organizations and the effects of those interactions on productivity
Organizational Culture
organizational culture: the values, visions, hierarchies, norms, and interactions among employees
- how an organization is run and makes decisions
- style is crucial to employee happiness and productivity
| Observable artifacts | Espoused values | Basic Assumptions |
|---|---|---|
| ingrained work culture: symbols of language, narratives, and practices that represent the underlying cultural assumptions | explicitly stated values by management/company | unobservable and unquestioned assumptions about work culture |
| Ex: Purdue students groaning at the infamous PAL 3.0 | Ex: mission statements, “About the company” |
Management/Organizational Structure
| Transactional Leadership | Transformational Leadership |
|---|---|
| behaviorist model: “you do things for me/the company, you will be rewarded” system of rewards and punishments | inspirational/humanistic model: motivation through inspiration and positive work cultureleaders create engaging, motivating environments and serve as role models for employees |
Scientific Management research discovered 2 managerial styles:
- Theory X: manager assumes workers are inherently lazy/unproductive; managers must take control and motivate workers
1. assumes extrinsic motivation
- Theory Y: manager assumes workers are intrinsically motivated and collaborate with employees to find creative solutions; no transactional behaviors
Teamwork and Employee Interaction
The effectiveness of teamwork will depend on team composition and management style
Team halo effect: teams get credited for team successes while individuals are blamed for failures (scapegoating)
- social loafing
- groupthink
Teams should have diverse composition, with differing perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences
Job Satisfaction and Work-Life Balance
Job satisfaction is affected by…
- employee autonomy
- work content (variety, challenge, role clarity)
- constructive feedback
- feelings of fairness in workload, salary, and benefits
- growth opportunities
- relationships between coworkers and managers
- recognition