Industrial Organizational Psychology

• Industrial Organizational Psychology applies psychological principles to the workplace.
• Its purpose is to enhance dignity, inclusivity, and performance, while advancing knowledge of human behavior.
• The subject focuses on issues related to the people within an organization.
• Uses research, quantitative methods, and empirical data and statistics, rather than intuition, for decision-making.
• IO psychology professionals are employed in colleges, universities, consulting firms, and the public and private sectors.
• A master's or doctoral degree is an education requirement.

Major Fields in IO Psychology

• The industrial approach determines needed competencies and staffs the organization accordingly.
• The organizational approach focuses on motivating employees by creating a positive organizational structure, culture, information access, and working conditions.
• Personnel Psychology studies and improves practices like job analysis, recruitment, employee selection, salary determination, training, and performance evaluation.
• Organizational Psychology addresses leadership, job satisfaction, motivation, communication, conflict management, and organizational change, implementing programs for improvement.
• Human Factors/Ergonomics concentrates on workplace design, ergonomics, and reducing physical and mental stress.

Brief History of Industrial Organizational Psychology

• Walter Dill Scott applied psychology to advertising in business.
• Hugo Munsterberg focused on psychology and industrial efficiency.
• Other notable figures include James Cattell, Walter Bingham, John Watson, Marion Bills, and Lillian Gilbreth.
• During WWI, IO psychologists used the Army Alpha test(literate) and Army Beta test(illiterate).
• Thomas Edison created administered a 163-item knowledge test to over 900 applicants.
• The Hawthorne Studies showed that employee behavior is complex, and influenced by manager-employee interactions.
• The Hawthorne effect: employees improved productivity when they knew they were being studied and receiving attention.
• The 1960s saw civil rights legislation.
• Sensitivity trainings and t-groups were used for managers.
• The 1970s had increased the use of behavior modification techniques in organizations.
• From the 1980s-1990s, sophisticated statistical analysis was used, with more interest in the effects of work on family life and leisure.
• The 2000s had diversified demographics and the global economy affected IO psychology.
• Key Figures include Frederick W. Taylor, Hugo Munsterberg, James McKeen Cattell, Kurt Lewin, and Robert Yerkes.

Factors That Impact IO Psychology

• High unemployment rates.
• Movements toward flexible work schedules
• Family-friendly work policies.
• Accommodation for employees with child-care and elder-care responsibilities.
• Flatter organizational structures with fewer management levels.
• Population shifts from urban to suburbs.
• Increasing cost of health-care benefits.
• Potential changes in retirement age.

Research Design and Methods in IO Psychology

• Research answers questions and aids decision-making.
• Common sense can be unreliable when it comes to research.
• Research considerations include ideas, hypotheses, theories, and literature reviews.
• Hypothesis: educated prediction based on theory, previous research, or logic.
• Theory: systematic assumptions regarding the cause and nature of behavior.
• Literature review: search for similar research.
• Four types of periodicals used: journals, bridge publications, magazines, and the internet

Research Methods in IO Psychology

• Experiments: determine cause-and-effect relationships by manipulating independent variables and randomly assigning subjects.
• Quasi-Experiments: are often used to evaluate new programs.
• Archival Research: uses previously collected data.
• Survey: ask people their opinion on the topic.
• Meta-Analysis: reaching conclusions based on previous research using statistical methods.
• Sample Subjects:
  • Every member of Random Sample has an equal chance of participating in a study.
  • Convenience Sample: a non-random sample, used for ease of access.
  • Random assignment: unbiased assignment of participants.

Ethics in IO Psychology

• Ethical dilemmas: ambiguous situations requiring judgment in the absence of rules or laws.
  • In Type A dilemma: there is uncertainty about what is right.
  • In Type B Dilemma: individuals know what is right but choose a more advantageous solution.

Job Analysis

• Job Analysis is gathering and structuring information about a job's components, characteristics, and requirements.
• Its importance: helps creating job descriptions, providing structure for employee selection, and determining training requirements.
• Job Crafting: is the informal changes employees make to their jobs.

Components of Job Analysis

• The Job Description section determines work activities and requirements.
• Job Title gives workers an identity and affects perception, status, and job worth.
• A brief summary: should be only a paragraph in length.
• Work activities lists the tasks involved.
• Tools/equipment lists equipment needed for tasks.
• Job content describes the work environment, stress levels, schedule, physical demands, responsibility, temperature, coworkers, and potential dangers.
• Performance standards describe employee performance evaluations and expectations, such as working 40 hours a week.
• Compensation information includes salary grade, exempt status, compensable factors, and qualifications for higher pay.
• Job competencies lists knowledge, skills, abilities, such as personality and training, required for success.
• Employee Selection includes interview structure, competency requirements, and tests.
• Training and Development is the design of training programs.
• Person Power Planning deals with worker mobility and succession.
  • The Peter principle: promotes employees to their level of incompetence.
• Performance Appraisal involves creating accurate instruments and evaluating performance.
• Job Evaluation determines the worth of a job in terms of salary and bonuses.
• Job Design identifies the optimal way to perform a job.
• Compliance with the Law addresses labor laws.
• Organizational Analysis troubleshoots job-related problems.

Preparing For Job Analysis

• Preparing for job analysis involves determining who will conduct it, how often job descriptions should be updated, which employees should participate, and what information is needed.

Conducting Job Analysis

• First is Identify Tasks Performed which identify major job dimensions
• Second is to Write Task Statements.
  • a properly written task statement must contains an action (what is done) and an object.
• Third is to Rate Task Statements using task analysis.
• Fourth is to Determine Essential KSAOs needed to perform tasks.
  • Knowledge: needed information.
  • Skill: proficiency in learned tasks.
  • Ability: basic capacity to perform various tasks.
  • Other characteristics: personal factors, licenses, and experience.
• Final step is Selecting Tests to Tap KSAOs.

Other Job Analysis Methods

• The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ): Uses 194 items to determine information input, mental processes, output, relationships, context, schedule, pay, and responsibility.
• The Job Structure Profile (JSP): Also contains item content and increases emphasis on having a job analyst.
• The Job Element Inventory: Contains 153 items with a tenth-grade reading level.
• The Functional Job Analysis: Compares jobs through data , people and things.
• The Job Component Inventory: Information about tools and equipments, containing detailed sections.

Conducting Job Evaluation

• Conduct job evaluation by first, determining compensable factors: level of responsibility, physical/mental demands, education/training requirements and working conditions.
• Second, is to determine the factor weighs
• Finally, determine the external pay.
  • Salary surveys gauge how much organizations pay employees in certain positions.

Recruitment

• Screening: Check employee qualifications.
• Testing: Give psychological assessment.
• Media Advertisement: Public promotion of job vacancies.
  • Newspaper ads are the most common method of recruitment.

Four ways of responding to a print ad:

• Calling
• Apply in-person
• Sending resumes to the organization
• Sending resumes in a blind box
• Electronic Media: Advertising using radio and television.
• Situation-Wanted Ads: Ads placed by the applicant.
• Point-of-Purchase Methods: Placing job notices in visible locations where people are likely to see them.
  • Include ads on placemats, bulletin boards, truck sides etc

Recuiters

• Recruiters offer jobs directly.
• There are campus and outside recuiters

Employment Agencies and Search Firms

• Are agencies that help with applying and seraching for candidates
• Employment Agencies: Match employers with employees.
• Executive Search Firms (Headhunters): Place applicants in high-paying jobs.
  • Public Employment Agencies: State or local government agencies specializing in blue-collar or clerical positions, typically free of charge.
• Employee Referrals: Current employees refer other applicant.
• Direct Mail: Organizations sends mass mailings to people are not active job hunters.

The Internet

• Is a fast growing method for recruitment
• Employer-based website are websites containing lists of available jobs.
• Job Fairs is a recruitment method where employees are available, to obtain information.

Method's of conducting a Job Fair: Methods include

• Different organizations having booths in the same locations
• In the same field in the same location
• The organization can run it by its self.
• Incentives can be offered to people if they accept the job.
• To increase diversity organizations make special efforts to recruit underrepresented groups.
• Recruiting Passive Applicants is building relationships with professional associations.
• A way to find passive applicants is surfing the web through Facebook.

Evaluating the effectiveness of Recruitment strategies

• Evaluate success by determining the Number of Applicants/Qualified Applicants, the costs, or the number of employees generated.
• A Preview is to give applicants an assessment.
• A way to have effective employee selections is to lower the chances of legal challenges
• There are multiple types of employment interviews where someone is either being hired or rejected.

Types of Employment Interviews

• Structured interviews are based on job analysis and has scoring system
• Interview styles can range from One-on-one, serial, return, panel, or in a group Interviews can be in person, or online structured interview has increment validity, job analisys, and legality
• There are also problems that include poor intuitative ability, lack of job relatedness, primary effects etc.
• When Creating interview questions they can include clarifiers, or disquailifers.
• Questions can include the Skill Level Determiner to test skill level.
• As well as previous Past Experience or Future Hypothetical situation

Resume and Cover Letter

• A Cover letter must have a salutation paragraphs, and signature.
• There are Chronolical resumes, Functional Resume, and Psychological Resume.