Organizational Psychology Quiz

Organizational Psychology and Theories

• Organizational psychology is the scientific study of individual and group behavior in formal organizational settings.
• Organization is a structured social system consisting of groups and individuals working together to meet some agreed-upon objectives.
• Key milestones in organizational psychology:
  • 1927 and 1932: Hawthorne Studies - social factors impact behavior in organizational settings.
  • 1930s: Unionization in the US - forced organizations to consider participative decision-making, workplace democracy, and quality of work life.
  • 1940s: Kurt Lewin's Action Research - collaboration between researchers and organizations to solve problems.
  • 1940s: WWII racial integration of the US military - problems with low morale and desertion.
  • 1960s: Human relations perspective arises.
  • 1960s: Herzberg's study on job design and job enrichment - development of Two-Factor Motivation Theory.

Organizational Theories

• Classical Organizational Theories:
  • Scientific Management (Taylor, 1911):
    • Those who design the work should be separate from those who perform the work.
    • Work should be broken down into the smallest and simplest components.
    • Organization should consist of similar groups of employees, all performing highly specialized tasks.
    • Need to determine the most efficient way to carry out work tasks.
    • There is "one best way" to do any job or accomplish any task.
  • Ideal Bureaucracy (Weber, 1947):
    • Rewards should be based on one's contributions to the organization, not social or familial connections.
    • There should be a rule or procedure to govern almost any situation that employees may encounter.
    • Very narrow spans of control.
    • Follows Unity of Command and Unity of Direction.
    • Employees "know only what they need to know."
  • Administrative Management (Henri Fayol, 1984):
    • The major functions of managers include planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling.
    • Advocates fairness in the remuneration of employees.
    • Criticized for ignoring the human element.
• Humanistic Organizational Theories:
  • Theory X and Theory Y (McGregor):
    • Theory X: Most people have an inherent dislike for work and need to be coerced and supervised closely.
    • Theory Y: Work is a natural part of people's lives, and most people seek greater meaning in it.
    • Theory X managers have very narrow spans of control, strict lines of authority, and a vast number of rules and procedures.
    • Theory Y organizations are more humane and potentially more psychologically fulfilling for employees.
• Contingency Organizational Theories:
  • There is no singular set of personal traits, nor is there one set of behaviors that will always distinguish good leaders from poor ones.
  • The design of an organization must be consistent with the situation.

Organizational Behavior

• Organizational behavior investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structures have on behavior within organizations.
• Key elements of organizational behavior:
  • People: The workforce is one of the critical resources that need to be managed.
  • Structure: Defines the official/formal relationships of people in organizations.
  • Job and tasks: Jobs are the sum of an individual's assignment at the workplace, and tasks refer to the various activities that need to be performed to get the job done.
  • Technology: Organizations have technologies for transforming inputs and outputs, supplying essential resources and equipment to employees.
  • Environment: All organizations operate within an external environment, which includes political, social, economic, cultural, and technological factors.

Organizational Structure

• Key elements of organizational structure:
  • Work specialization: Division of labor, where the whole job is broken down into steps, and each step is completed by different individuals.
  • Departmentalization: Refers to the basis on which jobs are grouped to accomplish organizational goals.
  • Chain of command: Shows the flow of authority directed from the upper levels of the organization to the lowest levels.
  • Span of control: Deals with how many subordinates one can effectively manage under their control.
  • Centralization and decentralization: The decision-making process, where top management makes key decisions with no input from lower-level employees (centralized) or lower-level employees are provided more input and given more discretion to make decisions (decentralized).
  • Formalization: The extent to which employees are governed by rules, regulations, and standardized operating procedures to maintain consistency and uniformity.

Organization Change and Development

• Types of change:
  • Downsizing: Permanent reduction of a company's labor force through the elimination of unproductive workers or divisions.
  • Reorganization: Reducing costly inefficiencies, responding to new competitive markets, and developing strategies to move forward successfully.
  • New teams: Introducing new teams or divisions based on the needs of the company.
• Why change?:
  • Organizations can change for several reasons, but most commonly due to new government regulations and new leadership.
• Stages of change according to Lewin (1958):
  • Unfreezing: The organization must convince employees and other stakeholders that the current state of affairs is unacceptable and that change is necessary.
  • Moving: The organization takes steps to move the organization to the desired state.
  • Refreezing: The organization develops ways to keep the new changes in place, such as formalizing new policies and rewarding employees for behaving in a manner consistent with the new change.

Stress Management

• What is stress?:
  • Psychological and physical reaction to certain life events or situations.
  • Stressors are life events that cause stress.
• Types of stress:
  • Eustress: Positive energy and improvements in performance and health.
  • Distress: Negative energy and decreases in performance and health.
• Stress in the Philippines:
  • At 50%, worker stress in the Philippines was the highest in Southeast Asia in 2021.
• Predisposition to stress:
  • Individual differences make some people more prone to stress.
  • Type A personality: Competitive, impatient, and hurried.
  • Type B personality: Relaxed and agreeable.
  • Neuroticism: Tendency to experience negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and moodiness.
• Gender, ethnicity, and race:
  • Women may experience certain stressors more often than men, and men and women may react differently to certain types of stressors.
  • Racial and ethnic differences mostly concern physical reactions to stress.
• Stress sensitization:
  • Exposing oneself to high levels of stress over a long duration can lead to increased stress sensitivity.
• Source of stress:
  • Most common source of stress: Personal safety, money, work, economy, and family responsibilities.
• Personal stressors:
  • Fear of the unknown, resisting change, and lack of control.
• Occupational stressors:
  • Job characteristics, role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload.
• Organizational stressors:
  • Person-organization fit, change, and organizational politics.
• Stress caused by work environments:
  • Shift work, moonlighting, and other sources of stress.
• Managing stress:
  • Exercise, laughter, diet, sleep, and self-empowerment.
• Stress reduction interventions:
  • Easing the child-care burden, easing the elder-care burden, easing the daily-chore burden, and providing rest through paid time off.

Understanding Mental Health

• WHO predicts that by 2030, businesses around the world will lose approximately 12 billion workdays due to depression and anxiety disorders.
• 9 out of 10 people with mental health conditions experience stigma and discrimination.
• Estimated 4.5 million Filipinos were projected to be suffering from depression or any mental health issues.
• Overview of RA 11036 "The Mental Health Act":
  • Entitled An Act Establishing a National Mental Health Policy for the Purpose of Enhancing the Delivery of Integrated Mental Health Services, Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Persons Utilizing Psychiatric, Neurologic, Psychosocial Health Services, Appropriating Funds Therefor, and for other Purposes.

Employee Benefits

• Statutory and common employee benefits:
  • Statutory benefits: Mandatory benefits, such as paid annual leave, parental leave, worker's compensation insurance, and paid sick leave.
  • Social Security System (SSS): A body made up of representatives from the government, employers, and employees, which provides benefits such as maternity pay, sickness pay, pensions, disability benefits, salary loans, life insurance, and funeral grants.
  • Health insurance: PhilHealth is the name of the health insurance plan in place for private employees in the Philippines.### Labor Relations and Employment
• Labor Relations refer to the relations between management and labor, especially with respect to the maintenance of agreements, collective bargaining, etc.
• Labor Standards refer to the minimum terms and conditions of employment which the employer is required to grant to its employee.

Types of Employment in the Philippines

• Regular Employment: when the employee is considered as regular when the casual employee's engagement has lasted for at least one year.
• Probationary Employment: exists when the employee, upon his engagement, is made to undergo a trial period where the employee determines his fitness to qualify for regular employment, based on reasonable standards made known to him at the time of engagement. Shall not exceed 6 months from date of start of work.
• Project Employment: when the employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking whose completion or termination has been determined at the time of the engagement of the employee.
• Seasonal Employment: where the work or service to be performed is seasonal in nature and the employment is for the duration of the season.
• Fixed-term employment contract: an employment arrangement wherein the employer and the employee voluntarily entered a fixed-term, period, or duration of employment.

Working Conditions and Rest Periods

• Normal Hours of Work: 8 hours a day
• Hours Worked: all time during which an employee is required to be on duty or to be at a prescribed workplace; and all time during which an employee is suffered or permitted to work.
• Meal Periods: not less than sixty (60) minutes time-off for their regular meals
• Right to Weekly Rest Day: provide each of his employees a rest period of not less than twenty-four (24) consecutive hours after every six (6) consecutive normal workdays.

Benefits

• Minimum Benefits: wages shall be paid at least once every two weeks or twice a month at intervals not exceeding sixteen (16) days
• Premium Pay: additional pay for employees who render work during non-workdays
• Night Shift Differential: 10% of his regular wage for each hour of work performed between ten o'clock in the evening and six o'clock in the morning
• Service Incentive Leave: 5 days, at least 1 year in service
• Paternity Leave: under RA 8187
• VAWC Leave: under RA 9262
• Solo Parents Leave: under RA 8972
• Bereavement Leave: not specified
• 13th Month Pay: one-half month salary for each year of service
• Retirement Pay: equivalent to one-half month salary for every year of service, with a fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one (1) whole year

ERG Theory

• Existence Needs: physiological needs, safety needs
• Relatedness Needs: social needs, esteem needs
• Growth Needs: self-actualization needs

Herzberg Two-Factor Theory

• Hygiene Factors: pay, job security, working conditions, policy and administration, level of and quality of supervision, interpersonal relationships
• Motivating Factors: sense of achievement, recognition by others, responsibility within the job, advancement and personal growth, work itself