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Organizational Psychology course notes (SOW-PSB3BE50E)
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Notes from the course Organizational Psychology (SOW-PSB3BE50E). With these notes, I myself got a 7 for this course.
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Organisational psychology – aantekeningen hoorcolleges RUWeek 1 – organisational theory
What is an organisation?
An organisation is a collection of people who work together and coordinate their actions in
order to achieve individual and organisational goals
for an organisation to be effective depends on if they achieve their goals
Components of organisations (Mintzberg)
6 basic parts of the organization (as a fly):
1) Ideology
2) Strategic apex (top management who decides
strategy/goals)
3) Middle line (middle managers, who act as
liasons. In small organisations often absent)
4) Operating core (people on the workfloor, who do the actual work)
5) Technostructure (have a say in how the work is executed)
6) Support staff (legal affairs, R&D not directly related to the core, but still is important
to be efficient etc.)
It are 5 parts that are embedded in the ideology (values that are important for organisation)
3 hierarchical levels: strategic apex, middle line and operating core
Eyes of the fly: technostructure and support staff
What is Organisational Behaviour?
Examining the factors that influence how individuals and groups act in organisations and how
organisations respond to their environment
Why study organisational behaviour?
in order to understand behaviour in organisations
in order to learn how to apply concepts, theories and techniques that can improve or
change behaviour
in order to enable managers to direct and supervise the activities of their employees
,Levels of analysis (influence each other):
Organisational level
Group level
Individual level
Organisational theory
because of industrial revolution, organisations
could grow. So need arose on how to organise
an organisation. In reality distinction more fluid ->
Classical approach:
Objective: to improve the organisational structure in order to increase efficiency.
Normative how it should be. Distinction between good and bad
“Big” names: Mooney & Reiley, Taylor, Ford, Weber
Mooney & Reiley:
Principles:
Principle of coordination act together, exercising authority, need for discipline
‘Scalar principle’ vertical division, hierarchy
Functional principle horizontal division. Work divided in functions (group of tasks
divided)
The difference between line and staff (line belong to the core, staff do not belong to
the core of an organisation. They can have power, but not how the work is done)
Taylor, Ford:
In accordance with which principles did Taylor believe work needed to be classified?
What motivates employees according to him?
What do these principles mean for the employee (e.g. Ford factory)?
Scientific management (Taylor):
Principles:
o Responsibility for the organisation of work from the employee to the manager
o Use of scientific methods in order to determine the most efficient way of
working
o Scientific selection, training and development of employees
o Monitoring job performance
Employees as ‘machines’
Idea: people are motivated by financial gain (use pay for performance)
Criticism:
o Strong division of labour (deskilling)
o Little/no opportunity for employees to exercise control over their work (tasks
were prescribed)
However:
o Contribution to knowledge
o Higher earnings/less physical stress
Fordism:
“Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black”
Inspired by Taylor
, Mass production (assembly line)
Standardised products
Low costs
Strong division of labour
Standard salary (enough to be able to buy products)
Paternalistic (education, homes, healthcare)
Bureaucracy (Weber):
Characteristics:
Specialisation (of the function, not the employee. A function (which is a set of tasks)
exists irrespective of the employee. So someone else can fill in the same spot, but
the task itself is specialized), division of labour
o Advantage: Efficiency will increase through specialization
Hierarchy
o Advantage: A clear chain of command (clear who makes decisions and who
follows) will develop from the highest to the lowest level of an organization
Formal selection
o Advantage: employees will be hired and promoted based on merit and
expertise benefits both them and employer
Career orientation (= people work there because of their careers, not political
motives. You cannot be fired if you do what is expected of you)
o Advantage: The hiring of “career” professionals will ensure the performance of
assigned duties without regard for extraneous pressures
System of rules and regulations
o Advantage: Efficiency will increase as formal rules and other controls relating
to employee performance are enforced
Impersonality (all rules apply to everyone)
o Advantage: When rules and other controls are applied impersonally and
uniformly, involvement with personalities and personal preferences is avoided.
Subordinates are therefore protected from arbitrary actions of their superiors
Disadvantages:
Rules and other controls may become “ends” rather than “means” (you adhere to the
rules because the rules are rules)
Lack of appreciation or concern for changed conditions (not flexible for changes)
Delegation of authority to lower levels may encourage emphasis on subunit rather
than overall goals subunit conflict and decreased effectiveness
“Working to the rules” (there are rules, but looking up the boundaries with what is
possible within the rules)
Objections to the classical approach
Ignores the psychological and social processes of employees:
o Limits the psychological growth of the employee:
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