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INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY 132
NOTES BY LYNDSAY ADAMSON 24964131
,CHAPTER 1 – PSYCHOLOGY OF WORK & ORGANIZATIONS
Work & Organisational Psychology
Psychology = study of mind and behaviour
Applied psychology:
o Problem-driven
o Applies psychological theories, principles and methods to real world problems
of work, business, organisation → solutions
Definition of W&OPsych (Woods and West):
Study of people and behaviour at work; organizations in which they work
o Develop psych theory
o Apply rigour / methods to issues that important to businesses/organisations
o Promote and advance understanding of effectiveness at work
i.e., individual, group and organizational
o AND wellbeing and satisfaction of people working in or served by
organizations
Aims
o ↑↑ productivity; employee citizenship behaviour; job satisfaction
o ↓↓ absenteeism & turnover; deviant workplace behaviour
Core values of W&O psychology:
o Science – methodologies &
scientific rigour to
understanding people
and behaviour at work
o Pragmatism – solving practical
problems via
application of
psychology
o Ethics - ethical practices
o People and organization – seeking
solutions to organisational problems
and enhancing oranisational
effectiveness and the well-being of
people in organisations
organizational productivity
BALANCE BETWEEN
employee motivation & success
Take into account the 3 P’s : PROFITS; PEOPLE; PLANET within context
, Sub-fields of Industrial Psychology:
o Organizational psychology
Organizational behaviour
Individual differences & attitudes
Organizational development/change
Organizational culture, strategy, design
o Personnel Psychology/HRM
Performance Measurement & Mx
Work motivation
Personnel selection & assessment
o Career psychology
Learning, training, development
Vocational behaviour & careers
o Employee relations
Leadership & management
Teams & groups
Employment law & industrial relations
o Employee & Organizational well-being
Employee systems programs
Health, well-being, safety
o Ergonomics
Interface with our environment
o Consumer psychology
Shops use psychological methods to market
o Research methodology & psychometrics
Test development
Brief History
o Originated in the 20th century
o The First and the Second World War saw major growth
application & success of science
modern psychology
changing nature of work
o US & Europe developed fast but divergent
US: productivity; assessment; training; performance
Europe: wellbeing & welfare; organizational influence
Contemporary Themes/Challenges
Ethical and socially responsible work psychology
o 2 critical relationships include in moral consideration
Government ↔ Businesses ↔ Rest of society
o CSR = Corporate Social Responsibility
obligation to consider direct & indirect effects – positive/negative –
of organizational operation
1. Economic – operate profitably and efficiently (returning value to shareholders
and fulfilling taxation)
2. Legal – To conform to all aspects of the law
3. Ethical – Act in accordance with societal and business moral norms (promote
overall wellness of society)
, o Wider issues where W&O psychologists contribute to irresponsible management:
Pro-management bias – Competitive nature of business
Work psychologists contacted by managers - precise in require. Can lead
to bias of management goals and needs -questionable actions i.e.,
downsizing
Focus on means and not ends – Work psychologists focus on the
methods and practices; failure to focus on long-term outcomes
Global, cross-cultural W&O psychology
o Globalisation is already happening
o Culture
Consists in patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting,
acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive
achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts
the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially
their attached values
o The culture determines specifics of organizational development – contingency
theory
o (Areas of motivation, values, leadership, management and teamwork influenced
by culture)
o Culture needs to feature more so it can be better understood:
Expansion of cross-cultural research – Selection, training and
performance management need a clearer integration of culture
Understanding the implicit values of research questions – Need to
understand the cultural limitations by acknowledging the limitations of
individual’s perspectives (influence of Western culture)
Theory and Cultural Influence - A globalised perspective needs to be
adopted, but first the cultural influence needs to be understood and when
culture matters must also be understood
Sustainable work psychology
o Sustainable development = development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet her own needs
o Includes attention to 3 areas (3 P’s)
Primary focus 1. Economic – Developing economies – do not threaten long-term economic health
of growth 2. Social – Focusing on development that addresses global social issues (poverty,
hunger and inequality)
3. Environmental – Developing in a way that allows less environmental resources to
be consumed than those can naturally be replenished
Economic Environment
Social
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