Industrial Psychology

An individual Assignment By Ms Thilini Dulanjali Gallage

Course: PQHRM 5 !"5 Module: "#

Institute of Personnel management Sri Lanka

Contents

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Executive summary

In this incident a researcher tried to find suitable psychological tests to find suitable sales persons for a company. Researcher promised to keep the test results confidentially with the approval of the organization. The purpose of the research was explained and the outcome was a success. After few weeks the company wanted to apply the same strategy or an adopted strategy to identify potential sales personals for promotions and identify assign one of them to sales Managers. ompany management decide since the psychometric test was already conducted it a waste of time to re!do it" instead they re#uested the researcher to reveal the test scores. $owever the researcher refused to break the agreement and turn in the results. The narrator offered % options. &. Re!administer the same test to the employees under a different set of conditions namely the company could see the test results. %. 'et the researcher himself decide or nominate a suitable sales manager and make promotion decisions. (oth these alternatives were ignores by the management because company management considered they are waste of money and time to re!decide that test scores which have already been decided. )urthermore they were accusing the researcher of holding the test scores as hostage and trying to get another round of pay for consulting again. This once again failed to compromise the narrator. The issue stayed as unsolved" but soon the company lost the interest on the idea after a downfall in sales. *till with a negative belief" the company did not invite the narrator again for consulting. The narrator too felt that the company does not re#uire any more support even if the test scores were revealed

What is Industrial/Organizational Psychology?

Industrial and organizational psychology or work psychology is the scientific study of workforces" workstations" and organizations. Industrial and organizational psychologists contribute to an organization+s achievement by improving the workplace and the performance" satisfaction and well!being of its people. An I,- psychologist researches and identifies how employee behaviors and attitudes can be improved through hiring practices" training programs" and feedback and management systems. I,- psychologists also help organizations changeover among periods of change and development. Industrial and organizational psychology is related to organizational behavior and human capital. I,- psychology will work in a number of environments such as hospitals" government institutions" universities" public service agencies" and businesses. .ithin each business I,psychology can be divided into different fields. *ome organizations practice /ust one of these fields" or they will branch out and do many. *ome of them are &. *election and 0lacement -ne of the most crucial /obs is to help a business or organization select the most #ualified and well!suited people for the re#uired positions that are offered by the company. 0ersonnel selection or selection and placement are the process used to hire persons. Although the term can apply to all aspects of the procedure the most common meaning focuses on the selection of workers. In this respect" selected prospects are separated from re/ected applicants with the purpose of choosing the person who will be the most successful and make the most valuable contributions to the organization. I,- psychology focuses in selection and placement will also help decide where an employee should be placed within a company based on their intelligence" attitude and personality. It can also help the organization decide whether or not employees can be promoted. %. Training and 1evelopment )or an employee to be successful and a valuable asset to the company" they need to know what they are doing. )or that training is very important. Training is the achievement of knowledge" skills" and capabilities as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful skills. Training has specific goals of improving

one+s capability" capacity" and performance. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of technology I,- psychology will focus on identifying weaknesses in employees and seeing that those employees gain the skills they need to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Training includes technical skills enhancement and managerial development programs" among other things. I,- psychology will also decide which training and development programs work best.

2. 3uality of .ork life 3uality of work life can be defined as the environment at the work place provided to the people on the /ob. 3.' programs is the another dimension in which employers has the responsibility to provide congenial environment such that excellent working conditions where people can perform excellent work also their health as well as economic health of the organization is also met. The #uality of personal life is always reflected in professional life and vice versa. In 3.' I,- psychology involves identifying the factors that help contribute to a productive organization. This can involve changing aspects of the physical work environment or changing the re#uirements of a /ob so that employees are happier. -nly when employees have a #uality work life the productivity increases and the entire organization benefits. 4. 0erformance Appraisal A performance appraisal is a method by which the /ob performance of an employee is evaluated. 0erformance appraisals are a part of career development and consist of regular reviews of employee performance within organizations. I,- 0sychology will set principles for /udging employee+s /ob efficiency and effectiveness. I,- 0sychology will set whether or not the /ob performance of an individual is contributing to the organization" and by how much by measuring the performance of entire teams or units within the organization" as well as the organization as a whole. 0erformance appraisals are important because they help organizations determine how much to pay their employees.

5. 6roup behavior

6roup behavior is the collaboration between persons of a group and the procedures such as views" attitudes" growth" response loops" and variations that occur and change as a result of this collaboration. The interactions serve to fulfill some need satisfaction of an individual who is part of the collective and helps to provide a basis for his interaction with specific members of the group. I,- psychology measures the Team effectiveness" which refers to the system of getting people in a company or institution to work together effectively. The idea behind team effectiveness is that a group of people working together can achieve much more than if the individuals of the team were working on their own.

What is Organizational diagnosis?

The basic idea of -rganizational 1iagnosis 7-18 is it9s an attempted to make an analysis of the organization. -rganizational 1iagnosis helps organizations to identify the :gaps; between :what is; and :what should to be.; -nce we gain a shared vision of the desired state" we can partner in an effort to identify barriers and work toward solutions. In basic terms an analysis is for its structure" systems and processes in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of its systems and processes. *ystem can be viewed as a linkage of input flows 7energy" materials" information" human resources" economic resources8 from sources in the external environment" a transforming mechanism 7a machine or a technical!human organization8" and flows of outputs or outcomes provided to users. *ystem may include one or more feedback mechanisms for self!regulation. 1iagnostic activities should focus its attention to two areas 7a8 subsystem areas 7top management" department" group" individual unit8 7b8 organization processes or organizational health 7decision!making process" communication patterns and styles" relationships between interfacing groups" the management of conflict" the setting of goals and planning methods8. 0eople cannot be diagnosticians in systems in which they are full!fledged members due to overt or covert vested interests. 1iagnosticians must maintain role of researcher 7systematic" ob/ective and result!oriented investigation8 and must establish some type of liaison system between the researcher and the elements of the systems. The liaison may be an individual or a group.

Phases of organizational diagnosis Entry The primary ob/ectives of entry are to determine which units of the system 7individual" group" and organization8 will participate in the diagnosis and to determine whether the client and

consultant can reach agreement about their respective roles during data collection and feedback. <ntry begins with the first encounter between client and consultant and ends with a decision between client and consultant stating whether they can work together to complete the diagnosis. <ntry is also a time for data collection" as the consultant begins to learn about the client system through conversations" observations" and documents. The close of entry" whether the decision is to terminate or to proceed with the next phases" provides the client with some feedback about how the consultant views the system Data Collection The primary ob/ectives of data collection are systematically to gather valid information about the nature of the client system and to prepare an analysis of that data for delivery to the client during feedback. 1ata collection begins when the consultant prepares a methodology for eliciting information and contacts members of the client system to implement the methodology. 1ata collection ends when the consultant has analyzed the data and is prepared to feed back the results to the client. <ach data collection episode begins by establishing the bases of the client! consultant relationship and" as such" is like entry. These unstructured events provide the consultant with a continuing basis for revising or confirming hypotheses about the organization. In the process of eliciting data from clients" the consultant becomes increasingly specific about the kinds of data that will be useful. The search for increasingly precise information indirectly tells the client what the consultant thinks is important and thereby serves as a type of feedback.

Feedback 0rimary ob/ective of feedback is to promote increased understanding of the client system by its members. <ffective feedback design relates the content of the feedback to the process by which the analysis is delivered to the system. The process of feedback is the composition of feedback

meetings" the ordering of the meetings" the behavior of the system during feedback and the behavior of the researchers within and between feedback meetings. )eedback is probably the period of maximum anxiety during the entire diagnosis. If the system could tolerate the anxiety" system could learn itself In sum" the methodology of organizational diagnosis calls for the researcher to be competent in the conventional use of social science tools 7 observation" interviews" #uestionnaires and archives8 ant to possess a sophisticated theory and the related behavioral skills to enter" collect and feedback information to complex multigrain systems. .hat is =ob satisfaction and .ork Motivation> The study of motivation is concerned" basically" with why people behave in a certain way. The basic underlying #uestion is ?.hy do people do what they do>9 In general terms" motivation can be described as the direction and persistence of action. Realizing what motivates an every employee in an organization is important to the study of I,- psychology. It is concerned with why people choose a particular course of action in preference to others" and why they continue with a chosen action" often over a long period and in the face of dif@culties and problems. Motivation is typi@ed as an individual phenomenon. <very person is uni#ue and all the ma/or theories of motivation allow for this uni#ueness to be demonstrated in one way or another. The underlying concept of motivation is some driving force within individuals by which they attempt to achieve some goal in order to fulfill some need or expectation. This concept gives rise to the basic motivational model" which is illustrated in )igure &. 0eople9s behavior is determined by what motivates them. Their performance is a product of both ability level and motivation.

Figure 1

A number of various theories attempt to describe employee motivation within the discipline of I,- 0sychology. And one of them is the Maslow9s hierarchy of need theory. According to Maslow" human behavior is related to his needs. It is ad/usted as per the nature of needs to be satisfied. In hierarchy of needs theory" Maslow identified five types , sets of human need arranged in a hierarchy of their importance and priority. $e concluded that when one set of needs is satisfied" it ceases to be a motivating factor. Thereafter" the next set of needs in the hierarchy order takes its place. These needs in hierarchy can be compared to a pyramid. At the lowest level" there will be first set of needs which can be described as basic needs and are universal in character. This will be followed by other sets of needs. .hen trying to motivate a sales department" Maslow+s theory is still an important consideration for managers hoping to motivate their employees.

The Maslow+s 0yramid of $uman Aeeds is explained below 0hysiological AeedsB 0hysiological needs are the basic needs for sustaining human life. These needs include food" shelter" clothing" rest" air" water" sleep and sexual satisfaction. These basic human needs lie at the lowest level in the hierarchy of needs as they have priority over all other needs. These needs cannot be postponed for long. Cnless and until these basic physiological needs are satisfied to the re#uired extent" other needs do not motivate an employee. A hungry person" for example" is /ust not in a position to think of anything else except his hunger or food. According to Maslow" +man lives by bread alone"+ when there is no bread. The management attempts to meet such physiological needs through fair wages. *ecurity , *afety AeedsB These are the needs connected with the psychological fear of loss of /ob" property" natural calamities or hazards" etc. An employee wants protection from such types of fear. $e prefers ade#uate safety or security in this regard i.e. protection from physical danger" security of /ob" pension for old age" insurance cover for life" etc. The safety needs come after meeting the physiological needs. *uch physiological needs lose their motivational potential when they are satisfied. As a result" safety needs replace them. They begin to manifest themselves and dominate human behavior. *afety needs act as motivational forces only if they are unsatisfied. *ocial AeedsB An employee is a human being is rightly treated as a social animal. $e desires to stay in group. $e feels that he should belong to one or the other group and the member of the group should accept him with love and affection. <very person desires to be affiliated to such groups. This is treated as basic social need of an individual. $e also feels that he should be loved by the other members. $e needs friends and interaction with his friends and superiors of the group such as fellow employees or superiors. *ocial needs occupy third position in the hierarchy of needs. <steem AeedsB This category of needs include the need to be respected by others" need to be appreciated by others" need to have power and finally prestigious position. -nce the previous needs are satisfied" a person feels to be held in esteem both by him and also by others. Thus" esteem needs are two fold in nature. *elf!esteem needs include those for self!confidence" self!

respect" competence" etc. The second groups of esteem needs are those related to one+s status" reputation" recognition and appreciation by others. This is a type of personal ego which needs to be satisfied. The -rganization can satisfy this need by giving recognition to the good work of employees. <steem needs do not assume the motivational properties unless the previous needs are satisfied. *elf!actualization AeedsB This is the highest among the needs in the hierarchy of needs advocated by Maslow. *elf!actualizations is the desire to become what one is capable of becoming. It is a +growth+ need. A worker must work efficiently if he is to be ultimately happy. $ere" a person feels that he should accomplish something in his fife. $e wants to utilize his potentials to the maximum extent and desires to become what one is capable of becoming. A person desires to have challenges and achieves something special in his life or in the area of his specialization. Though everyone is capable of self!actualization" many do not reach this stage. This need is fully satisfied rarely. Aot only the sales team" this theory can be applied to any department. All it takes is the initiation of the department head or the manager to understand and implement it.

What is Psychometric Testing?

0sychometric tests attempt to ob/ectively measure aspects of your mental ability or your personality. Dou are most likely to encounter psychometric testing as part of the recruitment or selection process and occupational psychometric tests are designed to provide employers with a reliable method of selecting the most suitable /ob applicants or candidates for promotion. 0sychometric tests are seldom used in isolation and represent /ust one of the methods used by employers in the selection process.
Who uses psychometric Tests?

Today large" medium" and an increasing number of small firms use psychometric tests. -ver EF G of larger companies are currently using psychometric tests to gather vital information from potential and current employees. More and more companies are using psychometric tests forB graduate recruitment filtering out candidates when there are large numbers of applicants

-ver EFG of large companies use them in their recruitment process. They are also used to assess existing employees forB training and staff development needs promotion

What Is Perception?

0sychologists typically make a distinction between sensation and perception. *ensations are uninterrupted sensory impressions created by the detection of environmental stimuli" whereas perception refers to the set of processes whereby we make sense of these sensations. 0erception enables us to literally navigate through the world" avoiding danger" making decisions" and preparing for action. Hisual perception has received the most attention from researchers" and then speech. Among the most important perceptions that influence organizational behavior are the perceptions that organizational members have of each other. 0erceptions vary from person to person. 1ifferent people perceive different things about the same situation. (ut more than that" we assign different meanings to what we perceive. And the meanings might change for a certain person. -ne might change one+s perspective or simply make things mean something else.
What are Values?

As far as organizations are concerned" organizational values are the acceptable standards which govern the behavior of individuals within the organization. -rganization+s values must be in line with its purpose or mission" and the vision that it is trying to achieve. .ithout such values" individuals will practice behaviors that are in line with their own individual value systems" they could be behaviors that the organization doesn+t wish to encourage.

What are ttitudes and !eha"ior?

An attitude is Ia relatively enduring organization of beliefs" feelings" and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant ob/ects" groups" events or symbolsI (ehavior relates to how an individual does his or her work and how they get the work done. .ork behavior attitude is tangible. $ence it is measurable. It is e#ually important to have a great work behavior attitude" as it is to have a great work attitude behavior at work. 6oing back to the case study" the narrator or the conductor of the psychometric test seems to have a very work oriented core values. The attitude and the perception reflected when the test scores were asked was very unbiased and honest. Any employee would like to work or contribute to such personnel. (ut one drawback the narrator possesses is the lack of situational behavior. It is very essential to maintain a good work attitude and behavior among the managers too. The narrator

must have approached differently when communicating with the managers. (ut in the end of the day narrator was only providing a service and it was a fair play.

.hat is emotional Intelligence> <motional intelligence 7<I8 is the ability to identify" assess" and control the emotions of oneself" of others" and of groups. It can be divided into ability <I and trait <I. Ability <I is usually measured using maximum performance tests and has stronger relationships with traditional intelligence" whereas trait <I is usually measured using self!report #uestionnaires and has stronger relationships with personality. It+s about recognizing the emotional state and the emotional states of others. <motional intelligence is not learned in the intellectual way" it must be learned and understood inn an emotional level. -ne can9t read about emotional intelligence or master it through memorizing. In order to learn about emotional intelligence an individual must need to engage the emotional parts of the brain in ways that connects to others. This kind of learning is based on what we see" hear" and feel. Intellectual understanding is an important first step" but the development of emotional intelligence depends on sensory" nonverbal learning and real!life practice. <motional intelligence has as much to do with knowing when and how to express emotion as it do with controlling it" like the ability to manage feelings and handle stress has been found to be important for success in many organizations. There are two basic aspects to understanding <3. &. Intrapersonal <3 J how one develops and uses his,her own emotional intelligence. This includes self!awareness and managing one9s emotions in the workplace. %. Interpersonal <3 J how one enhances his,her relationships with others by developing more effective communication skills and interpersonal awareness.

<I vs. I3

<motion" according to the experts" is an unconscious state" distinct from cognition 7thinking8" volition 7will8 or motivation. Intelligence" on the other hand" is :a set of cognitive abilities which allows us to ac#uire knowledge" to learn and to solve problems.; 6iven this" I3 and <I seem like contradictions in terms" an oxymoron" an :us vs. them.; (ut I3,<3 tests notwithstanding" <motional Intelligence are not the opposite of intelligence. Rather it is a uni#ue intersection of the two that can enable you to use your emotions to help you solve problems and live a more effective life J both at home and at work. .hat are 6roups and Teams> .hat Is a Team> 7 ollective responsibility8 A team can be defined as two or more individuals who socially interact and possess one or more common goals. They are brought together to perform organizationally relevant tasks. They will show interdependencies with respect to workflow" goals" and outcomes have different roles and responsibilities. All the employees know they are interconnected. They understand that it is the #uality of their collective performance that determines the success or failure. In an effective team" each member knows that they are dependent on the other members for achieving the final result. This means they have an interest in helping each other where they can. The team leader will tend to consider the team as a whole. The team leader role may become smaller as the team gels and sets its own challenges. If forceful treatment is meted out to one member of a team" it is likely to have conse#uences for the team as a whole. This is especially the case if such treatment is considered as unwarranted or unfair. 0ositive or negative" the conse#uences of team leadership decisions may be magnified by the relationships between team members.

1ifferent types of teams Task )orceB a temporary team assembled to investigate a specific issue or problem.

0roblem *olving TeamB a temporary team assembled to solve a specific problem. 0roduct 1esign TeamB a temporary team assembled to design a new product or service. ommitteeB a temporary or permanent group of people assembled to act upon some matter.

.ork 6roupB a permanent group of workers who receive direction from a designated leader.

.ork Team 7also called *elf!1irected .ork Team or *elf!Managed .ork Team8B an ongoing group of workers who share a common mission who collectively manage their own affairs within predetermined boundaries.

3uality

ircle 7today also under various other names8B a group of employessfrom the

same functional area who meet regularly to solve work related problems and seek work improvement. .hat Is a 6roup> 7Individual responsibilities8 In a group each member is responsible for only their own individual contributions. $e or she shall contribute to the organization alone. The success of a group is often measured by its final results" not necessarily the process used to arrive at those results. Individuals need not have any concern about what other members of the group achieve. 6roup members are likely to develop an individual relationship with the group leader. Relationships between group leader and different individuals can vary. -ne individual may need to be managed much more forcefully than another" as they personally responsible for the completion of tasks. <ach member of a group can say ?I did my best" it is not my fault that others did not pull their weight.9 As they are not interdependent on completion of the /ob.

1ifferent types of groups A formal group is created within an organization to complete a specific role or task. This may be to oversee a launch of a particular product or service. Informal groups are established by individuals within the organization that a need to interact with one another and who also believe that these informal groups meet a need that formal groups cannot meet within the firm. 0rimary groups" within an organization a primary group is a small group that gets together and interacts regularly. A team leader with a small team is an example of a primary group. *econdary groupB .hen large number of people get together" who do not normally get together" these are called secondary groups. .ithin a secondary group" people to do not get to know each other as well as those in a primary group. .hen a secondary group is formed" individuals usually have their own agenda and goals. The relationship they form is not long term and there probably will not be much social interaction within a secondary group.

Conclusion
Industrial,organizational psychology is an extremely helpful professional that analyze the relationship between humans and the /obs they perform. *ince much of life is working" I,psychology is perhaps one of the most important fields. The tests performed on and for employees and the organization are helpful for everyone involved. (y motivating and evaluating workers and working conditions" organizations are able to thrive. The practices on how to emotional involvement is so much rewarding to an employee and the employer if it is approached correctly. Industrial aspects concerns recruiting and selection of personnel" /ob analysis and /ob design. -rganizations should focus on fair and e#uitable selection practices" how much it will help decision makers choose the best candidates for a /ob. It ensures that there is systematic recording of the /ob and duties" as well as the skills" knowledge and abilities one needs for the position. The organizational side focuses on larger constructs like work motivation" stress related to work" and emotional intelligence. $ow it will maximize good working conditions" so the organization has a happy and healthy work environment today and tomorrow.

Learning outcomes
&. Cnderstanding the important of creating a satisfactory working culture and environment within the workplace. %. $ow to apply theories in I,- psychology to real world problems 2. To what extent my current employer has reached out to practice such theories inside my organizations and drawbacks in certain areas which can be solved if correct I,0sychology is being practiced. 4. 6et to know about the role of I,- 0sychologist and get a basic idea of the types of skills" knowledge and attitudes are re#uired to be an industrial 0sychologist.

Re erences
"$ Australian 2ournal o1 Business and Management Resear'h 3ol$" 4o$"" 5-"67#8 9 :e;ruary6 #" :ACT*R< A::%CT)4G Q=A0)T> *: (*R? 0):%: %m@iri'al %viden'e :rom )ndian *rgani+ations ;y Chandranshu <inhaA D$Phil$ in Psy'hology $ The Methodology o1 *rgani+ational Diagnosis C0A>T*4 P$ A0D%R:%R -$ CHAPT%R B (*R? M*T)3AT)*4 A4D 2*B <AT)<:ACT)*4