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Industrial Psychology

Course Description

The course deals with the study of human behavior in the work related aspects of life particularly with the four relationships of man as he function in industry, namely: a) person to person relationship, b) person and group relationship, c) person and object relationship and d) problems of the inner man himself. .

Course Outline

I. The rationale for Industrial Organizational Psychology

A. Introduction

1. The reasons for studying I/O Psychology

2. History of I/O Psychology

3. Areas of I/O Psychology

4. Understanding Human Behavior

II. Personnel Psychology

A. Job related behavior and its measurement

1. Job analysis

2. Behavioral measurement

3. Personnel Assessment and Education

B. Personnel Recruitment and Selection

1. Procedures in recruitment and selection

2. Industrial Testing

3. Non-test methods of personnel selection

C. Training and Development

1. Setting up a training program

2. Implementing employee training

3. Evaluating training effectiveness

III. Men Related to Other Men: Organizational Social Context of Work

A. Groups and leadership in organizations

B. Motivation

C. Job satisfaction

D. Organizational development/organizational change

IV. The Job and the Work Environment

A. Work performance and evaluation

B. Working conditions

C. Accidents and safety

D. Engineering Psychology

E. Stress at work

F. Consumer Psychology

Industrial Psych. - the application of the methods, facts and principles of Psych. to people at work.

Problems of I/P

1. Quackery

2. Communication

3. Reluctance to try something new

4. research vs. application

AREAS OF I/P

1. The Scientific Method .

2. Employee selection

3. Performance evaluation

4. Training and development

5. Leadership

6. Motivation, job satisfaction, job involvment

7. Organizational Psych

8. Conditions of work

9. Engineering Psych

10. Employee safety and health

11. Stress at work

12. Consumer Psychology

JOB RELATED BEHAVIOR AND ITS MEASUREMENT

Personnel Psychology:

Job analysis - process of gathering information about the duties and requirements of the job.

Job Description - a written statement about what the job holder actually does, how he does it and why he does it.

Job Specifications - the qualifications required of the job incumbent of each job. Educational qualification, work experience, skills, psychological traits.

Uses of JA

1. Recruitment and Selection

2. Performance evaluation

3. Training and Development

4. Organizing/reorganizing

5. Job evaluation

3 Basic Questions in JA

1. What?

2. How?

3. Why?

Parts of a Job Description

1. Heading

2. Job Statement/Job summary .

3. Statement of Duties and responsibilities

4. Methods and tools used - equipments used/under responsibility

5. Reporting Relationships

How to write a JD

1. Begin each statement with a functional verb using the presnt tense active voice always; avoid the use of adj.. and descriptive phrases.

2. Consolidate duties whenever possible, state them separately when necessary.

3. Provide answers to the what, the how, why, whenever possible for each duty stated.

4. Avoid minute breakdown of each duties like the one in time and motion studies.

5. Highlight the skills effort, responsibilities and required working conditions for the job.

6. Specify accurate tools, equipments, machines or materials as well as weights and volumes whenever reflected to.

7. Indicate approximate frequencies of occurences of duties by using phrases like every hour, twice a day.

8. Avoid uncommon abbreviations, slang, cliches, and words that make the JD informal.

9. Enclose in parenthesis any qualifying or incidental explanatory remarks to indicate that they are integral parts of the JD.

10. Review the JD for corrections in grammar.

Sources of information for Job Description

1. The former job incumbent

2. DOT

3. Experts on the job

4. Job incumbent

5. Job analyst

6. work diaries

7. camera, recording equipments

8. questionnaires

9. direct observation

10. Previous job analysis

Job Specifications

1. Educational background

2. Efforts

3. Responsibilities

4. Working conditions

Behavioral Measurements/Criterion Selection

Criterion- standard or rule by which a judgment can be made.- predicted measure for judging the effectiveness of of persons, orgs. results, etc.- evaluative standards.

Characteristics of criteria:

1. Relevance/validity

2. Reliability

3. Freedom from bias/contamination

Classification of Criteria acc to Smith

1. Time

2. Specificity vs. generality

3. Closeness ot organizational goal

Types of criteria

1. Performance Criteria

2. Job attendance criteria

3. Accident and injury criteria

4. Physiological criteria

5. Status criteria

6. Subjective criteria

PERSONNEL EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT

Approaches to Rating

1. Relative Vs. Absolute

2. Direct Vs. Derived

Types of rating systems

1. Rating scales

2. Personnel Comparion systems

a. rank-order system

b. paired comparison

c. Forced Distribution systems

d. Point allocation technique (PAT)

3. Critical incident technique

4. Behavioral Checklists/Scales

a. Weighted Checklist

b. Forced-choice checklist.

5. Other rating methods

free written

group problem solving

discussion

management games

case studies

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION:

Personnel actions:

Recruitment

Screening

Selection

Placement

Transfer

Promotion

Demotion

Selection procedure:

Tests

• Intelligence
• Aptitude
• Personality
• Inventories
• projective technique

Biographical data

• Resume
• Application Blank

Background investigation

Interview - An interviewer can take the role of:

• information gatherer
• filter for candidates
• recommend promising candidates
• make decisions

Classification/types of interview

Based on the structure:

structured interview - interview is broken down into areas being looked upon. The interviewer formulates questions before the interview.

unstructured interview - free type, interviewer asks whatever he feels like asking, conversational, questions are based on the answers that were given. flexible

Number of interviewers:

One on one

Panel ,

Steps in the interview.

1. Prepare the types of questions

2. prepare the venue

3. establish a relationship

4. Gather relevant information data

5. Give information

6. Close the interview.

OTHER METHODS/TECHNIQUES/CONSIDERATIONS:

• Agencies/head hunters - provide you with applicants who have undergone the whole selection procedure.
• Support
• Transcript of records
• Employment certificate
• Baptismal/birth certificate
• Marriage contract
• Residence certificate
• Clearances, medical, police etc.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

• refers to the planned, continous effort by management to improve employee competency levels and organizational performance through training education and development programs.

Training

Education

Development

3 major purposes of training

1. prevents obselescense

2. improved productivity

3. prepares an employee for higher level tasks

HRD PROCESS

• Determining training needs
• Establish specific objectives
• Select HRD Methods
• Select HRD Media
• Implement the HRD program
• Evaluate the HRD program.

* Limited by the internal and external environment.

Instructional strategies:

1. Lecture

2. Audio-Visual Aids

3. Simulators

4. Case Method

6. Role playing

7. Sensitivity Training

8. Programmed instruction

9. Computer assisted instruction

10. Brainstorming

11. Demonstration

Leadership - is the process of influencing and supporting others to work enthusiastically toward achieving objectives. (elements: influence/support, voluntary effort, and goal achievement.

Based on style and use of power

1. Autocratic - centralize power and decision making in themselves
2. Paticipative - decentralize authority.
3. Free-rein - avoid power and responsibility.

Leader use of consideration and structure:

Consideration - employee orientation

Structure - task orientation

Managerial grid (Robert Blake and Jane Mouton)

• Based on the concern for people and the concern for production
• Based on structure and consideration

Contingency approaches to leadership - models that state that the most appropriate approach to leadership depends on the an analysis of the nature of the situation facing the leader.

Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model

• Telling
• Selling/coaching
• Participating/supporting
• Delegating

Path-Goal Theory of Leadership

• 4 styles of leadership
  • Directive
  • Supportive
  • Achievement oriented
  • Participative

MOTIVATION - Strength of a drive towards an action.

Performance = Ability X Motivation*

NEED THEORIES: people are motivated to fulfill certain needs.

Maslow's heirarchy of needs

• Need for self actualization

• Need for esteem

• Need for belongingness and love

• Need for security and safety

• Physiological Needs

ALDERFER'S ERG MODEL

1. Existence

2. Relatedness

3. Growth

Achievement Motivation/nACH (David McClelland);

nACH - can be expressed as a desire to perform in terms of a standard of excellence or to be successful in competitive situations

BALANCE THEORIES: (inconsistent beliefs are dissatisfying and create tension within the individual. The tension leads to attempts from the individual to reduce it and return to a consonant state. Tension is the source of motivational force that drives an individual to action)

Equity theory (Stacy Adams)

• Employees are concerned not only with the satisfaction of their needs but they also want their reward system to be fair.
• "Employees tend to judge fairness by comparing their relevant inputs to the outcomes they receive and also by comparing this ratio to those of other people:

TWO FACTOR THEORY - Frederick Herzberg

• Concluded that two separate factors influence motivation. (not a continuum)

a. HYGIENE FACTOR

b. MOTIVATION FACTOR

Behavior Modification

• Positive reinforcement
• Negative reinforcement
• Punishment .
• Extinction

THEORY OF ASSUMPTIONS by Douglas Mcgregor

THEORY X

THEORY Y

COMPENSATION

• Basic pay
• Incentives
• Fringe benefits

JOB SATISFACTION - set of favorable or unfavorable feelings with which employees view their work; form of affective attitude likes/dislikes

JOB INVOLVEMENT - is the degree to which employees immerse themselves in their jobs, invest time and energy in they and view work as a central part in their overall lives.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT - is the degree to which an employee iddentifies with the organization and wants to continue actively participating in it.

QUALITY OF WORK LIFE – the favorableness or unfavorableness of a total job environment for people.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL - is the assessment of an employees performance at regular intervals.

3 stages:

• performance planning
• performance appraisal
• Performance review .

Rating systems:

Superior rating

Peer rating

Self rating

Subordinate rating

Customer rating

PA methods

Relative

Absolute

Typical errors in PA

• Deficiency and contamination
• Lack of objectivity
• Halo effect
• Leniency, strictness, central tendency
• Similar to me
• Contrast effect
• First impression
• Halo effect
• Inadequately defined standards
• Emphasis on recent performance

WORKING CONDITIONS (circumstances, environment) – 2 general categories: physical environment and aspects of time.

Illumination

Atmospheric conditions

Noise

Work Schedule

Shift Work

Rest Periods

The above outline was based on different books on Industrial Psychology . pls e-mail me if you have comments and suggestions.

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