Historical Perspectives in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Essay Example

Several definitions have been applied to define organizational psychology. Koppes (2007) defines it as a scientific study of how man relates with the world of work as he tries to make a living. Another definition proposed by Anderson, Ones, Sinangil and Viswesvaran (2002) describes it as the extension or application of psychological principles and facts in business and industry. Combining these two ideas, organization psychology can simply be defined as application of psychology in organizations and the workplace. This paper focuses on this field of organizational psychology with emphasis on the role played by research and statistics and concludes by elaborating its relevance in organizations. It is presumed that organizational psychology is an effective management tool.

Organizational psychology has its roots in social psychology and mainly seeks to determine how work environment affects performance and other outcomes such as job satisfaction and health. This implies that research is a vital tool in this field. In doing so, organizational psychologists apply several methods. One such method is use of study designs which include experiments, surveys, and observational studies. Another method is use of diverse data sources like human judgments, questionnaires, surveys, historical databases, and objective measures of work performance (Anderson et al, 2002).

Use of evidence-based practices of research and statistics in organizational psychology contributes to the success of an organization by improving its performance and well-being of its workers. This is possible for instance, when research identifies manners in which employees’ behaviors and attitudes can be improved through training programs, hiring practices, and feedback systems. Once the employees’ behaviors and attitudes are improved, they get motivated improving their productivity. Research and statistics also helps in leadership by giving the bases for making certain decisions. For example, managers can rely on individual assessment tools to determine the employee to promote, reward, retrench, or to retire. Through research, managers can also get to know existing laws in employment, occupational health and safety guiding them in making decisions that do not contravene them (March & Simon, 1958).

Organizational psychology can be applied in organizations during some organizational processes. One such application is during job analysis. Job analysis entails the systematic collection of information relating to a certain job. It is often considered as the cornerstone of successful performance management initiative and employee selection effort. Job analysis gives the specifics of a certain job including duties and responsibilities and this helps the management in holding any employee responsible for any act of omission or commission. It also helps in the hiring process when a suitable candidate, able to perform the outlined tasks, is employed. Those carrying out job analysis must ensure that every job position has its own distinct functions and that job replication is not witnessed.

Another significant application of organizational psychology is during performance appraisal or management. Performance appraisal or evaluation is the process of gauging work behaviors and outcomes of an individual against the job expectations. It is often used in making decisions concerning promotions and compensations, designing and validating personnel selection, and in performance management. During performance management, performance feedback relating to expectations and improvement information are provided. It may also include tracking and documenting performance information for the purpose of organization-level evaluation. Managers have to be keen during this process to avoid biased results.

Organizational psychology is also necessary during individual assessment and psychometrics. These processes entail measuring individual differences among candidates for employment or amongst the employees. These helps the management to understand the employees better and know how best to handle each of them. The management appreciates uniqueness in individuals and incorporates them in management.

The compensation process that includes giving bonuses, wages or salaries, pension or retirement contributions, and perquisites, also require application of some aspects of organizational psychology. This is because a job evaluation has to be conducted to determine compensation levels and range and the process is sensitive. On the other hand, the process may attract pay discrimination cases which calls for sensitive handling.

Another process involving use of organizational psychology is that of training and training evaluation. Since most employees assume responsibilities without adequate experience on the job, it is necessary to train them. The trainer has to be thorough and effective in training to achieve the desired results and definitely principles of organizational psychology comes in hand. People have different learning abilities and trainers need to accommodate all employees in the training program.

Workplaces function well when employees are motivated to work (Latham & Pinder, 2005). In order to achieve such motivation, organization psychology helps the managers to determine individual drives and how best motivation can be achieved. Rewarding employees who do outstanding jobs, also encourages others to improve on their duties. The process need to be free from any biasness.

Lastly, organizational psychology helps in creating a good working place whereby employees work as a team. Managers have a task of forming a workforce with members working as a team and they have to encourage factors which can promote this. Mostly, these factors are those concerned with bringing people together such as sporting competitions. Good teamwork leads to higher productivity.

Organizational psychology is mainly concerned with looking at the organization in the perspective of the employees since they determine the success or failure of any organization. Therefore, by centering on employees’ issue, organizational psychology becomes a vital tool that managers need to apply during their managerial duties. Among other benefits, it helps in getting the right workforce, motivating it, and encouraging workers to work as a team contributing to organizational success.

References

Anderson, N., Ones, D. S., Sinangil, H. K., & Viswesvaran, C. (2002). Handbook of industrial, work and organizational psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd.

Koppes, L. L. (2007). Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Latham, G. P. & Pinder, C. (2005). Work motivation at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 485-516.

March, J. G., &Simon, H. A. (1958). Organizations.  New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.