Industrial Psychology, Research Paper Example

Abstract

This paper addresses the concept of Industrial Psychology, applicable to Family and Consumer Science.  The paper is split into four distinct parts : (i) Introduction – Defining the concept of Industrial Psychology (ii) Industrial Psychology relative to training and hiring of employees (iii) Examples where the knowledge relates to Maslow’s theories.  (iv) Conclusion – summing up the benefits of the science in this field.

Introduction

Industrial Psychology may be considered as a branch of  Applied Psychology that deals with the management of a labour force, particularly in a mechanised environment.  It particularly addresses the problems associated with that labour force. It is closely linked to that of Organizational Psychology and as such is concerned with the well being of the employees in order to achieve the balance of a successful business organization.

Industrial Psychology – Training and Employee Retention

The role of an industrial psychologist is to help employers optimize the roles of employees and thereby facilitate job retention.  In recent years, the role has hybridized into a number of other company functions, i.e., policy analyst, in-house trainer, organizational psychologists, change manager etc.  It is useful to examine some of these roles in greater detail.

Employee relations manager: This person meets with staff and introduced them to analyze job functions and reports to management on success stories, and in particular where a resume proven to be made.  Maintenance of employee morale, motivation and effective communications have been ranked high on employee retention.

Industrial organizational psychologists: This role advises management on issues regarding employee performance, personnel policies and candidate selections.  The interpretation of psychometric testing results and the importance of ensuring new hires are a compatible sociological profile to meet the organizational needs.

Policy change manager: Assists  management with policies applicable to organizational change and business transformation.  Particularly how the human resource profile or respond to changes and how these might be smoothly implemented with the numerous disruptions to the organizational.

Company trainer: Improvement of training schemes and instruction in the organization.  The role exams to organizational training budget and ensures that adequate funds have been set aside in order to meet the organizational training needs.  Where there is a shortfall in the training needs analysis, the trainer identifies this with appropriate recommendations to ensure business continuity in this area.

The employees of an organization always been considered its most important asset.  This even more so in service-based business. ” Retention starts up front in the hiring of the right employees.”  (Development Dimensions International, 2010).  There are a number of tools that the industrial psychologist used to helping retention of staff.  These are wide ranging but includes such items as: —

• web-based or on-site training;
• staffing and assessment services;
• behaviour-based interviewing;
• leadership training;
• group dynamics and teambuilding;

Some of these techniques can be explored and expanded upon in greater detail:

Competency-based approach: this is widely used in the field of medical training.  The approach examines a function analysis of different occupational roles and assists in the translation of these into outcomes.  The assessment is based upon “the demonstrated performance of these outcomes.”  (Leung, 2009)

This approach needs a great deal of skill and care, because if it is done incorrectly it can become a serious de-motivator.   This approach whilst effective has not been without its critics in particular, explaining to comprehend the complexity of jobs in the real world setting.

Behaviour based interviewing : This is a relatively new approach that is being introduced to organizational interviewing programs.  It is considered to be a major predictor of future performance. ” It provides a more objective set of facts to make employment decisions.” (Flinders University, 2009)  The approach is based upon telling the interviewee about a specific situation.  For example:

Group dynamics & team building: Where you find problems in a group these can have an enormous impact on the organization.  Equally the reverse applies, small highly motivated successful groups become the envy of others  and are quickly emulated.  Hence a great deal of effort is expended by organization in order to create a culture and environment that is receptive to group dynamics and team building.

Examples Applicable to Maslow’s Theory

I work as a paraprofessional in the Special Education field and assist the teacher with the development and teaching of autistic children in the 5 and 6 year old category.  The concept of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is an indication of where knowledge transfer can take place in this arena.  ” Abraham Maslow attempted to formulate a needs-based framework of human motivation and based upon his clinical experiences with humans, rather than prior psychology theories of his day” (Abraham Maslow.com, 2010).

Maslow’s Theory of Motivation  essentially stated that humans are motivated by unsatisfied needs and as such lower needs have to be satisfied before the higher ones can be met. If you apply this to the setting of teaching autistic children  you might achieve the following set of events ( table shown in reverse order).

Conclusion

Industrial Psychology performs an important  role in the modern organizational setting. The research conducted is used by organizations in order to improve both employee relations and build a better organizational environment. An excellent example being the Headquarters of the internet giant Google.  The discipline has now become widely accepted in the Academic arena with Doctoral program’s being available from the likes of Capella University and others.

Works Cited

Abraham Maslow.com. (2010). Abraham Maslow. Retrieved 7 21, 2010, from Abraham Maslow.com: http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Biography.asp

Development Dimensions International. (2010, 7). The Employee retention challenge. Retrieved 7 21, 2010, from Development Dimensions International : Factsheet: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:l-lNTbVPQb4J:www.ddiworld.com/pdf/cpfs11.pdf+Industrial+Psychology+-+Training+and+Employee+Retention&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgKvqYfy5SmHSMbrFznWcUZHTg17IOndZJXGksjuYhiJ_4ZtQ5SgkRsi1a0Wga0wgPlynWPxOApVAfP9hE

Flinders University. (2009). Behavioural Interviewing. Retrieved 7 21, 2010, from Flinders University, Australia: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:3EXU4IWg5j4J:www.surgicalexam.com/interview/Behav%2520Interview%2520Uni%2520Flinders.pdf+Behaviour+based+interviewing+:&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShNiJsV8jKTE-ZrxpiHMLSE4K2SMOd7FSWflPeTwrIF5Fe6sryV-eMS5mnm_TBP

Leung, W.-C. (2009, 9 28). Competency based medical training: review. Retrieved 7 21, 2010, from BMJ: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/325/7366/693?view=fullfp=693&vol=325&lookupType=volpage

Team Technology. (2010). The basics of team building. Retrieved 7 21, 2010, from Team Technology: http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/tt/t-articl/tb-basic.htm