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Thorough and up-to-date coverage of both the science and practice of organizational psychology

This Second Edition reflects the latest developments and research in the field using a scientist-practitioner model that expertly integrates multicultural and international issues as it addresses the most current knowledge and topics in the practice of organizational psychology.

Beginning with a foundation of research methodology, this text ex… More >>

Organizational Psychology: A Scientist-Practitioner Approach

According to Psychology, there are things that you alone know about yourself, things that others know about you, things that both you and others know about you, and there are blind spots in your personality which remain undetected. These four concepts are encapsulated in a heuristic (experience-based) tool that is commonly used to assess one’s understanding of interpersonal relationships and communications called the Johari window.

The Johari window, on top of serving as a tool to assess personality, is a very effective tool for understanding human interaction and perception at the work place. It tries to simplify perception in the workplace as well, whether its perception about oneself or perception about the others.

By using the descriptive power of 56 well-selected adjectives, the Johari window unravels the 4 quadrants of a person’s personality. The first quadrant ñ the Arena or Open quadrant ñ offers a quick view of the person’s personality according to his personal knowledge and the knowledge of the other participants about himself. The second quadrant called the FaÁade or Hidden quadrant is exclusive to the perception of the individual about himself. These comprise of information that are of private nature and are not usually revealed to others. The third quadrant is the Blind Spots or Blind quadrant. This comprises of information that is only obvious to others, but not known to the person who possesses them. The last and final quadrant, the Unknown quadrant, is the most mysterious of all as it contains the subconscious or unconscious components of the person, may it be attitude, personality or behavior.

Perhaps, the quadrants that are of great interest to people who are trying to link the reality with their own perception are the open and the hidden quadrants. The former is important because this presents everything that is factual ñ the behaviors, motives, feelings, needs and wants of the person, in fact, any information that can be confirmed by both the person and the people around him. This essentially ties one’s perception about oneself with other’s perception about himself. The second quadrant, meanwhile, could warp one’s perception about his environment. The things he knows about himself but chooses not to reveal to others could produce conflicting perceptions. Any discrepancy between these two quadrants could produce differences between a person’s perception and the reality.

According to the principles of the Johari window, people interact and communicate at the Open quadrant plane and whatever is enclosed in the Blind quadrant may affect human interaction, usually in a negative way.

While very effective at identifying the differences in perception between the person in question and the participants who are helping to decode his personality, the Johari window does not fully answer the questions of whether or not a person truly sees himself and others as they are. This is because the idea itself of perception is highly variable, highly subjective, and heavily dependent on a variety of factors (results can sometimes change depending on some extraneous variables). Not to mention, the principles that govern human interaction at the workplace is very complicated and is not readily answered by a single heuristic tool.

What is Occupational Psychology?

Occupational psychology is a branch of psychology that deals with the behavior of people at work. It assesses the employeesí well-being in their workplace to help them enhance their work performance and efficiency as well as help them achieve job satisfaction and good occupational health. Occupational psychology has eight main areas. These are:

o          Design of the workplace and work (includes ergonomics, health, and safety)

o          Human-machine interaction

o          Personnel recruitment and evaluation

o          Motivation and industrial relations

o          Counseling and personal development

o          Performance appraisal and career development

o          Organizational change and development

o          Training

What does an Occupational Psychologist do?

These psychologists use not only their psychological knowledge, practice, and theory to work and work environment. They determine how tasks and work conditions affect individuals by developing or restraining them and influencing their well-being. They also focus on how human beings and their behavior and characteristics reflect what kind of work is done and how it is done.

Moreover, occupational psychologists identify and find solution to organizational issues related to training, health and safety, team culture, and many other fields. Among the steps they take to achieve their goals are:

o          Motivate people

Occupational psychologists do this by creating satisfying payment and reward system, as well as giving advice on safety and health issues.

o          Identify skill and develop potential

This is achieved by conducting tests and other job-related exercises during selection. Career counseling is also done.

o          Help individuals and organizations adjust to change

They give employees pieces of advice on how they can improve their behaviors and attitudes to come up with better customer service.

o          Assess performance

Psychologists evaluate employee performance by developing reliable appraisal systems, giving advice on safety and health issues, and coming up with user-friendly computer and machine systems.

o          Devise effective organizations

To come up with a competent organization, occupational psychologists give advice on what type of management system will work best, identify and apply effective human resource techniques, and design tasks that fit the skills of the employees.

Careers in Occupational Psychology

Such field of psychology covers a real wide spectrum but obviously overlaps to other disciplines like Organizational Development, Human Resources Management, Economics, and many others. Like other areas in psychology, the work of an occupational psychologist includes dealing with multidisciplinary teams, conducting research, as well as devising appropriate policies. Most occupational psychologists are hired by larger public or private organizations. They can also work as consultant, trade unions representatives, training officers, and human resource officers.

The Antagonist

Criticism, hostility, cynicism and a demoralizing personality, these are the marks of the Antagonist. He is highly critical of others and he won’t mind showing it off in public. He also uses a bit of sarcasm which could be lethal to any organization groups. Above all these, he attacks fellow workers with a condescending, contemptuous, and disgusting personality. In short, he wreaks havoc whenever he’s around.

To manage the Antagonist, always delegate him tasks that would keep him as much as possible to himself. Manipulate the workplace environment such that he is always kept at a safe distance from co-workers who are most vulnerable to his personality. In addition, trust him with assignments that no other person in the workplace would take.

The Control Freak

The Control Freak is out to control everyone in the office ñ whether it’s the boss, the subordinate or the consultant. He is abrupt, demanding, bossy, and domineering and his attitude sometimes borders to rudeness. To top these all off, the control freak lacks tactfulness. Thus, it is very natural for him to be hated by co-workers who donít understand his behavior.

The truth is, the control freak doesnít mind being hated, although it wouldnít hurt him if one or two co-workers understand his attitude. Nevertheless, human interaction does not interest him. He is more result-oriented, initiated and driven. Use these qualities to promote company objectives. Delegate substantial amount of tasks to the Control Freak, give him instructions, and let him work out his own way. Trust him to achieve results.

The Hobo

The complete opposite of the control freak, the Hobo is the warm, easygoing guy in the office. While he respects structure, deadlines, rules and other things that relate to the organizational components of the company, he does not feel obligated to follow all these in toto, after all he is not the type that is comfortable being in a box.

To prevent any conflict, focus on the talents of the Drifter instead. He is creative and innovative, give him tasks that will allow these to show up. Also, have plenty of patience when dealing with this type of personality. He could be a bit too exasperating because of his unconventional style.

The People Pleaser

The People Pleaser is the guy who just doesn’t know how to say ‘no’. He would go to great lengths just to keep harmony and peace in the workplace. He basically treats co-workers like his extended family. Thus, when confronted with crucial decisions that would make him chose between company and co-workers, he would always go with the latter.

At the outset, this attitude can do no harm to the company. But when you look at it closely, he could jeopardize the company by trying to protect his co-workers. Handle the People Pleaser by using his concept of ‘greater good’ for the good of the company, not for the good of a few.

The Joker

The ambassador of entertainment, the Joker is the loud, witty and oftentimes funny personality who is always ready to crack a joke. The other side of personality though is not that amusing. He is self-promoting and works insatiably to draw the limelight to himself. He also does not have the compunction to use other people and their accomplishments as his stepping-stones.

You can trust the Joker to handle tasks that could give him more public exposure, but you cannot trust him to accept any responsibility. To squeeze results from the Joker, give him tasks that can inflate his ego while at the same time allow him to produce substantial results.

The Shrinking Violet

This person is reserved, quiet and most of the time found in his cozy little nook in the least visible corner of the workplace. While he doesnít cause conflict, he doesnít contribute that much to the achievements of the organization either because he shies away from the big and important tasks that would increase his accountability. While temptation may be strong to lose your temper with the Shrinking Violet, you can trust him to do well by managing him well. With the right tools, you can trust the Shrinking Violet to get the job done right all the time.

Manage the Shrinking Violet by giving clear, detailed instructions, and donít push him hard towards responsibility.

The Procrastinator

This personality hides behind the image of being analytical. He is diligent, precise, and obsessed with detail. On top of these, he shoots every idea down, especially those that present considerable potential risks. It is a headache to work with this person because obviously, you can’t trust him for immediate results or to provide you one without first overwhelming you with detailed explanations on how and why it would fail. But you can trust him with tasks that require a great deal of accuracy. You can also trust him to evaluate the risks of a plan and to work out solutions before a failure happens.

Conflict could end up with pretty devastating results. If you want to keep the peace in your workplace, understand the different profiles of human behavior. Then, work out solutions that will reduce them.

Originally described by Robert M. Guion, one of the pioneers of Industrial-Organizational Psychology, as the relationship between man and his work, this field has now evolved into a sophisticated science that studies anything from decision-making in relation to one’s work and work environment to job analysis and performance. Today, Industrial-Organization Psychology has branched out into many different fields, all relating to promoting the understanding of the direct relationship between workplace environment, the worker and his output.

Branches/Practice Areas in Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Employee Selection or Personnel Recruitment and Selection ñ This is the area of Industrial-Organizational Psychology that originally forced the development of the field during the World War I. This pertains to the selection of qualified people to perform specific tasks according to a variety of measurement tools that measure aptitude, skills, personality and others.

Personnel appraisal and management ñ This area of career development focuses on evaluating the job performance of employees in terms of time, quality of work and quantity of output. It essentially measures the worth of employees to their organization.

Individual assessment ñ This is a rather broad field in I-O Psychology which deals with subjects like ability testing, knowledge testing, skills, testing, aptitude testing, and personality testing.

Organizational Culture ñ This pertains to the common assumptions within an organization that define the appropriate behaviors for each type of situation. This studies cultures that exist in workplace environments along with subcultures (e.g. corporate culture, local culture, and departmental culture).

Leadership ñ Leadership has evolved over the years as one of the key elements of the worth of any organization. This area is concerned in what personal characteristics, attitudes and abilities effective leaders have and what styles of supervision are most effective at producing results for any organization. This area is also interested in studying the kind of leadership that gets the most out of individual workers.

Work motivation ñ Motivation is a subject that is common to all fields of Psychology. Particular attention is given to motivation as it relates to work in Industrial-Organizational Psychology as it often defines the variables that make one worker more efficient in his task than others.

Job attitudes ñ This area includes sub-areas like job satisfaction, career commitment, organizational commitment, and others. This studies the significant impact each of these factors has on the productivity and efficiency of workers.

Conditions of work ñ This is the area that asks questions like, ‘does lighting, color, noise level, working temperature, and the physical workplace environment have any impact to the productivity of works?’ and ‘what effects do hours, boredom, and fatigue have on a worker’s output?’. In essence, this is interested in the tangible structures and the psychological climate of the workplace and their relationship to the worker’s output.

Other areas of Industrial-Organization Psychology include Human Resources, Job Design, Counterproductive Behaviors, Employment Law, Psychometrics, Compensation, and Organizational Development.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology: The Practical Value

Organizations and companies have intrinsic problems (e.g. absenteeism, job dissatisfaction, turnover and personnel selection) that are too costly to be ignored. Industrial-Organizational Psychology resolves these problems at a fraction of the original cost if these problems were left unattended. In other words, this field of Psychology is financially rewarding to many companies and promotes satisfaction and better productivity among workers.

Organizational psychology has its roots in social psychology. This is why psychologists in such field study how work environment affects peopleís performance and other outcomes like health and job satisfaction. Among the research and practice areas involved in organizational psychology are:

o          Performance management and appraisal

o          Job performance

o          Personnel recruitment

o          Compensation

o          Individual assessment

o          Work motivation

o          Life and work balance

o          Executive coaching

o          Organizational development

o          Training

o          Psychometrics

o          Job design

o          Team performance

Online Work and Organizational Psychology Degree

If youíre the type of person who wants to take your human resources skills to a higher level, then you can consider getting an online degree in Organizational Psychology. Experts in such field are preferred by top corporations who want to unleash the highest potential of their employees.

Once you already have a degree in Work and Organizational Psychology, youíll immediately find yourself at the forefront of all human resources tasks. Aside from big companies, you can also work for Nonprofit Organizations that are in need of professionals who can apply organization psychology to their people, particularly the management team. Since funds are now becoming hard to get, nonprofit organizations are usually searching for experts who can dedicate leadership skills and knowledge in the field of budget and finance and in organizing their boards.

Organizational Psychology. Foundations of Modern Psychology Series

Product Description
This fully updated edition of a best-selling textbook continues to provide the most comprehensive European introduction to issues in work and organisational psychology for those with no prior knowledge of the field.

Presents a solid foundation on a range of core topics including working with technology, human performance, and the virtual organization.
Updated throughout to include recently emerging themes and current views in the field
Improved instru… More >>

An Introduction to Work and Organizational Psychology: An European Perspective

Industrial And Organizational Psychology: Research and Practice, 4th