10. INTRODUCTION TO ORGANISTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
what are the 4 different lenses on organisations
design lens
cultural lens
political lens
organisational value
what is the design lens of organisation?
arrangement and coordination of work tasks and accountability (supervision/reporting)
what is the cultural lens of organisations?
habits, typical practices, norms, identities
who reports to who
what is the political lens of organisations?
interests, conflicts, competition, coalitions, negotiation
things not captured in an organisational chart
what are organisational values.
formal and informal.
Things that are important to them
vision or idea of what it means to be a part of a particular organisation
who causes the most problems in the political lens?
the expert in both fields of strategy and technical
what disciplines does organisational psychology draw from?
Basic social psychology
Anthropology
behavioural economics
sociology
what is there an increasing recognition of importance of?
the social sciences
what is organisational psychology?
the scientific study of psychological processes and behaviours of individuals and groups in the workplace
what does organizational psychology typically focus on?
large companies
and includes interface between work and other areas of life (e.g. work-life balance)
what is social psychology
the scientific study of the effects of social and cognitive processes on the way individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others
what is the theoretical focus of organisational psychology?
applied
what is the theoretical focus of social psychology?
basic, applied
what are the goals of organisational psychology
- productive/performance
- overcome organsitional problems
what are the goals of social psycology?
- reduce prejudice / discrimination
- Overcome other social problems
- basic unerstanding of humans in social contexts
what is the interdisciplinary of organisational psychology
relative high
what is the interdisciplinary of social psychology?
relatively low
define interdisciplinary
relating to more than one branch of knowledge
what are the 4 main goals of organizational psychology?
enhance productivity
increase employee satisfaction and health
manage absenteeism and turnover
address deviant workplace behaviour
what is the goal of enhancing productivity
higher quality and quality of work output
increase the skills and abilities of employees
what is the goal of increasing employee satisfaction and health
positive experiences, happiness and well being
what is the goal of managing absenteeism and turnover
finding ways for employees to engage with and remain in work
finding effective ways to manage turnover when performance is poor
what is the goal of addressing deviant workplace behaviour
behaviours that threaten workplace functioning
e.g. harassment, bullying, sabotage, theft
what are the three elements to increase productivity and improve integration?
physical resources
technology / machinery
human resources (people)
how do you increase employee productivity
money… greater money = greater work
management’s role of finding the best way to do the work
friends - enjoying work
what is taylorism?
scientific management
what are the 4 principles of scientific management?
scientific methods of working
scientific selection and training
cooperation between management and workers
equal responsibility
what is the scientific methods of working principle of scientific management?
work out the scientifically best way of working (now “benchmarking”)
about the job
what is the scientific selection and training principle of scientific management?
work out the ideal characteristics of people to do task
recruit them and provide them with the optimal skills / knowledge
what is the cooperation between management and workers principle of scientific management?
management help and support workers to achieve the scientifically optimal behaviours
what is the equal responsibility principle of scientific management?
previously, performance was mainly the worker’s responsibility
now management has more responsibility in developing and maintaining ideal working patterns / conditions
who’s role is it to find the best way to do the work?
management
what are the hawthorne studies?
a range of experiments conducted from 1924-1932 that examined the effect on productivity resulting from light intensity. Later studies examined other working conditions such as rest breaks and working day length
what did the hawthorn studies originally examine?
the relationship between light intensity and efficiency.
what did the hawthorne studies find about light intensity
there was no clear relationship with lighting level was discovered
rather productivity increased whenever intensity was CHANGED
what is the hawthorne effect?
the temporary increment in performance that occurs at the onset of an intervention
performance often returns to pre-intervention levels after some time
what was found to increase productivity of the workers in the hawthorne studies?
the attention of researchers
what are the hawthorne studies historically important in?
increasing attention to worker’s psychology:
- attitudes and emotions about their work
- the meanings they assign to work
- relationships and recognition at work
what are the classic research questions in organisational psychology?
- Does personality predict job performance?
- Is a satisfied worker also a productive worker?
- Does paying a person to do something ultimately reduce his/her intrinsic motivation?
- Are groups more effective than individuals?
- Are leaders born, or can anyone trained to become an effective leader?
what are the contemporary research questions of organisational psychology?
- How can we manage virtual teams?
- What are the outcomes of increasing workplace diversity?
- How can we organise and manage people in a globalised, networked world?
- How can we manage flexibility in the workplace?
- How can we help people achieve acceptable work-life balance?
