Chapter 13 - Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Question 1

industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology

Answer 1

a branch of psychology that studies how human behavior and psychology affect work and how they are affected by work

Question 2

industrial psychology

Answer 2

• concerned with describing job requirements and assessing individuals for their ability to meet those requirements
• an area of I-O psychology

Question 3

organizational psychology

Answer 3

• a discipline interested in how the relationships among employees affect those employees and the performance of a business
• an area of I-O psychology

Question 4

human factors psychology

Answer 4

• the study of how workers interact with the tools of work and how to design those tools to optimize workers’ productivity, safety, and health
• an area of I-O psychology

Question 5

job analysis

Answer 5

• organizations must identify the characteristics of applicants for a match to the job analysis
• training employees from their first day on the job throughout their tenure within the organization
• used to make job descriptions

Question 6

performance appraisals

Answer 6

• typically documented several times a year, often with a formal process and an annual face-to-face brief meeting between an employee and their supervisor
• meeting is often used for the supervisor to communicate specific concerns about the employee’s performance and to positively reinforce elements of good performance

Question 7

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Answer 7

responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, etc.

Question 8

immutable characteristics

Answer 8

• traits of an individual that are fundamental to their identity
• illegal to treat employees differently because of these things

Question 9

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Answer 9

• people may not be discriminated against due to the nature of their disability
• employer must make reasonable accommodations for the performance of the job of an employee with disabilities

Question 10

bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQs)

Answer 10

requirements of certain occupations for which denying an individual employment would otherwise violate the law

Question 11

job satisfaction

Answer 11

the degree to which individuals enjoy their job

Question 12

downsizing

Answer 12

• an increasingly common response to a business’s pronounced failure to achieve profit goals
• involves laying off a significant percentage of the company’s employees

Question 13

work-family balance

Answer 13

people juggle the demands of work life with the demands of their home life

Question 14

telecommuting

Answer 14

employees working at home and setting their own hours, which allows them to work during different parts of the day, and to spend part of the day with their family

Question 15

scientific management

Answer 15

a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows with the main objective of improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity

Question 16

Theory X

Answer 16

• approach to management
• managers assume that most people dislike work and are not innately self-directed
• ex. punishing people for being late, reprimand employees for speaking out

Question 17

Theory Y

Answer 17

• managers assume that most people seek inner satisfaction and fulfillment from their work
• employees function better under leadership that allows them to participate in, and provide input about, setting their personal and work goals

Question 18

transactional leadership

Answer 18

• focus is on supervision and organizational goals, which are achieved through a system of rewards and punishments (i.e., transactions)
• maintain the status quo: they are managers

Question 19

transformational leadership

Answer 19

possess four attributes to varying degrees: They are charismatic, inspirational, intellectually stimulating, and considerate

Question 20

work teams

Answer 20

• teams are brought together and given a specific task or goal to accomplish
• bring together diverse skills, experience, and expertise

Question 21

organizational culture

Answer 21

• encompasses the values, visions, hierarchies, norms, and interactions among its employees

Question 22

diversity training

Answer 22

• educates participants about cultural differences with the goal of improving teamwork
• different departments within one company can develop their own subculture within the organization’s culture

Question 23

sexual harassment

Answer 23

one well-recognized negative aspect of organizational culture is a culture of harassment, including sexual harassment

Question 24

procedural justice

Answer 24

the fairness of the processes by which outcomes are determined in conflicts with or among employees

Question 25

checklist

Answer 25

• One of the methods used to reduce accidents in the workplace
• related to workplace safety, list of protocols
• concern of human factors psychology

Question 26

occupational health psychology

Answer 26

deals with the stress, diseases, and disorders that can affect employees as a result of the workplace

Question 27

humanitarian work psychology

Answer 27

• works to improve the conditions of individuals who have faced serious disaster or who are part of an underserved population.
• focuses on labor relations, enhancing public health services, effects on populations due to climate change, recession, and diseases.

Question 28

Hawthorne effect

Answer 28

describes the increase in performance of individuals who are aware they are being observed by researchers or supervisors

Question 29

workplace violence

Answer 29

any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening, disruptive behavior that occurs at the workplace

Question 30

task-oriented

Answer 30

• strategy for employee selection (industrial psychology)
• Lists in detail the tasks that will be performed for the job

Question 31

worker-oriented

Answer 31

• strategy for employee selection (industrial psychology)
• Describes characteristics required of the worker to successfully perform the job (e.g. knowledge, skills, abilities)

Question 32

orientation

Answer 32

• strategy for employee training (industrial psychology)
• Orientation to organizational policies, practices, culture
• Foundation to keeping strong talent in your company

Question 33

observable artifacts

Answer 33

• part of organizational culture
• Symbols of language (jargon, slang humor), narratives (stories and legends), and practices (rituals) that represent the underlying cultural assumptions

Question 34

espoused values

Answer 34

• part of organizational culture
• concepts/beliefs that an organization endorses

Question 35

basic assumptions

Answer 35

• part of organizational culture
• Usually unobservable and unquestioned

Question 36

team halo effect

Answer 36

• part of teamwork and employee interaction (organizational psych)
• Teams get credited for team successes, individuals within teams get blamed for team failures

Question 37

work-life balance

Answer 37

• Long ago there was the ideal 9-5 job
• Today, constant communication availability leads blurs the line between work and home life