intro to organisational psychology Flashcards
what are the different lenses of organisations
design
- arrangement and coordination of work tasks and accountability (supervision/reporting)
cultural
- habits, typical practice, norms, identities, values
political
- interest, conflicts, competition coalitions, negotiations
what diciplines does organisational pschology draw from
social psychology
anthropology
behavioural economics
sociology
what is organisational psychology
the scientific study of psychological processes and behaviours of individuals and groups in the work place
typically focusing on large companies
includes interface between work and other areas of life (work life balance)
how d organisational and social psychology differ
social - relation to other people
organisational - individuals and groups in a work setting
organisaitonal can be seen as applied social psychology
what are the goals of organisational psychology
enhance productivity
increase employee satisfaction and health
manage absenteeism and turnover
address deviant workplace behaviour
what is taylorism (scientific management )
a management theory/strategy to increase employee productivity
that are the principles of scientific management
scientific methods of working
- benchmarking
- work out the best way of working
scientific selection and training
- work out ideal characters of people for the job
- provide with optimal skills and knowledge
cooperation between management and workers
- M help and support W to achieve optimal behaviours
equal responsibility
- shared responsibility ot M and W to develop and maintain ideal working patterns/conditions
what were the historical studies of organisational psychology that looked at what increases employee productivity
hawthorn studies
what did the hawthorn studies aim to determine
what the optimal operationg conditions for humans is
what conditions were examined in the hawthorn studies
examined effects of productivity resulting from:
- light intensity
Later revisited to test effect of:
- rest breaks
- working day length
what was found about light intensity and productivity
no correlation between light intensity
but productivity increase whenever intensity 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
why are the hawthorn studies historically important
increase attention to workers’ psychology
- attitudes and emotions about their work
- the meanings they assign to work
- relationships and recognition at work
what is organisational behaviour
attitudes and behaviours of people at work
job satasfaction, organisational commitment, motivation, conflict
what is organisational change and development
improving or changing organisations
diagnosing, analysing, interviewing
- change management, reconstruction, evaluation
what is industrial psychology
e.g. human factors
interactions with technology/machines
error minimisation and prevention
what is personnel psychology
organisaitonal focus:
- job-person fit (job analysis, recruitment, training, appraisal)
- safety
personal focus:
career counselling
what are some classic research questions in OB
does personality predict performance
is a satasfied worker a productive worker
does paying a person to do something reduce their intrinsic motivation
are groups more effective than individuals
are leaders born or trained
what are some contemporaty research questions in OB
how can we manage virtual teams
outcomes of increasing workplace diversity?
how can we organise and manage people in a globalised network world
how can we help people achieve acceptable work life balance
what is the dependent variable of a OB model
give examples of dependent variables in OB
the key factor you want to explain and predict that is effected by another factor
- productivity
- Absenteeism
- turnover
- deviant work place behaviour
- organisational citizenship behaviour
- job satisfaction
what is productivity
performence measure inc. efficiency and effectiveness
effectiveness - achievement of goals
efficiency - ratio of effective output to input required to achieve it
what is absenteeism
failure to report to
huge cost and disruption to employees
what is turnover
voluntary/inoluntary permanent withdrawal from an organisation
high turnover increases recruiting, selection and training costs
what is deviant workplace behaviour
voluntary behaviour that violates significant organisational norms and threatens the wellbeing of the organisation and its members
what is organisational citizenship behaviour
discretionary behaviour that is not part of an employees formal job requirements but promote the effectiveness and functioning of an organisation
what is job satisfaction
positive feelings about ones job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics
what is an independent variable in OB model
the presumed cause of some change in a dependent variable
what are the determinants of the DVs
what are the levels of organisational behaviour
individual
group
organisational system level
what are the independent variables of OB models
Individual level variable
group level variable
organisation system variable
model becomes more complicated and sofisticated with each system
whats involved in the individual level variable
- individual characteristics that influence behaviour at work (personal, biological, psychological)
whats involves in the group level variable
the dynamics of group behaviour and
how individuals in groups are influence by the patterns of behaviour the are expected to exhibit
what the group considers acceptable and
the degree to whcih group members are attracted to eachother
what involves in the organisation system level variable
the design of the
formal organisation,
the organised internal culture,
its human resource policies and practices,
and change and stress all have an impact on the dependent variable
