L1 - Introduction in Organisational Psychology Flashcards
Define organisational psychology
- The study of behaviour in work settings and the application of psychology principles to change work behaviour
- Also study how the environmental conditions can influence work behaviour
Describe the history of organisational psychology
Early 20th century.
Walter Dill Scott - one of the first organisational psychologists; formed one of the first consulting companies in the US
Hugo Munsterburg - one of the first forensic psychologists; advocated the use of psychological tests in selection
World War 1 and the testing movement - commissioned two intelligence tests for the placement of Army recruits (Alpha and Beta)
Hawthorn studies and motivational issues
World War 2
Later developments in organisation psychology
History of organisational psychology - who is Walter Dill Scott?
o Become one of the first organisational psychologists
o Formed one of the first consulting companies in the US
History of organisational psychology - who is Hugo Munsterburg?
o One of the first forensic psychologists
o Advocated the use of psychological tests in selection (how to best match people to jobs)
History of organisation psychology - involvement in WW1?
o US Army commissioned psychologists to devise two intelligence tests for the placement of Army recruits
Alpha – those who could read and write
Beta – those who couldn’t read and write, or English was a second language
o After the war, the tests were adapted for civilian use and new ones were designed for a variety of situations
History of organisational psychology - what were the Hawthorne studies and motivation issues found?
o In 1927, management wanted to boost productivity in the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company
o Put workers in test rooms and increased illumination levels for some workers
o Results: productivity increased in both rooms
o Made other changes
o RESULTS: it didn’t matter what changes they made, productivity levels always increased
What is the HAWTHORNE EFFECT? Is it successful?
o HAWTHORNE EFFECT: the classic Hawthorne studies apparently showed that worker productivity was increased by the attention paid to the workers
o BUT recent research has debunked the classic Hawthorne studies (FAKE NEWS)
History of organisational psychology - what were the later developments in organisational psychology?
o Dramatic growth in field corresponding with growth in US business and technical enterprise
o New technologies meant that employees needed training programs
o Organisational issues also assumed greater importance (e.g. human relations skills)
Define job analysis
- The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired to do it
- The information obtained is then used for developing job descriptions and job specifications
Define job description
a list of what the job entails
Define job specification
a list of a job’s human requirements, or what kind of people to hire for the job
Why is it important to conduct a job analysis?
helps with:
recruiting and selection decisions; performance appraisal and promotion; job evaluation, wage and salary decisions; training requirements
Define subject matter expert (SME)
person who has direct, up-to-date experience with the job for a long enough time to be familiar with all of its tasks
E.g. the job incumbent; the supervisor; trained job analyst
What are the 8 methods for collecting job analysis information?
- Review written materials
- standardised measures
- job participation
- interviews
- job diaries / activity logs
- observations
- survey questionnaires
- focus groups
Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - REVIEW WRITTEN MATERIAL
a. Use previous job descriptions
b. Existing material should always be checked to ensure that it is contemporary and relevant
Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - STANDARDISED MEASURES, what is Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)
Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) – a structured questionnaire that analyses various jobs in terms of almost 200 job element that are arranged into six categories
Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - JOB PARTICIPATION
A job analyst performs a particular job or job operation to get a first-hand understanding of how the job is performed
Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - INTERVIEWS
a. Ask SMEs about: the major duties off the position; the education, experience and skill required; the physical and mental demands etc.
b. Accounts may be biased, so job analysts may want to interview a number of different SMEs
Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - JOB DIARIES / ACTIVITY LOGS
a. Job incumbents record their daily activities in a diary
b. Provides a detailed account of the worker’s job
c. Can be quite time consuming, and people may struggle to remember all tasks they did
Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - OBSERVATIONS (+/-)
Purpose: to identify the “inherent requirements” (if you took away this particular requirement, it would be a fundamentally different job)
Strengths:
i. Provides detailed information about job
ii. Observer can learn about culture and jargon
Considerations
i. Costly and time consuming
ii. Time sampling – amount of time and frequency of sampling
iii. Observed participants may behave differently
iv. Observers may not be able to determine what was required to undertake task performed
v. Critical/infrequent tasks not observed
Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES (+/-)
Strengths
i. Large, representative sample easier to obtain
ii. Can inform about infrequent events
iii. Anonymous
Considerations
i. Response biases of self-report measure
ii. Does not allow for qualitative assessment
iii. Information obtained is limited by the questions asked. Cannot probe deeper
Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - FOCUS GROUP (+/-)
Strengths
i. Allowed for open-ended feedback from officers
ii. Subjective information enhanced understanding of survey findings
Considerations
i. Small sample size
ii. Influence of researchers or senior officers
What are the issues with job analysis?
- Jobs change over time, so job analyses should be conducted on a periodic bases
- Organisations need to be flexible and response to compete in the global environment
- Thus, jobs are less well-defined now and tend not to have a clearly delineated set of responsibilities
What did Schultz find about applicants influenced by recruiter’s behaviour?
Applicants were influenced more by the recruiter’s behaviour (smiling, nodding, maintaining eye contact) than by the characteristics of the job for which they were applying
