Organisational Psychology Flashcards
Definition of organisational psychology
: is the scientific study of behaviour in the workplace that uses scientific knowledge to facilitate the organisations and workplace performance as well as the job satisfaction of its members
What are the focus areas in organisational behaviour
Individual Level
Group Level
Organisational Level
What is the aim of organisational psychologists
The aim of organisational psychologists is to enhance the organisations performance alongside employee satisfaction.
What is the purpose of roles in organisational psychology
There are a range of roles that organisational psychologists fulfill and provide support in terms of employee and organisation management. Organisational Psychologists can be employed as a short-term consultant for a particular project or full-time staff members within the organisation.
What are the roles of organisational psychology
- Recruitment and selection.
- Learning and development.
- Leadership and talent management.
- Coaching, mentoring and career development.
- Measuring employee opinions and other work-place research.
- Change management.
- Occupational health and safety.
- Performance management.
- Wellbeing, stress, and work-life balance.
What are the types of organisations
Not for profit
Government
Commercial
What is a non profit organisation
organisation that provides services to the community and do not operate to make a profit for its members.
What is a government organisation
a government appointed group can be permanent or semi-permanent organisations and is funded by the government.
What is a commercial organisation
a business that sells goods or services for the purpose of making profit.
What is objective data
data that can be verified by other researchers, it increases the reliability and validity of the data.
what is subjective data
data that is collected or obtained via personal observations.
what is qualitative data
data that is often expressed in words or sentences to describe the quality of behaviour.
what is quantitative data
data that is represented by numbers and can be statistically analysed and presented in table, or graph format to make the interpretating of results simpler for the end reader of the research.
what are the different tools used to assess employee performance and satisfaction
- Trackers to measure individual employee and team performance.
- Appraisals and ratings of performance.
- 360 degree and upward appraisal.
- Critical incident method of analysing performance (CIT).
what are the 8 major criteria embedded in measures for organisational performance
Theft
accidents
productivity
sales
counterproductive work behaviour
absenteeism
customer service
staff turnover
what is vocational guidance
the process of helping an individual choose an appropriate vocation through such means as:
a) In-depth interviews.
b) Administration of aptitude, interest, and personality tests.
c) Discussion of the nature and requirements of specific types of work in which the individual expresses an interest.
why is vocational guidance important
Personality traits, abilities and interest are all factors that may influence the individual lives people play attention to when making decisions in regard to their career. Thus, this involves assessing a person’s vocational interest and personality to match them to available jobs, working conditions, remuneration and future prospects.
What is holland’s theory of vocational choice
Holland’s theory of vocational choice is a theory of personality that focuses on career and vocational choice. It groups people based of their suitability for six different categories (RIASEC) of occupational.
what are the advantages of holland’s theory of vocational choice
- Individuals and counsellors easily understand them.
- Most widely used models for organising career interest assessments.
what are the disadvantages of holland’s theory of vocational choice
- Self-directed search does not assess the skills and knowledge needed for the particular job.
- Other considerations also include availability of the jobs (now and future), working conditions and renumeration would need to also be considered.
What is Jurgensen’s job preference study
- Jurgensen’s job preference study is a list that considers what working conditions are most important to an individual, understands that one person’s value may be different to another and explored what people believe other values.
What is motivation
a force determining the direction, intensity and persistence of behaviour; it causes one to act with it being a critical factor influencing decision making, behaviour and performance in the workplace
how is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs used to describe motivation
The hierarchical nature of this model reflects the basic assumption that the strongest motivational drives come from needing to meet the lowest levels.
* A satisfied need is not a motivator of behaviour.
* A need at one level does not become activated until the nest lower level is satisfied.
What is vrooms theory of expectancy
a cognitive theory of motivation, suggesting that employees are rational decision makers who will put effort into activities that lead to rewards they desire.
(see notes for diagram)
effort + performance + rewards
what are the factors that develop and optimizing teamwork and performance goals
- Collaboration over competition
o Employees working towards on a common goal means that success and failure are attributed to the team rater than to an individual - Complementary Skills
o Utilising the diversity of knowledge and skills that each member brings ensures that the team goals are more likely to be achieved and acknowledge for contribution - Collective identify
o A shift from individual manager decisions making to team decisions making opportunities for employees - Communication and cohesion
o Group cohesion can result in greater individual and greater group performances - Group norms rather than rules
o Norms are stabiles and reinforced by the group encourage engagement in the behaviours expected whilst working to achieve a common goal.
What is the tool 360 degree and upward appraisal
it is a process that considers an employees strength and weaknesses through a feedback system, where the employer, coworkers, peers subordinates provide feedback to the employer. It allows the employer to understand their weakness and strengths about their work performance and see areas for improvement.
What are the advantages of the 360 degree and upward appraisal
- offers a more comprehensive assessment from multiple sources
- is useful for rewarding and improving employee performance
What are the disadvantages of the 360 degree and upward appraisal
- it is more complex and time consuming
- subject to rater bias
- can potentially disrupt interpersonal relationships amongst those involved in appraisal process
how are the individual employees’ and team performance measured with trackers
.
what are the advantages of using trackers to measure employee performance and satisfaction
.
what are the disadvantages of trackers for measuring employee performance and satisfaction
.
what are the factors that affect team performance
- conflict resolution
- bullying
- group think
- norms of interaction
- reciprocal engagement
what is conflict resolution
a factor that affects team performance with it being the reduction of friction between individuals or groups, usually through the strategies (conciliation, negotiation and bargaining)
What is bullying
it is a factor that affects team performance as it is the persistent threatening and aggressive physical behaviours or verbal abuse directed towards other people
what is group think
it is a factor that affects team performance with it being the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group resulting in unchallenged, poor-quality decision making
what is norms of interactions
is the conventional rules relating to the conduct of the event/session that is a factor that affects team performance
what is reciprocal engagement
it is a factor that affects team performance that involves two people/groups/organisations who do the same thing to each other or agree to help each other in a similar way.
What is the organisational level
.
What is organisational culture
is the language, values, attitudes, beliefs and shared expectations and customs of an organisations
What is Schein’s concept of organisational culture
it is a key theory that is used to explore organisational culture through three factors: visible artefacts, espoused values and basic assumptions.
What is visible artefacts
is is the physical environment, office spaces, dress codes, strategic plans which illustrate how the organisation constructs its purpose and the behaviours that characterise it. It can further include ceremonies, habits, symbols, awards, jargon, art and stories. Basically the things you can physically see in an organisation
what is espoused values
beliefs or concepts that are specifically endorsed by the organisation (think values, tag lines).
strategies, goals, values endorsed by organisation
what is basic assumptions
they are unobservable and at the core of the organisation - the assumptions are learned and guide people’s perception, attitudes and behaviour towards their work performance and relationships with colleagues.
what is climate in an organisation
climate explains what and how things are done in the organisation
- it is the sense of feeling or atmosphere people get in the organisation on a day to day basis
- thus it is the expressed attitudes and behaviours of the people in the culture
(feeling)
what is culture in an organisation
culture explains how things are done in the organisation
- it can evolve only out of mutual experiences and shared learning
(experience)
what is organisational subcultures
organisational subcultures can be based on department, job type, ethnicity, age, gender, work groups, union memberships and occupational/professional skills that can affect the performance of the organisation with individuals and their job satisfaction
what are factors affecting subculture
- geographical location
- department/section
- age, gender and tenure
- role
how does geographical location affect subculture
the teams working in different locations can form their own subcultures to provide a sense of identity and help them perform well in their job
how does department/section affect subculture
people who tend to work together are more likely to create their own way of doing things
how does age, gender and tenure affect subculture
it can develop between groups of people depending on how old they are/how long they have worked together
how does role affect subculture
senior management often have their own subculture which accumulates from having meetings together which does not involve other employees
What is Belbin’s Team roles based off
.
what are Belbin’s concluded nine distinct team roles
- Plant
- resource investigator
- coordinator
- shaper
- monitor evaluator
- teamworker
- implementer
- completer finisher
- specialist
what are the contribution and allowable weakness of plant team role
contribution: they are creative, imaginative, free thinking that allows them to generate ideas and solve difficult problems
Allowable weakness: they ignore incidentals, too occupied to communicate effectively
what are the contribution and allowable weakness of resource investigator team role
Contribution: they are outgoing, enthusiastic, communicative and they explore opportunities and develop contacts
allowable weakness: they are over optimistic, lose interest once initial enthusiasm has passed
what are the contribution and allowable weakness of coordinator team role
Contribution: mature, confident, identifies talent. They clarify goals and delegate effectively
Allowable weakness: can be seen as manipulative. Offloads own share of the work
what are the contribution and allowable weakness of shaper team role
Contribution: challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles
allowable weakness: prone to provocation, offends people’s feelings
what are the contribution and allowable weakness of monitor evaluator team role
contribution: sober, strategic, and discerning. Sees all options and judges accurately
Allowable weakness: lacks drive and ability to inspire others. They can be overly critical
what are the contribution and allowable weakness of team-work team role
contribution: cooperative, perceptive and diplomatic. they listen and avert friction
allowable weakness: indecisive in crunch situations. avoids confrontation
what are the contribution and allowable weakness of implementer team role
contribution: practical, reliable, efficient. turns ideas into actions and organises work that needs to be done
allowable weakness: somewhat inflexible. slow to respond to new possibilities
what are the contribution and allowable weakness of completer/finisher team role
contribution: painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors. Polishes and perfects
allowable weakness: inclined to worry unduly. reluctant to delegate
what are the contribution and allowable weakness of specialist team role
contribution: single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply
allowable weakness: contributes only on an narrow front. Dwells on technicalities
What are the conflict resolution active strategies and management types
- competing
- avoiding
- collaborating
- accommodating
- compromising
what is the role of an organisational psychologist
To provide support in terms of employee and organisation management.
How can organisational psychologists help in a workplace
They can evaluate the issue at hand to see if change is necessary by taking on employee feedback confidentially and management through surveys, interviews, and focus group sessions, having the option to be in groups or individual.
Define organisational psychology, providing three levels of applications
Organisational psychology is the scientific study of behaviour in a workplace that relies on scientific knowledge and evidence to facilitate the workplace/organisations performance and job satisfaction, with it applied in three focal applications, the individual level, group level and organisation level. Therefore, organisation psychology assesses an individual’s personality, attitudes, and motivation in the workplace at the individual level, assess different groups in the workplace’s conflict, behaviour, composition, and leadership at the group level, and assess the workplace’s culture structure and development to determine if change is necessary at the organisation level.
define motivation and how this can impact job performance in the context of organisational psychology
Motivation is a force that determines an individual’s direction, intensity, and persistence of behaviour. It can impact job performance as according to Vrooms Theory of Expectancy if an individual finds that the effort they put in receives no effect or minimal effect on their performance and there is no desired reward from that they have less motivation which causes their job performance to be negatively impacted.
