IOP2601 EXAM PREPARATION.

EXAM PREPARATION: PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY: ORGANISATIONAL ENTRY Learning unit 1: Chapter 1: Introduction: Personnel psychology in context 1.2. Personnel psychology as sub-field of IOP - Concerned with all aspects of theory of psychology applied to understanding differences between individuals in work settings. - Is a science involving both basic & applied research.  Basic research focuses on how & why people think, feel & behave the way they do  Applied research focal points centre on using information gained from basic research to design, implement & assess intervention programmes. - Psychology has five central goals & industrial psychologists attempt to discover principles that will shed light on human behaviour & improve human wellbeing - South African Organising Framework for Occupations (SAOFO) describes skills specialisation of psychologists: investigation, assessment & provision of treatment & counselling to foster optimal personal, social, educational & occupational adjustment and development - I/O psychology is a sub-field of applied psychology & described as study of human behaviour in work settings - Many psychologists are united professionally through membership of Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA), which also publishes the South African Journal for Psychology 1.3. The science and practice of industrial and organisational psychology - In psychology, subject being investigated always individual & behaviour individual demonstrates, particularly interest to industrial psychologist is behaviour of individual in workplace. - *Industrial psychology is study of how individuals behave in workplace & involves variety activities  IOP involves study of people in workplace, embodying not only scientific research, but also application of knowledge to improve performance & wellbeing of individual & hence the organisation.  By creating knowledge in field of IOP through scientific research & applying knowledge – industrial psychologists make themselves indispensable to the organisation. - Closely related/even overlaps organisational psychology, studying how employees function in organisation & how organisation functions as a whole. - Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has a separate description of industrial and organisational psychologists: “IOP apply the principles of psych to issues related to the work situation of relatively well-adjusted adults in order to optimise individual, group & org well-being & effectiveness” - Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology (SIOPSA) important part in making knowledge about IOP available & in introducing IOPs to each other to share their experiences 1.4. Definition of IOP * IOP defined as scientific study of people within work environment & it includes application of psychological principles, theory, & research to work setting. IOP 2 objectives: 1) Conduct research in order to increase knowledge & understanding of human work behaviour 2) Apply knowledge to improve work behaviour, work environment & psych condition of employees IOP:. trained to be both scientists and practitioners The I/O psychologist versus the human resource (HR) professional: IOP2601 EXAM PREPARATION. - I/O psychologist, specifically personnel psychologists concerned with psychological aspect of employee performance (predicting it and ensuring performance improvement), - while HR professional concerned with administrative & managerial aspects of ensuring employees perform optimally - Part of psychologist’s job entails developing psychological instruments, but also develop measures for HR professional to assess whether HR practices in org are effective/not. - I/O psychologist involved in activities of HR professional, e.g., when developing job descriptions, in recruitment & selection process (developing selection questions, developing, utilising and interpreting instruments) & when developing training programmes. Differences between These Two Fields: IOP - Personnel Psychologist HR Type of work Scientific study of people within their work environment – including application of psychological principles, theory and research. Distinctive approach to employment management: competitive advantage through strategic development of highly committed & capable workforcepersonnel techniques. Workplace levelinteraction between staff + supervisors Roles 1. conduct research: increase knowledge + understanding of human behaviour. 2. apply knowledge to improve work behaviour, work environment + psychological conditions of workers. Management of human and social capital – employment relationship Responsi b ilities Scientific observation - investigation, research Evaluation i.e., assessment, appraisal, measurement, problem identification Opti utilisation: selection, placement, management, development, retention Influencing i.e., changing, training, development, motivating- of normal/ deviant behaviour interaction with environment as manifested in world of work  Attraction,  screening,  selection,  retention,  utilisation,  motivation,  training, development,  appraisal, rewarding and  Discipline. Qualification and registration categories  I/O psychologist registration at HPCSA, a master’s degree and a formal one (1) year internship.  Psychometrist registration at HPCSA, an honours degree & formal 6 month internship & at least 70% for board exam.  HR practitioner only needs relevant HR diploma or degree (3 years) Overlap between these two fields  Both influence the effective functioning of the organisation  Involved in staffing of organisation – recruitment, selection, placing, evaluation and development  Workplace matters – dispute resolution, negotiations, conflict resolution, skills plan and training needs/reports, studying legislation 1.5. Major Fields of IOP IOP not really single discipline, but mix of sub specialities bonded together by concern people at work Subfield in IO psychology Description Personnel Psychology o Personnel psychology is scientific study of individual differences in work settings. o It applies a scientific decision-making framework to enhance the quality of decisions in the employment and retention of employees. o It is not synonymous with human resource management but represents an overlap between psychology and human resource management. HRM: concerned with the management of the human and social capital in the context of the employment relationship o It is an applied discipline that focuses on individual differences in behavior and job performance, and on methods to scientifically measure and predict such differences in order to enhance the quality of personnel decisions. o Informs HRM practices by its focus on the scientific study of individual differences and behavior and their consequences for the organisation Organisational Psychology o Organisational psychology focuses on the influence organisations may have on the attitudes and behavior of their employees, specifically focusing on social and group influences on behavior, culture, climate and leadership behavior and how these affect organisational performance and effectiveness. o Industrial psychologists are also concerned with changing (developing) organisations to make them more efficient. o Fields of interest include: leadership, group dynamics, conflict, decision making, communication, motivation, power, org culture and climate, org change, org development and structure Career Psychology o Career psychology is concerned with counselling employees and assisting them in making career choices, focusing on the psychological contract between employees and organisations. o Optimising the respective expectations of the org and employee and what both are prepared to give to ensure the integrity of the psychological contract o Topics of focus include: career development of employees, meaning of work in people’s lives, individual vocational behavior across the lifespan, career counselling and guidance, career issues that influence career development and org career development support initiatives Psychometrics Psychometrics is not classified as a subfield of I/O psychology, but industrial psychologists use psychological testing in their fields of application, specifically in personnel psychology. Ergonomics o Ergonomics is a subfield of I/O psychology that aims to modify the work environment so that it is compatible with the characteristics of human beings. o Defined as interactions between humans and systems o This subfield focuses on people and the way they interact with systems, including tools, and the physical work environment, including aspects such as making the actual work interesting and meaningful. o People are the focus of ergonomics