Transcript Fairness in employment decisions

Introduction and History of
Industrial-Organizational
Psychology
SOC 325 Behaviors at Work
Jan 21, 2002
Ref: Spector, Ch 1 (p. 3-11)
A. What is I-O Psy?
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Psychology is the science of human behavior
I-O Psy is the science of human behavior at
work
Two major fields
Industrial Psy (personnel psy)
enhance
efficiency / productivity of
organizations
through appropriate use of human resources or
people
efficient job design, employee selection,
training, performance appraisal, compensation
and benefit, etc.
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Organizational Psy (Organizational
Behavior in B-School)
understanding
behavior and enhancing the
well-being of employees
employee motivation, job attitudes, job stress,
and supervisory practices, etc.
I-O topics may overlap
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What are the objectives of I-O Psy?
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Dual objectives:
scientist-practitioner approach
develop scientific psychological principles
at work
apply the psychological principles to the
workplace
Example: MBA admission
Verbal,
numeric, and analytic ability
 Managerial success
Develop GMAT
Use GMAT as one selection criterion
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B. History of I-O Psy
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Around 100 years
Major events:
Taylor (1911), Scientific Management - to
guide organizational practices
E.g. Employees should be selected according to characteristics
that are related to job performance. Managers should study
existing employees to find out what personal characteristics are
important.
 See other guidelines in page 7
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Refined over the years but are still
considered valuable today
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Hawthorne studies
Focus on employee productivity and
organizational efficiency in factory plant
Employee abilities & design of jobs
Example:
Lighting-level effects on performance
Objective: Identify the optimal lighting level
Method
Finding
 Psychosocial factor - Hawthorne effect
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Graphical Portrayal of a Hawthorne Effect
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Performance
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Time
Onset of intervention
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World War I & II
Army Alpha and Army Beta
mental ability test for placement
mass testing
Training of the officers, improving morale,
team development, and equipment design
Developed various assessment tools and
performance models
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C. I-O as a profession
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Professional Societies:
Academy of Management
(www.aom.pace.edu)
Society for I-O Psy under the American
Psychological Association (www.siop.org)
Division of I-O Psy under the Hong Kong
Psychological Society
(www.hkps.org.hk/diop/index.htm)
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1. HKPS - DIOP
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What it does for you?
Provide professional psychological
services to enhance organizational
effectiveness
Join the division as affiliate or full member
to receive continuous professional
education
Register as Registered IndustrialOrganizational Psychologists (HKPS)
Jessica
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Kwong (Reg. I-O Psy, HKPS)
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1. HKPS - DIOP
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Why look for Reg. I-O Psychologists?
Assure service quality
Provide a formal channel to file complaint
against poor service standard
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HKPS is the only professional body in
HK which accepts the registration of
Psychologist
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1. HKPS - DIOP
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Core Competencies:
Personnel
Selection, Placement and
Assessment
Performance Management and Appraisal
Motivation, Leadership, Group and Work
behaviour
Organizational Development and Change
Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Behaviour
Ergonomics and Human Factors
Management/Staff Training and Development
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2. Graduate training
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M.A. /M. Phil /Ph.D in I-O Psychology in
U.S. (2 - 5 years with placement)
M. A. in Occupational Psychology in
U.K. (1 year with no placement)
M. Phil in I-O Psychology in HK (2 years
with placement)
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M. Phil (I-O Psy) only in Chinese U of Hong Kong
(www.psy.cuhk.edu.hk)
Admission every 2 years; no. of intake is increasing
The design of the curriculum follows the scientist-practitioner
model, with emphasis on both theoretical and applied skills.
 Seminar in Research Methods I
 Seminar in Research Methods II
 Independent Study
 Personnel Psychology
 Organizational Psychology I
 Organizational Psychology II
 Organizational Placement
 Seminar in Quantitative Skills for Industrial-Organizational
Psychology
 Seminar in the Psychology of Training and Development
 Seminar in Consumer Psychology
 Seminar in Professional Issues
 Thesis Research
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Employment in I-O Psy
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Prospects of the I-O Psy graduates of CUHK
Setting
Consulting firms (e.g., SHL, AMR)
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Psychometric assessment
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Staff attitude survey
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Marketing Research
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Executive search
Government
Universities
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1997-2001
64%
9%
27%
Number of graduates is increasing
Field expanding and becoming popular
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D. Cross-Cultural Issues
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Majority of I-O studies have been conducted
in individualistic countries
Culture clash when apply in collectivistic
countries
Differences in beliefs, values, norms, etc.
Globalization, multinational firms, workforce
diversity, etc., call for cross-cultural models
Etic - culture free vs. Emic - cultural specific
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