L1 - Introduction in Organisational Psychology Flashcards

1
Q

Define organisational psychology

A
  • 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
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2
Q

Describe the history of organisational psychology

A

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

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3
Q

History of organisational psychology - who is Walter Dill Scott?

A

o Become one of the first organisational psychologists

o Formed one of the first consulting companies in the US

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4
Q

History of organisational psychology - who is Hugo Munsterburg?

A

o One of the first forensic psychologists

o Advocated the use of psychological tests in selection (how to best match people to jobs)

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5
Q

History of organisation psychology - involvement in WW1?

A

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

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6
Q

History of organisational psychology - what were the Hawthorne studies and motivation issues found?

A

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

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7
Q

What is the HAWTHORNE EFFECT? Is it successful?

A

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)

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8
Q

History of organisational psychology - what were the later developments in organisational psychology?

A

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)

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9
Q

Define job analysis

A
  • 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
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10
Q

Define job description

A

a list of what the job entails

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11
Q

Define job specification

A

a list of a job’s human requirements, or what kind of people to hire for the job

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12
Q

Why is it important to conduct a job analysis?

A

helps with:

recruiting and selection decisions; performance appraisal and promotion; job evaluation, wage and salary decisions; training requirements

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13
Q

Define subject matter expert (SME)

A

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

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14
Q

What are the 8 methods for collecting job analysis information?

A
  1. Review written materials
  2. standardised measures
  3. job participation
  4. interviews
  5. job diaries / activity logs
  6. observations
  7. survey questionnaires
  8. focus groups
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15
Q

Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - REVIEW WRITTEN MATERIAL

A

a. Use previous job descriptions

b. Existing material should always be checked to ensure that it is contemporary and relevant

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16
Q

Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - STANDARDISED MEASURES, what is Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

A

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) – a structured questionnaire that analyses various jobs in terms of almost 200 job element that are arranged into six categories

17
Q

Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - JOB PARTICIPATION

A

A job analyst performs a particular job or job operation to get a first-hand understanding of how the job is performed

18
Q

Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - INTERVIEWS

A

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

19
Q

Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - JOB DIARIES / ACTIVITY LOGS

A

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

20
Q

Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - OBSERVATIONS (+/-)

A

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

21
Q

Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES (+/-)

A

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

22
Q

Evaluate the method for collecting job analysis information - FOCUS GROUP (+/-)

A

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

23
Q

What are the issues with job analysis?

A
  • 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
24
Q

What did Schultz find about applicants influenced by recruiter’s behaviour?

A

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