Industrial/Organizational Psychology Flashcards
adverse impact
- based on the 4/5ths rule (percentage of minorities selected must be at least 4/5ths of the percentage of non-minorities selected) = 80%
- if there is adverse impact, employer can:
1) replace procedure
2) modify procedure or
3) keep procedure if they can demonstrate that there is no alternative procedure available that would not have an adverse impact. And that the use of the procedure is job related (valid, business necessity or a bona fide occupational qualification- think of school ex)
unfairness
- occurs when minorities and non-minorities score differently on the predictor test yet perform similarly on the criterion
- depicted as 2 parallel lines
- example: the MCAT
differential validity
- occurs when there are significantly different criterion-related validity coefficients for different groups on the same test (the test is more valid for predicting performance of one group than another)
job analysis
- describes the nature of the component tests performed by workers on a particular job
- includes info about the tools/equipment used, operations performed, education/training required, wages, safety hazards, etc.
job evaluation
- a formal process that determines the financial worth of a specific job to an organization
biodata
- also known as biographical information
- includes standard application, the weighted application, and the biographical inventory
standard application
- most common type of application (personal data, employment history, education, etc.)
weighted application
- similar to standard application in form/content
- assigns weight to certain variables (ex - college vs. non college graduates) that affect the hiring process
biographical inventory (BIB)
- covers the applicant’s life in greater detail
- tailored to specific work behaviours of the job (desirable vs. undesirable)
- good predictors of job success and turnover
- development can be time-consuming and expensive
Holland’s personality-job fit theory (Career Choice)
- individuals + job traits can be matched
- the greater the match, the more job satisfaction and success
- keywords: congruence, consistency, differentiation, environmental identity, vocational identity
Holland’s occupational themes
- 6 types = realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, conventional
- RIASEC
assessment centers (also called situational testing)
a method of selection that places new job applicants and candidates for promotion in a simulated job situation so that their behaviour under stress can be observed or evaluated
in-basket techniques
presented applicants with typical problems and questions that managers would expect to find when they return from a vacation
contrast effect
occurs when an interviewers ratings of a candidate are affected by performance of the previous candidate
halo effect
generalizing one characteristic to the entire candidate in either a positive or negative direction
factors effecting training
- individual differences in ability to be trained
- self-efficacy
- motivation
- active vs. passive practice (active is better)
- massed vs. distributed (distributed it better)
- whole vs. part learning (slower learners do better with part learning but whole is best)
- transfer of training
- feedback (frequent feedback is best)
- reinforcement (greater the reward, faster the learning)
behaviourally anchored rating scales (BARS)
(individual performance appraisals)
- based on critical incidents
- employees are rated on various aspects of the job
- can be expensive/time consuming, do not tend to measure actual day-to-day activities
behavioural observation scale (BOS)
(individual performance appraisals)
- involve rating the extent to which a person engages in every behaviour (ex - how often an employee finishes a project on time)
forced choice
(individual performance appraisals)
the rater must choose between two seemingly equally desirable or undesirable choices
paired comparisons
(comparative performance appraisals)
each employee is compared to every other employee in pairs
forced distribution
(comparative performance appraisals)
people are ranked to fit a distribution (a few at the top, a few at the bottom, most in the middle)
scientific management
- a combination of autocratic behaviour, aggressiveness, and physical intimidation to force workers to produce
- management views workers as extension of machines, goal is to get the “machine” to run faster and more efficiently
- think time and motion studies for scientific methods used
human relations approach (h* for Hawthorne studies)
- based on the Hawthorne studies (focused on attention to workers rather than production)
- psychological factors are more important in terms of increasing productivity than the physical aspects of the work environment
Theory X, Y, Z
theory X - assumes workers are lazy and must be coerced and direction, have no ambition, no sense of responsibility
theory Y - assumes that people find satisfaction in their work, that control and punishment are not necessary to bring about good performance
theory z - something about Japanese management strategies, emphasis on collaboration and collective good.
*supervisors beliefs= self fulfilling prophesy on employee job performance
authoritarian leader
delegates to employees in an autocratic fashion (the leader holds all the power)
democratic leader
seeks employees input in various aspects of the organization
laissez-faire leader
generally not very involved in overseeing operations of the organization and often lets the employees make the decisions
high LPC
- if a leader rates their LPC (least preferred colleague) with a high rating, they are considered a relationship oriented leader
low LPC
- if a leader rates their LPC (least preferred colleague) with a low rating, they are considered a task oriented leader
situational control (favourableness)
(LPC theory)
how likely it is that a task will be accomplished (can depend on how easy/difficult it is, how powerful the leader is, the relationship between leader and subordinates)
low LPC leaders are most effective in situations that are…
highly unfavourable or unfavourable
high LPC leaders are most effective in situations that are…
moderately favourable
transactional leader vs. transformational leader
transactional = more traditional, few emotional exchanges, makes use of rewards, management by objectives
transformational = aims to broaden and elevate the goals of subordinates, utilize charisma/inspiration/intellectual stimulation/individualized consideration
5 types of power
- reward power = based on the ability to provide rewards
- coercive power = related to the ability to punish
- legitimate power = based on the hierarchy of the organization
- referent power = based on identifying with, admiring, or liking the person in the leadership position
- expert power = comes from having expertise/skills in the relevant area
rational economic model (or classical approach; optimizing style, harrison)
(re: decision making)
involves basing decisions on a clear definition of the problem, knowing all possible solutions and consequences of choices, then choosing the optimal solution
lower level needs
(two-factor theory of motivation)
- hygiene factors/dissatisfiers = pay, working conditions, supervision
- when lower level needs are not met, this contributes to dissatisfaction but meeting them does not result in satisfaction
upper level needs (motivators)
(two-factor theory of motivation)
- when upper level needs are met, satisfaction increases but not meeting upper level needs does not contribute to dissatisfaction
- motivators/satisfiers = needs for achievement, responsibility, and opportunity
job enrichment (vertical loading)
expanding jobs to give employees a greater role in planning and performing their work
(examples = increasing autonomy, encouraging employees to take on new and challenging tasks)
job enlargement (horizontal loading)
expanding the variety of tasks the employee performs without increasing performance or autonomy
job satisfaction correlations
- age = increases with age
- race = Whites report more satisfaction than minorities (most significant differences in managers)
- occupational level = the higher the level, the higher the satisfaction
- productivity = weak correlation between the two
- turnover = moderately negative correlation
quality-of-work-life programs (QWL)
- intended to improve the quality of working life
- workers discuss problems weekly in their area of responsibility
- greater affect on satisfaction than performance
quality control circles (QCC)
- intended to improve the finished product and level of production
- usually consist of 7-10 employees from the same departments and membership is voluntary
organizational development
- focuses on total organizational change and on systematic ways to bring about planned changes
- goal is to increase the organizations ability to cope with change in the external environment and to increase internal problem solving
