I-O Psychology

Definitions

Industrial Psychology is the study of people at work in industry and business.

The two words "industry” simply pertains to activities relating to manufacturing, trade
or business. The word psychology’ denotes the science of the nature, functions and
phenomena of the mind or mental activities of a human being or simply put
psychology of human behavior.
Industrial Psychology is the study of people at work, the study of their aptitudes, and
their qualifications for jobs. It includes the principles and practices of training in the
skills and attitudes for Industrial work.
Industrial Psychology is a complete study of many things but primarily, it is the study
of people as individuals or in groups –at-work situation.
The study of people as ‘individuals’ involves studying the qualifications of a person
for a job, his work history, his intelligence, his special aptitudes and interests and
above all, relating these qualifications to the requirements of the job and interpreting
the results.

Industrial or psychology is the application of psychological principles, theories, and

research directed towards the work setting. This includes work behaviour, both in and
out of the workplace, as well as the influence the work experience has on the rest of
life, like family, health, and relationships. I-O psychology can be divided into three
major areas:

1. Personnel psychology: related to the hiring, firing, evaluation, training and

performance of employees.
 2. Organizational psychology: address emotions, motivation, and interpersonal
behaviour in the context of social psychology and the organization.
3. Human engineering (human factors psychology): looking at the human capacity
and limitations in any given environment, towards improving the working
environment for people.

A more formal definition of I-O psychology, approached from the perspective of the I-
O psychologist and what he or she does, has been adopted by the Society for Industrial
and Organizational Psychology.

How is Industrial Organizational Psychology Different?

While industrial organizational psychology is an applied field, basic theoretical
research is also essential. With roots in experimental psychology, I-O psychology has a
number of different sub-areas such as human-computer interaction, personnel
psychology, and human factors.
Six Key Areas of I-O Psychology
According to Muchinsky (2000), most industrial organizational psychologists work in
one of six major subject areas:
 Training and development: Professional in this area often determine what type of
skills are necessary to perform specific jobs as well as develop and evaluate employee
training programs.

 Employee Selection: This area involves developing employee selection

assessments, such as screening tests to determine if job applicants are qualified for a
particular position.
 Ergonomics: The field of ergonomics involves designing procedures and equipment
designed to maximize performance and minimize injury.

 Performance Management: I-O psychologists who work in this area develop

assessments and techniques to determine if employees are doing their jobs well.
3
 Work Life: This area focuses on improving employee satisfaction and maximizing
the productivity of the workforce. I-O psychologists in this area might work to find
ways to make jobs more rewarding or design programs that improve the quality of life
in the workplace.

 Organizational Development: I-O psychologists who work in this area help

improve organizations, often through increasing profits, redesigning products, and
improving the organizational structure.

Who Should Study Industrial Organizational Psychology?

Students who are interested in applying psychological principles to real-world setting
should consider industrial organizational psychology. If you have a strong interest in
psychology as well as related subjects such as product design, computers, statistics and
engineering, this may be the ideal field for you.
Major Topics in Industrial Organizational Psychology
 Product design

 Employee testing

 Leadership

 Workplace diversity

 Workplace performance

 Employee motivation
Importance of Industrial Psychology: -
Since Industrial Psychology is the study of people at work and is concerned with the
entire spectrum of human beings. Its scope is the entire process of management dealing
with people at work. There is hardly a field in industry where human understanding is
not required; there is hardly a problem in industry and business where human aspect is
not involved and hence there is hardly an area in which industrial psychology cannot
play its role. Industrial psychology is a useful aid to the efficient management of
people at work.
Areas:
 Recruitment
 Selection and Placement
 Executive Development and Training
 Promotional Schemes
 Motivation
 Attitude and Morale
Wages and Salary Administration
 Human Relation
 Accident Prevention
Recruitment
Appropriate matching of j ob requirement with the employee's abilities lead to
reduction in the cost of hiring, supervision and production. Accurate job analysis,
standardized application forms, scientific screening of applications, use of
psychological tests for vocational fitness, final overall rating and continuous review
and check-up of the entire programme are some of the spheres where the psychologist
can make an important contribution several psychological tests may be developed for
the proper screening of the people. Selection and Placement
Right man should be selected for the right job and industrial psychology helps in this
effort also. It develops various devices such as interviews and psychological tests in
order to achieve the objective of the selection. It also helps the placement of workers at
different jobs scientific assignment of job is possible only with the help of industrial
psychology.

Executive Development and Training

A psychologist by studying and investigating managerial problems like delegation,
communication and supervision vitalizes the already practiced managerial psychology.
Individual differences can well be measured by psychological study of the people for
training purposes. Continuous and effective use of the capabilities of workers
necessitates training of the workers and supervisors.
Psychology determines what type of training should be given to the workers.

Promotional Schemes
Why a man should be promoted or transferred or demoted or discharged.
These employment situations should be based on abilities, usefulness and seniority.
Performance appraisal is one of the psychological techniques to recognize the peoples'
ability mere seniority should not be the guiding principle for promotions.

Motivation
The psychologists assume that the causes of different types of human behavior in
industry and business are the needs or the motives that drive an individual to behave in
a particular way. Industrial psychology problems into behavior of people at work to
determine the conditions in which an individual or people at work to determine the
conditions in which an individual feels motivated and is willing to work whole-
heartedly to maximize the productivity. Industrial psychology has identified the
financial and non-financial incentives which are used by the management to motivate
the personnel.

Attitude and morale

The psychologists have established the relationship between the attitudes of the
employees and their performance. Psychological studies outline the major factors
favorable or detrimental to good morale and give some class as to the steps which can
be taken to give further understanding of needs, perceptions, satisfaction and
motivation of people in relation to their working situations.

Wages and salary administration

The wage rates in the industry should be fixed on some suitable and scientific formula.
The psychologists have developed the techniques of job evaluation, merit-rating and
job analysis as basis for rational wage and salary structure. Job evaluation and merit-
rating are the techniques which evaluate the worth of the job and of the man
respectively.

Human relations
Human relations may briefly be described as the relations or contacts among
individuals in an organization and the group behavior that emerges from these
relations. The modern industrial psychologists treated people in industry as human
being and have made significant contribution to industrial management by developing
concepts and techniques of effective leadership. They suggest the possible ways and
means to solve the industrial strife.
Accident prevention
The psychological studies show that 98% of the accidents in industry are preventable.
It means personal or psychological factors play an important role in any programme of
accident prevention. Monotony and fatigue studies help in minimizing the accidents.
Psychologists have made the contribution of signals to the development of safety
programme and the preservation of human factor in industry.

Industrial and organizational psychology

Industrial and organizational psychology, which is also known as occupational

psychology, organizational psychology, or work and organizational psychology; is an
applied discipline within psychology. Industrial, work and organizational psychology
(IWO) is the broader global term for the field internationally.

The discipline is the science of human behavior relating to work and applies
psychological theories and principles to organizations and individuals in their places of
work as well as the individual's work-life more generally.

IO psychologists are trained in the scientist–practitioner model. They contribute to an

organization's success by improving the performance, motivation, job satisfaction, and
occupational safety and health as well as the overall health and well-being of its
employees. An IO psychologist conducts research on employee behaviors and
attitudes, and how these can be improved through hiring practices, training programs,
feedback, and management systems

IO psychology was ranked the fastest growing occupation over the next decade
according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics'sOccupational Outlook Handbook in
2014. It is estimated to grow 53% with a mean salary of US$109,030, with those at the
top 10 percentile earning $192,150 for 2018.

As of 2018, IO psychology is one of the 16 recognized specialties by the American

Psychological Association (APA) in the United States. It is represented by Division 14
of the APA, and was formally known as the Society for Industrial and Organizational
Psychology (SIOP).

International

In the United Kingdom, industrial and organizational psychologists are referred to as

occupational psychologists. Occupational psychology in the UK is one of nine
"protected titles" within the profession "practitioner psychologist" regulated by the
Health and Care Professions Council. In the UK, graduate programs in psychology,
including occupational psychology, are accredited by the British Psychological
Society.

In Australia, the title organizational psychologist is protected by law, and regulated by

the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Organizational
psychology is one of nine areas of specialist endorsement for psychology practice in
Australia.[7]

In Europe, someone with a specialist EuroPsy Certificate in Work and Organisational

Psychology is a fully qualified psychologist and a specialist in the work psychology
field. Industrial and organizational psychologists reaching the EuroPsy standard are
recorded in the Register of European Psychologists and industrial and organizational
psychology is one of the three main psychology specializations in Europe.
In South Africa, industrial psychology is a registration category for the profession of
psychologist as regulated by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
[9]

Historical overview

The historical development of IO psychology was paralleled in the US, the UK,
Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, and Eastern European countries such as
Romania. The roots of IO psychology trace back nearly to the beginning of psychology
as a science, when Wilhelm Wundt founded one of the first psychological laboratories
in 1879 in Leipzig, Germany. In the mid 1880s, Wundt trained two psychologists,
Hugo Münsterberg and James McKeenCattell, who had a major influence on the
emergence of IO psychology.

Instead of viewing performance differences as human "errors", Cattell was one of the
first to recognize the importance of differences among individuals as a way of better
understanding work behavior. Walter Dill Scott, who was a contemporary of Cattell,
was elected President of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1919, was
arguably the most prominent IO psychologist of his time. Scott, along with Walter Van
Dyke Bingham, worked at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, developing methods
for selecting and training sales personnel.

The "industrial" side of IO psychology originated in research on individual differences,

assessment, and the prediction of work performance. Industrial psychology crystallized
during World War I. In response to the need to rapidly assign new troops to duty.
Scott and Bingham volunteered to help with the testing and placement of more than a
million army recruits. In 1917, together with other prominent psychologists, they
adapted a well-known intelligence test the Stanford–Binet, which was designed for
testing one individual at a time, to make it suitable for group testing. The new test was
called the Army Alpha.

After the war, the growing industrial base in the US was a source of momentum for
what was then called industrial psychology.[citation needed]
Private industry set out to
emulate the successful testing of army personnel. Mental ability testing soon became
commonplace in the work setting.

Elton Mayo found that rest periods improved morale and reduced turnover in a
Philadelphia textile factory. He later joined the ongoing Hawthorne studies, where he
became interested in how workers' emotions and informal relationships affected
productivity. The results of these studies ushered in the human relations movement.

World War II brought renewed interest in ability testing (to accurately place recruits in
new technologically advanced military jobs), the introduction of the assessment center,
and concern with morale and fatigue in war industry workers.

The industrial psychology division of the former American Association of Applied

Psychology became a division within APA, becoming Division 14 of APA. It was
initially called the Industrial and Business Psychology Division. In 1962, the name was
changed to the Industrial Psychology Division. In 1973, it was renamed again, this
time to the Division of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. In 1982, the unit
become more independent of APA, and its name was changed again, this time to the
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

The name change of the division from "industrial psychology" to "industrial and
organizational psychology" reflected the shift in the work of industrial psychologists
who had originally addressed work behavior from the individual perspective,
examining performance and attitudes of individual workers. Their work became
broader. Group behavior in the workplace became a worthy subject of study. The
emphasis on "organizational" underlined the fact that when an individual joins an
organization (e.g., the organization that hired him or her), he or she will be exposed to
a common goal and a common set of operating procedures. In the 1970s in the UK,
references to occupational psychology became more common than IO psychology.

According to Bryan and Vinchur, "while organizational psychology increased in

popularity through [the 1960s and 1970s], research and practice in the traditional areas
of industrial psychology continued, primarily driven by employment legislation and
case law". There was a focus on fairness and validity in selection efforts as well as in
the job analyses that undergirded selection instruments. For example, IO psychology
showed increased interest in behaviorally anchored rating scales. What critics there
were of IO psychology accused the discipline of being responsive only to the concerns
of managements.

From the 1980s to 2010s, other changes in IO psychology took place. Researchers
increasingly adopted a multi-level approach, attempting to understand behavioral
phenomena from both the level of the organization and the level of the individual
worker. There was also an increased interest in the needs and expectations of
employees as individuals. For example, an emphasis on organizational justice and the
psychological contract took root, as well as the more traditional concerns of selection
and training. Methodological innovations (e.g., meta-analyses, structural equation
modeling) were adopted. With the passage of the American with Disabilities Act in
1990 and parallel legislation elsewhere in the world, IO psychology saw an increased
emphasis on "fairness in personnel decisions." Training research relied increasingly on
advances in educational psychology and cognitive science.

Research methods
As described above, IO psychologists are trained in the scientist–practitioner model.
IO psychologists rely on a variety of methods to conduct organizational research.
Study designs employed by IO psychologists include surveys, experiments, quasi-
experiments, and observational studies. IO psychologists rely on diverse data sources
including human judgments, historical databases, objective measures of work
performance (e.g., sales volume), and questionnaires and surveys.

IO researchers employ quantitative statistical methods. Quantitative methods used in

IO psychology include correlation, multiple regression, and analysis of variance. More
advanced statistical methods employed in IO research include logistic regression,
structural equation modeling, and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM; also known as
multilevel modeling). IO research has also employed meta-analysis.[21][22][23] IO
psychologists also employ psychometric methods including methods associated with
classical test theory, generalizability theory, and item response theory (IRT).

IO psychologists have also employed qualitative methods, which largely involve focus
groups, interviews, and case studies. IO research on organizational culture research has
employed ethnographic techniques and participant observation. A qualitative technique
associated with IO psychology is Flanagan's Critical Incident Technique.[26] IO
psychologists sometimes use quantitative and qualitative methods in concert. [27] OHP
researchers have also combined and coordinated quantitative and qualitative methods
within a single study.

Topics

Job analysis

Job analysis encompasses a number of different methods including, but not limited to,
interviews, questionnaires, task analysis, and observation. It primarily involves the
systematic collection of information about a job. A task-oriented job analysis involves
an examination of the duties, tasks, and/or competencies required by the job being
assessed. By contrast, a worker-oriented job analysis involves an examination of the
knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) required to successfully
perform the work. Information obtained from job analyses are used for many purposes,
including the creation of job-relevant selection procedures, performance appraisals and
the criteria they require, and the development of training programs.

Personnel recruitment and selection

IO psychologists typically work with human resource specialists to design (a)

recruitment processes and (b) personnel selection systems.[citation needed]
Personnel
recruitment is the process of identifying qualified candidates in the workforce and
getting them to apply for jobs within an organization. Personnel recruitment processes
include developing job announcements, placing ads, defining key qualifications for
applicants, and screening out unqualified applicants.

Personnel selection is the systematic process of hiring and promoting personnel.

Personnel selection systems employ evidence-based practices to determine the most
qualified candidates. Personnel selection involves both the newly hired and individuals
who can be promoted from within the organization. Common selection tools include
ability tests (e.g., cognitive, physical, or psycho-motor), knowledge tests, personality
tests, structured interviews, the systematic collection of biographical data, and work
samples. IO psychologists must evaluate evidence regarding the extent to which
selection tools predict job performance.

Personnel selection procedures are usually validated, i.e., shown to be job relevant to
personnel selection, using one or more of the following types of validity: content
validity, construct validity, and/or criterion-related validity. IO psychologists must
adhere to professional standards in personnel selection efforts. SIOP (e.g., Principles
for validation and use of personnel selection procedures[32]) and APA together with the
National Council on Measurement in Education (e.g., Standards for educational and
psychological testing[33] are sources of those standards. The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission's Uniform guidelines are also influential in guiding personnel
selection decisions.

A meta-analysis of selection methods found that general mental ability was the best
overall predictor of job performance and attainment in training.

Performance appraisal/management

Performance appraisal or performance evaluation is the process in which an

individual's or a group's work behaviors and outcomes are assessed against managers'
and others' expectations for the job.[36] Performance appraisal is frequently used in
promotion and compensation decisions, to help design and validate personnel selection
procedures, and for performance management. Performance management is the
process of providing performance feedback relative to expectations, and information
relevant to improvement (e.g., coaching, mentoring). Performance management may
also include documenting and tracking performance information for organizational
evaluation purposes.

An IO psychologist would typically use information from the job analysis to determine
a job's performance dimensions, and then construct a rating scale to describe each level
of performance for the job. Often, the IO psychologist would be responsible for
training organizational personnel how to use the performance appraisal instrument,
including ways to minimize bias when using the rating scale, and how to provide
effective performance feedback.

Individual assessment and psychometrics

Individual assessment involves the measurement of individual differences. IO

psychologists perform individual assessments in order to evaluate differences among
candidates for employment as well as differences among employees. The constructs
measured pertain to job performance. With candidates for employment, individual
assessment is often part of the personnel selection process. These assessments can
include written tests, aptitude tests, physical tests, psycho-motor tests, personality tests,
integrity and reliability tests, work samples, simulations, and assessment centres.

Occupational health and well-being

IO psychologists are concerned with occupational health and well-being. Early in the
20th century Arthur Kornhauser examined the impact on productivity of hiring
mentally unstable workers.[38]Kornhauser also examined the link between industrial
working conditions and mental health as well as the spillover into a worker's personal
life of having an unsatisfying job.

More recently, IO researchers have found that staying vigorous during working hours
is associated with better work-related behaviour and subjective well-being as well as
more effective functioning in the family domain. [42] Trait vigor and recovery
experiences after work were related to vigor at work. [42] Job satisfaction has also been
found to be associated with life satisfaction, happiness, well-being and positive affect,
and the absence of negative affect.[40] Other research indicates that among older
workers activities such as volunteering and participating in social clubs was related to
a decrease in depressive symptoms over the next two years. Research on job changing
indicates that mobility between, but not within, organizations is associated with
burnout.[41]

Workplace bullying, aggression and violence

Main articles: Workplace bullying, Workplace aggression, and Workplace violence

IO psychologists are concerned with the related topics of workplace bullying,

aggression, and violence. For example, IO research found that exposure to workplace
violence elicited ruminative thinking. Ruminative thinking is associated with poor
well-being. IO research has found that interpersonal aggressive behaviour is associated
with worse team performance.[46]

Remuneration and compensation

Compensation includes wages or salary, bonuses, pension/retirement contributions,

and employee benefits that can be converted to cash or replace living expenses. IO
psychologists may be asked to conduct a job evaluation for the purpose of determining
compensation levels and ranges. IO psychologists may also serve as expert witnesses
in pay discrimination cases, when disparities in pay for similar work are alleged by
employees.

Training and training evaluation

Training involves the systematic teaching of skills, concepts, or attitudes that results in
improved performance in another environment. Because many people hired for a job
are not already versed in all the tasks the job requires, training may be needed to help
the individual perform the job effectively. Evidence indicates that training is often
effective, and that it succeeds in terms of higher net sales and gross profitability per
employee.
Similar to performance management (see above), an IO psychologist would employ a
job analysis in concert with the application of the principles of instructional design to
create an effective training program. A training program is likely to include a
summative evaluation at its conclusion in order to ensure that trainees have met the
training objectives and can perform the target work tasks at an acceptable level.
Training programs often include formative evaluations to assess the effect of the
training as the training proceeds. Formative evaluations can be used to locate problems
in training procedures and help IO psychologists make corrective adjustments while
training is ongoing.

The foundation for training programs is learning. Learning outcomes can be organized
into three broad categories: cognitive, skill-based, and affective outcomes. Cognitive
training is aimed at instilling declarative knowledge or the knowledge of rules, facts,
and principles (e.g., police officer training covers laws and court procedures). Skill-
based training aims to impart procedural knowledge (e.g., skills needed to use a special
tool) or technical skills (e.g., understanding the workings of software program).
Affective training concerns teaching individuals to develop specific attitudes or beliefs
that predispose trainees to behave a certain way (e.g., show commitment to the
organization, appreciate diversity).

A needs assessment, an analysis of corporate and individual goals, is often undertaken

prior to the development of a training program. In addition, a careful needs analysis is
required in order to develop a systematic understanding of where training is needed,
what should be taught, and who will be trained. A training needs analysis typically
involves a three-step process that includes organizational analysis, task analysis and
person analysis.
An organizational analysis is an examination of organizational goals and resources as
well as the organizational environment. The results of an organizational analysis help
to determine where training should be directed. The analysis identifies the training
needs of different departments or subunits. It systematically assesses manager, peer,
and technological support for transfer of training. An organizational analysis also takes
into account the climate of the organization and its subunits. For example, if a climate
for safety is emphasized throughout the organization or in subunits of the organization
(e.g., production), then training needs will likely reflect an emphasis on safety. A task
analysis uses the results of a job analysis to determine what is needed for successful
job performance, contributing to training content. With organizations increasingly
trying to identify "core competencies" that are required for all jobs, task analysis can
also include an assessment of competencies. A person analysis identifies which
individuals within an organization should receive training and what kind of instruction
they need. Employee needs can be assessed using a variety of methods that identify
weaknesses that training can address.

Motivation in the workplace

Work motivation reflects the energy an individual applies "to initiate work-related
behavior, and to determine its form, direction, intensity, and duration" Understanding
what motivates an organization's employees is central to IO psychology. Motivation is
generally thought of as a theoretical construct that fuels behavior. An incentive is an
anticipated reward that is thought to incline a person to behave a certain way.
Motivation varies among individuals. Studying its influence on behavior, it must be
examined together with ability and environmental influences. Because of motivation's
role in influencing workplace behavior and performance, many organizations structure
the work environment to encourage productive behaviors and discourage unproductive
behaviors.

Motivation involves three psychological processes: arousal, direction, and intensity.

Arousal is what initiates action. It is often fueled by a person's need or desire for
something that is missing from his or her life, either totally or partially. Direction
refers to the path employees take in accomplishing the goals they set for themselves.
Intensity is the amount of energy employees put into goal-directed work performance.
The level of intensity often reflects the importance and difficulty of the goal. These
psychological processes involve four factors. First, motivation serves to direct
attention, focusing on particular issues, people, tasks, etc. Second, it serves to stimulate
effort. Third, motivation influences persistence. Finally, motivation influences the
choice and application of task-related strategies.

Occupational stress

IO psychologists have since the 1960s been at the forefront of research and the practice
of occupational stress and design of individual and organizational interventions to
manage and reduce the stress levels and increase productivity, performance, health and
wellbeing. Occupational stress can have implications for organizational performance
because of the emotions job stress evokes. For example, a job stressor such as conflict
with a supervisor can precipitate anger that in turn motivates counterproductive
workplace behaviors. IO research has examined the association between work stressors
and aggression, theft, substance abuse, and depressive symptoms.[64] A number of
models have been developed to explain the job stress process, including the person-
environment (P-E) fit model and the demand-control model.
Research has also examined occupational stress in specific occupations, including
police, general practitioners, and dentists. Another concern has been the relation of
occupational stress to family life. Other research has examined gender differences in
leadership style and job stress and strain in the context of male- and female-dominated
industries, and unemployment-related distress. IO psychology is also concerned with
the relation of occupational stress to career advancement.

Occupational safety

Accidents and safety in the workplace have become areas of interest to IO psychology.
Examples of psychosocial injury hazards of interest to IO psychology include fatigue,
workplace violence, workplace bullying, and working night shifts. IO researchers
conduct "stress audits" that can help organizations remain compliant with various
occupational safety regulations. Psychosocial hazards can affect musculoskeletal
disorders. A psychosocial factor related to accident risk is safety climate, which refers
to employees' perceptions of the extent to which their work organization prioritizes
safety. By contrast, psychosocial safety climate refers to management's "policies,
practices, and procedures" aimed at protecting workers' psychological health. Research
on safety leadership is also relevant to IO psychology. Research suggests that safety-
oriented transformational leadership is associated with a positive safety climate and
safe worker practices.
Organizational culture

While there is no universal definition for organizational culture, a collective

understanding shares the following assumptions:

... that they are related to history and tradition, have some depth, are difficult to
grasp and account for, and must be interpreted; that they are collective and shared
by members of groups and primarily ideational in character, having to do with
values, understandings, beliefs, knowledge, and other intangibles; and that they
are holistic and subjective rather than strictly rational and analytical.

Organizational culture has been shown to affect important organizational outcomes

such as performance, attraction, recruitment, retention, employee satisfaction, and
employee well-being. There are three levels of organizational culture: artifacts, shared
values, and basic beliefs and assumptions. Artifacts comprise the physical components
of the organization that relay cultural meaning. Shared values are individuals'
preferences regarding certain aspects of the organization's culture (e.g., loyalty,
customer service). Basic beliefs and assumptions include individuals' impressions
about the trustworthiness and supportiveness of an organization, and are often deeply
ingrained within the organization's culture.

In addition to an overall culture, organizations also have subcultures. Subcultures can

be departmental (e.g. different work units) or defined by geographical distinction.
While there is no single "type" of organizational culture, some researchers have
developed models to describe different organizational cultures.
Group behavior

Group behavior involves the interactions among individuals in a collective. The

individuals' opinions, attitudes, and adaptations affect group behavior and group
behavior. In turn, affects those opinions, etc. The interactions are thought to fulfill
some need satisfaction in an individual who is part of the collective. A specific area of
IO research in group behavior is the team dynamics and team effectiveness.

Team effectiveness

Organizations often organize teams because teams can accomplish a much greater
amount of work in a short period of time than an individual can accomplish. IO
research has examined the harm workplace aggression does to team performance.

Team composition

Team composition, or the configuration of team member knowledge, skills, abilities,

and other characteristics, fundamentally influences teamwork. Team composition can
be considered in the selection and management of teams to increase the likelihood of
team success. To achieve high-quality results, teams built with members having higher
skill levels are more likely to be effective than teams built around members having
lesser skills; teams that include a members with a diversity of skills are also likely to
show improved team performance. Team members should also be compatible in terms
of personality traits, values, and work styles. There is substantial evidence that
personality traits and values can shape the nature of teamwork, and influence team
performance.
Task design

A fundamental question in team task design is whether or not a task is even appropriate
for a team. Those tasks that require predominantly independent work are best left to
individuals, and team tasks should include those tasks that consist primarily of
interdependent work. When a given task is appropriate for a team, task design can play
a key role in team effectiveness.

Job characteristic theory identifies core job dimensions that affect motivation,
satisfaction, performance, etc. These dimensions include skill variety, task identity,
task significance, autonomy and feedback. The dimensions map well to the team
environment. Individual contributors who perform team tasks that are challenging,
interesting, and engaging are more likely to be motivated to exert greater effort and
perform better than team members who are working on tasks that lack those
characteristics.

Organizational resources

Organizational support systems affect the team effectiveness and provide resources for
teams operating in the multi-team environment. During the chartering of new teams,
organizational enabling resources are first identified. Examples of enabling resources
include facilities, equipment, information, training, and leadership.[57] Team-specific
resources (e.g., budgetary resources, human resources) are typically made available.
Team-specific human resources represent the individual contributors who are selected
to be team members. Intra-team processes (e.g., task design, task assignment) involve
these team-specific resources.

Teams also function in dynamic multi-team environments. Teams often must respond
to shifting organizational contingencies. Contingencies affecting teams include
constraints arising from conditions in which organizational resources are not
exclusively earmarked for certain teams. When resources are scarce, they must be
shared by multiple teams.

Team rewards

Organizational reward systems drive the strengthening and enhancing of individual

team member efforts; such efforts contribute towards reaching team goals. In other
words, rewards that are given to individual team members should be contingent upon
the performance of the entire team.

Several design elements are needed to enable organizational reward systems to operate
successfully. First, for a collective assessment to be appropriate for individual team
members, the group's tasks must be highly interdependent. If this is not the case,
individual assessment is more appropriate than team assessment. Second, individual-
level reward systems and team-level reward systems must be compatible. For example,
it would be unfair to reward the entire team for a job well done if only one team
member did most of the work. That team member would most likely view teams and
teamwork negatively, and would not want to work on a team in the future. Third, an
organizational culture must be created such that it supports and rewards employees
who believe in the value of teamwork and who maintain a positive attitude towards
team-based rewards.

Team goals

Goals potentially motivate team members when goals contain three elements:
difficulty, acceptance, and specificity. Under difficult goal conditions, teams with
more committed members tend to outperform teams with less committed members.
When team members commit to team goals, team effectiveness is a function of how
supportive members are with each other. The goals of individual team members and
team goals interact. Team and individual goals must be coordinated. Individual goals
must be consistent with team goals in order for a team to be effective.

Job satisfaction and commitment

Job satisfaction is often thought to reflect the extent to which a worker likes his or her
job, or individual aspects or facets of jobs. It is one of the most heavily researched
topics in IO psychology. Job satisfaction has theoretical and practical utility for the
field. It has been linked to important job outcomes including attitudinal variables (e.g.,
job involvement, organizational commitment), absenteeism, turnover intentions, actual
turnover, job performance, and tension.[citation needed]
A meta-analyses found job
satisfaction to be related to life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and the absence
of negative affect.

Productive behavior

Productive behavior is defined as employee behavior that contributes positively to the

goals and objectives of an organization. When an employee begins a new job, there is a
transition period during which he or she may not contribute significantly. To assist
with this transition an employee typically requires job-related training. In financial
terms, productive behavior represents the point at which an organization begins to
achieve some return on the investment it has made in a new employee. [57] IO
psychologists are ordinarily more focused on productive behavior than job or task
performance, including in-role and extra-role performance. In-role performance tells
managers how well an employee performs the required aspects of the job; extra-role
performance includes behaviors not necessarily required by job but nonetheless
contribute to organizational effectiveness. By taking in-role and extra-role
performance into account, an IO psychologist is able to assess employees'
effectiveness (how well they do what they were hired to do), efficiency (outputs to
relative inputs), and productivity (how much they help the organization reach its
goals). Three forms of productive behavior that IO psychologists often evaluate
include job performance, organizational citizenship behavior (see below), and
innovation.

Job performance

Job performance represents behaviors employees engage in while at work which

contribute to organizational goals. These behaviors are formally evaluated by an
organization as part of an employee's responsibilities.[109] In order to understand and
ultimately predict job performance, it is important to be precise when defining the
term. Job performance is about behaviors that are within the control of the employee
and not about results (effectiveness), the costs involved in achieving results
(productivity), the results that can be achieved in a period of time (efficiency), or the
value an organization places on a given level of performance, effectiveness,
productivity or efficiency (utility).

To model job performance, researchers have attempted to define a set of dimensions

that are common to all jobs. Using a common set of dimensions provides a consistent
basis for assessing performance and enables the comparison of performance across
jobs. Performance is commonly broken into two major categories: in-role (technical
aspects of a job) and extra-role (non-technical abilities such as communication skills
and being a good team member). While this distinction in behavior has been
challenged it is commonly made by both employees and management. A model of
performance by Campbell breaks performance into in-role and extra-role categories.[109]
Campbell labeled job-specific task proficiency and non-job-specific task proficiency as
in-role dimensions, while written and oral communication, demonstrating effort,
maintaining personal discipline, facilitating peer and team performance, supervision
and leadership and management and administration are labeled as extra-role
dimensions. Murphy's model of job performance also broke job performance into in-
role and extra-role categories. However, task-orientated behaviors composed the in-
role category and the extra-role category included interpersonally-oriented behaviors,
down-time behaviors and destructive and hazardous behaviors. However, it has been
challenged as to whether the measurement of job performance is usually done through
pencil/paper tests, job skills tests, on-site hands-on tests, off-site hands-on tests, high-
fidelity simulations, symbolic simulations, task ratings and global ratings. These
various tools are often used to evaluate performance on specific tasks and overall job
performance. Van Dyne and LePine developed a measurement model in which overall
job performance was evaluated using Campbell's in-role and extra-role categories.
Here, in-role performance was reflected through how well "employees met their
performance expectations and performed well at the tasks that made up the employees'
job." Dimensions regarding how well the employee assists others with their work for
the benefit of the group, if the employee voices new ideas for projects or changes to
procedure and whether the employee attends functions that help the group composed
the extra-role category.

To assess job performance, reliable and valid measures must be established. While
there are many sources of error with performance ratings, error can be reduced through
rater trainingand through the use of behaviorally-anchored rating scales. Such scales
can be used to clearly define the behaviors that constitute poor, average, and superior
performance. Additional factors that complicate the measurement of job performance
include the instability of job performance over time due to forces such as changing
performance criteria, the structure of the job itself and the restriction of variation in
individual performance by organizational forces. These factors include errors in job
measurement techniques, acceptance and the justification of poor performance and
lack of importance of individual performance.

The determinants of job performance consist of factors having to do with the

individual worker as well as environmental factors in the workplace. According to
Campbell's Model of The Determinants of Job Performance, job performance is a
result of the interaction between declarative knowledge (knowledge of facts or things),
procedural knowledge (knowledge of what needs to be done and how to do it), and
motivation (reflective of an employee's choices regarding whether to expend effort, the
level of effort to expend, and whether to persist with the level of effort chosen). The
interplay between these factors show that an employee may, for example, have a low
level of declarative knowledge, but may still have a high level of performance if the
employee has high levels of procedural knowledge and motivation.

Regardless of the job, three determinants stand out as predictors of performance: (1)
general mental ability (especially for jobs higher in complexity); (2) job experience
(although there is a law of diminishing returns); and (3) the personality trait of
conscientiousness (people who are dependable and achievement-oriented, who plan
well). These determinants appear to influence performance largely through the
acquisition and usage of job knowledge and the motivation to do well. Further, an
expanding area of research in job performance determinants includes emotional
intelligence.

Organizational citizenship behavior

Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) are another form of workplace behavior

that IO psychologists are involved with. OCBs tend to be beneficial to both the
organization and other workers. Dennis Organ (1988) defines OCBs as "individual
behavior that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal
reward system, and that in the aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the
organization." Behaviors that qualify as OCBs can fall into one of the following five
categories: altruism, courtesy, sportsmanship, conscientiousness, and civic virtue.
OCBs have also been categorized in other ways too, for example, by their intended
targets (individuals, supervisors, and the organization as a whole. Other alternative
ways of categorizing OCBs include "compulsory OCBs", which are engaged in owing
to coercive persuasion or peer pressure rather than out of good will. The extent to
which OCBs are voluntary has been the subject of some debate.

Other research suggests that some employees perform OCBs to influence how they are
viewed within the organization. While these behaviors are not formally part of the job
description, performing them can influence performance appraisals. Researchers have
advanced the view that employees engage in OCBs as a form of "impression
management," a term coined by Erving Goffman.Goffman defined impression
management as "the way in which the individual ... presents himself and his activity to
others, the ways in which he guides and controls the impression they form of him, and
the kinds of things he may and may not do while sustaining his performance before
them. Some researchers have hypothesized that OCBs are not performed out of good
will, positive affect, etc., but instead as a way of being noticed by others, including
supervisors.[125]

Innovation

Four qualities are generally linked to creative and innovative behaviour by individuals:
  Task-relevant skills (general mental ability and job specific knowledge). Task
specific and subject specific knowledge is most often gained through higher
education; however, it may also be gained by mentoring and experience in a
given field.
 Creativity-relevant skills (ability to concentrate on a problem for long periods of
time, to abandon unproductive searches, and to temporarily put aside stubborn
problems). The ability to put aside stubborn problems is referred to by Jex and
Britt as productive forgetting. Creativity-relevant skills also require the
individual contributor to evaluate a problem from multiple vantage points. One
must be able to take on the perspective of various users. For example, an
Operation Manager analyzing a reporting issue and developing an innovative
solution would consider the perspective of a sales person, assistant, finance,
compensation, and compliance officer.
 Task motivation (internal desire to perform task and level of enjoyment).

At the organizational level, a study by Damanpour identified four specific

characteristics that may predict innovation:

1. A population with high levels of technical knowledge

2. The organization's level of specialization
3. The level an organization communicates externally
4. Functional differentiation.

Counterproductive work behavior

Counterproductive work behavior (CWB) can be defined as employee behavior that

goes against the goals of an organization. These behaviors can be intentional or
unintentional and result from a wide range of underlying causes and motivations.
Some CWBs have instrumental motivations (e.g., theft). It has been proposed that a
person-by-environment interaction can be utilized to explain a variety of
counterproductive behaviors. For instance, an employee who sabotages another
employee's work may do so because of lax supervision (environment) and underlying
psychopathology (person) that work in concert to result in the counterproductive
behavior. There is evidence that an emotional response (e.g., anger) to job stress (e.g.,
unfair treatment) can motivate CWBs.

The forms of counterproductive behavior with the most empirical examination are
ineffective job performance, absenteeism, job turnover, and accidents. Less common
but potentially more detrimental forms of counterproductive behavior have also been
investigated including violence and sexual harassment.

Leadership

In IO psychology, leadership can be defined as a process of influencing others to agree

on a shared purpose, and to work towards shared objectives. A distinction should be
made between leadership and management. Managers process administrative tasks and
organize work environments. Although leaders may be required to undertake
managerial duties as well, leaders typically focus on inspiring followers and creating a
shared organizational culture and values. Managers deal with complexity, while
leaders deal with initiating and adapting to change. Managers undertake the tasks of
planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling and problem solving. In contrast,
leaders undertake the tasks of setting a direction or vision, aligning people to shared
goals, communicating, and motivating.
Approaches to studying leadership in IO psychology can be broadly classified into
three categories: Leader-focused approaches, contingency-focused approaches, and
follower-focused approaches.

Leader-focused approaches

Leader-focused approaches look to organizational leaders to determine the

characteristics of effective leadership. According to the trait approach, more effective
leaders possess certain traits that less effective leaders lack. More recently, this
approach is being used to predict leader emergence. The following traits have been
identified as those that predict leader emergence when there is no formal leader: high
intelligence, high needs for dominance, high self-motivation, and socially perceptive.
Another leader-focused approached is the behavioral approach, which focuses on the
behaviors that distinguish effective from ineffective leaders. There are two categories
of leadership behaviors: consideration and initiating structure. Behaviors associated
with the category of consideration include showing subordinates they are valued and
that the leader cares about them. An example of a consideration behavior is showing
compassion when problems arise in or out of the office. Behaviors associated with the
category of initiating structure include facilitating the task performance of groups. One
example of an initiating structure behavior is meeting one-on-one with subordinates to
explain expectations and goals. The final leader-focused approach is power and
influence. To be most effective, a leader should be able to influence others to behave in
ways that are in line with the organization's mission and goals. How influential a
leader can be depends on their social power – their potential to influence their
subordinates. There are six bases of power: French and Raven's classic five bases of
coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, and referent power, plus informational power. A
leader can use several different tactics to influence others within an organization.
These include: rational persuasion, inspirational appeal, consultation, ingratiation,
exchange, personal appeal, coalition, legitimating, and pressure.

Contingency-focused approaches

Of the 3 approaches to leadership, contingency-focused approaches have been the most

prevalent over the past 30 years. Contingency-focused theories base a leader's
effectiveness on their ability to assess a situation and adapt their behavior accordingly.
[130]
These theories assume that an effective leader can accurately "read" a situation and
skillfully employ a leadership style that meets the needs of the individuals involved
and the task at hand. A brief introduction to the most prominent contingency-focused
theories will follow.

The Fiedler contingency model holds that a leader's effectiveness depends on the
interaction between their characteristics and the characteristics of the situation. Path–
goal theory asserts that the role of the leader is to help his or her subordinates achieve
their goals. To effectively do this, leaders must skillfully select from four different
leadership styles to meet the situational factors. The situational factors are a product of
the characteristics of subordinates and the characteristics of the environment. The
leader–member exchange theory (LMX) focuses on how leader–subordinate
relationships develop. Generally speaking, when a subordinate performs well or when
there are positive exchanges between a leader and a subordinate, their relationship is
strengthened, performance and job satisfaction are enhanced, and the subordinate will
feel more commitment to the leader and the organization as a whole.Vroom-Yetton-
Jago model focuses on decision-making with respect to a feasibility set which is
composed of the situational attributes.
In addition to the contingency-focused approaches mentioned, there has been a high
degree of interest paid to three novel approaches that have recently emerged. The first
is transformational leadership, which posits that there are certain leadership traits that
inspire subordinates to perform beyond their capabilities. The second is transactional
leadership, which is most concerned with keeping subordinates in-line with deadlines
and organizational policy. This type of leader fills more of a managerial role and lacks
qualities necessary to inspire subordinates and induce meaningful change. And the
third is authentic leadership which is centered around empathy and a leader's values or
character. If the leader understands their followers, they can inspire subordinates by
cultivating a personal connection and leading them to share in the vision and goals of
the team. Although there has been a limited amount of research conducted on these
theories, they are sure to receive continued attention as the field of IO psychology
matures.

Follower-focused approaches

Follower-focused approaches look at the processes by which leaders motivate

followers, and lead teams to achieve shared goals. Understandably, the area of
leadership motivation draws heavily from the abundant research literature in the
domain of motivation in IO psychology. Because leaders are held responsible for their
followers' ability to achieve the organization's goals, their ability to motivate their
followers is a critical factor of leadership effectiveness. Similarly, the area of team
leadership draws heavily from the research in teams and team effectiveness in IO
psychology. Because organizational employees are frequently structured in the form of
teams, leaders need to be aware of the potential benefits and pitfalls of working in
teams, how teams develop, how to satisfy team members' needs, and ultimately how to
bring about team effectiveness and performance.
An emerging area of IO research in the area of team leadership is in leading virtual
teams, where people in the team are geographically-distributed across various
distances and sometimes even countries. While technological advances have enabled
the leadership process to take place in such virtual contexts, they present new
challenges for leaders as well, such as the need to use technology to build relationships
with followers, and influencing followers when faced with limited (or no) face-to-face
interaction.

Organizational development

IO psychologists are also concerned with organizational change. This effort, called
organizational development (OD). Tools used to advance organization development
include the survey feedback technique. The technique involves the periodic assessment
(with surveys) of employee attitudes and feelings. The results are conveyed to
organizational stakeholders, who may want to take the organization in a particular
direction. Another tool is the team building technique. Because many if not most tasks
within the organization are completed by small groups and/or teams, team building is
important to organizational success. In order to enhance a team's morale and problem-
solving skills, IO psychologists help the groups to build their self-confidence, group
cohesiveness, and working effectiveness.

Relation to organizational behavior

The IO psychology and organizational behavior have manifested some overlap. The
overlap has led to some confusion regarding how the two disciplines differ. [134] There is
also much confusion about the differences between IO psychology and human
resources,[135] or human resource management
Training

The minimum requirement for working as an IO psychologist is a master's degree.

Normally, this degree requires about two to three years of postgraduate work to
complete. Of all the degrees granted in IO psychology each year, approximately two
thirds are at the master's level.[132](p18)

A comprehensive list of US and Canadian master's and doctoral programs can be

found at the web site of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
(SIOP). Admission into IO psychology PhD programs is highly competitive; many
programs accept only a small number of applicants each year.

There are graduate degree programs in IO psychology outside of the US and Canada.
The SIOP web sitealso provides a comprehensive list of IO programs in many other
countries.

In Australia, organizational psychologists must be accredited by the Australian

Psychological Society (APS). To become an organizational psychologist, one must
meet the criteria for a general psychologist's licence: three years studying bachelor's
degree in psychology, 4th year honours degree or postgraduate diploma in psychology,
and two-year full-time supervised practice plus 80 hours of professional development.
There are other avenues available, such as a two-year supervised training program after
honours (i.e. 4+2 pathway), or one year of postgraduate coursework and practical
placements followed by a one-year supervised training program (i.e. 5+1 pathway).
After this, psychologists can elect to specialize as Organizational Psychologists.
Competencies

There are many different sets of competencies for different specializations within IO
psychology and IO psychologists are versatile behavioral scientists. For example, an
IO psychologist specializing in selection and recruiting should have expertise in
finding the best talent for the organization and getting everyone on board while he or
she might not need to know much about executive coaching. Some IO psychologists
specialize in specific areas of consulting whereas others tend to generalize their areas
of expertise. There are basic skills and knowledge an individual needs in order to be an
effective IO psychologist, which include being an independent learner, interpersonal
skills (e.g., listening skills), and general consultation skills (e.g., skills and knowledge
in the problem area).

Job outlook

According to the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, IO

psychology is the fastest growing occupation in the United States, based on projections
between 2012 and 2022.[141] In a 2006 salary survey,[142] the median salary for a PhD in
IO psychology was $98,000; for a master's level IO psychologist was $72,000. The
highest paid PhD IO psychologists in private industry worked in pharmaceuticals and
averaged approximately $151,000 per year; the earnings median of self-employed
consultants was $150,000; those employed in retail, energy, and manufacturing
followed closely behind, averaging approximately $133,000. The lowest earners were
found in state and local government positions, averaging approximately $77,000. In
2005, IO psychologists whose primary responsibility is teaching at private and public
colleges and universities often earn additional income from consulting with
government and industry.
Ethics

An Industrial Psychologist, whether an academic, a consultant, or an employee, is

expected to maintain highethical standards. The APA's ethical principles apply to IO
psychologists. For example, ethically, the IO psychologist should only accept projects
for which he or she is qualified. With more organizations becoming global, it is
important that when an IO psychologist works outside her or his home country, the
psychologist is aware of rules, regulations, and cultures of the organizations and
countries in which the psychologist works, while also adhering to the ethical standards
set at home.

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists recognize the interdependence of individuals,

organizations and society and they recognize the impact of factors such as increasing
governmental influences, growing consumer awareness, skill shortages, and the
changing nature of the workforce.