Often known as Industrial and Organizational psychology, the discipline seeks to look at how psychology can be applied at the workplaces in various organizations. Organizational psychologists through well conducted research and devised strategies significantly make contributions towards the success of the organization owing to the enhanced work output and improved welfare of the workers. This is done after identifying the best action points to be following during selection of new individuals, the employee development programs and the use of response systems to look at the outlined opinions and feedback.
Organizational psychology by definition refers to a careful study and analysis of behavior on the individuals at the work-area. Organizational psychologists usually carry out their work in an organization through assessment and offer the necessary output which in turn causes an improvement in the general work output, establishing the validity and viability of new products as well as determining the most competent employees for hiring (Jex & Britt 2008).
Industrial-Organizational psychologists carry out their work through detailed and comprehensive researches within and outside the organization for a variety of reasons. They source their information through a variety of ways which include personal opinions, past occurrences, purposeful assessment of work output and use of questionnaires and reviews. The research assists in establishing the effects of the level of organization on the performance of a particular employee by use of multi-level modeling. The research conducted by organizational psychologists is also used predict performance in individuals and then further conduct tests which try to establish the cognitive ability of individuals as way and means of forming the best criteria for selection of competent employees. Research therefore helps come up with a list of only the individuals who best suite the organization and positional needs.
Organizational psychologists employ research methods such as observation to help come up with a conclusion in a work situation that has been reported to have had a positive or negative outcome. The relationship between results and the workers is established hence assisting in pointing out areas the worker needs to improve to achieve the best results. Research can also be beneficial in the case of introduction of a new product into the market. Organizational psychologist conducts a research on the targeted area or population in a bid to establish the viability of the product among the target population. The best method for use here is formation of a focus group made up of potential consumers of the product who then with the guidance of an expert give their views concerning the product. A combination of all the valid reasons for conducting research point out to one major benefit which is to significantly improve the productivity rate at the organization (Campbell 1990).
Organizational psychology is of ultimate importance in an organization. Organizational psychology helps in conducting a detailed job analysis through logical gathering of data concerning the vacancy. Here, the information to be gathered is broken down into two, the information concerning the description of the job including the expected duties and the requirements of job and secondly a look at the expected skill level to match up the job position. From a look at the two categories, a perfect selection criterion is designed together with a reference list to be used for performance appraisals as well as individuals to benefit from employee development program.
Together with the human resource managers, organizational psychologists are involved in compilation of job enrollment procedure including the process of application and publicizing the position. The other task that they perform jointly with the HR manager is developing a valid procedure for selection of candidates to the position. The inclusion of the organizational psychologist is for the sole reason that they are better positioned to know the competency of the individual based on the test and research they conduct on the candidates. They are also better positioned to take the short listed candidates through the series of tests during the interview. When it comes to the process of performance appraisal which is useful for the use of its results in awarding promotions, the input of the organizational psychologists again is of much importance. Performance appraisal involves comparing the employee’s work output against the expected results stipulated in the job description. Organizational psychologists are the better placed for this task owing to the fact that they are able to apply the data collected during the analysis of the job phase to evaluate the individual’s level of performance. The organizational psychologist also assists the management on the correct ways of going about the appraisal without being bias (Cortina et. al. 2001).
The role of organizational psychologists becomes very useful in the events of training and during the evaluation of the process of training. The organizational psychologist is better placed in developing a comprehensive training program by referring to the job analysis which they are already well versed with. They also assist in keeping track of the training process in a process dubbed formative evaluations where the effectiveness of the training is assessed and the necessary amendments made as the training continues. Another very important role played by the organizational psychologists is boosting the morale and ensuring the employees stay motivated. Motivation at the workplace ensures the individual maintains their commitment towards achieving the set goal. Organizational psychologists are charged with the mandate of assisting the management to first identify the specific needs of each single employee and secondly give the necessary advice to assist the management offer motivation tactics geared towards fulfilling those needs. This includes identifying situations when individual workers perform exemplary well and deserve to be rewarded, which in turn motivates the individual to work even harder. A combination of all these factors culminates to improved levels of productivity in the organization. Another benefit that accrues in the long run is a better quality of service delivery (Jex & Britt 2008).
In conclusion, organizational psychology is an important part of the day-today running of an organization owing to the crucial roles it plays in the organization which translates to improved productivity and quality service. Through the various researches done by the organizational psychologists, the organization is better placed in dealing with the psychological factors affecting the organization. The result is an organization with satisfied and well motivated employees. With well researched on advice that he gives to the management, the organization is bound to experience a rather favorable atmosphere fit for excellence.
Reference List
Campbell, J. P. (1990). Modeling the Performance Prediction Problem in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1(2), 687-732.
Cortina, L. M., Magley, V. J., Williams, J. H., & Langhout, R. D. (2001). Incivility in the workplace: Incidence and impact. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6, 64-80.
Jex, S. M. and Britt, T. W. (2008). Organizational Psychology: A Scientist-Practitioner Approach. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.