Organizational Psychology Paper Psy 428

Organizational Psychology Paper Shanna Brookins PSY/428 12/12/2011 Organizational Psychology Paper Introduction Organizational psychology is the study of a formal organization and how individuals and groups act within that organization; in other words, the scientific study of the workplace. The goal of organizational psychology is to help organizations function the best way possible. This is achieved by helping people understand their interactions with each other and create an environment where everyone can work together to accomplish important goals.

When an organization is successful, the employees have better job satisfaction. In turn, this creates better productivity which allows products and services to be produced at a lower price. This savings can be passed along to the customers therefore having a positive effect on everyone. (Jex, 2008). An industrial-organizational psychologist studies different aspects of the work environment, such as leadership, job satisfaction, on the job stress, and communication among employees. An industrial-organizational psychologist is brought in by organizations as consultants to solve particular problems.

They apply research methods and psychological principles to improve productivity, management and marketing problems, as well as facilitate organizational development and change, and identify training and development needs. I/O psychologists often work for more than one organizational setting; they may also choose to teach in universities and colleges (Jex, 2008). Two Sides of I/O Psychology The industrial side of I/O psychology concentrates on organizational policies and processes that affect the employees on a personal level, it is sometimes called the “personnel psychology” (McCarthy, 1999).

Industrial psychology uses statistics, psychometrics, as well as quantitative tools to develop rating scales, interview techniques, and psychological test. These tests are used to measure skills for the purpose of hiring, placement, and promotion within an organization. In addition, the industrial side handles performance appraisals and feedback, as well as training and development (Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2008). The organizational side of I/O psychology focuses on making the most of organizational performance.

This focuses on interpersonal relationships at work, how individual differences affect an organization, leadership, motivation, team and group dynamics, and organizational change and development. In addition, the organization side concentrates on job satisfaction, attitudes, and dealing with job stress such as (McCarthy, 1999). The Use of Research Research methods are used in I/O psychology to answer question about why employees behave the way they do. Analyses of behavior in qualitative studies involve discussions of how people experience and feel events in their lives and can be a good means of generating hypotheses and theories of what happens in organizational settings “(Ehigie, 2005, p. 621). Qualitative methods of research are used by I/O psychologist in organizational studies. I/O psychological may use methods such as test, questionnaires, rating scales, observation, ethnography and physiological measures to answer questions about behavior (Ehigie, 2005) Observation is a research method used in I/O psychology to understand employee’s culture and behavior.

There are three observational methods that may be used, simple observation, participant observation, and archival data sources . The observational technique is best used when observing routine jobs that require apparent behaviors, for example waiting tables. This method cannot be used for jobs which require intellectual or cognitive processing for example making decisions or planning. In participant observation the observer may be a part of the event being studied. The researcher must be able to ethically preform the job; this method is used for job analysis.

Archival data sources uses records or any form of data that exist, it is an important supplement to more conventional data collection methods. This method allows researcher to study issues that could not be studies in any other way (Ehigie, 2005). The Use of Statistics When data is collected by organizational researchers the data must be analyzed. The statistics, mean median, and mode are known to be the most common measures of central tendency. An average value of the item in the series or some characteristic of members in a group is a .

Mean represents the average for an ungrouped data . The sum of the scores divide by the total number of the scores gives the value of the mean. Median is the score or value of that central item which divides the series in exactly two equal halves. Mode is defined as the size of the variable that occurs most frequently in the series (Jex, 2008). Conclusion Organizational psychology can be used in organizations to assess job performance, training, and making hiring decisions. In addition, it can help employees develop the capabilities they need in an organization for promotions.

Organizational psychology can also be used in an organization to explore why certain employees may not work well together, why some are not preforming well, as well as job satisfaction. Organizational psychology also may study why dissatisfaction is among certain employees and how it contributes to negative outcomes, such as turnover and absenteeism. Organizational psychology is applied through the human resources department or consultants. It can be used to assess any problem or issue that is related to work or careers (Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2008) References

Industrial and Organizational Psychology . (2008). Retrieved December 11, 2011, from AllPsychlogyCareers. com http://www. allpsychologycareers. com/topics/industrial-organizational-psychology. html Ehigie, B. &. (2005). Applying Qualitative Methods in Organizations: A Note for Industrial/Organizational Psychologists. The Qualitative Report Volume 10 Number 3, 621-638. Jex, S. &. (2008). Organized Psychology. Hoboken,NJ: Wiley. McCarthy, D. (1999, December 8). I/O Psychology Overview notes. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from MTSU: http://frank. mtsu. edu/~pmccarth/io_ovrvw. htm