PSY 022: Industrial/ Organizational Psychology -​ The foundation for almost all HR functions

I/O Psychology Importance

-​ is a branch of psychology that applies the principles of psychology to the ●​ Writing job descriptions
workplace. ●​ Employee selection
-​ Purpose: “to enhance the dignity and performance of human beings and ●​ Training
the organizations they work in, by advancing the science and knowledge of ●​ Person-power planning
human behavior” ●​ Performance appraisal
Major Fields ●​ Job classification
1.​ Personnel Psychology – analyzing jobs, recruiting applicants, selecting ●​ Job evaluation
employees, etc. ●​ Compliance with legal guidelines
2.​ Organizational Psychology – deals with leadership, employee Writing a Good Job Description
motivation, organizational management, etc. ➢​ Job title
3.​ Human Factors/Ergonomics – workplace design, human machine ➢​ Brief summary
interaction, physical fatigue and stress. ➢​ Work activities
Brief Background ➢​ Tools and equipment used
●​ The Theory of Advertising (Walter Dill Scott) ➢​ Job context (describe work environment, work schedule, stress level, level
●​ World War I of responsibility, etc.)
○​ utilized testing mental ability of recruits ➢​ Work performance (outline standards)
○​ (Army Alpha test for those who can read and Army Beta test for ➢​ Compensation information
those who cannot) ➢​ Job competencies (KSAOs)
●​ Hawthorne studies on the quality of work environment - Hawthorne Conducting a Job Analysis (Steps)
effect (change of behavior due to being observed) 1.​ Identify tasks performed (major job dimensions and tasks performed for
each dimension )
Job Analysis and Job Evaluation -​ Gathering existing information – ideas already obtained (from the
Job Analysis organization, other organizations, publications, journal articles)
-​ Gathering, analyzing, and structuring information about a job’s -​ Interviewing subject matter experts (SMEs)
components, characteristics, and requirements -​ Observing job incumbents
 -​ Job participation (analysts perform the job) -​ attracting people with the right qualifications (as determined in the job
2.​ Write task statements analysis) to apply for the job.
-​ include components what is done, to which the action is done, Internal Recruitment
where, how, why and when the action is done -​ first decision is whether to promote someone from within the organization
3.​ Rate task statements External Recruitment
-​ task analysis with group of SMEs to rate task statements on -​ to hire someone from outside the organization
frequency and importance Recruitment
4.​ Determine essential KSAOs ➔​ Media Advertisements
-​ (knowledge, skills, ability, other characteristics - competencies) ➔​ Campus recruiters
5.​ Select tests to tap KSAOs ➔​ Employment agencies and search firms
➔​ Employee referrals
Once a job analysis has been completed and a thorough job description is written, ◆​ Job fairs
it is important to determine how much employees in a position should be paid. ➔​ Incentives
Job Evaluation ◆​ Recruiting “passive” applicants
-​ process of determining a job’s worth Because recruitment sources have only a slight effect on the tenure of
-​ job evaluation is typically done in two stages: future employees, using other methods during the recruitment process
-​ determining internal pay equity and may help recruit applicants who will be successful.
-​ determining external pay equity. ●​ One such method is the realistic job preview (RJP)
Determining internal pay equity ○​ involve giving an applicant an honest assessment of a job.
●​ compensable job factors (level of responsibility, physical and mental ○​ For example: instead of telling the applicant how much fun she
demands, education requirements ), their levels and weight will have working on the assembly line, the recruiter honestly tells
Determining external pay equity her that although the pay is well above average, the work is often
●​ comparing the job to the external market through salary surveys boring and there is little chance for advancement.
Employment Interviews
Employee Selection: Recruiting and Interviewing Types of interviews
Recruitment: 1.​ Style – number of interviewees and interviewers, (one-on-one, serial
-​ important step in selecting employees interviews, panel, group)
 2.​ Medium – extent to which the interview is done (telephone, 2.​ disqualifier – must be answered in a particular way or the applicant is
videoconferencing, written) disqualified
3.​ Structure – the source of question and system used in scoring (structured 3.​ skill-level determiners – tap an interviewees level of expertise
or unstructured interview) 4.​ future-focused questions – or situational, which ask applicants what
Characteristics of Structured Interview would do in a particular situation
-​ the source of the questions is a job analysis 5.​ past-focused questions – or patterned behavior description interview,
-​ same questions asked for all applicants which provide specific examples on how applicants demonstrated job
-​ standardized scoring key to evaluate answers related skills in previous jobs
Characteristics of Unstructured Interview 6.​ organizational-fit questions – tap the extent to which applicants will fit
-​ interviewers are free to ask any question into the organizational culture
-​ not required to be consistent with the questions being asked of each
applicant Interviews and résumés
-​ interviewers may assign number of points at their discretion -​ described as the most commonly used methods to screen and select
Problems with Unstructured Interviews employees.
-​ poor intuitive ability -​ Although these methods are the most commonly used, they are certainly
-​ lack of job relatedness not the best.
-​ primacy effect – first impressions
-​ contrast effect – one interview performance of one applicant may affect Other techniques that are preferred by industrial psychologists to select
the interview score of the next\ employees:
-​ negative information bias – lack of honesty ★​ Predicting Performance Using References and Letters of
-​ interviewer-interviewee similarity Recommendation
-​ interviewee appearance Use of References and Recommendations
-​ non-verbal cues -​ confirming details on a resume
Creating Interview Questions -​ checking for discipline problems
Types: -​ discovering new information
1.​ clarifiers – allow interviewer to clarify info in resume, application letter -​ predicting future performance
Low validity of References and recommendations can result from:
 1.​ Leniency exercises) or role plays similar as possible to those
2.​ Knowledge of the applicant encountered in the job
3.​ Reliability 5.​ Leaderless group discussions – applicants meet in a small group and are
4.​ Extraneous factors given job-related problems to solve
★​ Predicting Performance Using Applicant Knowledge 6.​ Business games – exercises that allow applicants to demonstrate such
Job knowledge tests – how much a person knows about the job; excellent content attributes as creativity, decision making and ability to work with others
and criterion validity ★​ Predicting Performance Using Personality, Interest, and Character
★​ Predicting Performance Using Applicant Ability Personality Inventories – extraversion, shyness
Ability tests – tap the extent to which an applicant can learn or perform a Interest inventories – tests on the likes and dislikes of an individual (vocational
job-related skill; the applicant is not expected to know how to perform the job at interests)
the time of hire Integrity tests – polygraph tests
Cognitive ability – oral and written comprehension, numerical facility,
memorization, reasoning Process of evaluating and appraising employee performance, which is similar to
Perceptual ability – vision, depth perception, glare sensitivity evaluating a student’s performance.
Psychomotor ability – finger dexterity, control precision, arm steadiness Evaluating Employee Performance
Physical ability – physical strength and stamina The Performance Appraisal Process
★​ Predicting Performance Using Applicant Skill 1.​ Determine purpose of appraisal
○​ the extent to which the applicant already has job-related skill 2.​ Identify limitations
Selection techniques: 3.​ Determine who will evaluate
1.​ Work samples – applicant performs job-related tasks 4.​ Select best appraisal method
2.​ Assessment centers – the use of multiple assessment methods, one of 5.​ Train raters
which is simulation, that allow multiple assessors to observe applicants 6.​ Observe and document performance
perform simulated job tasks 7.​ Evaluate Performance
3.​ The In-Basket Technique – designed to simulate the types of daily 8.​ Communicate appraisal results
information that appears on employees’ desk 9.​ Make personnel decision
4.​ Simulations – the real backbone enables the assessors to see an applicant Step 1: Determining purpose of appraisal
“in action”. Diverse activities included are work samples (situational ●​ providing employee training and feedback
 ●​ determining salary increases Decision 2: Should dimensions be weighted - some dimensions may be more
●​ making promotion decisions important than others
●​ making termination decisions Decision 3: Use of Employee comparison, Objective Measures, or Ratings
●​ conducting personnel research Employee comparisons
Step 2. Identify limitations a.​ Ranking
●​ these are environmental and cultural factors of the organization that could b.​ Paired Comparisons
affect the system c.​ Forced-Distribution
●​ (ex. No money for merit pay, highly overworked supervisors vs. time Objective Measures
consuming appraisals) a.​ such as the quantity of work,
Step 3. Determine who will evaluate performance b.​ quality of work,
●​ supervisors c.​ attendance, safety
●​ peers Ratings
●​ subordinates a.​ Behavioral checklist
●​ customers b.​ Graphic rating scale
●​ self c.​ Behaviorally anchored rating scale
Step 4. Select the best appraisal method​ Step 5. Train raters
Decision 1: Focus on the appraisal dimensions -​ Training techniques uses discussion, practice in rating and feedback about
●​ Trait-focused performance dimension – employee traits as honesty, rating accuracy
dependability, courtesy -​ Frame of reference training provides raters with job-related information,
●​ Competency-focused performance dimension – employees KSAOs practice in rating and examples of ratings made by experts as well as the
●​ Task-focused performance dimension – organized according to the rationale behind those ratings
similarity of tasks in a particular job Step 6. Observe and Document performance
●​ Goal-focused performance dimension – basis on goals to be accomplished -​ Must be done on a regular basis (daily)
●​ Contextual performance dimension – prosocial organizational behaviors -​ Observe employee behavior and document critical incidents as they occur
not part of the job description but are important to organizational success for future reference in evaluating performance and feed backing.
(getting along with peers, effort to improve organization) Step 7. Evaluate performance
-​ obtaining and reviewing objective data
 situations where only a few applicants compete for a large number of openings or a
-​ reading critical-incident log job involves only easily learned tasks.
-​ completing the rating form ●​ When these situations are encountered, training rather than selection
Common errors that must be avoided: techniques must be emphasized.
a.​ Distribution Errors
-​ leniency errors
-​ central tendency errors
-​ strictness errors
b.​ Halo errors – occurs when a single attribute or an overall impression of an
individual affects the ratings that a rater makes on each relevant job
dimension
c.​ Proximity errors – a rating made on one dimension affects the ratings on
the dimension that immediately follows
d.​ Contrast errors – a rating one person receives can be influenced by the
performance of someone previously evaluated
Step 8. Communicate appraisal results to employees
-​ allocating time for feed backing/interview
-​ scheduling the interview
-​ preparing for the interview
Step 9. Make personnel decisions
-​ Be it promotion, termination, salary increases, etc. as determined by the
purpose of appraisal

Employee performance can be improved in many ways. You learned that employee
selection procedures often result in higher employee performance. But as you also
learned, employee selection is not an effective way to improve productivity in