INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY & ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

Industrial/Organizational Psychology (I/O Psychology)

Closely concerned with Human Resources Management (HRM)
Organization-an amalgamation of different people with different skills
weaved together to achieve organisational goals
A scientific study of employees, workplaces & organizationsinvestigates the impact that individuals, groups & organizational
structure on human behavior within the organizations-contributes to the
organization's success by improving performance, satisfaction, safety,
health & wellbeing of employees-takes into account the employee
behavior & attitude & their improvement thru training programmes,
feedback & management systems
The chief goal-application of this knowledge & data to improve
organization's effectiveness-concerns specifically with employee related
situations-to understand & predict certain fundamental consistencies of
the human behavior
Objectives

Selection of proper human work force-academics, experience,

temperament, attitude, capabilities, interpersonal relationship, etc.
Proper distribution of work-as per the aptitude, attitude & expertise
of an individual/group-job satisfaction to an individual or a team &
desired or higher output at minimum cost
Minimizing the wastage of human force-may be due to fatigue,
illness, absenteeism, employee turnover, productivity, etc.-to
improve personal motivation & morale

 Promoting labor welfare-thru job satisfaction, increase in labor

efficiency, health & incentive provisions
Improvement in human relations-leadership, supervision,
communication, employee participation
Improvement in industrial relations
Maximum production
I/O psychology-involves two major sides
Individual side-involves looking at how to best match individuals to
specific job roles-referred to as personal psychology
Organizational side-involves organizational structure, social norms,
management styles & role expectations-focus on its influence on
individual behavior-study improves individual performance
Organizational Behavior
-helps an individual understand himself & others better
-considerably improves interpersonal relations
-changes the style of dealing & functioning of an individual
-useful to maintain cordial industrial relations
-useful in marketing
awareness of nature of individual & social processes
consumer choice behavior, nature of influence involved
creativity, learning of responses
OB-focuses on three determinants of behavior analysis, viz., individuals,
groups & organizational structure-(IP-OB-2)-upward movement, the
understanding of behavior in organization increases in an additive
fashion- involves following core topics

 Motivation
Leader behavior & power
Interpersonal relations & communication
Group structure & processes
Perceptions & attitudes
Personality, emotions & values
Change processes
Conflicts & negotiations
Work design
OB-an applied behavioral science-developed by using general concepts
& altering their applications for a particular situation (participative vs.
autocratic style)- built on contributions from a number of behavioral
disciplines (as shown in IP-OB-3)
Psychology-analysis at the individual level-a science that
measures, explains & changes the behavior as influenced by
factors shown
Social psychology-blend of psychology & sociology-focuses on
peoples' influences on each other-the major area of influences on
the behavioral change of an individual-how to implement, how to
reduce barriers to its acceptance, group activities to satisfy
individual needs, etc.
Sociology-study of people in relation to their social environment
&/or culture
Anthropology-study of societies for the purpose of learning about
human beings & their activities in different cultures &
environments-helps to understand differences in fundamental
values, attitudes & behavior among people in different countries &
within different organizations-may also be applicable to
employees working in different departments of same organization

Foundations of Individual Behavior

Environmental Factors-related to mental stability
-Economic/Cultural/Political
Personal Factors-related to performance
-Age/Gender/Education/Abilities/Marital status/Number of dependents
Organization Systems & Resources-related to individual development
-Physical facilities/Organizational design & structure/Leadership/
Reward system
Psychological Factors-related to unpredictable approach of an individual
-Personality/Perception/Attitude/Values/Learning/Emotions
Environmental Factors
- surrounding political climate influences individual behavior(un)stability of government affects employment opportunities, both in
quality & quantity-politically unstable scenario experience difficulty in
attracting industries-results in unsteady level of employment-job quality
affected thru low capital investment (eg. agricultural jobs, labor
intensive jobs)-large segment of population on temporary employmentresults in satisfying only basic needs-economic impact
-political ideology-affects individual behavior thru relative freedom
available-in controlled environment less educational & career
opportunities-affects career choice, job design , motivation methods, &
hence individual performance-management structures & philosophies
affect significantly on decision strategies & methods of implementationboth economic & cultural impact

Personal Factors
Biographical Factors
Age-relationship between age & job performance-an issue of importance
Positive qualities of older workers-experience, judgement, strong work
ethics & commitment to quality
-impact on performance, turnover, absenteeism, productivity &
satisfaction
-advanced age, declined performance due to reduced physical ability
-less manpower turnover as older generation less likely to quit the job
due to few alternative opportunities-long tenure provide higher salaries,
longer paid vacations, more attractive pension benefits-high rates of
absenteeism on health grounds-results in poor productivity due to
declined individual skills-particularly speed, agility, strength,
coordination, prolonged job boredom & lack of intellectual stimulation
-technological changes not easily adaptable by older generation-lack in
flexibility with little to moderate rigidity-dramatic changes in skills
required resulting into obsolescence-rising conflicts among seniors &
juniors-may become stumbling blocks in improvements & innovationsdirectly affects industrial growth
Gender-no significant differences in both the genders in job productivity,
problem solving abilities, analytical skills, competitive drive,
motivation, leadership, sociability, learning ability, etc.
-in case of female employees, impact on performance, absenteeism,
productivity in historically placed home & family responsibilities-further
preference towards part time jobs, flexible work schedules to
accommodate responsibilities

-in male dominated environment, female employees least appreciated &

encouraged
Education-increased levels of education-increased expectations-more
satisfying jobs-higher income-greater occupational choice-disillusion if
outcomes defy expectations
Type of education-affects individual behavior
-general education (arts, science, commerce, etc.) enhances overall
understanding of concepts & issues-may have ample opportunities with
low to moderate levels of income
-specialised & higher education (medicine, information technology,
engineering, etc.) relatively widens horizon of opportunities & so also
higher levels of income-however may further create a problem of over
qualification in job requirement-may result into frustration, job
dissatisfaction & stubbornness
Marital Status
-married employees exhibit less absenteeism, less turnover & are more
satisfied than unmarried colleagues
-marriage imposes increased responsibilities-the need for steady job &
steady income
Tenure
-directly proportional seniority/productivity relationship
-inversely proportional seniority/absenteeism relationship
-inversely proportional tenure/turnover relationship
-tenure & satisfaction are positively related