🥸intro to psychology review
13.3 Organizational Psychology: The Social Dimension of Work
Last Updated on June 25, 2024
Organizational psychology examines how people behave at work. It looks at what makes employees happy and productive, from their relationships with coworkers to how they're managed. This field applies psychology to improve things like hiring, training, and performance reviews.
Job satisfaction depends on factors like interesting work, autonomy, and feeling supported. Leadership styles also play a big role - some bosses focus on rewards and punishments, while others inspire and motivate. The right approach can make employees more engaged and productive.
Organizational Psychology: The Social Dimension of Work
Organizational Psychology
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Top images from around the web for Organizational Psychology
What Is Industrial and Organizational Psychology? | Introduction to Psychology View original
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Creating Effective Teams | Organizational Behavior and Human Relations View original
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Training and Evaluating Employees | Introduction to Psychology View original
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What Is Industrial and Organizational Psychology? | Introduction to Psychology View original
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Creating Effective Teams | Organizational Behavior and Human Relations View original
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- Studies human behavior within organizations and the workplace
- Focuses on employee well-being, satisfaction, and performance
- Examines social interactions and dynamics within organizations
- Interpersonal relationships (coworkers, supervisors, subordinates)
- Group dynamics and teamwork
- Organizational culture impacts employee behavior
- Applies psychological principles to address workplace issues
- Recruitment and selection processes
- Training and development programs
- Performance appraisal and feedback systems
- Organizational change and development initiatives
Job Satisfaction Factors
- Work content
- Nature of tasks and responsibilities
- Challenging and meaningful work increases satisfaction
- Monotonous or repetitive tasks decrease satisfaction
- Autonomy
- Degree of freedom and discretion in carrying out work
- Higher autonomy associated with increased satisfaction
- Micromanagement and lack of control decrease satisfaction
- Organizational support
- Extent organization values and cares for employees
- Perceived support enhances satisfaction
- Providing resources and assistance for effective job performance
- Offering growth and development opportunities
- Recognizing and rewarding employee contributions
Leadership Styles
- Transactional leadership
- Focuses on exchanges between leaders and followers
- Rewards for meeting performance targets
- Punishments for failing to meet expectations
- Emphasizes short-term goals and maintaining status quo
- Effective in stable environments with clear performance metrics
- Focuses on exchanges between leaders and followers
- Transformational leadership
- Inspires and motivates followers to achieve higher performance
- Communicating compelling vision for the future
- Encouraging innovation and creativity
- Providing individualized consideration and support
- Focuses on long-term goals and organizational change
- Effective in dynamic and uncertain environments
- Inspires and motivates followers to achieve higher performance
- Impact on employee motivation and performance
- Leadership styles significantly influence motivation and performance
- Transactional leadership effective for routine tasks and short-term goals
- Transformational leadership inspires employees to go above and beyond, leading to higher engagement and performance
- Effective leaders adapt style to situation and follower needs
- Leadership styles significantly influence motivation and performance
Key Terms to Review (25)
Organizational Psychology: Organizational psychology is the study of human behavior and performance in the workplace. It focuses on understanding how individuals, groups, and organizational structures influence and shape the work environment, with the goal of improving employee well-being, productivity, and organizational effectiveness.
Hawthorne Effect: The Hawthorne effect refers to the phenomenon where individuals modify their behavior or performance in response to being observed or studied. It suggests that the mere act of observing or studying a group can influence the group's behavior, often resulting in improved performance or altered responses.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a motivational theory that proposes a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as a pyramid. It suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to more advanced needs, and that certain needs take precedence over others.
Groupthink: Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. It is a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the group's solidarity and desire for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.
Organizational Behavior: Organizational behavior is the study of how individuals, groups, and structures within an organization interact and influence each other to achieve organizational goals. It examines the impact of human behavior on the performance and effectiveness of an organization.
Job Descriptive Index: The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) is a tool used in organizational psychology to measure an employee's satisfaction with various aspects of their job. It provides a comprehensive assessment of an individual's perceptions and attitudes towards their work environment, responsibilities, and overall job experience.
Democratic: Democratic refers to a system or organization that is governed by the people, where power and decision-making are distributed among the members rather than concentrated in the hands of a few. It emphasizes principles of equality, participation, and majority rule.
Kurt Lewin: Kurt Lewin was a pioneering social psychologist who is considered the founder of modern social psychology. He is best known for his work on group dynamics, organizational change, and the relationship between individuals and their environment.
Job Satisfaction: Job satisfaction refers to the overall level of contentment and positive feelings an employee experiences in relation to their job and work environment. It encompasses various aspects of the work experience, including the nature of the tasks, the work culture, relationships with colleagues, and the perceived fairness of the organization.
Servant Leadership: Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy and practice that focuses on the leader's primary responsibility being to serve and empower their followers. It emphasizes the leader's role in facilitating the growth, development, and well-being of their team members, rather than solely pursuing organizational goals or their own interests.
Absenteeism: Absenteeism refers to the habitual or frequent absence from work or other responsibilities without a valid reason. It is a concern in organizational psychology as it can negatively impact productivity, teamwork, and overall workplace dynamics.
Workplace Motivation: Workplace motivation refers to the internal and external factors that drive employees to perform their job duties with enthusiasm, dedication, and a sense of purpose. It is a critical component of organizational psychology that influences employee engagement, productivity, and overall job satisfaction within the work environment.
Autocratic: Autocratic refers to a leadership style characterized by absolute control and decision-making power vested in a single individual, with little to no input or participation from subordinates.
Job Analysis: Job analysis is the systematic process of gathering and analyzing information about the tasks, responsibilities, and requirements of a specific job or position within an organization. It is a fundamental tool used in industrial and organizational psychology to understand the nature of a job and the skills and abilities needed to perform it effectively.
Emotional Labor: Emotional labor refers to the management of feelings and expressions to fulfill the emotional requirements of a job. It involves regulating one\'s own emotions and displaying appropriate emotions to customers, clients, or coworkers in order to achieve organizational goals.
360-degree Feedback: 360-degree feedback is a performance evaluation method that involves gathering feedback about an employee's performance from multiple sources, including their supervisors, peers, and even subordinates. This comprehensive approach provides a well-rounded assessment of an individual's strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire: The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) is a widely used instrument for assessing an individual's satisfaction with their job. It measures various aspects of job satisfaction, providing insights into the social dimension of work within an organizational context.
Transformational Leadership: Transformational leadership is a style of leadership that focuses on inspiring and motivating followers to achieve extraordinary outcomes by appealing to their higher-order needs and values. Transformational leaders are able to transform the mindset and behaviors of their followers, empowering them to exceed their own expectations and work towards a shared vision.
Team Dynamics: Team dynamics refers to the complex interactions, behaviors, and processes that occur within a group of individuals working together towards a common goal. It encompasses the interpersonal relationships, communication patterns, and the way the team members collaborate, coordinate, and influence one another to achieve their objectives.
Organizational Communication: Organizational communication refers to the exchange of information, ideas, and messages within the context of an organization. It encompasses the various formal and informal channels through which communication occurs among members of an organization, as well as between the organization and its external stakeholders.
Employee Engagement: Employee engagement refers to the level of commitment, enthusiasm, and dedication that employees demonstrate towards their work and the organization they are a part of. It encompasses the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral connection employees have with their jobs and the company they work for.
Frederick Herzberg: Frederick Herzberg was an American psychologist who made significant contributions to the field of organizational psychology. He is best known for his two-factor theory of motivation, which outlines the factors that influence job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the workplace.
Situational Leadership: Situational leadership is a flexible approach to leadership that emphasizes adapting one's leadership style to the needs and abilities of the individuals or team being led. It involves the leader assessing the situation and adjusting their behavior accordingly to achieve the desired outcomes.
Laissez-Faire: Laissez-faire is an economic and social policy that advocates for minimal government intervention and a hands-off approach to the free market. It emphasizes the idea that individuals and businesses should have the freedom to operate without excessive regulation or control by the government.
Organizational Development: Organizational development is a systematic approach to improving an organization's effectiveness and efficiency by developing its structure, processes, and people. It involves planned, organization-wide efforts to increase an organization's ability to adapt to changes and solve problems.