Questions and Answers of Industrial Organizational Psychology Understanding The Workplace

Frederick Taylor’s concept of Scientific Management was one of the earliest theories in the history of I/O psychology. Since then, how have organizational theories developed from the foundation
This chapter provides a number of different organizational structures or designs that companies might adopt (e.g., hierarchical, matrix, functional organizational designs, holacracy). Choose two
Total quality management (TQM) is one type of organizational development intervention discussed in the chapter. It is widely used and believed to be highly effective. What makes TQM so effective?How
One approach to organizational change—appreciative inquiry (AI)—is becoming increasingly popular in a wide variety of organizations. This approach incorporates the input and perspectives of not
Think of a time when you had to deal with a bureaucracy. What did you need to do? Did you see any reason for that bureaucracy’s existence?
Have you ever been in an organization that was undergoing an organizational development intervention? What happened? How did employees react?
Consider an organization where you have worked. Do you think this organization was a “learning organization”? Why or why not?
Consider positive organizational development. Do you believe people should spend more time focusing on using their strengths or addressing their weaknesses? Why?
Imagine you work for a company that uses gainsharing. Do you think you would like it? Why or why not?
Consider the steps in the research process. What are some of the major problems that are likely to be encountered at each step in the research process?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the experimental and the correlational methods? Under what circumstances would you use each?
Consider the various measurement techniques used by I/O psychologists. Why are many of the variables used in I/O psychology difficult to measure?
Choose some aspect of work behavior and develop a research hypothesis. Now try to design a study that would test the hypothesis. Consider what your variables are and how you will operationalize them.
Using the study that you designed earlier, what are some of the ethical considerations in conducting the research? What information would you include in an informed consent form for that study’s
Imagine that you were in charge of hiring new employees for a particular job that you are familiar with. Which screening methods would you choose and why?
Search for a detailed job advertisement or a job description. What are the KSAOs that the job seems to require? Suggest which sorts of tests or other screening procedures might best measure the KSAOs
Consider the last job you applied for. What kinds of screening procedures did you encounter? What were their strengths and weaknesses? How could they have been improved?
It is clear that in much of the hiring that takes place, subjective evaluations of applicants are often the basis for the decisions. Why is this the case? What are some reasons that more
Motivation is an abstract concept, one that cannot be directly observed. Using your knowledge of research methods, list some of the methodological issues/problems that motivation researchers must
Some theories of motivation have led to successful strategies for enhancing work motivation, whereas others have not. What are some of the factors that distinguish the more successful theories from
Apply each of the various theories to describing/explaining your own level of motivation at school or at work. Which model gives the best explanation for your personal motivation?
Basic need theories, goal-setting theory, and reinforcement theory are very general models of work motivation. What are the strengths and weaknesses of such general theories?
How would you design a program to improve motivation for a group of low-achieving high school students? What would the elements of the program be? What theories would you use?
Consider a behavior (in a job or in a class) that someone needs to master. What might be some ways you could incorporate gamification to help people learn this behavior?
In some cases, gamification may not be appropriate, or it might not work well in a certain situation. What might be some circumstances where you would not recommend gamification?
E-learning is a popular tool for delivering training programs.Organizations tend to favor e-learning because it is easy to update, easy to deliver, and convenient for both the organization and
The chapter discusses the notion of transfer of training. Why is transfer of training so important? Pretend you are a training coordinator in an auto wheel assembly plant. What steps would you take
As discussed earlier in the book, an important part of I/O psychology is the relationship between predictors and criteria. How can you relate training programs and their subsequent outcomes to this
Imagine your professors decided to use gamification to motivate students to learn. Instead of losing points by getting wrong answers on exams, you would earn points and badges by demonstrating that
Imagine you are working in a company that has had some difficulties with employees making racially insensitive comments or jokes.However, employees view going to diversity training as a punishment
According to some media sources, employers report that new graduates lack adequate critical thinking, communication, and time management skills when they begin their first jobs. Is there any truth to
Think of a time when you overlearned something. How did it happen?How was that overlearning useful?
Imagine an organization has provided training on teamwork skills to their employees, and a subsequent knowledge test indicates the employees have learned what they are supposed to. However, these
I/O practitioners are often confronted with training programs that have been created without much thought for ensuring that the training is accessible to minority groups. What might be one step you,
Imagine that you are working with cashiers at a retail store. What types of information might you collect to judge their performance?What might be some ways you could use technology to make this
Is it reasonable for employees to be concerned about their privacy at work? What can organizations do to respect employee privacy, while still tracking behaviors that are relevant for performance
Based on what you have read, design a rater training program that will help supervisors assess the performance of their subordinates as accurately as possible. What techniques will you include? What
The chapter discusses both performance appraisal and the broader performance management system. How do these two concepts differ?How are they related?
Several different rating formats are presented in the chapter. If you were designing a performance appraisal process for an organization, what types of scales or formats might you use (e.g. BARS,
Multisource feedback is a tool used to obtain feedback from individuals at various levels of the organization. Frequently, the target employee (the one receiving the feedback) selects the individuals
Consider a job you have had in the past, or a job you would like to have. How might you use wearables to measure your performance in this role? How would you feel about that company monitoring your
Imagine that when using a 360-degree performance appraisal system, an employee receives a rating of 3.5/5 from his supervisor, 4.2/5 from his peers, and 2.25/5 from his subordinates. What might be
Imagine that, in order to assign grades on a group project, your professor requires all group members to provide ratings for one another, which he will consider in grading the project. One group
Once again, imagine that your professor has asked for your feedback on your fellow group members’ performance on a project. This time, you have a group member who is very proactive in volunteering
In many work environments, employees can engage in organizational citizenship behaviors (acts that help coworkers or the organization, even though they are not part of their job), such as staying
Think of a time when you worked with someone who did not perform as well as you believed he or she should. What sorts of things did this person do/not do that led to a poor performance? If you were
Consider each of the products of a job analysis. How do these products affect other organizational outcomes?
Compare and contrast the four specific, structured methods of job analysis: the functional job analysis, the job element method, the Position Analysis Questionnaire, and the critical incidents
Consider your current job, or a job that you or a friend had in the past. How would you begin to conduct a job analysis of that position? What methods would you use? What are the important components
Using the preceding job, go to O*NET and find the code for that job title using the “Occupational listings,” sorted by title (www.onetcenter.org/occupations.html). Using the code, look up the
List some of the reasons why women are paid less for comparable work performed by men. Think of some stereotypically “female” jobs and comparable jobs that are stereotypically held by men. Are
What are some of the difficulties in the measurement of employee job satisfaction?
How might I/O psychologists try to deal with these problems?
How does job satisfaction relate to the important “bottom-line” outcome variables of performance, absenteeism, and turnover?
What would a good, comprehensive program to increase job satisfaction contain? What elements would you include?
Consider a job or occupation that you are familiar with. What are the “normal” job duties associated with this job, and what might be considered “organizational citizenship behaviors” for
In what ways have the working lives of U.S. workers changed over the past 60 years? What sorts of changes do you expect to see in the future?
Consider an organization with which you have had some contact. Describe the structure of this organization using the dimensions of traditional—nontraditional, functional—divisional, and
Based on what you know about traditional and nontraditional organizational structures, contrast the work life of the typical worker in a traditional organization with that of a worker in a
Compare and contrast the contingency models of organizational structure.
Describe the organizational culture of a company or firm you are familiar with. What are some of the sources of this company’s organizational culture?
Consider a common problem in classrooms, such as a difficulty in communication between professor and students or an unclear grading policy. How might an OD consultant solve this problem? What OD
Drawing on your knowledge of research methods, what are the difficulties in evaluating the success of OD programs?
Although I/O psychology is a distinct specialty area in the larger field of psychology, consider how the topics studied by I/O psychologists might benefit from other psychology specialty areas. For
Consider the historical advancements made by scientific management, human relations, and the army’s intelligence testing programs. How has each of these influenced what we know about work and about
Consider the important trends in I/O psychology today. Are there any ways that these trends have affected or will affect your life as a worker?
Imagine that you chose a career path in I/O psychology. What research questions or practice issues interest you? How might these interests affect your choice of training in I/O psychology and the job
What are some of the key concerns that organizations should consider in human resource planning?
What factors need to be considered in employee recruitment on the part of the employer? On the part of the applicant?
In what ways has antidiscrimination legislation affected how personnel professionals recruit, screen, and select people for jobs? List some ways that employers can try to avoid discrimination in
Consider the different employee selection methods: multiple regression, multiple cutoff, and multiple hurdle. For each, develop a list of jobs or occupations that would probably require that
Think of a job you have had in the past, or talk to someone you know about his or her job. Using what you know about the position, try to determine what the relevant performance criteria would be for
Using the job from question 1, design a performance appraisal system for the position. What does it consist of? Who will do the evaluations?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using graphic rating scales versus comparative methods of performance appraisals?
In some organizations, performance appraisals are taken too lightly; they receive little attention and are conducted irregularly and infrequently, and there is little motivation for appraisers to do
Consider how learning takes place in work organizations. How does employee training relate to learning in college classrooms? What are the similar methods and underlying theories/concepts of learning?
Consider a work organization that you have had some contact with, either one in which you were employed or in which a friend or relative is working. Based on your knowledge, how might a training
Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of onsite versus offsite training methods.
Consider the various designs for evaluating employee training programs. Although the more complex and sophisticated designs usually provide better evaluation, what are some of the difficulties of
Review the discussion of EEO issues in personnel training. What are the various ways that training programs could discriminate against members of protected groups (ethnic minorities, women, people
List the steps in the basic communication model. Which factors influence the effective flow of communication at each of the steps?
In what ways can nonverbal communication affect the interaction between a supervisor and a subordinate? Between two same-status coworkers?
Think of an organization with which you have had some contact, such as a work organization, a club or social group, or your college or university. What forms of downward, upward, and lateral
Consider the five types of communication networks. What are the characteristics of each? Can you think of any special work groups that illustrate each network?
In what ways will the sources, channels, and audiences of the formal lines of communication and the informal lines of communication (grapevine) in an organization differ?
Discuss the limitations of the universalist leadership theories. Why do you suppose they had, and continue to have, such popular appeal?
Consider the distinction between task-oriented (initiating structure) and relationship-oriented(consideration) leader behaviors. List the role that they play in each of the various contingency
Think of a leader of a work or social group whom you have known. How would you characterize this person’s leadership style or orientation? What theory of leadership best describes and explains this
All contingency theories of leadership measure some characteristics of both the leader and the work situation. How do the different theories—Fiedler’s, path–goal, decision-making,
Design a leadership training program for leaders of student organizations. Keep in mind the program characteristics that will maximize the effectiveness of the training program.
What sorts of groups might operate efficiently without a leader? How would leadership be shared in these groups?
Imagine you are in the scenario presented above, and you do notice that your tour guide in the wheelchair has lower task performance than his colleagues. How might you change your criterion for the
Consider one type of diversity that can exist in an organization (e.g., age, race, religion, country of origin). What might be one benefit in performance that could occur if an organization included
If you were working with an organization that was concerned about decrements in performance related to increased diversity, what arguments might you make to persuade them that diversity in an
Overall criteria are standards used to assess performance. In addition to grades, what are some criteria that could be used to assess the performance of college students? What does performance mean
We know from the text that the ultimate criterion is theoretical, whereas the actual criterion is our best attempt at capturing the ultimate criterion. What are some implications of having little
In this chapter, the author argues that many aspects of performance are dynamic. How could this notion of dynamic criteria be applied to assessing the performance of college students? Have you seen
The evaluation of subjective—as opposed to objective—criteria includes some degree of human judgment. As a result, the evaluation of subjective criteria can be prone to the evaluator’s own
Research suggests that coworkers appreciate those colleagues who engage in OCBs. However, research also suggests that engaging in too many OCBs can damage task performance. What are some examples of
Consider some of the ways your performance as a student is evaluated(e.g., exams, papers, projects). What might be some examples of criterion deficiency (i.e., what are some aspects of student

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