Questions and Answers of Industrial Organizational Psychology Understanding The Workplace

In the United States, there is a great deal of debate about how to distinguish good teachers from poor teachers in public schools. Some people advocate using student scores on standardized tests to
What are some examples of contextual performance that you might have engaged in at your job or in your classes? When were you most likely to perform those behaviors? Did they ever get in the way of
Imagine that you have a subordinate who has shared something negative about one of his clients using social media (e.g., on Twitter or Facebook). Do you believe this behavior is a part of performance
What theories discussed thus far in this chapter would help inform the concept of different leadership skills being required for different leadership levels?
How does the latest research on LMX, ILT, and transformational, authentic, and servant leadership align with the leadership model described here?
How does the leadership model described by Graves relate to what we know about situational factors in leadership outcomes?
What are some examples of impediments that might prevent a leader from having an influence over the bottom line of a company?Are there any organizational structures or situations that might make a
Consider the issue of CEO pay. Do you believe that CEOs today are compensated fairly? If not, how might we address this problem?What would be the possible results of limiting CEO pay?
The theories of transformational and transactional leadership suggest two very different ways to lead. Is one of these approaches universally more effective than the other, or do both approaches work
Based on what you read in this chapter, how has the role of gender in leadership changed over the past few decades? How do you think gender will factor into leadership in the future? How about
The trait theory of leadership suggests that certain individual characteristics make people more effective leaders. Based on this perspective, do you believe that leaders are “born” or “made”?
The chapter talked a great deal about leadership perceptions. Why are leadership perceptions so important? Where do relationships fit into this puzzle?
Consider the traits described by the “dark triad.” If we don’t typically consider these to be positive personality traits, what are some reasons that people who display them are able to achieve
Consider each of the bases of power. How might a college instructor demonstrate each of these? How do you react when instructors use these types of power?
One aspect of LMX theory that researchers are beginning to explore is the varying quality of relationships within a team. Research demonstrates that when leaders have very strong relationships with
Imagine you have a friend who is interested in becoming more transformational in her leadership style. What behaviors would you suggest she increase in order to become more transformational?
Consider some examples of famous female leaders. What are some ways in which female leaders are treated differently from male leaders(by the media as well as by peers and followers)?
Consider servant leadership. What might be some behaviors a leader could engage in that would indicate s/he was a servant leader? Why do you believe servant leadership is such a popular approach
As a job candidate, would you prefer a remote assessment or a traditional face-to-face assessment? Why?
Imagine that a job candidate you are assessing loses her Internet connection in the middle of a role play. How would you determine how to compare her with other candidates who did not have technical
What are some ways you may be able to prevent or detect cheating on an unproctored test?
What predictors would you use to select a restaurant manager? What is your rationale for including each predictor in your selection battery?
Do you think that emotional intelligence is a measurable ability? If so, what is the best way to measure it?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using interviews as a selection measure?
Imagine you have been asked to design a role play to help a company select a new CEO. What are important KSAs for a CEO? What might be some ways to capture these KSAs in an assessment center? What
Many managers look for indications about how someone behaves outside of an interview and testing context. For example, if a candidate shows up late, is dressed in a sloppy way, or fails to send a
There has been some recent debate about looking at job applicants’social media information (e.g., Facebook pages, Twitter accounts). Do you believe it is appropriate for managers to look at this
Imagine you are applying for a job and you know the company is looking for a candidate who is very conscientious and extraverted. Do you think the average person would be able to fake these traits on
Have you ever had a job that was described differently from what it actually turned out to be, or that had an aspect that surprised you when you started the job? What happened? What could the
Some workplaces conduct drug testing to ensure that their employees are not using recreational drugs. Do you agree with this practice?When might this practice be justified?
Imagine you have a pharmacist who says he cannot dispense birth control because of his religious beliefs. What might be some reasonable accommodations you can make for him? What might constitute
What other issues might large corporations anticipate as the workforce becomes more diverse? How do processes like job analysis and validation help ensure that a selection process is legally
There are a number of changes occurring within the legal system, including naturalizing immigrants, legalization of gay marriage, and legalization of marijuana. How might these changes affect the
How do recruitment and selection fit together?
Why is it unheard of for a selection battery to explain 100% of the variance in job performance?
Refer back to Figure 7.2 on page 217.What happens to the number of false alarms if you raise the cutoff score? What happens to the number of misses? What might be some reasons for raising a cutoff
Do you believe the major employment laws offer sufficient protection for all workers in the United States? Why or why not?
How do performance appraisal and selection complement each other?How are these two very important processes dependent on each other?
This chapter mentions person–environment fit. When you are looking for a job, what are some cues that indicate an organization is a “good fit” for you? Have you ever been in an organization
In some states, the medicinal use of marijuana is allowed to treat certain conditions, such as glaucoma and anxiety. In these states, do you think it would be legal to require applicants to take a
How common are BFOQs? Interview five people about their jobs and determine whether someone in a protected class (race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability) would be unable to
Consider a job you have had. Provide one example of a reasonable accommodation that could be made so an applicant with a disability could do the job. What types of changes do you believe would be
Typically races other than Caucasians are considered to be minorities.Are there any jobs where one might expect a different racial group to be hired more often than Caucasians? In these cases, would
In the United States, new mothers are given 12 weeks of unpaid leave.Some countries provide paid maternity leave (e.g., Portugal), paternity leave (e.g., Sweden), or longer periods of unpaid leave
Imagine that you have to make the decision about whether or not to implement ROWE in a workplace. What might be some benefits of using this approach? What concerns would you have about ROWE?
SDT works by helping workers to feel competent, autonomous, and connected to their work. In your own experiences, what factors have helped you feel this way about your work?
Why do you think engagement is so crucial to an organization’s success?
How much do you feel people are internally motivated versus incentivized through various leadership and organizational strategies?
Of the three criteria outlined above relating to worker engagement and better organizational outcomes, which do think is the most important? Why?
What on-the-job behaviors would you expect an employee with a high level of motivation to demonstrate?
What are some ways that managers or instructors have attempted to motivate you? Did it work? Which theory of work motivation do you believe best relates to your examples?
As noted in this chapter, studies on job crafting have found that seeking out daily challenges is positively correlated to work engagement, whereas seeking out reduced demands is negatively
Under what circumstances do you think pay-for-performance systems motivate or fail to motivate employees? Why? Please couch your answer in terms of the motivation theories discussed in this chapter.
What is one area (at work or in school) where you feel you have high self-efficacy, and one area where it is low? How has this affected your motivation? Your performance? What are some steps you
Imagine you have a friend who is currently dissatisfied with her job.She feels that she puts a great deal of effort and time into her job yet is passed over for promotions and awards. What would you
Interview a friend, family member, or associate about his or her work environment. Consider the three needs for optimal health and wellbeing, as described in Ryan and Deci’s self-determination
Consider the job of a babysitter. Based on control theory, what are some examples of feedback that babysitters might look for to determine whether they’re doing a good job? Where might they look to
The manager of a graphic design studio wants to improve the quality of his company’s output. He decides he is going to set a goal for his staff: “We will make $100,000 in commissions within the
A company has fired a department manager after repeated complaints from his staff that he failed to meet with them for performance reviews or provide them with adequate feedback on their work. The
Job crafting is a relatively new idea in the field. What are some advantages of allowing employees to customize their own jobs? What are some disadvantages? Have you had opportunities to craft your
What are some ways that the work of an I/O psychologist can benefit both employers and unions?
Imagine that your client, a manufacturing plant, wants their workers to improve productivity by 20%, and the union asserts this is not possible. What are some I/O tools and concepts you could apply
Is employees’ job satisfaction stable over time, or can it vary? How could an organization modify its work environment in order to increase employees’ job satisfaction?
How might the varying forms of organizational commitment become manifest in employees’ on-the-job behavior?
Assume you have been hired by an organization to survey the job attitudes of its employees. Your survey cannot exceed a certain number of items due to concerns that it will take the employees too
How has the emphasis on service industries had an effect on the study of emotion regulation and emotional labor?
Compare two jobs you have held and your overall satisfaction with those jobs. Was your satisfaction similar in both jobs? If so, why do you think that is? If not, what affected your satisfaction?
It is common in consulting work to encounter managers who believe that job attitudes do not matter—if someone quits, they will just hire another person to replace that person. What might you say to
Imagine you have to tell one of your best employees that she will not be getting her expected bonus check this year due to financial problems in the company. What might you tell her to ensure that
The chapter discusses emotional labor (when employees must fake positive emotions or hide negative emotions). Provide an example in which you had to engage in emotional labor and how that experience
If you were to win enough money in a lottery so that you would never need to work again if you didn’t want to, would you still work? Why or why not?
Consider other examples of jobs where someone might personally experience or witness a distressing event. What are some interventions or precautions that the organization can provide for that person
In jobs where someone is regularly exposed to disturbing events or media, do you believe it is a better approach to have a small group of people dealing with this work over a long period of time, or
Discuss Dr. Hill’s experience of telecommuting in the context of the benefits described in this chapter.
Why is schedule flexibility so important to workers in the 21st century?
What are the potential long-term benefits of telecommuting for IBM(or any other company)?
Consider a recent stressful event you experienced at work. What types of job-related, emotional, and physiological strains did you experience as a result of this event? What are some problem-focused
Telecommuting is becoming more popular in a number of different companies. Consider your own schoolwork and how productive you are when you are working at home or in your dorm room, compared to when
If you were to take a new job right now, what types of benefits would be most appealing to you? How might those benefits help you avoid common stressors such as work-family conflict, healthcare
Underemployment is a common problem in the United States. Think of a time when you were stuck in a job or a class that was too easy and failed to challenge you. What were some frustrations you had
Imagine that a friend was recently laid off. He has only been unemployed for a few weeks, but already he is feeling depressed and hopeless about finding another job. What might you do to help
You learned at the beginning of this chapter that stressors lead to strains, which are the negative outcomes of stressful experiences.Based on what you read, what are some ways that people can keep
Some unique employee benefit programs and perks were noted in this chapter. What are some new, innovative benefit programs that you think organizations should consider implementing for their
Dual-earner couples are becoming increasingly common. What are some of the challenges faced by individuals in these dual-earner roles?How might organizations help their employees alleviate, or
Work–family conflict is an important topic in I/O psychology and an important issue for organizations and their employees alike. A related but lesser-known concern is family interference with work.
The first paragraph states that reliable, valid, data-driven insights fuel strategic decision making in large organizations. How do the goals of science align with this business practice?
Explain how field-based research, such as surveys and unobtrusive methods, could be helpful in gathering information for business decisions.
Toward the end of this feature, the difference between the tangible versus intangible assets of an organization is discussed. How would I/O psychologists be particularly suited to understanding and
Imagine you are working for a company that, as its initial screening process, asks applicants to upload their resume and take a brief personality test online. What pieces of data might you collect,
One of the downsides of Big Data is that sometimes applicants or consumers feel that the constant data collection is an invasion of their privacy (see I/O Today in Chapter 5 for more on this issue).
Is my test a reliable measure of neuroticism? If not, what else do I need?
Is my test a valid measure of neuroticism? What additional information should I collect, if any?
Imagine that you are trying to measure attitudes about training at a manufacturing plant. One manager thinks it is better to use a paper survey, while another thinks it would be better to create an
Imagine that we want to learn more about how interacting with a boss affects someone’s mood. Why might experience sampling method(ESM) be a helpful approach in a study like this? What advantages
What are some potential instances of unethical behavior in I/O psychology? What makes these instances unethical?
Imagine that a fellow student says to you, “I don’t need a study to tell me that lecturing is a bad way to teach students. I know from my own experience that it never works!” How would you
Think about a specific behavior you have observed among fellow students. What do you think causes that behavior, and what might be a theory you can develop to explain why that behavior occurs?
A researcher has been asked to find a way to help construction workers put on their helmets. Describe a survey study she could conduct. What information would she get from that study? Describe an
Reliability and validity are two separate characteristics of a measurement, but they are related. The chapter notes that you must have reliability (consistency) before you can have validity
Correlation coefficients can help us understand how two variables are related. What are two variables that might have a strong positive correlation? A strong negative correlation? A correlation of 0?

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