Industrial/Organizational Psychology Discussion post

S. P. Robbins defines organizational behavior (OB) as “a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structures have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organizations’ effectiveness” (2005, p. 9).

This field of study draws on several disciplines, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science.

Organizational behavior is interdisciplinary because it can be studied from a psychological or business approach. If one studies it from a psychological perspective, then it is called organizational psychology. On the other hand, if one studies it from a business perspective, then it is called organizational development. Whatever approach is used, it is important that the term organization is first defined.

An organization is a collection of people working together to achieve a variety of common goals. These goals can be what individuals accomplish working for the organization or what the organization as a whole is trying to achieve. Organizational behaviors include many factors that determine how individuals and groups work together to accomplish the organizational goals. To understand this process, one must examine these behaviors using three levels of analysis. They include the individual, group, and organizational context.

At the individual level, one must examine individual differences in the organization. This would include the personalities, abilities, values, attitudes, perceptions, learning, motivation, and stress of the individuals who work in the organization.

At the group level, factors to be considered include leadership, communication, decision making, and the nature and effectiveness of the group or team that is working together to accomplish some organizational goal.

At the organizational level, the structure and organizational climate must also be considered. This would include factors such as the organizational culture, power, politics, conflict, organizational change, research, and development. Finally, one must also consider global factors, technology, and diversity.

Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology is the discipline within the psychological sciences that is used to examine organizational behavior in the workplace. Initially, it was referred to as industrial psychology, and began over 100 years ago in the early 1900s with several publications from various parts of the world having to do with advertising and industrial efficiency. Today, it is characterized as I/O psychology, and although there is much overlap between the industrial and organizational, both have a somewhat different emphasis. The focus of industrial psychology is on individual factors, such as selection, job placement, employee classification, recruitment, employee compensation, performance appraisal, and job training. The focus of organizational psychology is on the interaction between individuals and includes interpersonal relations, motivation, stress, work-life balance, leadership, group and team dynamics, organizational development, and change management. Today, a psychologist who is trained in I/O psychology will be well-versed in both the industrial and organizational aspects.

Reference

Robbins, S. P. (2005). Organizational behavior (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.