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Applying Organizational Psychology Scientific methodology is used in the field of organizational psychology. When people are happier in their work environment a company is more successful than having unhappy and less fulfilled employees. The objective of this paper is to achieve a better understanding of what organizational psychology is. It will discuss the issues and methods involved in the recruitment process for an organizational and applicant perspective. Finally, it will describe the concept of organizational socialization and how the principles of organizational psychology can be applied to organizational socialization.
Organizational Psychology The formal meaning of organizational psychology is “the scientific study of individual and group behavior in formal organizational settings” (Jex, 2002, p. 2). There are two types of organizational formal and informal. Formal organizations exhibit continuity overtime and often exist longer than the founding members (Jex, 2002). When the purpose is less explicit than for a formal organization it is considered to be an informal organization (Jex, 2002). In informal organization having goals in writing or even stated is doubtful (Jex, 2002).
In an informal organization if members were to move on the group would not continue to exist (Jex, 2002). When looking at the definition of organizational psychology it is important to note that first, it uses methods of scientific inquiry to study and intervene in organizations (Jex, 2002). This means that the data-based approach is used. The data used comes from survey, interviews, observation, and sometimes organizational records (Jex, 2002). Second, it is intellectually rooted in psychology which focuses on individual behavior (Jex, 2002).
This means that individual behavior is the most important mediating factor (Jex, 2002). “Groups and organizations don’t behave; people do” (Jex, 2002, p. 8). Organizational psychology is also a part of a broader field of industrial/organizational psychology also referred to as I/O psychology. The industrial side deals with recruitment, selection, classification, compensation, performance appraisal, and training (Jex & Britt, 2008). The organizational side deals with socialization, motivation, occupational stress, leadership, group performance, and organizational development (Jex & Britt, 2008).
The industrial side is linked to management of human resources while the organizational side is linked to understanding and predicting behavior within the organization (Jex & Britt, 2008). There is a lot involved in the field of organizational psychology from enhanced organizational effectiveness to the economic well-being of society as a whole (Jex & Britt, 2008). Issues and Methods Involved in the Recruitment Process from an Organizational and Applicant Perspective. There are several important steps in the recruitment and selection process.
These steps include strategic planning, sourcing candidates, preliminary screening, selection interviewing, and the selection. Strategic planning is the key in making hiring decisions that work with the organizational employment goals (Mayhew, 2011). A budget, evaluating resources, and the workforce needs assessment are included in the strategy (Mayhew, 2011). For sourcing candidates recruiters use methods such as cold calling and job fairs to find qualified applicants (Mayhew, 2011).
Some of the sources that are used by organizations include some of the following: advertising, employment agencies, labor unions, career fairs, walk-ins, write-ins, and employer referrals (Jex & Britt, 2008). High-level positions focus on searching for candidates who have specialized skills or professional expertise (Mayhew, 2011). Internal promotion is based on performance, achievements and succession planning (Mayhew, 2011). The preliminary screening of applicants can be done by telephone to glean essential information, such as work history and the applicant’s professional background (Mayhew, 2011).
These kind of interviews save the organization money while streamlining the field of candidates (Mayhew, 2011). Selection interviewing is a way to further define the selection of candidates by the recruiters and hiring managers (Mayhew, 2011). The use of behavioral interview questions helps predict how the candidate will perform in the job (Mayhew, 2011). To test the technical and functional expertise the use of situational and competency-based questions is used (Mayhew, 2011). During the interview process it can be a one-on-one interview or a panel of interviewers (Mayhew, 2011).
The last part of the process is the selection. The person doing the hiring will use his or her notes, and personal observations to make what he or she feels is the best candidate for the job. Organizational Perspective. The hiring process through the eyes of organizational psychologist is to select, perfect, and persuade. The select process uses cognitive measures, personality profiles, interviews, and skills testing to find a fit between the candidate and the job (Crosby, 2011). Perfect is the duty of the psychologist to perfect the talent pool through training, coaching, and leadership development (Crosby, 2011).
Finally, the psychologist uses persuasion to help organizations design programs that take into consideration the idiosyncrasies of human behavior (Crosby, 2011). People are the heartbeat of any business, neglect this fact and the business will not last long enough to talk about it (Crosby, 2011). For the organization the recruitment process is trying to attract potential employees by making the organization look its best (Jex & Britt, 2008). Applicant’s Perspective. Applicants may make judgments about an organization based in whether or not he or she feels they fit in with the organization (Jex & Britt, 2008).
The applicant will judge his or her own skills and abilities to see if they match that of the job (Jex & Britt, 2008). Once this is determined he or she may check out the organizational culture to see if this is compatible with his or her personality (Jex & Britt, 2008). This information may come from second hand information such as the organizations website, recruiting brochures, or may be his or her experiences as a consumer of the organization (Jex & Britt, 2008). Another area an applicant may judge if his or her perceived values match that of the organization. Values represent things, ideas, or goals that are important to people” (Jex & Britt, 2008, p. 66). if an organization is progressive regarding work-family initiatives this may attract the applicant or more ideological reasons such as joining the armed services due to the feelings of patriotism (Jex & Britt, 2008). Organizational Socialization Organizational socialization is a process where people learn about an organizations culture and makes the transition from outsider to member (s. w. learning, 2011). This process affects an individual’s behavior and helps shape and maintain the organizations culture (s. . learning, 2011). Organizational socialization occurs in three stages. The first is anticipatory socialization that happens before joining the organization or taking a new job (s. w. learning, 2011). This stage prepares the applicant to enter the new job, give him or her first look at the culture of the organization, and develops the applicant’s expectations about the organization (s. w. learning, 2011). Two issues at this stage include the realism of self and organization and the congruence of self and organization (s. w. learning, 2011).
Realism is the responsibility of both (s. w. learning, 2011). For the organization it is the positive and negative side of working for the company and for the potential employee it is to present an accurate picture of self (s. w. learning, 2011). Congruence knows that his or her skills and abilities are congruent with that of the company and do they satisfy his or her needs (s. w. learning, 2011). If there is a lack of these it could result in a high turnover, low satisfaction, low organizational commitment and poor job performance.
The second stage is that of entry/encounter which occurs after entering the organization (s. w. learning, 2011). This is the breaking in stage. The new employee brings in expectations from the first stage, compares them to the reality of the organization, and is the time to learn the ropes (s. w. learning, 2011). The purpose of this stage is role clarification and to teach tasks, duties, and responsibilities, teach immediate workgroup norms such as social status, bases of power, informal leaders, and the performance norms (s. w. earning, 2011). The last stage is change or metamorphosis (s. w. learning, 2011). This is the settling in stage. It is a clear separation from stage two to stage three with rites and rituals. A successful metamorphosis includes being comfortable in the new role, some mastery of job requirements, acceptance of values, adjustment to group norms, and self-confidence is up (s. w. learning, 2011). Conclusion Organizational psychology is defined as the scientific study of individual and group behavior in formal organizational settings.
The steps involved in the recruitment and selection process include strategic planning, sourcing candidates, preliminary screening, selection interviewing and the selection. The organizational perspective is to look good to the potential employee. The applicant perspective is to find the right fit. Organizational socialization occurs in three stages: anticipatory, entry/encounter, and change or metamorphosis. References Crosby, D. (2011). What is Organizational Psychology. Retrieved from http://www. monsterthinking. com/2011/07/14/what-is-organizational-psychology/
Jex, S. M. (2002). Organizational Psychology: A Scientist-Practitioner Approach. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Jex, S. M. & Britt, T. W. (2008). Organizational psychology: A scientist-practitioner approach??(2nd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Mayhew, R. (2011). What is Involved in the Recruitment & Selection Process in HR? Retrieved from http://www. ehow. com/print/info_8163778_involved-recruitment-selection-process-hr. html S. W. Learning (2011). Organizational Socialization. Retrieved from www. swlearning. com/management/champoux/powerpoint/ch06. ppt