Organizational Psychology

Examples of Organizational Psychology in the following topics:

• Behaviorism: Follett, Munsterberg, and Mayo

  • Behaviorism initiated a focus on the psychological and human factors influencing workers.
  • Mary Parker Follett, Hugo Munsterberg, and Elton Mayo are all considered pioneers and founders of the industrial/organizational psychology and behaviorism movements in management theory.
  • Mary Parker Follett (September 3, 1868 – December 18, 1933) was an American social worker, management consultant, and pioneer in the fields of organizational theory and organizational behavior.
  • He was one of the pioneers of applied psychology, extending his research and theories to industrial/organizational (I/O), legal, medical, clinical, educational, and business settings.
  • Many of Munsterberg's ideas, especially the idea of matching an individual's personality with the correct job set and skills, are common in the use of industrial/organizational psychology today.

• Phases of Organizational Change: Lewin

  • Kurt Lewin was one of these academics and was known as one of the leaders of organizational psychology.
  • Lewin was an influential behavioral and organizational psychologist who proposed the Phases of Change Model.
  • Explain Kurt Lewin's Phases of Changes model, a three-stage process allowing for organizational change

• Decision-Making Styles

  • Decisions are driven by psychological, cognitive, and normative styles, each of which take into account varying influences on the final decision.
  • Decision-making is a truly fascinating science, incorporating organizational behavior, psychology, sociology, neurology, strategy, management, philosophy, and logic.
  • The ability to make effective decisions that are rational, informed, and collaborative can greatly reduce opportunity costs while building a strong organizational focus.
  • However, there are a few key points in decision-making theory that are central to understanding how different styles may impact organizational trajectories.
  • Psychological: Decisions derived from the needs, desires, preferences, and/or values of the individual making the decision.

• What is Organizational Behavior?

  • Organizational behavior is the field of study that investigates how organizational structures affect behavior within organizations.
  • It is an interdisciplinary field that includes sociology, psychology, communication, and management.
  • Organizational behavior complements organizational theory, which focuses on organizational and intra-organizational topics, and complements human-resource studies, which is more focused on everyday business practices.
  • Organizational behavior can play a major role in organizational development, enhancing overall organizational performance, as well as also enhancing individual and group performance, satisfaction, and commitment.
  • Organizational behavior also deals heavily in culture.

• Assessing and Restoring Equity

  • The assessment and restoration of equity helps improve employee performance and organizational behavior.
  • Similar to human resources management, organizational behavior management (OBM) is an important aspect of management.
  • OBM applies psychological principles of organizational behavior and the experimental analysis of behavior to organizations to improve individual and group performance.
  • Equity theory plays a role in analyzing organizational behavior.
  • Organizations can ensure collective rewards are maximized through the use of accepted systems for equitably rewarding members.

• The Behavioral-Science Approach

  • Behavioral science draws from a number of different fields and theories, primarily those of psychology, social neuroscience, and cognitive science.
  • This includes concepts such as information processing, relationships and motivation, and organizational development.
  • Organizational development is an ongoing, systematic process of implementing effective organizational change.
  • Organizational development is considered both a field of applied behavioral science that focuses on understanding and managing organizational change as well as a field of scientific study and inquiry.
  • It uses components of behavioral sciences and studies in the fields of sociology, psychology, and theories of motivation, learning, and personality to implement effective organizational change and aid in the development of employees.

• Consequences of Workplace Stress

  • In general, individual distress manifests in three basic forms: psychological disorders, medical illnesses, and behavioral problems.
  • Psychosomatic disorders are a type of psychological disorder.
  • They are physical problems with a psychological cause.

• Defining Job Design

  • Organizations may employ various theoretical approaches for job design.
  • These include Taylorism, Socio-Technical Systems Approach, Core Characteristics Model, and Psychological Empowerment Theory.
  • The individual elements are then proposed to lead to positive outcomes through three psychological states:
  • Psychological Empowerment Theory posits that there is a distinction between empowering practices and cognitive motivational states.
  • Compare and contrast the multitude of job-design approaches and perspectives available in the organizational field

• Knowledge Management and Behavior Modification

  • Knowledge management and behavior modification are tactics employers use to ensure organizational growth and adaptability.
  • KM is similar to organizational learning but distinguishes itself because it focuses more on knowledge as a strategic asset of a company's employees.
  • Behavior modification was first introduced in psychology as a collection of behavioral change techniques to increase or decrease the frequency of behaviors.
  • In psychology, behavioral modification was made popular by B.
  • Compare and contrast the acquisition of knowledge and the modification of behavior as internally evolving organizational components

• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

  • Abraham Maslow was a social psychologist who focused on the entirety of human psychological needs rather than on individual psychological problems.
  • Depicted in a pyramid, the theory explains the different levels of importance of human psychological and physical needs.
  • The third level of need is love and belonging, which are psychological needs; when individuals have taken care of themselves physically, they are ready to share themselves with others, such as with family and friends.
  • Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs relates to organizational theory and behavior because it explores a worker's motivation.
  • Diagram Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in the context of organizational motivation and employee behaviors