First lecture
Introduction to work and organisational psychology
Course objective
-be able to apply theory to predict and explain employee behaviour
-be able to apply your knowledge about org. psy to improve employee well-being
and org. functioning-job satisfaction, work engagement, performance.
History
-100 years before – no movements, static, sitting at the same place all the time,
doing the same things, repetitive, have a lot of power, because there were no
managers.
Rational Economic Model
-individuals are rational and inherently self-interested, try to maximize the benefit
of their own actions
-workers will work at the slowest possible pace – soldiering, no intrinsic
motivation to complete task
-motivation through reward and punishment
-workers want safety and security- the only one intrinsic motivation
1.Frederick Winslow Taylor
-scientific management movement or taylorism
-engineer
-the first who applied scientific principles to work place
-looking for the best way to do a job and has aims
1.Increase efficiency- be more productive, avoid soldiering
2.Increase predictability- predict how much we will produce and do it by
stabilizing task and breaking them down by small units
3.Control workers to predict and make sure they are efficient
Main principles
-standardization tasks and processes (observe highly-skilled workers how they
complete a certain task and that will become a standard, experiment with optimal
break schedule- should we have break once or twice)
-division of responsibilities – should be divided between managers and workers
-selection and training – match man a job, some are for physical job, others don`t
-surveillance and control (piece rates)- get paid for each product you produce
2.Time and Motion studies by Frank and Lilian Gilbreth – first got PHD
-Close observation of workers
-New technology- videos
-Breaking down motions into smallest and incremental parts (therbligs)
Three goals – establish the time for executing each movement and increase
efficiency
-increase efficiency
-focus on the study of motivation time to understand the entity
,-increase profit
-contradict a little with org. psy
-relevant today -military, manufacturing and hospitals (not only surgeons, but also
nurses), mac (burgers)
Scientific management was criticized
-ignores individual differences and needs
-standardisation causes alienation (not commitment)
-short, repetitive movements cause demotivation
-support creativity
-but mac suffers from high turnovers, workers are dissatisfied, are more likely to
leave job
3.Hawthorne studies 1949 by Elton Mayo
-how external characteristics can affect productivity
-focus on work environment and effect of supervisors, proximal environmental
factors
-Purpose- does the physical work environment affect productivity
-Design- western electric company
-Experiments with light intensity and resting times
-vary the lighting conditioning and how does the productivity change with light
-productivity increases irrespectively of the implemented changes- almost dark,
very light- productivity always increases, not the brightest the best
-experiments with breaks- productivity increases irrespectively of the
implemented changes, even no breaks- productive
-productivity increased even at deteriorating physical conditions
-productivity is affected by factors other than the working conditions
, -increased attention for workers leads to increased performance- experimenter
effect
Criticized
Hawthorne defect
-studies do not prove Hawthorne effect
-feedback- workers knew past performance, knew how much they produce
-maturation- 5 – 10 years, if you do the same task for 5-10 years, then you will be
better at this
-changes in experimental sample- two workers were faired and were immigrants
who were poor and worked harder
-changes in work setting and climate- different supervisors, rooms, not enough
control
But it has a huge impact
-attention to the importance of emotional, psychological, social aspects of work
-leads to the beginning of human relation movement- a happy worker is a
productive worker; increased attention for social relations, communication,
satisfaction at work; revolutionary view at that time; leads to the development of
org. psy.
Current issues in work and organizational psychology
-human behaviour at work
-relevance
Career perspective
-recruitment
-human resources – couching, training, selecting, development
-mentoring, consulting
-advisors
-science
Problem 1
-motivation
-getting paid
-emotional well-being and payment (big increase from 6,5 to 7, but then don`t), at
the beginning really motivated because of money, then don`t
-there are contradicting findings
Introduction to work and organisational psychology
Course objective
-be able to apply theory to predict and explain employee behaviour
-be able to apply your knowledge about org. psy to improve employee well-being
and org. functioning-job satisfaction, work engagement, performance.
History
-100 years before – no movements, static, sitting at the same place all the time,
doing the same things, repetitive, have a lot of power, because there were no
managers.
Rational Economic Model
-individuals are rational and inherently self-interested, try to maximize the benefit
of their own actions
-workers will work at the slowest possible pace – soldiering, no intrinsic
motivation to complete task
-motivation through reward and punishment
-workers want safety and security- the only one intrinsic motivation
1.Frederick Winslow Taylor
-scientific management movement or taylorism
-engineer
-the first who applied scientific principles to work place
-looking for the best way to do a job and has aims
1.Increase efficiency- be more productive, avoid soldiering
2.Increase predictability- predict how much we will produce and do it by
stabilizing task and breaking them down by small units
3.Control workers to predict and make sure they are efficient
Main principles
-standardization tasks and processes (observe highly-skilled workers how they
complete a certain task and that will become a standard, experiment with optimal
break schedule- should we have break once or twice)
-division of responsibilities – should be divided between managers and workers
-selection and training – match man a job, some are for physical job, others don`t
-surveillance and control (piece rates)- get paid for each product you produce
2.Time and Motion studies by Frank and Lilian Gilbreth – first got PHD
-Close observation of workers
-New technology- videos
-Breaking down motions into smallest and incremental parts (therbligs)
Three goals – establish the time for executing each movement and increase
efficiency
-increase efficiency
-focus on the study of motivation time to understand the entity
,-increase profit
-contradict a little with org. psy
-relevant today -military, manufacturing and hospitals (not only surgeons, but also
nurses), mac (burgers)
Scientific management was criticized
-ignores individual differences and needs
-standardisation causes alienation (not commitment)
-short, repetitive movements cause demotivation
-support creativity
-but mac suffers from high turnovers, workers are dissatisfied, are more likely to
leave job
3.Hawthorne studies 1949 by Elton Mayo
-how external characteristics can affect productivity
-focus on work environment and effect of supervisors, proximal environmental
factors
-Purpose- does the physical work environment affect productivity
-Design- western electric company
-Experiments with light intensity and resting times
-vary the lighting conditioning and how does the productivity change with light
-productivity increases irrespectively of the implemented changes- almost dark,
very light- productivity always increases, not the brightest the best
-experiments with breaks- productivity increases irrespectively of the
implemented changes, even no breaks- productive
-productivity increased even at deteriorating physical conditions
-productivity is affected by factors other than the working conditions
, -increased attention for workers leads to increased performance- experimenter
effect
Criticized
Hawthorne defect
-studies do not prove Hawthorne effect
-feedback- workers knew past performance, knew how much they produce
-maturation- 5 – 10 years, if you do the same task for 5-10 years, then you will be
better at this
-changes in experimental sample- two workers were faired and were immigrants
who were poor and worked harder
-changes in work setting and climate- different supervisors, rooms, not enough
control
But it has a huge impact
-attention to the importance of emotional, psychological, social aspects of work
-leads to the beginning of human relation movement- a happy worker is a
productive worker; increased attention for social relations, communication,
satisfaction at work; revolutionary view at that time; leads to the development of
org. psy.
Current issues in work and organizational psychology
-human behaviour at work
-relevance
Career perspective
-recruitment
-human resources – couching, training, selecting, development
-mentoring, consulting
-advisors
-science
Problem 1
-motivation
-getting paid
-emotional well-being and payment (big increase from 6,5 to 7, but then don`t), at
the beginning really motivated because of money, then don`t
-there are contradicting findings
