General Tutorial Letter IPSHONT Hons BCom (IOP) year course

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, a strong conviction has continued to develop that the human factor in industry deserves the same attention as technical and financial resources. Apart from economic and social considerations relating to industry and society, historically the needs arising from two world wars also underlined the importance of scientific knowledge regarding problems of human behaviour, such as those that occur in the selection, training and motivation of staff. People or human resource practice has turned to that branch of science traditionally concerned with the study of human behaviour, namely psychology, and Industrial and Organisational Psychology (IOP) has emerged in response to certain identified needs. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the 2020s COVID 19 pandemic reiterated the importance of understanding the human factor and the use of scientific empirical evidence-based theory, practices and techniques in supporting people in their evolutionary adaptation to a new world of work. Industrial and Organisational Psychology is described as the application of psychological principles, theory and research to the work setting. Industrial and organisational psychology is a legitimate field of scientific inquiry, concerned with advancing knowledge about people at work, including the reciprocal impact of work on life and life on work. Industrial and organisational psychology has two objectives: first, to conduct research in an effort to increase knowledge and understanding of human work behaviour; and second, to apply that knowledge to improve work behaviour, the work environment, and the psychological conditions of people who make up the modern workforce. However, the domain of industrial and organisational psychology often stretches beyond the physical boundaries of the workplace because many of the factors that influence work behaviour are not always found in the work setting. These factors include things such as work-family issues, socio-cultural influences and employment-related legislation (e.g. employment equity and affirmative action, and the national skills development initiatives. In recent years, industrial psychologists have begun to explore their role in the new “green” society, as this relates to the issues of responsible citizenship behaviour and sustainability. Some have begun for example to explore the issue of a company’s “green” reputation in recruiting efforts. Industrial psychologists recognise the interdependence of individuals, organisations and society, and acknowledge the influence of factors such as increasing global and government influences, growing consumer awareness, skills shortages and the changing nature of work and careers on organisational and individual performance and wellbeing. Industrial psychologists are scientists who base their principles and theories about individual, group and organisational behaviour on research. Industrial psychologists act as consultants and advisers who develop scientific knowledge and apply this knowledge to solving problems at work. They are therefore well educated and trained in the research and application of industrial and organisational psychology (). The Amended Regulations of the Health Professions Act (No. 56 of 1974) published in the Government Notice No. R 263 of 6 April 2010 outlines the scope of practice for industrial psychologists as follows: (a) Planning, developing, and applying paradigms, theories, models, constructs, and principles of psychology in the workplace in order to understand, modify, and enhance individual, group, and organisational behaviour effectively; (b) Performing psychometric, and other assessments in order to determine the potential and! or suitability for training, development and employment and to determine individual, group and organisational effectiveness; referring patients to appropriate professionals for assessment or intervention; designing, developing, standardising, and implementing assessment tools, and procedures related to the work environment; IPSHONT/302/4/2022 6 (c) Facilitating individual, and group processes for effective organisational functioning; designing, and implementing training programmes for effective organisational functioning; designing, and developing strategies in consumer behaviour; developing interventions to ameliorate poor performance in work settings; designing, and implementing programmes based on understanding ergonomics; (d) Advising on the development of policies, based on psychological theory and research; designing, managing, and evaluating industrial psychology intervention programmes; (e) Training and supervising other registered psychology practitioners in Industrial Psychology; (f) Conducting psychological practice, and research in accordance with the Ethical Rules of Conduct for Practitioners registered under the Health Professions Act, 1974; adhering to the scope of practice of Industrial Psychologists; (g) Designing, managing, conducting, reporting on, and supervising the industrial psychology research. Industrial and organisational psychology is divided into a number of areas. One of the best known of these is personnel psychology. This area of the discipline focuses on the procurement, selection, training, evaluation, compensation and retention of staff. Managerial and organisational psychology analyses, in behavioural terms, the interactions between individuals and various components of organisations with reference to problems such as motivation, human relations, organisational leadership and systems. The challenges that these two subfields of the IOP field face are expanding research on how macro variables (for example, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and COVID-19 pandemic, disruptive change and technological innovation, globalised, digital business markets) influence micro-level issues such as leadership, motivation, job attitudes, and new technology-driven workplace practices (such as for example, virtual, remote workplaces, real-time decision-making and communication via digital platforms, social media and collaboration, and e-leadership in virtual workplaces). Ergonomics is directed to obtaining information on human behaviour, abilities, limitations and other characteristics. This information is then applied to the specification, design, evaluation, operation and maintenance of products, systems, tasks, jobs and environments. The objective is to enable individuals, groups and organisations to work productively, safely and in comfort. Principles of digital ergonomics help us better understand the human mental and physical-smart digital connection as technology continues to advance at an accelerated speed. Digital ergonomics inform solutions aimed at supporting the emotional and mental wellbeing of people when engaging with digital productivity tools such as for example, artificial intelligence, live documents, to-do managers, calendar apps, brainstorming apps, note management, resourcing, time tracking, order management, customer management, and virtual team collaboration tools such as MS teams, and Zoom. Whereas the preceding areas are mainly concerned with the theoretical and methodological basis of human resource management and organisational planning, consumer psychology considers the consumer of the goods and services of the work organisation, and the concepts and methods used to explain and predict consumer behaviour. Other areas are employment relations, career psychology and employee wellness. The former concerns legal frameworks for managing workforce relations and the psychology of human development through various life and career stages from occupational choice to retirement. Employee wellness is concerned with the interaction between the work environment and the employee’s personal functioning with a view to improving the quality of work life. The fields of career psychology and employee wellness have risen in importance with the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In times of great stress, constant change and uncertainty as a result of remote working and COVID 19 concerns, managers and industrial psychologists need to pay increasingly attention to support for employees’ career development, wellbeing and their general wellness. IPSHONT/302/4/2022 7 More recently, neuro-psychology as applied within the work context has been positioned as an additional focus area for industrial psychologists. From an I-O psychology perspective, neuro-psychology relates to the industrial psychologist who works at the nexus of the behavioural and neurosciences. Typical research themes relate to the study of how neurological processes influence individual differences in tendencies towards positive emotions, behavioural approaches and vocational and job behaviour. Although industrial and organisational psychology has its own theory and methodology, industrial psychologists still need to acquaint themselves with those basic concepts of general psychology with which they work. For example, the psychology of learning is particularly relevant in planning training programmes in industry, and personality of course, lies at the root of all behaviour. Like all behavioural sciences, industrial and organisational psychology is also concerned with everyday life, and therefore it is imperative for the industrial psychologist to distinguish scientific knowledge from general or assumed knowledge. In practice, also, it is often necessary to investigate experimentally those problems that occur from day to day. Given this, industrial and organisational psychology also includes research methodology. Attention is especially given to the industrial psychologist’s professional apparatus, such as psychological tests and assessment procedures (psychometrics and psychological assessment). Occupational assessment (psychological assessment/psychometrics) focuses on the use of instruments and procedures developed and used by professionals in organisations for the purpose of making inferences about people in the workplace and for predicting future performance. Digital innovation, the internet of things (IoT) and growing advances in computer learning have seen the emergence of a new range of assessment technologies based on principles of using Big Data, artificial intelligence (AI) and gamification. New advances in assessment technologies promise to be even more cost-efficient in placing and developing talent in the workplace across the world. Industrial psychologists, psychometrists and counsellors must ensure that assessment tests and procedures are chosen, administered and interpreted appropriately, with due consideration for the ethical and legal requirements prescribed by the Professional Board for Psychology. Note that industrial psychologists, psychometrists and counsellors are allowed to practise independently within prescribed boundaries. An important, and perhaps the best known application of industrial and organisational psychology (IOP) is in the field of human resource management (HRM) and related functions, for which industrial and organisational psychology to a large extent provides the scientific basis. Many students are actually working in this field, or enter it eventually. Professionals trained in IOP are scientists who base their principles and theories about individual, group and organisational behaviour on research. However, they are also recognised as HR practitioners because of their focus on the human behaviour (HR) side of the organisation. Industrial psychologists act as consultants, strategic HR partners and advisers who develop scientific knowledge and apply this knowledge to solving human resource behavioural-related problems at work. Industrial psychologists also work hand-in-hand with human resource practitioners in ensuring that human resource practices comply with legal requirements and the new South African national human resources (HR) standards. They therefore need to be well-educated and trained in the research and application of industrial and organisational psychology and the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP) national HR standards and competencies for HR practitioners. The department acknowledges that, in the South African context, the education and training of industrial psychologists and human resource practitioners are informed by the SABPP HR Competency Model and the national HR standards set by industry and professionals in consultation with the SABPP. IMPORTANT: Familiarise yourself with the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP) national HR standards and competencies for HR practitioners which can be accessed on the website of the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP): or e-mail: or Twitter