Historical Introduction
The
organisational psychology deals with human behaviour in organizational set up.
The ultimate goal of Organisational psychology is fully satisfied employees
with optimal production.
The
organizational psychology was born in the initial decade of 20th century therefore
is relatively younger. The two books published by Walter Dill Scott in 1903
(The Theory of Advertising) and Hugo Munsterberg in 1910 (Psychology and
Industrial Efficiency) is known to be considered as starting point of
organizational psychology. Scott applied psychology to business while
Munsterberg talked about hiring right people for job who have desired mental
abilities.
The two
books published by Walter Dill Scott in 1903 (The Theory of Advertising) and
Hugo Munsterberg in 1910 (Psychology and Industrial Efficiency) is known to be
considered as starting point of organizational psychology. Scott applied
psychology to business while Munsterberg talked about hiring right people for
job who have desired mental abilities.
The
break out of World War I opened the floodgates for organizational psychology.
The large numbers of soldiers were positioned at several locations.
Organizational psychologists were employed to assess recruits and place them
accordingly. They were assessed using Alpha (for literate) and Beta (for
illiterate) tests. Thomas Edison was quick to understand the importance of
psychological assessment and consequently organized a 150-item knowledge test.
Almost 900 people applied only 45 (5%) could go through. Organizational
psychology started to take deep roots in diverse fields.
Gilbreth
couple were the prominent scientists who contribute in the development of
organizational psychology. They focused to improve productivity and reduce
fatigue by studying the motions used by workers. In the third decade of 20th
century 1930s, organizational psychology expanded its scope.
The
Hawthorne studies (At Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company, Chicago)
prompted psychologists to study the quality of the work environment and attitude
of employees. The major contribution of the Hawthorne studies was that it
inspired psychologists to increase their focus on human relations in the
workplace and to explore the effects of employee attitudes (Olson, Verley,
Santos, & Salas, 2004). The emerging field of Human Resource Management
adopted psychological practices for developing fair selection techniques. The
1960s were characterized by the use of sensitivity training and T-groups
(laboratory training groups) for managers.
B. F.
Skinner’s (1971) in “Beyond Freedom and Dignity” advocated the use of
behaviour-modification techniques in organizations.
The
decades of 80s and 90s witnessed four major changes in Organizational
psychology.
(1) Increased
use of statistical techniques and methods of analysis,
(2) Emerged
interest in the application of cognitive psychology to industry,
(3) The
effects of work on family life and leisure activities
(4) Recruitment
and selection of right people for the job.
The
development of cognitive ability tests, personality tests, and other
psychological tests proved to major contributors in development of
organizational psychology. It effected
organizations in several aspects such as better working environments, ergonomics,
focus on gender issues, diversity of workforce, psychological traits of
individuals, mental health of employees etc. The first decade of 21st century
changed the paradigms of OP with exponential growth in computer technology.
Computers were used in administration of tests with unbelievable speed and
accuracy. It has been used in automation and better designs of machines to suit
the human beings. Employees were trained through e-modules a communication was
at its best with lightning speed.
References:
1. Aamodt,
M. G. (2010). Industrial/ Organizational Psychology: An applied approach.
Belmont: Wadsworth.
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