6/9/2015

IO PSYCH/HUMAREM

Introducing
INDUSTRIAL / ORGANIZATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY

Why I/O Psychology?

People spend more time at
their jobs than any other
activity in life. If people are
happy and productive at their
work, this can have a spill-over
effect on their lives

Gerald B. Pearanda, M.Sc., CSIOP

Certified Industrial/Organizational Psychologist
HR Consultant
Faculty: De La Salle University-Manila
[email protected]

I/O psychologists can also improve the quality of life of

everyone in society by increasing employee effectiveness,
which reduces the cost of goods sold by improving product
quality

The Two Divisions in I/O Psych.

The Two Divisions in I/O Psych.

Industrial Psychology (the original

name) tends to make a management
perspective of organizational
efficiency through the appropriate
use of human resources. It is
concerned with issues of efficient
job design, employee selection and
training, and performance appraisal.
It may help you to remember
Industrial Psychology as the
practical side of I/O

I/O Psychology is
An applied field of
psychology that is
concerned with the
development and
application of
scientific principles to
the workplace.
Objective: To help
organizations function
more effectively.

What factors can motivate

employees to perform
well?

Organizational Psychology developed from

the human relations movement in
organizations and focuses more on the
individual employee. Examples are employee
attitudes, employee behavior, job stress, and
supervisory practices.
It may help you to
remember
Organizational
Psychology as the
soft side of I/O

Major I/O Fields:

1. PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY: Includes such
areas as analysing jobs, recruiting applicants,
selecting employees, determining salary levels,
training employees, and evaluating employee
performance
2. ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY:
Concerned with the issues of leadership, job
satisfaction, employee motivation, organizational
communication, conflict management,
organizational change, and group processes within
an organization

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Major I/O Fields:

3. HUMAN
FACTORS/
ERGONOMICS:
The area of human
factors concentrate
on workplace design,
human-machine
interaction,
These psychologists frequently work
ergonomics, and
physical fatigue and with engineers and other technical
professionals to make the workplace
stress.

Scientist-Practitioner Model

SCIENCE: I/O psychologists pose questions to guide

their investigations and then use the scientific
method to obtain answers. In this respect, I/O
psychology is an academic discipline
PRACTICE: The professional side is concerned with
the application of knowledge to real problems in the
world of work. I/O psychologists can use research
findings to hire better employees, reduce
absenteeism, improve communication, increase job
satisfaction, and solve countless other problems

safer and more efficient.

I/O Psychology as a Profession

I/O Psychologists belong to professional/scientific

organizations. In the U.S. they have the S.I.O.P. with
about 6,000 members. In the Philippines, the PAP
provides a certification program for I/O practitioners.

I/O Psychology as a Science

Often, research is conducted in
specific organizations to solve a
particular problem while others
focuses on understanding some
organizational phenomenon.
Examples of scientific journals:
Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal
of Occupational and Organizational
Psychology, Personnel Psychology,
Academy of Management Journal,
Journal of Occupational Health
Psychology

Founders of the Field

Founders of the Field

Two experimental psychologists are credited for being

the main founders of the field:

Two experimental psychologists are credited for being

the main founders of the field:

Considered by many as "the

father of industrial psychology,
Hugo Mnsterberg (1863-1916) was
particularly interested in the
selection of employees and the
use of new psychological tests.
In 1913 his book Psychology and
Industrial Efficiency addressed
such things as personnel selection
and equipment design

Walter Dill Scott (1869-1955)

pioneered the use of
psychological principles to
produce more effective
advertisements. His book, The
Theory and Practice of Advertising
(1903) was the first of its kind
In WW1, he classified and placed enlistees, conducted
performance evaluations of officers, and developed and
prepared job duties and qualifications for over 500 jobs. He
received the Distinguished Service Medal from U.S. Army.

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Pioneers of I/O
James McKeen Cattell (18601944). He created the
Psychological Corporation in
1921, still in existence today.
The main purpose was to
advance psychology and
promote its usefulness to
industry. It also served as a
place for companies to get
reference checks on prospective
psychologists.

Pioneers of I/O
Lilian (1876-1972) and Frank
(1868-1924) Gilbreth. A wife and
husband team who combined
engineering and psychology to study
efficient ways of performing tasks.
Their best contribution was the time
and motion study. Lilian is one of the
first working female engineers
holding a Ph.D., she is held to be the
first true industrial/organizational
psychologist.

Pioneers of I/O
Mary Parker Follett (18661933). A social philosopher, she
advocated people-oriented
organizations. Her writings
focused on groups, as opposed
to individuals, in the
organization. Thus, Follets
theory was a forerunner of
todays teamwork concept and
group cohesiveness.

Pioneers of I/O
Walter Bingham. He started
the Division of Applied
Psychology for Carnegie
Institute of Technology the
first academic program in
industrial psychology
(Krumm, 2001). He headed
the Personal Research
Federation and directed The
Psychological Corporation.

Pioneers of I/O
Robert Mearns Yerkes (1876-1956). During
WW1, Robert Yerkes and others offered their
services to the Army. Their newly invented
psychological tests led to the identification of
Army Alpha and Army Beta.

Pioneers of I/O
Frederick Winslow
Taylor (1856-1915). An
engineer who studied
employee productivity, he
developed an approach to
handling production
workers in factories.

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Pioneers of I/O
Elton Mayo (18801949).
His Human Relations approach
countered scientific
management. He recognized
the "inadequacies of existing
scientific management
approaches" to industrial
organizations, and underlined
the importance of
relationships among people
who work for such
organizations.

Pioneers of I/O
Kurt Zadek Lewin (18901947). In 1939, he led the first
publication of an empirical
study of the effects of
leadership styles which initiated
arguments for the use of
participative management
techniques. In 1945 he formed
the Research Center for Group
Dynamics at MIT to perform
experiments in group behavior

The Hawthorne Studies

A series of studies conducted for 10 years in
Western Electric Company that ultimately led to
the launching of the O of I/O. The
investigation of the lighting level effects led to
what is now known as the Hawthorne Effect,
i.e. the increase in productivity really had nothing
to do with the amount of light but because the
employees were conscious that they were being
observed.

CODE OF ETHICS FOR

PSYCHOLOGISTS
1. Competence: A psychologist
only does work that he or she
is competent to perform.
2. Integrity. Psychologists are
fair and honest in their
professional dealings with
others.
3. Professional and Scientific
Responsibility: Psychologists
maintain a high standard of
professional behavior.

CODE OF ETHICS FOR

PSYCHOLOGISTS
4. Respect for Peoples Rights and
Dignity: Psychologists respect
the rights of confidentiality and
privacy of others.
5. Concern for Others Welfare.
Psychologists attempt to help
others through their
professional work.
6. Social Responsibility:
Psychologists have a
responsibility to use their skills
to benefit society.

Research Methods in I/O

Psychology

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Research Methods in I/O

Psychology

What is research?

OBJECTIVES:
1. Explain the major concepts of design.
2. Describe the major types of designs and list
their advantages and limitations.
3. Discuss the types of reliability and validity?
4. Explain how inferential statistics can be used
to make conclusions about data.
5. State the major principles of research ethics.

Goals of Science:
It has been suggested that science has three goals: (1)
Description, (2) Explanation, (3) Prediction
DESCRIPTION: Describing the levels of productivity,
numbers of employees who quit during the year, average
levels of job satisfaction
EXPLANATION: This is the statement of why events occur
as they dowhy employees quit, why they are
dissatisfied, and so forth
PREDICTION: Researchers try to predict which employees
will be productive, which ones are likely to quit, and
which ones will be dissatisfied; data can be used in
selecting applicants who can be better employees

PICTURE THIS:
Imagine that you are a practicing
I/O psychologist working for a
company. You are assigned the
task of determining if a new
training program is effective in
producing better performance in
employees. Employees are being
trained in the use of a new
computer system that is supposed
to increase employee productivity.
How would you go about finding
out if the training works?

The systematic study of phenomena according to

scientific principles
A formal process by which knowledge is produced and
understood

The Empirical
Research Process
1. What question or problem
need to be answered?
2. How do you design a study
to answer a question?
3. How do you measure the
variables and collect the
necessary data?
4. How do you apply statistical
procedures to analyse the
data?
5. How do you draw
conclusions from analysing
the data?

The Research Question

Every study begins with a research
question which defines the purpose
of the study. For I/O psychologists,
the research question usually aims to
address an immediate issue for the
organization.
What causes people to like or dislike their jobs?
Does level of pay affect how much people like their jobs?

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Hypothesis. Rather than merely

raising the question, the
hypothesis is a theoretical answer.
A hypothesis is the researchers best
guess (or hunch) about what the results
of a study will be.
The hypothesis is usually based on a
theory, previous research, or logic.

e.g. People who are fairly paid will like

their jobs more than people who are not.

Independent Variables. Those that the researcher

manipulate. They are assumed to be the cause of
the dependent variables.
Dependent Variables. Those that are assessed in
response to the independent variables. It is most often
the object of the researchers interest and is
usually some aspect of behaviour

Does a training program on the

use of computer system
increase employee productivity?

Generalizability
Generalizability of results means that
the conclusions of a study can be
extended to other groups of people,
organizations, settings, or situations.
Findings for studies done laboratory setting might
not be true for organizational settings
Findings in one organization might not have the
same results in other organizations
The results of studies done in Western countries
might not be applicable to the Philippines

Research Design Concepts

Variables. A variable is an attribute or characteristic of
people or things that can vary (take on different values).
Peoples abilities (e.g. intelligence), attitudes (e.g. job
satisfaction), behavior (e.g. absence from work) and
job performance (e.g. weekly sales) are examples of
common variables in I/O research.
Each subjects standing on each variable is quantified
(converted to numbers) so that statistical methods
can be applied.

The Research Setting

Laboratory settings are artificial environments in which

phenomena of interest do not normally occur, such as in a

university. Disadvantages include external validity, or
generalizability of results to organizations to real
world.
A field setting is one in which
the phenomenon of interest
occurs naturally, such as the
assembly line of an automotive.
Losing control of extraneous
variables that are not of interest
to the researcher (internal
validity) is its disadvantage.

Control
Control refers to procedures that
allow researchers to rule out
certain explanations for results
other than the hypothesis.
Holding constant or systematically varying the
levels of one or more variable.
Having a control group in experiments. A control
group is a collection of people who receive a
condition or manipulation different from the one
of interest.

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Random Assignment and

Random Selection
The term random refers to a process
that eliminates systematic influences on
how subjects are treated in study.

Random assignment occurs when people are assigned to

Research Design
An research design is the basic structure of the study. An

experiment is a design in which there are one or more

independent variables and one or more dependent variables,
as well as random assignment of subjects.

various treatment conditions of levels of an independent

variable in a non-systematic way. Every subject has an equal
chance of being assigned to every condition.

IV examples: length of daily work (in hours), pay

categories (in local currency), availability or nonavailability of training, setting or non-setting of job goals.

Random selection means choosing the subjects of the

DV examples: frequency of absences from work,

study by a non-systematic method: Every possible subject

has an equal chance of being chosen as participant.

satisfaction with the job, job performance, turnover

Research Design

Research Design

Survey Designs use a series of questions compiled to

Observational Design happens when the researcher

study one or more variables of interest. This is one of

the simplest and easiest to conduct.

observes employees in their organizational settings.

Cross-sectional survey design is one in which all the

data were collected at a single point in time.

In obtrusive methods, the researcher might watch

individual employees conducting their jobs for a period
of time. Employees would know that the observer was
conducting research.

Longitudinal survey design is when data are

collected at more than one point in time.

In unobtrusive methods, the subject of the study

might be aware of researchers presence, but they
would not know that they are being studied.

Research Design
Qualitative Studies offer an alternate to the highly

quantitative approach of I/O psychologists. In pure form, the

qualitative approach involves observing behavior in an
organization and recording those observations in narrative form.

Ethical Issues in Research

Participants in psychological research are
granted five rights that are specified in the
code of ethics:
1. Right to Informed Consent: to know the
purpose and risks of the research, to
decline or withdraw participation anytime
without negative consequences
2. Right to Privacy: participants limit to the amount of
information they reveal about themselves
2. Right to Confidentiality: Who will have access to research
data? How will records be maintained? Will participants
remain anonymous?

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Ethical Issues in Research

De La Salle University
IOPSYCH/HUMAREM

Participants in psychological research are

granted five rights that are specified in the
code of ethics:

4. Right to Protection from Deception:

Intentionally misleading a participant
about the real purpose of the research can
produce fake beliefs and assumptions. It
should be used only as a last resort.
5. Right to Debriefing: debriefing must answer the
participants questions about the research, to remove any
harmful effects brought on by the study, and to leave the
participants with a sense of dignity.

Objective:
1. LIST the uses of job analysis
information.
2. DESCRIBE the sources and ways
of collecting job analysis
information
3. DISCUSS the different job analysis methods.
4. DESCRIBE the evidence for reliability and validity
of job analysis methods.
5. EXPLAIN how job evaluation is used to set salary
levels for jobs.

JOB ANALYSIS
Gerald B. Pearanda, M.Sc., CSIOP
Industrial-Organizational Psychologist
HR Consultant
[email protected]

Job Analysis is a method for describing jobs and/or

the human attributes necessary to perform them;

gathering, analysing, and structuring information
about a jobs components, characteristics, and
requirements
3 elements that comprise a formal job analysis:
1. The procedure must be systematic. The analyst
needs to specify the procedures in advance.
2. A job is broken into smaller units. We describe
components of jobs rather than the overall job.
3. The analysis results in some written product, either
electronic or on paper.

LEVEL OF SPECIFITY
Job-Oriented Approach: Provides information

about the nature of tasks done on the job.

TASK: Completes report
after arresting an
accused
CHARACTERISTIC: Uses
pencils and pens.

o Level of specificity answers the question: Should

the job analysis break a job down into very minute,
specific behaviours (e.g., tilts arm at a 90-degree
angle or moves foot forward three inches), or
should the job be analysed at a more general level
(makes financial decisions, speaks to clients)
o Informal requirements (such as picking mail,
making coffee, or picking up the boss children
from school) may need to be made formal to
reduce potential confusion regarding who is
responsible for the task

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FIVE LEVELS OF SPECIFITY

1.

POSITION: A collection of duties that can be performed by

a single individual.
e.g. Patrol Officer, Desk Officer

Person-Oriented Approach: Provides a description

2. DUTY: A major component of a job.

e.g. Enforce the law

of the characteristics, or KSAOs necessary for a

person to successfully perform a particular job.

3. TASK: A complete piece of work that accomplishes some

particular objective.
e.g. Arrest suspects who violate the law.

Knowledge: what a person needs to know to do a

particular job.

4. ACTIVITY: Individual parts that make up the task.

e.g. Driving to a suspects house to perform an arrest.

5. ELEMENT: Very specific actions to perform an activity.

e.g. Place handcuffs on a suspect.

Examples of KSAOs and Associated Tasks

KSAO
TASK
Knowledge of legal arrest Arrest suspects
procedures
Skill in using a firearm
Practice shooting firearm
on firing range
Ability to communicate
Mediate a dispute
with others
between two people to
prevent violent incident
Courage (as the personal Enter dark alley to
characteristic)
apprehend suspect.

Skill: what a person is able to do on the job.

Ability: a persons aptitude or capability to do job tasks or
learn to do job tasks.
Other personal characteristics: anything relevant to the
job that is not covered by the other three.

ABILITY

DESCRIPTION

1. Verbal
Comprehension

The ability to understand what words mean and to

readily comprehend what is read.

2. Word fluency

The ability to produce isolated words that fulfil specific

symbolic or structural requirements (such as all words
that begin with the letter b and have two vowels).

3. Numerical

The ability to make quick and accurate arithmetic

computations such as adding and subtracting.

4. Spatial

Being able to perceive spatial patterns and to visualize

how geometric shapes would look if transformed in
shape or position.

5. Memory

Having good rote memory for paired words, symbols,

lists of numbers, or other associated terms.

6. Perceptual
speed

The ability to perceive figures, identify similarities and

differences, and carry out tasks involving visual
perception.

7. Inductive
reasoning

The ability to reason from specifics to general

conclusions.

Who provides the information?

USE

They actually do the job or spend time

observing employees doing the job
and translate these experiences into a
job analysis.

They are considered subject matter

experts (SMEs) because they have
detailed knowledge about the content
and requirements of their own jobs or
the jobs that they supervise.

Description

Career development

Define KSAOs necessary for advancement

Legal issues

Show job relevance of KSAOs

Performance appraisal

Set criteria to evaluate performance

Recruitment and selection

of employees

Delineate applicant characteristics to be used as

basis for hiring

Training

Suggest areas for training

Setting salaries

Determine salary levels for jobs

Efficiency/safety

Design jobs for efficiency and safety

Job classification

Place similar jobs in groupings

Job design

Design content of jobs

Planning

Forecast future need for employees with specific

KSAOs

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Approaches to Collecting Job Analysis Information

Approaches to Collecting Job Analysis Information

Job Analyst Performs the Job

Interview

ADVANTAGES:
o Provides context in which job is done.
o Provides extensive detail about the job.

ADVANTAGES:
o Provides multiple perspectives on a job.
o Can show differences among incumbents
with same job.

DISADVANTAGES
o Fails to show differences among jobs with
same title.
o Expensive and time consuming
o Can take extensive training of analyst.
o Can be dangerous to analyst.

Approaches to Collecting Job Analysis Information

Observe Employees Doing the Job

ADVANTAGES:
o Provides relatively objective view of the job.
o Provides context in which job is done.
DISADVANTAGES
o Time-consuming
o Employees might change their behavior
because they know they are being
observed.

DISADVANTAGES
o Time consuming as compared to
questionnaires.
o Fails to show context in which tasks are
done.

Approaches to Collecting Job Analysis Information

Questionnaires
ADVANTAGES:
o Efficient and inexpensive.
o Shows differences among incumbents in same job.
o Easy to quantify and analyse statistically
o Easy to compare jobs on common job dimensions.
DISADVANTAGES
o Ignores context in which job is done
o Limits respondents to question asked.
o Requires knowledge of job to design questionnaire
o Easy for job incumbents to distort to make their
jobs seem more important.

Examples of Frequently Needed Skills for

Clerical Jobs
1. Job Components Inventory (JCI)
Developed in Great Britain to address the need to
match job requirements to worker characteristics
(Banks, Jackson, Stafford, and Warr, 1983)
FIVE COMPONENTS OF JOBS

1. Use of tools and equipment

2. Perceptual and physical
requirements
3. Mathematics
4. Communication
5. Decision making and
responsibility

COMPONENT
Use of tools and
equipment
Perceptual and
physical
requirements
Mathematics

SKILL
Use of pens
Use of telephone
Selective attention
Wrist/finger/hand speed

Use decimals
Use whole numbers
Decision-making and Decide on sequencing of work
responsibility
Decide on standards of work

10

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2. Functional Job Analysis (FJA)

Uses both observation and interviews to provide a
description of a job and scores on several dimensions
concerning the job and potential workers.

O*NET (http://online.onetcenter.org)
is a computer-based resource for job
related information on
approximately 1,100 groups of jobs
sharing common characteristics, a
very extensive undertaking.

3. Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

This questionnaire (McCormick, Jeanneret, & Mecham,
1972) contains 189 items dealing with the task
requirement or elements of jobs.
SIX MAJOR CATEGORIES

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Information input
Mediation processes
Work output
Interpersonal activities
Work situation and job content
Miscellaneous aspect

Major Categories of the PAQ

CATEGORY
Information input

EXAMPLE
Collecting or observing
information
Mediation processes
Decision-making and information
processing
Work output
Manipulating objects
Interpersonal activities Communicating with people
Work situation and job Physical and psychological
context
working conditions
Miscellaneous aspects Work schedule

4. Task Inventories
A questionnaire that contains a list of specific tasks
that might be done on a job that is being analysed and
rating scales for each task
POSSIBLE DIMENSIONS

1. Amount of time spent doing the

task
2. Criticality of the task for doing a
good job
3. Difficulty of learning the task
4. Importance of the task

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IOPSYCH./HUMAREM

Recruitment, Selection, and Placement

Recruitment: Attracting
people with the right
qualifications (as
determined in the job
analysis) to apply for the job
Selection: Process of
choosing individuals with
qualifications needed to fill
jobs

Gerald B. Pearanda, M.Sc., CSIOP

[email protected]

Recruitment

Placement: Fitting a person

to the right job

Recruitment Methods
NEWSPAPER ADS: A common method for recruiting
employees although considered least effective (SHRM,
2007)

When there are vacant jobs, companies can either do

internal recruitment by promoting someone from within the
organization, or do external recruitment by hiring someone
from outside the organization

Advantage of internal recruitment include enhancing

employee morale and motivation
Disadvantage of internal recruitment include running the risk
of a stale workforce devoid of new ideas from new
employees

Recruitment Methods

Applicants can be asked to call, apply in person, or send

a resume directly or through a blind box
ELECTRONIC MEDIA: The effectiveness of using
television and radio , although promising, still needs
empirical investigation
Different TV channels and radio stations can be used to
reach different types of audiences

Recruitment Methods

SITUATION-WANTED ADS: These ads are placed by the

applicant rather than by organization providing
encouraging results for people looking for jobs
Advantageous to the organization because this method
dont cause the organization any money
POINT-OF-PURCHASE METHODS: Job vacancy notices
are posted in places where customers or current
employees can see them: store windows, bulletin
boards, restaurant placemats, and the side of trucks

It is targeted toward people who frequent the business

CAMPUS RECRUITERS: Organizations send recruiters to

college campuses to interview students for available
positions
VIRTUAL JOB FAIRS: College students and alumni can
use the Web to visit many organizations at one time,
and where they talk to or instant-message the recruiter

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Recruitment Methods: Outside Recruiters

Recruitment Methods: Employee Referrals

Employment Agencies: Charges either the company or

the applicant when the applicant takes the job (10 to
30% of the applicants first year salary)
Executive Search Firms: Better known as head
hunters, the jobs they represent tend to be higherpaying, non-entry level positions; they charge their fees
to organizations rather than to applicants, fees charged
tend to be 30% of applicants first year salary
Public Employment Agencies: State and local
employment agencies designed primarily to help the
unemployed find work; of great value in filling blue
collar and clerical positions

Recruitment Methods: Direct Mail

In employee referral, current employees recommend

family members and friends for specific job openings
Rated by many HR professionals as the most effective
recruitment method
Can result to unintended discrimination if companies do
not ensure that referral pool is representative of the
ethnic and racial make-up of the qualified workforce

Recruitment Methods: Internet

Employer-Based Websites: An
organization lists job openings and
provides information about itself and
the minimum requirements needed to
apply

With direct-mail
recruitment, an employer
typically obtains a mailing
list and sends help-wanted
letters or brochures to
people through the mail

Applicants can upload their resumes,

answer questions designed to screen
out unqualified applicants, take
employment tests that are typically
scored instantly, and interviews are
scheduled electronically

Especially useful for

positions with specialized
skills

Major employer-search websites are

now using the .jobs domain to make
the process easier

Recruitment Methods: Internet

Recruitment Methods: Job Fairs

Job fairs are designed to provide
information in a personal fashion to
as many applicants as possible

An internet recruiter is a private company whose website

lists job openings for hundreds of organizations and
resumes for thousands of applicants

Organizations can have booths at

the same location, representatives
hand out company literature and
souvenirs

Advantages include the cost because it is 10 times cheaper

than advertising in major city newspapers, and it can reach
more people
Blogging is also used to more informally discuss an
organizations career opportunities and corporate culture

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Recruitment Methods: Incentives

Incentives are offered for employees to accept jobs

with an organization
It can take the form of financial signing bonus,
employee discounts on company products and services,
mortgage assistance, etc.

Types of Employment Interviews

STRUCTURE:
A meeting
between the job
applicant and
someone at the
employing
organization who
will have input
into the hiring
decision.

Types of Employment Interviews

o STRUCTURED INTERVIEW: (1) the source of the questions is a job

analysis (job-related questions), (2) all applicants are asked the
same questions, (3) there is a standardized scoring key to
evaluate each answer
o UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEW: (1) interviewers are free to ask
anything they want, (2) not required to have consistency in what
they ask of each applicant, and (3) may assign numbers of points
at their own discretion
o Highly structured interviews are more reliable and valid than
interviews with less structure (Huffcutt & Arthur, 1994)

Types of Employment Interviews

STYLE:

MEDIUM:

o One-on-one interviews: One interviewer interviewing one

applicant
o Serial interviews: Involves a series of single interviews
o Return interviews: The applicant is asked to return at a later time
for another interview
o Panel interviews: Multiple interviewers are asking the same
questions and evaluating answers of the same applicant at the
same time
o Group interviews: Multiple applicants answering questions during
the same interview

o Face-to-face interviews: Both the interviewer and the applicant

are in the same room
o Telephone interviews: Often used to screen applicants but do not
allow the use of visual cues
o Videoconference interviews: Conducted at remote sites
o Written interviews: The applicant answers a series of written
questions and then sends the answers back

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Advantages of Structured Interviews

(+) More valid than unstructured interviews
even over the phone
(+) Can add predictive power to the use of
cognitive ability tests
(+) Viewed more favourably by the courts
because it has job analysis as the basis
(+) Results in less adverse impact because it
taps on job knowledge, job skills, applied
mental skills, and interpersonal skills
(-) Is perceived by applicants to be more
difficult than unstructured interviews
(-) Applicants may feel they did not have
the chance to tell the interviewer
everything they wanted to

Problems with Unstructured Interviews

1. Poor Intuitive Ability: Human intuition and
judgment are inaccurate predictors of
future employee success
2. Lack of Job Relatedness: Information that
is used to select employees must be job
related if it is to have any chance of
predicting future employee performance
3. Primacy Effects: To prevent judgments
from getting influenced by first
impressions, interviewers need to rate the
applicants response after each question
4. Contrast Effects: The interview performance of one applicant
may affect the interview score given to the next applicant. An
applicant's performance is judged in relation to the
performance of previous interviewees.

Problems with Unstructured Interviews

Creating a Structured Interview

5. Negative-Information Bias: Negative

information apparently weighs more
heavily than positive information
6. Interviewer-Interviewee Similarity:
Research suggest that an interviewee will
receive a higher score if he is similar to the
interviewer in terms of personality,
attitude, gender, race
7. Interviewee Appearance: Research
indicate that, in general, physically
attractive applicants receive higher scores

Determining the KSAOs to Tap

8. Nonverbal Cues: The use of appropriate nonverbal

communication is highly correlated with interview scores.
Structured interviews are not as affected by nonverbal cues as
are unstructured interviews

1. Conduct a thorough job analysis and write a detailed job

description
2. Determine the best way (i.e., interview, psychological tests,
job samples, background checks, etc.) to measure an
applicants ability to perform each of the tasks identified in
the job analysis. Not every KSAO can and should be tapped
during the interview.

Creating a Structured Interview

Creating a Structured Interview

Creating Interview Questions

Creating Interview Questions

1. Clarifiers: Allow the interviewer to clarify information in the

resume, cover letter, and application, fill in gaps, and obtain
other necessary information. Example: I noticed a three-year
gap between two of your jobs. Could you tell me about
that?
2. Disqualifiers: Questions that must be answered a particular
way or the applicant is disqualified. Example: Do you have a
drivers license?
3. Skill-Level Determiners: Tap an interviewers level of
expertise. Example: Several months after installing a
computer network, the client calls and says that nothing will
print on the printer. What could be going wrong?

4. Future-Focused Questions: Also called situational questions, ask an

applicant what she would do in a particular situation. This is done by
collecting critical incidents. Example: Imagine that you told a
client that you would be there at 10:00 a.m. It is now 10:30 and
there is no way you will be finished with your current job until 11:30.
You are supposed to meet with another client for lunch at noon
and then be at another job at 1:15 p.m. How you handle this
situation?
5. Past-Focused Questions: Also referred to as patterned behaviour
description interviews (PBDIs), applicants are asked to provide
specific examples of how they demonstrated job-related skills in
previous jobs. Example: When you are dealing with customers, it is
inevitable that you are going to get someone angry. Tell us about a
time when a customer was angry with you. What did you do to fix
the situation?

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Creating a Structured Interview

Creating a Scoring Key for Interview Answers

Creating Interview Questions

Three Main Methods

6. Organizational-Fit
Questions: Tap the extent to
which an applicant will fit
into the culture of an
organization or with the
leadership style of a
particular supervisor. The
idea is to make sure that the
applicants personality and
goals are consistent with
those of the organization.
Example: What type of
work pace is best for you?

1. Right/Wrong Approach: Can be scored simply on the basis of

whether the answer was correct or incorrect. Example: As a
server, can you serve a glass of wine to a 16-year-old if his
parents are present and give permission?
2. Typical-Answer Approach: Done by creating a list of all possible
answers to each question, having subject-matter experts rate
the favourableness of each answer, and then use these ratings to
serve as benchmark answer for each point on the scale.
3. Key-Issues Approach: SMEs create a list of key issues they think
should be included in the perfect answer. For each key issue
that is included, the interviewee gets a point. The key issues
can also be weighted so that the most important issues get
more points.

Conducting the Structured Interview

1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

BUILDING RAPPORT: Let the applicant settle themselves so that

they can feel more positive about the interview
SET THE AGENDA: Explain the process by telling applicants the
types of questions that will be asked and point out that each
interviewer will be taking notes and scoring the answers
immediately after the interviewee has responded
ASK THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: A one-trained interviewer may
ask the questions, or have each panel member ask some
questions. Each answer needs to be scored after it has been
given.
PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE JOB AND THE
ORGANIZATION: Might include salary and benefits, the job duties,
opportunities for advancement, a history of the organization, etc.
END THE INTERVIEWEE: Compliment the interviewee and let her
know when you will be contacting her about job offers.

Sources of Background Information

Reasons for Using References and Recommendations

Confirming Details on a Resume. Resume fraud is
not uncommon. Organizations need to confirm the
truthfulness of information provided by the
applicant.
Checking for Discipline Problems. An applicants
history of discipline problems can include: poor
attendance, sexual harassment, and violence.
Protects the organization from charges of negligent
hiring.
Discovering new information about the applicant.
Other information can include work habits,
character, personality, and skills. Reference checkers
should always obtain specific behavioural examples
and try to get consensus from several references.

6/9/2015

Reasons for Using References and Recommendations

Predicting Future Performance. References and letters of
recommendation are ways of looking at past performance
to try to predict future performance. Low validity shown
in research may be due to four main problems:
- Leniency. Because applicants choose their own references, it is
not surprising that most letters of recommendation are positive.
Fear of legal ramifications (slander or libel) may prevent
organizations from giving negative recommendations.
- Knowledge of the Applicant. The person writing the letter often
does not know the applicant well, and/or has not observed all
aspects of an applicants behaviour.
- Reliability. The lack of agreement between two people who
provide references for the same person.
- Extraneous Factors. More specific rather than general, longer
letters are more positively perceived.

Meta-analyses indicate that a

students GPA can predict job
performance, training
performance, salary, and
graduate school performance
GPA is most predictive of the
first few years after
graduation
In the police academy,
education was a good
predictor of job performance

Characteristics of Tests
Group versus Individually Administered Tests.
Consists of a standard set of items
or tasks that a person completes
under controlled conditions. Most
involve paper-and-pencil tasks, such
as answering questions or solving
problems, although some involve
manipulation of physical objects to
assess such characteristics as
manual dexterity or eye-hand
coordination.
Are used to assess ability, interests,
knowledge, personality, and skill

Characteristics of Tests
Closed-Ended versus Open-Ended Tests
With a closed-ended test, the test taker must choose one
from several possible responses, such as multiple-choice
exams test for ability and knowledge. The advantage is its
greater ease in scoring.
An open-ended test is like an essay exam where the test
taker must generate a response rather than choose a
correct response. For example, writing ability is best
assessed by asking a person to write an essay.

A group test can be administered to several people at

once. The test itself is in printed form (e.g., booklet) that
can be given to hundreds or thousands of people at one
time.
An individual test, in contrast, is one that a test
administrator gives to a single test taker at a time rather
than to a group of individuals. This is necessary because
the administrator has to score the items as the test
proceeds or because an apparatus is involved that only
one person can use at a time.

Characteristics of Tests
Paper-and-Pencil versus Performance Tests
With a paper-and-pencil test, the test is on a piece of
paper or other printed (or electronic) medium, and the
responses are made in written form, often with a pencil.
Examples are multiple-choice course exams and open
ended tests.
A performance test involves the manipulation of
apparatus, equipment, materials, or tools. The widely
used performance test is the typing test.

6/9/2015

Characteristics of Tests
Power versus Speed Tests
A power test gives the test taker almost unlimited time to
complete the test.
A speed test has a strict time limit. It is designed so that
almost no one could finish all the items in the allotted
time. First, a speed test can contain challenging items
that must be completed under time pressure. The second
use is with a test that is designed to assess a persons
speed in doing a particular task.

A selection technique characterized by the use of multiple

assessment methods that allow assessors to actually observe
applicants perform simulated job tasks
Measures how well a person is able to perform the tasks of
a specific job; commonly used to assess potential for
managerial or other white-collar jobs.
Common exercises include the in-basket technique,
simulations, work samples, leaderless group discussions,
structured interviews, personality and ability tests, and
business games
Assessors typically hold positions two levels higher than
the assesses and spend one day being trained. They rate
the applicants going through the assessment centre.

A test that asks a person to perform a simulated job under

standardized conditions. It is designed to measure the
extent to which an applicant already has a job-related skill
The person is given the necessary materials and tools and
must perform a particular task, such as assembling a motor,
under controlled conditions.
Examples: an applicant as automotive mechanic might be
asked to fix a torn fan belt, a secretarial applicant might be
asked to type a letter, and a truck-driver applicant might be
asked to back a truck up to a loading dock
(+) Excellent selection method: directly related to the job,
predictive of actual performance, less challenged in courts
(-) Expensive to construct and administer

In an in-basket exercise, the assesses

are asked to pretend that is the first
day of a new job and they have found
a series of items in their in-basket (emails, letters, memos, and phone
messages). The applicant is asked to
go through the items and respond as
if he were actually on the job.
In a leaderless group exercise, several assesses are given a
problem to solve together, with no leader appointed. The
problem might be competitive (e.g., dividing a scarce
resource) or cooperative (e.g., generating a solution to an
organizational problem). Applicants are rated on
dimensions such as cooperativeness, leadership, and
analytical skills.

In a problem-solving simulation, the assessee is given a

problem and asked to come up with a solution, perhaps by
producing a report
In a role-play exercise, the assessee is asked to pretend to
be a particular person in a specific organizational role. The
task is to handle a problem or situation, such as
counselling a troubled employee or dealing with an irate
customer.
Business Games are exercises
that allow the applicant to
demonstrate such attributes as
creativity, decision making, and
ability to work with others

Ability tests tap the extent to which an applicant can learn or perform a
job-related skill. Ability tests are primarily used for occupations in which
applicants are not expected to know how to perform the job at the time
of hire, but would be taught the necessary job skills and knowledge.

6/9/2015

Cognitive Ability Tests

A ability or an aptitude is the capacity to do or learn to do
a particular task.
Cognitive abilities, such as intelligence, are relevant to
tasks that involve information processing and learning.
Psychomotor abilities, such as manual dexterity, involve
bodily movements and manipulation of objects.
Some job tasks require mostly cognitive abilities (e.g.,
programming a computer), whereas others rely mainly
on psychomotor abilities (e.g., sweeping a floor). Many
tasks require both types of abilities (e.g., repairing a
computer or a complex piece of equipment)

Psychomotor Ability Tests

Assess such things as ability to manipulate objects and use
tools.
Involve both the coordination between senses and
movement (e.g., eye-hand coordination) and accuracy of
movements.
Psychomotor abilities include finger dexterity, manual
dexterity, control precision, multilimb coordination, response
control, reaction time, arm-hand steadiness, wrist-finger
speed, and speed-of-limb movement
Useful for jobs as carpenter, police officer, sewing-machine
operator, post office clerk, and truck driver
People are scored on their ability to perform motor tasks,
such as putting pegs in holes or using simple tools to
manipulate objects.

The Stromberg Dexterity Test

Assesses arm and hand movement accuracy and speed. The

person must place the coloured disks into the correct colorcoded holes. Again, scores are based on the speed with which the
person can accomplish the task.

Dimensions can include oral and written comprehension, oral

and written expression, numerical facility, originality,
memorization, reasoning (mathematical, deductive,
inductive), and general learning
An intelligence, or IQ, test of general cognitive ability is the
best known cognitive ability test.
There are also tests of individual cognitive abilities, such as
mathematical or verbal ability.
Some tests have been developed that do not rely on reading
ability such as non-verbal intelligence test where the items
involve problem solving without words
Research has consistently shown that cognitive ability tests
are valid predictors of job performance across a large
number of different kinds of jobs.

The Hand-Tool Dexterity Test

Assesses the ability to use
simple tools to manipulate
small objects. This test
involves removing and
reassembling several
fasteners using wrenches
and a screwdriver. The
score is based on the time
it takes to complete a task.

Physical Ability Tests

Used for jobs that require physical
strength and stamina, such as police
officer, firefighter, and lifeguard
Through job simulations, physical
strength is measured by asking the
applicant to demonstrate jobrelated physical behaviours such as
when a firefighter climbs a ladder
while dragging a 48-pound hose 75
feet across a street.
Through tests, basic abilities needed
to perform certain behaviours have
also been developed such as pushups, sit-ups, and grip strength

6/9/2015

Critical Physical Abilities (Fleishman & Quaintance, 1984)

1. STATIC STRENGTH: the ability to use
muscle force to lift, push, pull, or
carry objects
2. EXPLOSIVE STRENGTH: the ability to
use short bursts of muscle force to
propel oneself or an object
3. GROSS BODY COORDINATION: the
ability to coordinate the movement of
the arms, legs, and torso in activities
where the whole body is in motion
4. STAMINA: the ability of the lungs
and circulatory (blood) systems of the
body to perform efficiently over time

A personality trait is the predisposition or tendency to

behave in a particular way across different situations.
Personality traits can be important because certain
classes of behavior can be relevant for job performance
in organizations.
For instance, sociability and conscientiousness can be an
important trait for a salesperson, while
conscientiousness and dominance can be an important
trait for a supervisor
Some personality tests are designed to assess a single
personality trait, while others assesses multiple
dimensions and are sometimes used to provide profiles
across several personality traits.

A knowledge and skill test, often called

an achievement test, is designed to
assess a persons level of proficiency.
A knowledge test assesses what one
knows, whereas a skill test assesses what
one is able to do. The emphasis is on
prior knowledge.
Some tests focus on general skills, such
as math and reading. Others are useful
in assessing skills for a particular job
tasks, such as typing.
An example is the Bennett Mechanical
Comprehension Test which assesses a
combination of mechanical ability and
knowledge about tools.

TESTS OF NORMAL PERSONALITY measures traits

exhibited by normal individuals in everyday life. The most
widely used is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
which is based on Carl Jungs theory. Other good tests
include the NEO-PI-R, 16 PF, Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory.
TESTS OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY determine whether
individuals have serious psychological problems such as
depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Projective tests include the Rorschach Inkblot Test and
the Thematic Apperception Test. Objective test include
the MMPI-2, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MMCIIII), and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI)

Conscientiousness and emotional stability are the best

predictors of individual performance in almost every job
Conscientious employees set higher personal goals for
themselves, are more motivated, and have higher
performance expectations
Extroversion is associated with performance in sales and
management jobs
Agreeableness is associated with performance in jobs
where employees are expected to be cooperative and
helpful
People high on the openness-to-experience dimension
tend to be more creative and adaptable to change.

6/9/2015

Emotional Intelligence Competencies

Emotional intelligence (EI) can be defined as the ability to
control and recognize emotions in oneself and in others
In theory, this ability makes people
more socially skilled, enabling
them to be aware of and to
control their impact on others
In a work setting, this means being
able to work smoothly with
colleagues, and in supervisory
positions, the ability to exert
leadership
Currently, the construct validity of
EI is still in dispute among
researchers

An integrity test is designed to predict whether an employee

will engage in counterproductive or dishonest behavior on
the job.
Such tests have been used to predict such behaviours as
cheating, sabotage, theft, unethical behaviours, and
sometimes absence and turnover.
Overt integrity test assesses attitudes and prior behavior (It
is all right to lie if you know you wont get caught.). They
measure attitudes by asking the test-taker to estimate the
frequency of theft in society, how harsh penalties against
thieves should be, etc.
Personality integrity test assesses personality characteristics
that have been found to predict counterproductive behavior

Highest

Lowest

Relationship
Management

Rapport; making use of emotions

to build and maintain good
relationships

Social
Awareness

Empathy; understanding the

emotions of others and their
impact on relationships.

Selfmanagement

Self-regulation; thinking before

acting and staying in control of
ones emotions.

Self-awareness

Understanding own emotions and

their impact on oneself and others.

A vocational interest test matches either the interests or the

personality of the test taker to those of people in a variety of
different occupations and occupational categories.
Interests are assessed by asking the test taker to indicate
preferences for engaging in various activities, such as
attending a sporting event or visiting a museum.
Data from vocational interest tests are available about the
answers of people in many different occupations. The test
takers answers are matched to those of people in different
occupations to see how well they fit each occupation.
One of the most popular vocational interest tests is the SelfDirected Search (Holland, 1994)

BIOGRAPHICAL INVENTORY
Asks more detailed
background questions than
a typical application form.
Whereas application forms
about level of education and
work experience, the
biographical inventory asks
about specific experiences
at school and work, or even
other areas in life.

Sample Items

Enjoyed very much

Enjoyed somewhat
Enjoyed a little
Didnt enjoy at all
When you were in grade
school and people were being
picked for teams, when were
you usually picked?
In high school, what grades did
you get in chemistry class?

Did you attend your high

school person?

In your first full-time job, how

often did you initiate
conservation with your
immediate supervisor?

10

6/9/2015

Organizations have turned to drug testing of applicants and

employees as a means of controlling drug use at work
Various research have demonstrated that drug users are
more likely to miss work and use health care benefits, to get
fired and quit their jobs, and cause many accidents on the job
Such testing is of popular importance in jobs that are safetysensitive, meaning that impaired performance could lead to
accidents or injury (e.g., air traffic controller and bus driver)
Drug testing is very accurate in detecting the presence of
drugs. Stage 1: urine or hair sample is submitted for enzyme
multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) and
radioimmunoassay (RIA). If positive, second stage: thin-layer
chromatography or gas chromatography/mass spectometry
analysis.

Also known as handwriting

analysis, the idea behind it is
that the way people write
reveals their personality, which
in turn should indicate work
performance
Popular selection method in
France
Looks at the size, slant, width, regularity, and pressure of a
writing sample
Predictive of affective states such as stress (Keinan & EilatGreenberg, 1993) but not job performance

11

6/9/2015

Performance Appraisal, Development,

and Management
Performance Appraisal: The
process of assessing performance
to make administrative decisions

Gerald B. Pearanda, M.Sc., CSIOP

Industrial-Organizational Psychologist/HR
Consultant

Performance Development:
Assessment of performance with
the goal of providing feedback to
facilitate improved performance
Performance Management: Process that incorporate

appraisal and development to make performancebased administrative decisions and help employee
improve

Why do we appraise employees?

Why do we appraise employees?

1. Administrative Decisions:

3. Criteria for Research:

Basis for punishments (demotion and termination)

and rewards (retention, promotion and pay raises)

2. Employee Development and Feedback

Supervisors need to inform their subordinates
about expectations and how well the expectations
are being met; identify T&D needs
On top of the annual appraisal, companies can
include semiannual goal setting, periodic coaching
and feedback sessions between employee and
supervisor

Who will evaluate performance?

Job performance data can serve as the criterion

against which many of the efforts of I/O
psychologists are evaluated, such as: designing
better equipment, hiring better people, motivating
employees, and training employees.

Who will evaluate performance?

1. Supervisors:
Most common source; they are responsible for that
persons performance
See end results (such daily sales), but may not see every
minute of an employees behavior; danger of bias for or
against

2. Peers:
They see actual behaviour of employee; can result to open
communication, cohesion, and reduced social loafing
Employees tend to react worse to negative feedback from
peers than from experts (Albright & Levy, 1995)

3. Subordinates:
Usually for developmental rather than for pay purposes,
can improve the managers performance
Also called upward feedback, honest subordinates rating
can be difficult to obtain if employees fear a backlash if
they unfavourably rate their supervisor
Subordinates prefer giving anonymous responses (not
surprisingly), and those who must identify themselves
tend to give inflated ratings

6/9/2015

Who will evaluate performance?

4. Customers:

Who will evaluate performance?

5. Self-Appraisal:

Informally, customers can provide feedback on

employee performance by complimenting or filing
complaints
Formally, customers can be asked to complete evaluation
cards
Secret shoppers - organizations can also seek customer
feedback from customers who have been enlisted by a
company to periodically evaluate the service they receive

What is the focus of the appraisal?

1. Trait-Focused Performance
Dimensions:
Concentrates on such employee
attributes such as honesty,
dependability, courtesy
Provide poor feedback and thus
will not result in employee
development and growth
Because traits are personal, the
employee is likely to become
defensive

An employee evaluates his/her own behaviour and

performance;
Tend to suffer from leniency errors for certain
countries such as in the U.S., mainland China,
India, and Singapore
Self-ratings in countries such as Japan, Korea, and
Taiwan suffer from modesty (Barren & Sackett,
2008)
May be more accurate if not used for
administrative purposes

What is the focus of the appraisal?

2. Competency-Focused
Performance Dimensions:
Concentrates on the
employees knowledge,
skills, and abilities
Makes it easy to provide
feedback and suggest steps
necessary to correct
deficiencies

What is the focus of the appraisal?

What is the focus of the appraisal?

3. Task-Focused Performance Dimensions:

4. Goal-Focused Performance Dimensions:

Organized by the similarity of tasks that are

performed and includes several competencies
Because supervisors are
concentrating on tasks that
occur together, evaluating
performance in other
dimensions becomes easier to
visualize
Difficult to offer suggestions
to correct deficiencies

The appraisal is organized on the basis of goals

to be accomplished by the employee
Makes it easier
for an employee
to understand
why certain
behaviours are
expected

6/9/2015

Characteristics of Performance Criteria

Actual versus Theoretical Criteria:
A theoretical criterion is
a theoretical construct
(definition) of what good
performance is
An actual criterion is the
way in which the theoretical
criterion is assessed or
operationalized

Characteristics of Performance Criteria

Criterion Complexity:
Criteria can become quite
complex because jobs involve
multiple tasks that can be
evaluated from several perspectives
For instance, quality
dimension (how well the
worker does the job) versus
quantity dimension (how
much or how quickly the
worker does the job)

Characteristics of Performance Criteria

Dynamic Criteria:
This refers to the variability of performance over
time which would make the assessment difficult
because the performance would not have been the same
throughout the entire measurement time period.

Contextual Performance:
Consists of extra, voluntary things employees do to
benefit their coworkers and organizations that must be
considered in developing criteria for jobs.

Characteristics of Performance Criteria

Contamination, Deficiency, and Relevance:
Criterion contamination refers to that part of the actual

criterion that reflects something other than what it was designed to

measure. It can arise from biases in the criterion and from
unreliability.
Criterion deficiency means that the actual criterion does not
adequately cover the entire theoretical criterion, an incomplete
representation of what we are trying to assess (insufficient content
validity)
Criterion relevance refers to the extent to which the actual
criterion assesses the theoretical criterion it is designed to measure, or
its construct validity

Characteristics of Performance Criteria

Attendance

Professional appearance

Work quality

Work quantity

Two Ways to Deal with Criterion Complexity:

1. Composite criteria approach: combining
individual criteria into a single score

2. Multidimensional approach: when the individual

criterion measures are not combined

Rater Bias and Error

DISTRIBUTIONAL ERRORS
When a rater tends to rate everyone
the same on a rating scale regardless
of actual performance

Leniency Errors: When the rater rates everyone at

the favourable end of the performance scale.
Severity Errors: Also known as strictness error, it
happens when the rater rates everyone at the
unfavourable end of the performance scale
Central Tendency Errors: When the rater rates
everyone in the middle of the performance scale.

6/9/2015

Rater Bias and Error

Rater Bias and Error

HALO ERRORS

PROXIMITY ERRORS

When a rater gives an individual the same rating across all

rating dimensions despite differences in performance across
dimensions
Happens when the rater allows either a single attribute or an
overall impression of an individual to affect the ratings that
she makes on specific qualities
Dimension

Occur when a rating made on one dimension affects the

rating made on the dimension that immediately follows it on
the rating scale
For example, because second dimension is physically located
on the rating form next to the first, there is a tendency to
provide the same rating on both dimensions

Emp. 1

Emp. 2

Emp. 3

Emp.4

Emp. 1

Emp. 2

Emp. 3

Emp.4

Attendance

Attendance

Dimension

Communication

Communication

Following directions

Following directions

Work quality

Work quality

Work quantity

Work quantity

Rater Bias and Error

Rater Bias and Error

CONTRAST ERRORS

Low Reliability across Raters

Two people rating the same employee seldom agree with each
other

Happens because (1) raters often

commit in rating errors, (2) raters have
very different standards and ideas about
the ideal employee, (3) different raters
may actually see very different
behaviours by the same employee

Happens when the

performance rating one
person receives is influenced
by the performance of a
previously evaluated person
For example, the employee
who is evaluated after the best
employee might receive lower
ratings because her
performance is contrasted to
the other employee

Rater Bias and Error

Rater Bias and Error

Sampling Problems

Cognitive Processing of Observed Behaviour

Recency Effect: Recent behaviours are given more weight in

the performance evaluation than behaviours that occurred
during the first few months of the evaluation period
Infrequent Observation: Occurs because many managers
and supervisors do not have the opportunity to observe a
representative sample of employee behaviour

Bias: Raters who like the employee being rated may be

more lenient and less accurate in their ratings than would
raters who neither like nor dislike their employees (Cardy
& Dobbins, 1986)

Cognitive Processing of Observed Behaviour

Observation of Behaviour: Memory accuracy decreases

over timeneed for immediate rating after behaviour
Emotional State: The amount of stress under which a
supervisor operates also affects her performance

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Rater Bias and Error

REDUCING RATER
ERRORS
o Rater Error Training (RET): Raters are
familiarized with rater errors and taught to avoid
these rating patterns.
o Frame-of-Reference Training: Attempts to provide
a common understanding of the rating task
o 360 Degree Feedback: Using multiple perspective
for manager feedback. Managers evaluate
themselves, then evaluated by peers, subordinates,
and supervisors

Six Points of a Legally Defensible

Performance Appraisal System
1. Perform job analysis to define dimensions
of performance.
2. Develop rating form to assess dimensions
from prior point.
3. Train raters in how to assess performance.
4. Have higher management review ratings and
allow employees to appeal their evaluations.
5. Document performance and maintain
detailed records.
6. Provide assistance and counselling to poorperforming employees prior to actions
against them.

SUBJECTIVE MEASURES OF JOB

PERFORMANCE
1. Graphic Rating Scales
2. Employee Comparison Methods
a) Rank Order
b) Paired Comparison
c) Forced Distribution
3. Behaviour-Focused Rating Forms
a) Critical Incidents
b) Behaviourally Anchored Rating
Scales (BARS)
c) Behavioural-Observation Scale
(BOS)
d) Mixed Standard Scales (MSS)

o Usually composed
of the employee s
immediate
supervisor and
three or four other
supervisors.

RATING COMMITTEES
o Multiple raters often see different facets of an
employees performance, helping cancel out
problems such as bias on the part of individual
raters

Methods for Assessing Job Performance

Objective Measures
Counts of various behaviours (e.g.,
number of days absent from work) or
the results of job behaviours (e.g., total
monthly sales).

Subjective Measures
Ratings of people who should
be knowledgeable about the
persons job performance,
usually by supervisors

Graphic Rating Scales

The most commonly used rating scale
Assesses individuals on several dimensions of performance;
Focuses on the persons performance (e.g., work quality &
quantity), or his/her characteristics or traits (e.g., appearance,
attitude, dependability, and motivation)
Consists of multi-point scale that represents a continuum of
performance from low to high and usually contains from four
to seven values.
A supervisor checks off a rating scale for each of the
dimensions
(+) Easy to construct and use
(-) Susceptible to rating errors such as halo and leniency

6/9/2015

Employee-Comparison Methods

Employee-Comparison Methods

In these methods, individuals are compared with one

another
The concentration of ratings at one part of the scale
caused by rating error is avoided
(+) Eliminates central tendency and leniency errors
because raters are compelled to differentiate among the
people being rated
(-) Halo error is still possible because it manifests itself
across multiple evaluations of the same person
(-) Performance is not compared with a defined
standardthey do not provide information about how an
employee is actually performing

RANK ORDER

Employee-Comparison Methods

Employee-Comparison Methods

PAIRED COMPARISON

FORCED-DISTRIBUTION METHOD

Involves comparing each possible pair of employees and

choosing which one of each pair is the better employee
Typically used to evaluate employees on a single dimension:
overall ability to perform the job
At the conclusion of the evaluation, the number of times each
person was selected as the better of the two is tallied: people
are then ranked by the number of tallies they receive
(+) Best for relatively small samples
(-) Becomes prohibitive with large number of people:
evaluating 100 employees would result in 4,950 separate
comparisons!

Behaviour-Focused Rating Forms

Concentrates on specific instances of behavior that a
person has done or could be expected to do.
Behaviours are chosen to represent different levels of
performance
Example for attendance: (a) Good behavior: Can be
counted to be at work every day on time. (b) Poor
behaviour: Comes to work late several times per week
The raters job is to indicate which behaviours are
characteristic of the person being rated
Reflects the most recent advancement in performance
appraisal

The rater ranks employees from high to low on a given

performance dimension
The person ranked first is regarded as the best and the
person ranked last as the worst
(+) Easily used when there are only a few employees to rank
(-) Becomes tedious and even meaningless to rank order
large numbers of people
(-) We still do not know how good the best is and how bad
the worst is. We do not know the level of performance

Also called the rank and yank, this procedure is based on

the normal distribution and assumes that employee
performance is normally distributed
Using predetermined percentages based on the normal
distribution, the rater evaluates an employee by placing him
or her into one of the categories
(+) Increases levels of organizational productivity
(+) Employee-comparison method of choice for large
number of employee
(-) Considered by employees as harsh and least fair
(-) Assumes that employee performance is normally
distributed, although it can also be not normally distributed

Behaviour-Focused Rating Forms

CRITICAL INCIDENTS
Critical incidents are behaviours that result in good or poor
performance
Usually written in a critical incident logformal accounts of
employee performance that were observed by the supervisor
Should be communicated to the concerned employee at the
time they occur
(+) Helps supervisors recall behaviours when they are
evaluating performance, and helps an organization defend
against legal actions
(-) Not having numerical ratings makes it not as useful for
comparing employees or for salary decisions

6/9/2015

Behaviour-Focused Rating Forms

Behaviour-Focused Rating Forms

BEHAVIOURALLY ANCHORED RATING

SCALE

BEHAVIOR OBSERVATION SCALES (BOS)

Are a combination of the critical incidents and

rating-scale methods: performance is rated on a
scale, but the scale points are anchored with
behavioural incidents
The rater chooses the behaviour that comes closest
to describing the performance of the person in
question
Time-consuming to develop but the benefits make
it worthwhile

Contains items that are also based on critical

incidents
The rater must rate the employee on the frequency
of critical incidents
The final step is to do item analysis to detect the
critical incidents that most influence overall
performance
(+) Content valid: the aspects of performance are
derived directly from the job

Example of a Mixed Standard Scale to Assess the Dimension

of Relations with Other People

Behaviour-Focused Rating Forms

For each item on the scale, indicate if the employee is:

Developed by having employees rate job behaviours

and critical incidents on the extent to which they
represent various levels of job performance
For each job dimension, a behaviour or incident is
chosen to represent excellent performance (+),
average performance (0), and poor performance (-)

A. Better than the item

B. As good as the item
C. Worse than the item
___ Good Performance: Is in good terms with everyone. Can get
along with people when he or she doesnt agree with them.

___ Satisfactory Performance: Gets along with most people.

Only very occasionally does he or she have conflicts with others
on the job, and these are likely to be minor.
___ Poor Performance: Has the tendency to get into unnecessary
conflicts with other people.

MIXED-STANDARD SCALES (MSS)

1. The ratee is better than the statement

2. The statement fits the ratee
3. The ratee is worse than the statement

6/9/2015

Training

Definition
The systematic acquisition of attitudes,
concepts, knowledge, roles, or skills,
that result in improved performance at
work.

TRAINING

5 STEPS FOR EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL

TRAINING PROGRAMS:

Conduct
TNA

Set
Objectives

Design
Training

Deliver
Training

NEEDS ASSESSMENT
The first step in developing an employee
training system
Needs assessment is conducted to determine
which employees need training and what the
content of their training should be (Arthur,
Bennett, Edens, & Bell, 2003)
Has three types: (1) organizational analysis,
(2) task analysis, and (3) performance analysis

Evaluate
Training

NEEDS ASSESSMENT: Organizational Analysis

Purpose: To determine organizational factors that either facilitate or

inhibit training effectiveness

Focus: Goals the organization wants to achieve, the extent to which

training will help achieve these goals, the organizations ability to
conduct training (e.g., finances, physical space, time), and the extent
to which employees are willing and able to be trained (e.g., ability,
commitment, motivation, stress)

6/9/2015

NEEDS ASSESSMENT: Task Analysis

Purpose: To identify the tasks to be performed by each employee, the

Comparing task analysis results with training programs

conditions under which these tasks are performed, and the

competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities) needed to perform the tasks
under the identified conditions

Methods: Interviews, surveys,

observations, and task inventories

Is fairly easy and does not take much

time if job descriptions are written in a
detailed manner

NEEDS ASSESSMENT: Performance Analysis

Purpose: To verify that there is a performance

deficiency and to determine whether the employer
should correct such deficiencies through training or
some other means

(1) Performance appraisal scores may indicate that additional

training for identified dimensions may be needed
(2) Survey can ask employees what knowledge and skills they
believe should be included in future training

NEEDS ASSESSMENT: Performance Analysis

(3) Interviews can yield more in-depth answers to questions about

training needs

(4) Skill and knowledge tests may indicate that, if employees score
poorly on these tests, training is needed

(5) Critical Incidents will show that dimensions with many examples
of poor performance (e.g., productivity, absenteeism and
tardiness, grievances, waste, late deliveries, product quality,
downtime, repairs, equipment utilization, and customer complaints)

Designing Training Programs

Planning the overall training program includes:

Setting performance objectives

Creating a detailed training outline
Choosing a program delivery method
Verifying the overall program design
with management

6/9/2015

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

The first step in the design process is to write learning objectives

Learning objectives should be practical given financial
(development costs, direct and indirect costs) and time constraints
They should specify in measurable terms what the trainee should
be able to accomplish after successfully completing the training
program
Example: The technical service representative will be able to adjust
the color guidelines on this HP Officejet All-in-One printer copier
within 10 minutes according to the device s specifications.

Components of a Learning Objective:

1. PERFORMANCE:
Should describe observable behaviors that the participants will be able
to do as a result of the training
Must use specific action verbs that are not subject to interpretations
Words such as to understand, know, and learn are NOT ACCEPTABLE
because these are not observable
Example: The technical service representative will be able to adjust the
color guidelines on this HP Officejet All-in-One printer copier within 10
minutes according to the devices specifications.

Components of a Learning Objective:

Components of a Learning Objective:

2. CONDITION:

3. STANDARD:

Pertains to the circumstances under which the participant will be

performing the activity
Also describes the equipment, supplies, and job aids; describes the work
setting and any given information used to direct the action
Example: The technical service representative will be able to adjust the
color guidelines on this HP Officejet All-in-One printer copier within 10
minutes according to the devices specifications.

TRAINING DESIGN

Transfer of Training the expectation that employees apply

knowledge and skills learned on the job.
Trainee
Characteristics
Training Design:
Feedback
General Principles
Identical Elements
Overlearning
Sequencing

Work
Environment

Specifies the level or degree of proficiency that is necessary to perform

the task or job successfully
Indicates the quality of the performance required to achieve objectives
May involve speed, accuracy with a margin of error, maximum of mistakes
permitted, productivity level, or degree of excellence
Example: The technical service representative will be able to adjust the
color guidelines on this HP Officejet All-in-One printer copier within 10
minutes according to the devices specifications.

Trainee Characteristics
Individual differences in ability and
motivation are important factors in
learning.
Abilities: Not everyone has the same ability
to learn a given task, and training needs to
recognize these differences.
Attitudes and Motivation: By giving rewards
for successful completion, and by making
the training interesting to the trainers,
participants can be more motivated.

6/9/2015

Design factors that affect transfer of training:

Feedback: Should be given to the trainees

so that they can tell if they are learning the
correct material (e.g., test, asking questions,
etc.)
General Principles: This section should
teach why something is done, i.e., the
general principles behind the material
Identical Elements: The responses in training situation are identical to the job
situation (e.g., flight simulator)
Overlearning: Giving the trainees practice beyond what is necessary to reach a
criterion and achieve automaticity

Training Methods
Method
Lecture
Case Study
Method
On-the-jobtraining

Advantages
A presentation by a trainer to a group of trainees.
Economical; good information-giving method
Presents a trainee with a written description of an
organizational problem. Allows diagnosis of realistic
cases and presentation of proposed solutions.
Having a person learn the job by actually doing it; high
level of transfer (e.g., apprenticeship); useful in trade
occupations

Training Methods
Method
Role Playing

Behavior
Modelling

Advantages
Having trainees assume roles of specific persons in a
realistic situation. Can trigger spirited discussions; may
train someone to be more sensitive to others feelings
Having trainees watch someone perform a task and then
having them model what they have seen. High level of
feedback; provides practice of new skills

Training Methods
Method
Audio-visual
instruction

Conference
Programmed
Learning

Advantages
Electronic presentation (e.g. DVD, films, audiotapes). The
stop-action, instant replay, and fast- or
slow-motion capabilities useful for illustrating how to
follow a certain sequence over time.
Meeting of trainees and a trainer. Allows for free flow of
ideas; high level of trainee involvement
Step-by-step, self-learning method (e.g., programmed
instruction trough textbook, PC, or Internet). Gives
immediate feedback to trainees; allows individualized
pacing, reduces training time

Training Methods

Method
Vestibule
Training

Advantages
Trainees learn on the actual or simulated equipment they
will use on the job, but are trained off the job (a separate
room or vestibule. Necessary when its too costly or
dangerous to train employees on the job

6/9/2015

Training Methods

Training Methods
Method
InternetBased
Training

Advantages
Employing Internet-based
learning to deliver programs.
Online courses can be done
through companys own
Intranet or from online
training vendors

Training Methods
Method
ComputerBased
Training
(CBT)

Advantages
Uses interactive computerbased systems to increase
knowledge or skills.
Increasingly interactive and
realistic (e.g. virtual reality),
reduces learning time

Method
Mobile Learning

Advantages
Delivering learning content on demand via mobile
devices like cell phones, laptops, and iPads.
Employers use mobile learning to deliver corporate
training and downloads.

Mentoring

A special kind of work relationship between two

employees in which the more experienced one offers
career guidance, counselling, and emotional support,
and serves as a role model, to the less experienced one
(+) Helps employees develop their careers with the
company.
(+) According to research, protgs have better job
performance, quicker promotion, better job attitudes,
and less turnover

Executive Coaching

High level executives are paired

with a consultant who serves as
executive coach to help them
improve performance

The incumbent has significant performance deficiencies and the cost of

finding a replacement is high
Plans to enhance specific skills can be devised with the coach based on
feedbacks from people who interact with the executive
(+) The coach might work with the executive for an extended period,
providing continual advice and feedback

6/9/2015

Differences Between Children and Adults As

Learners
1. Adults must recognize the need to
learn.
2. Adults want to apply new learning
back on the job.

Children:
Rely on others to decide what is important to be learned
Accept information being presented at face value
Expect what they are learning to be useful in the long run

3. Adults need to integrate past

experience with new material.

Have little experience upon which to draw; are relatively

clean slates
Rely on others to decide what is important to be learned

4. Adults prefer the concrete to the

abstract.

Little ability to serve as knowledgeable resource to teacher

or fellow classmates

Adults:
Decide for themselves what is important to be learned
Needs to validate the information based on their beliefs and
experience
Expect what they are learning to be immediately useful
Have much past experience upon which to draw; may have fixed
viewpoints
Significant ability to serve as knowledgeable resource to the trainer
and to fellow learners

The trainer is not the change agent

5. Adults need a variety of training

methods.
6. Adults learn better in an informal,
comfortable environment.
7. Adults want to solve realistic
problems.
8. Adults prefer the hands-on method of
learning.

Making the Presentation

In adult learning, the change agent is not the

trainer/facilitator. It is the trainee who must
decide that he/she is capable and potentially
equipped to make the change.
The TRAINEE is
the change agent!

6/9/2015

DIFFICULT PARTICIPANTS
Talkative

I appreciate your contribution, but lets hear from some other

people. In order to stay on schedule and on track, lets discuss this
further during the break or after the session.

Clueless

DIFFICULT PARTICIPANTS
Know-it-all

Thats one point of view. However, there are other ways of looking
at it.

Something I said must have led you off track. What I was trying to
say was. . . .

Class Clown

We all enjoy a little levity. But right now, lets get serious and
concentrate on the topic at hand.

Rambling

I dont understand. How does this relate to what were talking

about?

Negative

Belligerent

I understand and appreciate your point of view. What do some of

the rest of you think?

I understand your point. What suggestions do you have to

change the situation? For the sake of discussion, what might be some
arguments for the opposite point of view?

Stubborn

I appreciate your position, but for the sake of the activity, Im going
to insist that we move on. Ill be happy to discuss this with you later.

Personality
Clashes

I suggest that we keep personalities out of the discussion. Lets get

back to the topic at hand.

Indifferent/
I know you have some experience in this area. Please tell us about it.
Silent

Side Talks

[Persons names], we were just talking about. . . . What are your

thoughts?

PRESENTATION SKILLS

PRESENTATION SKILLS

Make eye contact with the audience

Use gestures effectively
Dont read your presentation
Dont hide behind the podium
Use a conversational style
Be confidentavoid the use of fillers, speak at
an appropriate volume, and dont brag about
yourself
Speak at a pace that is neither too fast nor too
slow

Avoid swearing, making off-color or

offensive remarks, and demeaning other
people, groups, or organizations

Make the presentation interesting (e.g., stories, humor, variety of

activities, sharing, etc.
When answering questions, repeat, paraphrase, dont bluff
Dont force humor

TRAINING EVALUATION

A training program is not complete until its effectiveness has been

evaluated
Evaluation: a piece of research to determine whether the program had
its intended effects.
Training evaluation requires 5 steps:
Set criteria for evaluation
Select a design for the study
Select measures to assess criteria
Collect data for the study
Analyze and interpret the data

6/9/2015

1) Set CRITERIA

Kirkpatricks 4 Levels of Training Evaluation

Criteria are standards of comparison so that you can determine if

training has been effective (i.e., what is the training supposed to
achieve?)
Training Criteria are classified into two levels:

Training-Level Criteria: concerned with abilities learned and applied by

people at the end of training in the training environment itself rather than
on the job
Performance-Level Criteria: concerned with persons performance on the
job rather than in the training setting, i.e., transfer of training

L1 - Reactions Criteria: How much trainees liked the training

and how much they believed they got out of it
(questionnaire at the end of training)
L2 - Learning Criteria: What knowledge or skills the trainees
learned in training (examination at the end of the training)
L3 - Behavior Criteria: Trainees behaviors on the job that
might have been due to the training (performance appraisal)
L4 - Results Criteria: Whether the training had its intended
effect (cost-benefit analysis, tracking, operational data)

LEVEL 1: REACTIONS CRITERIA

LEVEL 2: LEARNING CRITERIA

o Criticisms: Too subjective, may become a popularity contest

o Limitations: Does not measure learning or ability to apply
learning on the job, cannot measure changes in attitudes or
beliefs
o Categories: End-of-session evaluation form should include
content, materials, instructional methods, trainer,
environment, logistics, recommendations
o Format: Two-choice questions with room for explanation or
comments, short answers, complete the sentence, ratings,
rankings, checklist

o Extent to which participants change attitudes, improve

knowledge, and/or increase skill as a result of attending the
program (Kirkpatrick, 1994)
o Tests: Give both a pre-test and a post-test to get an even more
accurate picture of what the participants have learned
o Observation: Trainers can watch participants practicing and
applying skills, tools, and techniques during the session
o Interviews: Shortly after the training, interview the
participants and ask them what they learned in the session

LEVEL 3: BEHAVIOR CRITERIA

LEVEL 4: RESULTS CRITERIA

o Answers the question: How has the training affected the way
participants perform on the job?
o Challenges: Time-consuming and costly; requires good
organizational and follow-up skills and processes
o Methods: Observations of employees back on the job,
interviews of those affected by the training participant,
surveys, and control group to compare results
o Time considerations: Enough time for the behavior change to
take place could be three to six months after attending the
training

o Determines the impact of the training on the organization

o Critical success factors: Production output, sales, operating
costs, customer satisfaction, quality standards, safety record,
turnover rate, absenteeism, employee grievances, employee
satisfaction, budget variances, promotions
o Limitations: Time-consuming, costly, and difficult (many
variables come into place after the participant leaves the
training)

6/9/2015

2) Choose DESIGN
Design structure of a study that specifies how
data are collected.
Two most popular designs:
Pretest-Posttest Design: Assesses trainees
before and after training.
Control Group Design: Compares trainees
with a group of employees who have not
received the training.

Control Group Design

Used to compare employees who receive training to equivalent

employees who have not been trained
Comparison between two subgroups of employees indicates the
effects of the training.
This design is more difficult to use in an organization because it is not
always possible to assign employees at random to the two groups
This design is an improvement over the pretest-posttest when you
wish to determine the effects of training
Helps control for the possibility that it was something other than
training that caused the changes you observed in employees

4) Data Collection
Poses many practical problems such as
uncooperative people
Best possible design should always be
planned ahead
Modifications might have to be made
during the study based on the problems
that will be faced as the study is being
conducted.

Pretest-Posttest Design

A series of performance measures are taken before and after the

training program, and are compared for possible improvement
Can be used to assess the amount learned in the training itself or the
amount of change in behavior back on the job.
A practical design to use in organizations
A major drawback is the difficulty of attributing changes to the training
itself rather than other events in the organization

3. Choose Measures of Criteria

Criterion determines a great extent what sorts of measures

can be used to assess it

Examples:
Reaction criteria: questionnaire that asks for employees
reactions
Learning criteria: knowledge test to determine what has been
learned for knowledge-based training, or role play and simulation
test for skills-based training
Performance criteria: measuring trainee behavior or results in the
job setting rather than training

5) Data Analysis and Interpretation

Data from evaluation studies are analyzed with

inferential statistics.
If all four steps have been well done, it is
possible to reach a confident conclusion about
the effectiveness of the training program.
Training must be effective at both levels
(training-level and performance-level) to
consider the program effective.
A training program is considered not effective
if training does not work in both levels

Workplace Emotions, Attitudes, and Stress

Its not only how people
think but also how they feel

EMOTIONS defined

Strong positive or negative feelings

directed toward someone or
something; tend to be short-term

Most emotions occur without our

awareness

Moods are lower intensity

emotions without any specific
target source; may persist for some
time

Gerald B. Pearanda, M.Sc., CSIOP

Industrial-Organizational Psychologist/HR Consultant
[email protected]

Foundations of Emotions and Moods

Positive Affectivity
Tendency to be perceptually positive;
generally extrovertedoutgoing,
talkative, sociable, and assertive
Negative Affectivity
Tendency to experience negative
moods in a wide range of settings and
under many different conditions

Foundations of Emotions and Moods

Self-conscious Emotions
Emotions that arise from internal sources that help

individuals regulate their relationships with others

Examples: shame, guilt, embarrassment, and pride

Social Emotions
Emotions that are stimulated by

external sources
Examples: pity, envy, and jealousy

Emotion and Mood Contagion

ATTITUDES defined

Emotion and Mood Contagion: The spillover

effects of ones emotions and mood to others

Predisposition to respond in a positive or negative way to

someone or something in ones environment

Evidence shows that positive and negative

emotions are contagious. In one study, team

Liking or disliking someone or

something is an expression of
attitude

Attitudes represent the cluster of

beliefs, assessed feelings, and
behavioral intentions toward a
person, object, or event (called
attitude object)

members were found to share good and bad

moods within two hours of being together; bad
moods, interestingly, travelled person-to-person
faster than good moods.

Emotion and mood contagion is an

important leadership issue that should be
managed with care because everyone
watches the boss

EMOTIONAL LABOR defined

Effort, planning and control needed to express
organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal
transactions.

Emotional Labor Challenges

Difficult to display expected emotions accurately, and to
hide true emotions.

More stressful when a person copes

with it with surface actinghiding true
feelings while displaying very different
ones

Deep actingmodifying ones feelings

to better fit the situation (such as
empathizing with an irate customer)
can be less stressful to the person

Emotional labor is higher when job

requires:
frequent and long duration display

of emotions
displaying a variety of emotions
displaying more intense emotions
7

WORKPLACE ATTITUDES

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

The loyalty of an individual to the organization.

Three Components:
1. An acceptance of the
organizations goals;
2. A willingness to work hard
for the organization
3. The desire to stay with the
organization

Dimensions of Organizational Commitment

Continuance Commitment
Refers to employees' assessment of whether the costs of leaving
the organization are greater than the costs of staying
Employees who perceive that the costs of leaving the organization
are greater than the costs of staying remain because they need to

Dimensions of Organizational Commitment

Normative Commitment
Refers to employee's feelings of obligation to the organization
Employees with high levels of normative commitment stay with the
organization because they feel they ought to

Dimensions of Organizational Commitment

JOB SATISFACTION
The degree to which an individual feels positive or
negative about a job overall as well as various aspects of
them.
Is the extent to which people like (or

dislike) their jobs

One of the most studied variables in

O.B.

Affective Commitment
Refers to employee's emotional attachment, identification with, and
involvement in the organization
Employees with a strong affective commitment stay with the
organization because they want to

Argued as the cause of important

employee and organizational

outcomes ranging from job
performance to health and longevity

Five Facets of Job Satisfaction

Research Findings on Job Satisfaction

One of the most popular measures of Job Satisfaction is

the Job Descriptive Index (JDI). It measures five facets:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The work itselfresponsibility, interest, and growth.

Quality of Supervisiontechnical help and social support
Relationship with co-workerssocial harmony and respect
Promotion opportunitieschances for further advancement
Payadequacy of pay and perceived equity vis--vis others

Job Satisfaction and OCBs

Job satisfaction is also linked with organizational citizenship
behaviors (OCBs). These are discretionary behaviors that represent a
willingness to go beyond the call of duty or go the extra mile in
ones work.
A good organizational citizen:
1.

Interpersonal OCBsDoes things that although not

required of them help others (i.e., altruism)

2.

Organizational OCBsAdvance the performance of

the organization as a whole (e.g., doing what needs to
be done, following rules, coming to work on time, and
not wasting time)

Job satisfaction leads to better job performance when

rewarded!

The fairness with which pay is distributed (or, equity) is more important
determinant of pay satisfaction than the actual level of pay
Many studies have shown that older workers are more satisfied with their
jobs than younger workers (lowest level at around 26 to 31)
Identical twins have been found to have similar levels of job satisfaction
despite being reared apart and despite working at dissimilar jobs.
Inherited personality traits such as negative affectivity are related to our
tendency to be satisfied with jobs (Ilies & Judge, 2003)
Dissatisfied employees reported more physical symptoms, such as sleep
problems and upset stomach (Begley & Czajka, 1993; ODriscoll & Beehr,
1994)

Job Satisfaction and CWBs

Job dissatisfaction is often associated with a variety of
counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), behaviours intended to
harm the organization and other people at work, such as coworkers,
supervisors and customers.

Personal AggressionSexual harassment, verbal abuse,

physical abuse, intimidation, humiliation

Production Deviancewasting resources, avoiding work,

disrupting workflow, making deliberate work errors

Political Deviancespreading harmful rumors, gossiping,

using bad language, lacking civility in relationships

Property Deviancedestroying or sabotaging facilities

and equipment, stealing money and other resources

Workplace Stress

STRESS defined
An adaptive response to a situation that is

perceived as challenging or threatening to the

persons well-being.

A state of tension
experienced by individuals
facing extraordinary
demands, constraints, or
opportunities.
20

Sources of Stress: WORK STRESSORS

Sources of Stress: WORK STRESSORS

List of common work stressors include the following:

o Task Demandsbeing asked to do too much or
being asked to do too little (quantitative
workload) or being asked to do very difficult work
relative to ones capabilities (qualitative workload)
o

Role Ambiguitiesthe extent to which

employees are uncertain about what their job
functions and responsibilities are

Role Conflictsarises when people experience incompatible

demands either at work (intrarole) or between work and nonwork (extrarole)

Sources of Stress: LIFE STRESSORS

Forces in the personal lives of people can spillover and

affect them at work, such as:
o

Family Eventse.g., birth of a new child, illness or

death of a loved one
o

Economic Difficultiese.g., sudden

loss of an investment, financial
worries, debts, inflation, etc.

Personal Affairse.g., starting a

new relationship, jealousy, different
values, separation or divorce

Ethical Dilemmasbeing asked to do things

that violate personal values or the law

Interpersonal Problemsexperiencing bad

relationships with coworkers

Career Developmentsmoving too fast and

feeling stretched; moving too slowly and
feeling stuck

Physical Settingnoise, heat, lack of privacy,

pollution, etc.

Work-family conflict is a form of extrarole conflict

in which the demands of work interfere with the
family, for example, having to spend time at work
leaves insufficient time for home, or the demands of
the family interfere with the work, for example,
having to take a sick child to the doctor might
require a person to be absent from work.

Work-family conflict has been linked to anxiety,

depression and physical symptoms, absence and
lateness, dissatisfaction with family life, and
dissatisfaction with life in general
Two of the most frequently used approaches are
flexible work schedules and onsite child care in the
workplace

Consequences of Distress
Physiological

Cardiovascular disease, hypertension and

stroke, headaches, kidney disease,
gastrointestinal disorder, cancer

Behavioral

Smoking, substance abuse, poor work

performance, shorter temper, accidents,
absenteeism, aggression, poor decisions

Psychological

Anger, frustration, job dissatisfaction,

moodiness, depression, emotional fatigue

Job Burnout
Burnout is a distressed psychological state than an employee
might experience after being on the job for a long period of time

Individual Differences in Stress

Emotional exhaustion is the feeling of tiredness and fatigue at work

Depersonalization is the development of a cynical and callous
feeling toward others
Reduced personal
accomplishment is the
feeling that the employee
is not accomplishing
anything worthwhile at
work

WORK SCHEDULES

Different threshold levels of

resistance to stressor
Resilience to stress depends on
personality and use of
different stress coping
strategies

Workaholism
Highly involved in work
Inner pressure to work
Low enjoyment of work

Night Shifts

Many organizations, such as hospitals and police departments, run

24 hours per day, requiring the use of two or three shifts of
workers to cover the entire day
A typical three-shift sequence includes the day shift (8 a.m. to 4
p.m.), the evening shift (swing) (4 p.m. to 12 a.m.) and the night or
graveyard shift (12 a.m. to 8 a.m.)
Some organizations hire people to work a fixed shift (they work
the same shift all the time), while others use rotating shifts
(employees work one shift for a limited time, and then switch to
another shift)
The major health problem with working night shifts is that the
typical sleep/waking cycle is disturbed

Most obvious health problem in working night shifts

is sleep disturbanceeither being unable to fall
asleep or having poor quality of sleep (Daus, Sanders,
& Campbell, 1998)

Barton and Folkard (1991) found that employees on temporary night shifts
had greater sleep problems than employees who worked permanent night
shifts, but the permanent night shift workers were no more likely to have
sleep problems than the day shift workers
Aside from disruption of the circadian rhythm, Koller et al. (1978) believe
that night shift workers get worse sleep because there is more noise during
the day when they are trying to sleep
Digestive system problems have also been shown to be more frequent in
night shift workers because of the decrease in gastrin, a hormone which is
related to stomach acid secretion

Compressed Workweeks

Circadian rhythm
disturbance
Night work
Sleep
disturbance

Physiological and
psychological
effects

Night shift leads to both circadian rhythm disturbance and sleep

problems. These in turn lead to physical problems, such as
stomach upset, and psychological problems, such as anxiety.

Longer shifts than the typical full time work, usually involving either
10 hours a day for 4 days, or 12 hours a day for 3 days
Many employees have jobs that do not have fixed shifts but can
require long work days (truck and bus drivers, police officers)
Some organizations that operate 24 hours per day have gone to two
12-hour shifts per day
Disadvantages: Work fatigue is one important difficulty with the
long work day (Bendak, 2003)
Advantages: More vacation days, more time to spend with family,
opportunity to moonlight, and reduced commuting costs and times
Most organizations provide 2040 minutes of paid breaks during the
workday; employers can give a place to nap

Flexible Work Schedules

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

Although fixed daily work schedules is still the norm, increasingly

organizations have been trying flexible schedules (flextime) that
allow workers to determine, at least in part, the hours of the day
that they work
There are many varieties, from systems requiring only that
employees work their allotted hours per day to systems that allow
employees the option of starting their shift an hour early or an
hour late
From the organizations perspectives, an advantage of a flexible
work schedule is that it allows employees to take care of personal
business on their own time rather than on work time

Frequent Sources of Illness and Injury

Source
Infectious disease
Loud noise
Physical assault (fatal)
Physical assault
(nonfatal)
Repetitive actions and
lifting
Toxic substances

Occupation
Dentist, nurse
Airline baggage, musician
Police officer, taxi driver
Nursing home aide,
psychiatric nurse
Data-entry clerk, nurse
Exterminator, farmer

Physical work conditions tend to have direct

physical effects on people
Sometimes the effects are immediate, as when an
employee is injured in an automobile accident

Other times illness or injury may develop after exposure at work

for many years to a harmful condition (e.g., loud noise or toxic
substance)
Serious illness and injury are almost certainly associated with some
level of psychological distress and trauma
Steps can be taken to avoid or minimize accidents and exposures
to harmful conditions through the adoption of safe workplace
design and safe procedures for doing the job

Safety climate is the shared perception

by employees that safety is important
and they should take steps to work
safely

The climate is reflected in the policies of the organization and in

the practices it adopts that are relevant to safety, such as the use
of personal protective equipment (PPE)
Organizations that are high on safety climate have employees
who behave more safely and have fewer accidents than
organizations that are low on safety climate

Infectious Disease

Reducing Unsafe Acts

1. Identify and try to eliminate potential
risks, such as unguarded equipment
2. Reduce potential distractions, such as
noise, heat, and stress
3. Carefully screen, train, and motivate
employees
4. Praise employees when they choose safe
behaviors
5. Listen when employees offer safety
suggestions, concerns, or complaints
6. Be a good example, for instance, by
following every safety rule and procedure

Universal Precautions, a
set of safety procedures
that can dramatically
reduce exposure. These
include:

Employees who must deal with the public (e.g., hairstylists, police
officers, sales clerks, teachers) may be exposed to infectious
diseases
Exposure to serious infectious diseases is a particular concern to
people in the healthcare professions, who must deal with
seriously ill and dying patients
Murphy, Gershon, and DeJoy (1996) noted that AIDS exposure is a
major source of job stress for healthcare workers, frequently
leading to anxiety and distress
With many employees traveling to and from international
destinations, monitoring and controlling infectious diseases has
become an important safety issue

Sick Building Syndrome

1.
2.
3.
4.

Disposing of sharp objects in a special sharps container.

Wearing disposable gloves when handling blood or bodily
fluids.
Immediately cleaning all bodily fluid spills with disinfectant.
Recapping needles that have been used.

Workplace Smoking

It is not illegal to deny employment to a smoker. A No-Smokers

Hired policy is not discrimination, because smoking is not a
disability

After giving enough notice of

warning and offering
smoking secession
assistance, you can begin
firing or forcing out all
workers who smoke,
including those who do so in
the privacy of their homes

Sealed buildings can produce illnesses

such as itchy eyes and trouble breathing,
a phenomenon some call sick building
syndrome
Emissions from printers and photocopiers
and other chemical pollutants, left
unmonitored, can dramatically reduce air
quality
The solution is to institute continuous
monitoring systems

Loud Noise

Loud noise occurs at many jobs, particularly those involving heavy

equipment or machinery
Airports, construction sites, factories and mines can all be noisy
places, exposing employees to conditions that can affect both their
health and their job performance
The intensity of noise is measured in decibel (dB) units
Exposure to extremely loud noises, such as explosions, can severely
damage a persons sense of hearing, sometimes permanently
Of even more concern at work is continuous exposure to
moderately loud noise that exceeds 85 decibels that if continued
over a period of months or years can lead to permanent hearing
loss

140

Jet airplane at takeoff

120
100

Repetitive Actions

Power saw

80

Trucks and machinery

60

Conversation

40

Bird chirping

20
0

SOURCE: Sound Sense, by National Safety Council,

1992, Itasca, IL: Author.

o Urban transit workers who drive buses or trains are

most at risk for back or neck pain (Greiner & Krause,
2006)
o Nurses are subject to back injury from lifting
patients (Rickett, Orbell, & Sheenan, 2006). Both
kinds of injuries are forms of musculoskeletal
disorder (MSD)

o Position wrists at the same level as the elbow. A

wrist rest can help prevent carpal tunnel
syndrome in people who use computer
o Employees should take a 3 to 5 minute break
from working at the computer every 20 to 40
minutes, and use the time for other tasks, like
making copies.
o Use adjustable chairs with mid-back supports.
Don t stay in one position for long periods.
o Acute lifting injuries can be reduced by the use of
mechanical devices that take the heavy load
(Rickett et al., 2006)

o Those who do a lot of keyboard work or

typing are at risk for carpal tunnel
syndrome, a wrist injury that causes pain,
numbness, and weakness in the fingers and
hands. It is brought on by repeated use of
the fingers and wrist.

Toxic Substances
Many jobs entail exposure to toxic substances, such as employees
in chemical plants, exterminators, and farm workers who use
insecticides
Office workers in enclosed buildings can also be exposed to
various chemicals, such as toners from copying machines or
solvents used to clean ink
Reactions to exposure can range from fairly minor symptoms, such
as headache or nausea, to serious conditions that can permanently
damage vital organs, such as the kidneys or liver
The problem with exposure to many substances is that adverse
health effects such as cancer can take years or decades to develop

Many jobs require repeated physical actions by various body parts

Employees who use computers at work often spend their entire
day typing
Traditional assembly-line work requires workers to perform the
same operation over and over, while other jobs require the lifting
of heavy objects or people
Repetitive actions can result in repetitive strain injuries, in which
the body parts involved can become inflamed and sometimes
permanently damaged
Lifting can result in acute injury, often to the lower back.

Workplace Violence
For most occupations, fatal assaults are extremely rare, and
employees are safer at work than almost anywhere else they might
be
However, there are occupations for which homicide is a more
significant risk, such as taxi drivers, liquor store clerks, police
officers, and gas station attendants
Nonfatal assault is far more common for those who work with the
public
People who work in nursing homes, social service agencies, and
hospitals are at the greater risk of violence by their patients

Four Types of Workplace Violence

Violence Definition
Type
Type 1
Strangers
committing a crime

Guarding Against Workplace Violence

Likely Occupation to
Experience It
Convenience store clerk,
taxi driver

1. Heighten security measures: external lighting, mirrors, alarms

and surveillance cameras, provide training in conflict resolution
and nonviolent response, close establishments during high-risk
hours late at night, zero-tolerance policy toward workplace
violence

Nurse, social worker

2. Improve employee screening: Test for attitude towards revenge

and carefully check references. Be vigilant for prior insubordinate
or violent behavior on the job, criminal history involving harassing
or violent behavior, prior termination for cause with a suspicious
(or no) explanation, history of drug or alcohol abuse, etc.

(no business relation with the

organization)

Type 2
Type 3

Client/Customer/
Patient
Other employees

Type 4

Relationship

Any job with coworker

contact
Any job

(relationship violence that

spills over to the workplace)

Dismissing Violent Employees

1. Anticipate, based on the persons history, what kind of aggressive
behavior to expect
2. Have a security guard nearby when the dismissal takes place
3. Clear away furniture and things the person might throw
4. Don t wear loose clothing that the person might grab
5. Don t make it sound as if you re accusing the employee; instead, say
that according to company policy, you re required to take action
6. Maintain the person s dignity and try to emphasize something good
about the employee
7. Provide job counseling for terminated employees, to help get the
employee over the traumatic post-dismissal adjustment
8. Consider obtaining restraining orders against those who have
exhibited a tendency to act violently in the workplace

References
1. Aamodt, M. G. (2010). Industrial and organizational psychology:
An applied approach (6th ed.). CA: Cengage Learning
2. Dessler, G. (2013). Human resource management (13th ed.). New
Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
3. McShane, S.L., & Von Glinow, M.A. (2010). Organizational
behavior: Emerging knowledge and practice for the real world
(5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
4. Spector, P.E. (2008). Industrial and organizational behavior:
Research and practice (5th ed.). NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.