Industry: Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Company: EB Jacobs, LLC
Speaker: Rick Jacobs, CEO
INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
In order to better understand who Rick Jacobs is and what he does, let us first examine an
analysis of what his profession is and what his business provides. Industrial Organizational
Psychology is the scientific study of the workplace. The motto for the Society for Industrial and
Organizational Psychology, Inc. is “Integrating science and practice at work,” (SIOP).
The work of Industrial Organizational Psychologists involves a variety of tasks. Their
ultimate goal is to improve employee and employer satisfaction as they are often hired as
consultants to solve a particular problem within a company or organization. These psychologists
help develop several strategies to improve businesses and organizations. Some of the other
elements that they provide is to recruit workers that fit to that specific organization and help
develop effective hiring practices for selection and promotion. They ultimately want to create a
positive working environment in order to better understand and evaluate human behavior to
better employee job satisfaction.
http://www.siop.org/visibilitybrochure/memberbrochure.aspx
http://www.siop.org/media/What.aspx
http://www.allpsychologyschools.com/psychology-careers/career/industrial-organizationalpsychology
INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY LABOR STATISTICS
This type of profession has employment of 1710 people with their average annual wage
ranging to about $102,570. The top five percent earn about $250,000 or more yearly. Certain
Industries that provide the highest level of employment include management and
Scientific/Technical Consulting Services. The U.S. states that have the highest concentration of
workers are Massachusetts with 220 workers, Maryland with 90 workers, and Missouri with 60
workers.
All information from http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes193032.htm#(3)
WHAT DOES I-O PSYCHOLOGY ENTAIL?
Industrial psychology is a relatively new branch of psychology that was created for
corporations and organizations that needed more structure. Industrial psychology is able to
provide this structure by evaluating employee behavior for the good of the company. It is often
referred to as organizational psychology because of its emphasis on analyzing individuals who
work for various organizations. Essentially, industrial psychologists study the behavior of
employees in a work setting. Although industrial psychology didn't begin until the 1920's, the
discipline has evolved rapidly and revolutionized the workplace within the last century. Because
the workplace is a social system, the application of industrial psychology is useful in
understanding its complexity.
This industrial psychology evaluates the interaction between people and their jobs. These
psychologists can be used to improve the productivity of the company as well as the job
satisfaction of employees in order to make the organization a success. These psychologists
observe and analyze people’s skills, duties, obligations, and the overall satisfactions of their
current employment. Several organizations use industrial psychologists to help train their own
staff to create the smooth running of the organization.
This is a great way for employee behavior to be affected and evaluated with the help of
an industrial psychologist. They can help to eliminate or reduce any counterproductive behavior
in within an organizations team and ultimately boost great team morale. Industrial psychologists
are vitally important in conflict resolution between employees and management.
Industrial Psychology is a mixture of counseling, anthropology, and sociology which
incorporate several key components into its teachings. Some of these components include
evaluating employee’s personalities and the biological side of their behaviors.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-industrial-psychology.htm
About EB Jacobs, LLC
On January 1st, 2004, EB Jacobs purchased the public safety division of SHL Landy
Jacobs to enable the staff to focus on the public safety market in the US and to
broadly continue its tradition of excellence in assessment. This move has enabled the
professional staff in State College, PA and at the three regional locations, to create a
new initiative of growth within the public sector research arena, as well as a new
vitality for continuing its 25-year history of supporting law enforcement, fire and
other public sector agencies in HR programs. Dr. Rick Jacobs, President and CEO,
oversees the consulting and research practice with Dr. Janet Echemendia providing
direct supervision of public safety applications. Both Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Echemendia
are located in the State College, Pennsylvania office. With the new organization has
come an initiative to grow the company’s presence in private sector consulting and
with the addition of Chuck Boyle in Austin, Texas who serves as the Chairman, they
are now expanding their work to include assessment services to a wide audience of
new clients.
Who are they – They are a group of dedicated industrial and organizational
psychologists interested in solving issues facing people at work. Broadly trained they
are capable of bringing a talented team to help solve problems ranging from selection
and promotion to training and development. They believe in the science of
assessment and apply our experiences to expertise in a way that maximizes results.
Accessible and Approachable – They gain an understanding of the needs (or
“identify the needs”) of a company, and respond swiftly with ideas and
approaches. They work closely with the companies to partner on solutions. Their
current clients report that the partnerships they have established have helped advance
their work and have given them confidence that they will be a continuing source of
assistance.
Flexible and Adaptive, Capable of meeting your needs – They bring proven
assessment methods to their clients and then work with them to adapt these methods
to their specific needs. In some cases, tools exist that provide an immediate solution.
Other times they develop new assessment programs tailored to the exact
specifications necessary.
Scientific – Their background and training allow them to create programs that are
state-of-the-art, relying on the most current products and processes. They enjoy an
international reputation as applied psychologists.
Practical – They believe strongly that even the best scientific solution is useless if
they cannot put it into practice. They work diligently to make sure that the solutions
fit into the clients environment and that they can be managed by their professional
staff. EB Jacobs has a track record of creating complex selection and other
assessment programs and then partnering with organizations to make them
operationally successful.
Where they are – EB Jacobs operate out of their corporate headquarters in State
College, Pennsylvania. This unique location allows them to tap the vast resources of
the faculty at Penn State University so they can approach virtually any issue across
the spectrum of organizations, from assessing executives to selecting transportation
drivers.
What they do – They assess jobs, people and organization and apply the science of
assessment to help organizations better understand the jobs they have, the people who
make up their staff, and those that they are considering hiring. EB Jacobs work with
full awareness of the latest research and applied programs as well as the governing
guidelines and laws.
Who are their clients – Their client list includes organizations from all parts of this
country and several operating across both the Atlantic and the Pacific. They work to
solve applied problems in virtually any location and work for a wide variety of
business sectors from banking to manufacturing to sales to transportation to public
safety.
Sources
“Building Better Organizations; Industrial Organizational Psychology in the Workplace.”
Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology, Inc. 2009. Web. 31 Jan. 2011
<http://www.siop.org/default.aspx>
EB Jacobs, LLC. 2006. Web. 30. Jan 2011. <http://www.ebjacobs.com/index.html>
http://www.allpsychologyschools.com/psychology-careers/career/industrial-organizationalpsychology
“Occupational Employment and Wages, Industrial-Organizational Psychologists.” Bureau of
Labor Statistics. 14 May. 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2011
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes193032.htm#(3)
http://www.ebjacobs.com/General/aboutUs.html