PSY 320
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Fall II 2007
INSTRUCTOR
STAFF
PHONE:
EMAIL:
FAX:
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Title
Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Understanding the
Workplace
Author(s) Levy, P. E.
Copyright (2006).
Publisher Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN
0618526404
Edition
2nd Edition
This Course Requires the Purchase of a Course Packet:
YES
NO
Argosy University
COURSE SYLLABUS
PSY320
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Faculty Information
Faculty Name: STAFF
Campus:
Contact Information:
Office Hours:
Short Faculty Bio:
Course description: Application of the theories and research in psychology to industrial and social organizations, including topics such as personnel, human
factors, organizational development, and welfare of the consumer. Examination of the ethical and legal dimensions of conducting psychological research and
practice in the workplace.
Course Pre-requisites: PSY101
Required Textbook:
Levy, P. E. (2006). Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Understanding the Workplace. 2nd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0618526404
Course length: 7.5 Weeks
Contact Hours: 45 Hours
Credit Value: 3.0
Program Outcomes:
1.
Cognitive Abilities
1.1. Critical Thinking - Given a psychological issue, employ skeptical inquiry and a scientific approach to respond to the issue.
1.2. Information Literacy - Given a research question related to psychology, access information from a variety of sources and select appropriate sources to
respond to the question.
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Research
2.1. Understanding Research Methods – Given an article about research findings in the field of psychology from a scholarly journal, identify the research
methods used and the findings of the article.
2.2. Identifying Research Methods – Identify the appropriate statistical tools and basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data
analysis, and interpretation.
Communication Skills
3.1. Oral - Effectively present psychological concepts orally as appropriate to the audience.
3.2. Written - Effectively present psychological information, in writing, using software and style appropriate to the audience.
Ethics/Diversity
4.1. Ethics - Identify the issues and challenges related to ethics in the field of psychology.
4.2. Diversity - Identify the issues and challenges related to diversity in the field of psychology.
Knowledge of the Field
5.1. Foundations – Recognize the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, applications, and historical trends in psychology.
Knowledge of Applied Psychology
6.1. Apply psychological principles to personal, social, and/or organizational issues.
7. Interpersonal Effectiveness
Students will develop and improve positive relationship skills via effective communication, respect for others, appreciation of diversity and cultural
sensitivity, and awareness of their impact on others.
7.1 Apply active listening communication skills in interpersonal and organizational scenarios to establish empathetic, collegial relationships that facilitate
consensus building in working toward common goals and are appreciative of diversity and culture.
7.2 Analyze the importance of effective nonverbal communication skills in developing strong interpersonal and organizational relationships that are
culturally sensitive and respectful of diversity.
7. 3 Solicit and utilize feedback to develop adaptable strategies of facilitating dynamic interpersonal and organizational relationships.
7. 4 Analyze the impact of technological advances on communication within interpersonal and organizational relationships.
7. 5 Utilize effective communication and relationship skills in order to promote the growth of others and effect change.
Course Objectives:
1.
2.
Understand how the field of Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology benefits organizations and people. (Program Outcome(s): 5, & 6)
1.1. Analyze how the field of I/O psychology contributes to the growth and effective management of organizations.
1.2. Analyze the positive impact of the field of Industrial/Organizational psychology on people.
Understand the application of the scientific method to I/O Psychology. (Program Outcome(s): 3.1, 5, & 6)
2.1. Analyze the goals of applying scientific methods in I/O Psychology.
2.2. Examine the effects of interaction among experimental variables.
2.3. Analyze measurement topics in the scientific method.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
2.4. Discuss basic statistical analysis procedures.
Examine the basic concepts and components of job analysis and job evaluation. (Program Outcome(s): 3.1, & 5)
3.1. Familiarize with terminology related to job analysis and job evaluation.
3.2. Perform job analysis by using current job analysis inventories.
3.3. Examine job descriptions and job specifications.
3.4. Discuss the various human resource functions.
Comprehend the purposes of performance appraisals and their various formats with a specific focus on legal issues related to performance appraisals.
(Program Outcome(s): 3.1, 5, & 6)
4.1. Evaluate the purpose of performance appraisals.
4.2. Analyze the various performance appraisals formats.
4.3. Discuss the legal and technical guidelines associated with performance appraisals.
4.4. Discuss discrimination in performance appraisal.
Identify and critically evaluate the different training methods and techniques utilized in the workplace. (Program Outcome(s): 3.1, & 5)
5.1. Examine various training techniques.
5.2. Discuss the principles of training methods that impact training success.
5.3. Examine the importance of managerial training.
5.4. Examine the criteria used for training evaluation.
Examine the importance of worker motivation to I/O Psychology and understand the need-motive-value theories of motivation. (Program Outcome(s): 3.1,
5, & 6)
6.1. Discuss the concept of worker motivation.
6.2. Differentiate between worker motivation and worker performance.
6.3. Discuss the four need-motive value theories of the motivation perspective.
Investigate how attitudes influence worker behavior and explore the dimensions of job satisfaction. (Program Outcome(s): 5, & 6)
7.1. Analyze the role that attitudes play in predicting worker behavior.
7.2. Examine how job satisfaction is determined and measured.
Identify common stressors associated with the workplace and how employees can use effective coping strategies to manage stress. (Program Outcome(s):
1.1, 3.1, 5, & 6)
8.1. Differentiate between workplace stressors and strains.
8.2. Discuss coping strategies to manage stress at the workplace.
Assignment Table
1
Topics
 Industrial/Organizational Psychology
o History of I/O Psychology
o Importance of I/O Psychology
Readings
Levy
Chapter 1
Assignments
Discussion Questions:
1.
Although management theories and practices have existed in different
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o Careers in the Field of I/O
Psychology
o Training I/O Psychologists
forms for many centuries, I/O psychology, as we know it today, did not
begin to develop until the industrial revolution. Over the last century, I/O
psychology has helped change the nature of organizations. Beginning with
the changing needs of the workplace during and after the industrial
revolution, continuing with the two world wars, and now focusing on
global economics, the field of I/O psychology is continually changing.
a. How has I/O psychology evolved over time? How do you think it will
continue to change?
b. How would today’s workplace be different if not for the impact of I/O
psychology?
2.
The Hawthorne Studies originated as an examination of physical
surroundings on productivity. Although this was the original intent of this
research, interesting data emerged about the importance of social aspects
of the workplace. Researchers concluded that although the physical
aspects of work were important, the psychological aspects of work
required important consideration when understanding worker productivity.
a. Discuss how you think the Hawthorne Studies changed the areas of
focus for I/O psychologists.
b. Do you think I/O psychologists would focus on topics such as
satisfaction, motivation, and leadership if not for the findings of the
Hawthorne Studies? Why or why not?
c. If these topics were studied, how would they differ from the way they
are examined currently?
d. What do you think would happen today if the social aspects of work
were ignored? Would a study that ignored the psychological side of
the workplace be credible in today’s environment?
3.
The current workplace is different from what it was 100 years ago and
different from what it was 20 years ago. We work in a global economy,
using various technological advances and among a highly diverse
workforce. Earlier, the expectation used to be that workers would remain
at one company for their entire career. Currently, this is rare. With
downsizing and company mergers making headlines constantly,
organizations are undergoing a constant change.
a. What roles do I/O psychologists play in modern organizations?
b. Discuss the impact of technology, globalization, corporate
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c.
restructuring, and diversity on employees and the workplace.
How do I/O skills help organizations function efficiently within this
transformed world?
Assignments:
1.
The Scientist/Practitioner Model
Jack is an organizational development executive at Techzone
Communications, an international communications and technology
company. He has completed his PhD in I/O psychology and has been
working at Techzone for seven years. Although he did research during his
PhD studies, he has not been involved in academics since that time.
a. Do you think Jack can be considered a scientist/practitioner? Discuss
why or why not.
b. Describe the scientist/practitioner model for I/O psychologists
advocated by Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
(SIOP).
c. Why do you think the scientist/practitioner model is useful in I/O
psychology?
d. How might a model, in which scientists and practitioners are distinct,
be problematic?
e. How is the scientist/practitioner model demonstrated throughout the
history of I/O psychology?
2.
Final Project
The senior management of the Florida Sun Company wants to consult you,
an Industrial/Organizational psychologist, to ensure that their search for
Senior Staffing Manager is successful. They want to make sure that only
qualified candidates apply and hope that the recruitment process is quick
and efficient.
The scientist/practitioner model maintains that I/O psychologists perform
research as well as apply that knowledge to the workplace.
a. How would you as a scientist/practitioner, help the senior
management at Florida Sun Company attain their goals?
b. Why is it important for you, as an I/O psychologist, to combination
research and practice that exemplifies the scientist/practitioner model?
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2
 Research Methods
o Research Terminology
o Data Collection
o Statistics
Levy
Chapter 2
Discussion Questions:
1.
LQB Industries is a national manufacturing firm that has incorporated
flextime for many of its employees for the past 12 months. Howard works
for LQB Industries as an I/O psychologist. He is responsible for studying
the impact of flextime on worker productivity. He needs to decide the data
collection technique that is most appropriate for this research project.
a. Which technique(s) do you think Howard should use to collect the
data? Why should he use this technique? What are the potential
problems associated with this technique?
b. Why is it useful to implement more than one data collection
technique?
c. If Howard finds a relationship between flextime and productivity, do
you think this relationship is applicable for all types of jobs and levels
at LQB Industries? Why or why not? How would you test for this?
2.
Your university has invited a famous I/O psychologist to address the
audience in a seminar. The psychologist delivers a lecture regarding how
multiple research designs can be used to study I/O psychology.
a. While you are attending the seminar, the psychologist addresses you
and asks the following questions. How would you answer?
b. Describe research that may best be conducted using laboratory
experiments, field experiments, quasi-experiments, and observational
methods.
c. Are there situations where one or more of these methods are not
feasible?
d. What circumstances may prevent you from using a particular type of
research design? Be sure that you provide examples.
3.
You are interested in understanding how a manager’s leadership style
impacts the performance of a work group. You are trying to decide the
best way to design a research study to examine this relationship and want
to try to maximize both internal and external validity as well as control
over extraneous variables.
a. To what extent does the type of research design used impact the extent
of internal and external validity? What research design might you
choose to study this topic?
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b.
c.
d.
Why is there a need for control of extraneous variables when
conducting research, and why is it important?
Let’s say you think the leader’s gender might be an extraneous
variable in this study. Discuss three techniques you might use to
control for this variable and how those techniques would be used in
this study.
Is control always possible or desirable? What conclusions can we
draw about a study that lacks control?
Assignments:
1.
Hypothesis Creation
Employee retention at New York Gen Company has steadily decreased
over the last 18 months.
As a member of the Human Resources team for the New York Gen
Company, you have been asked to assist with a study to try to determine
the factors related to employee attrition at New York Gen Company. As
the first step, the team will create a hypothesis for this study.
a. Describe your hypothesis for this study, and describe how you would
test your assumptions by stating the following:
i) Utilized research design
ii) Reasons for choosing the research design
iii) Variables used in the study
iv) Applied data collection techniques
v) Reasons for choosing the data collection techniques
vi) Potential problems you may encounter while conducting your
research
vii) Strategies for minimizing these problems
b. Since a hypothesis predicts the relationship between two or more
factors, your hypothesis may follow these examples:
i) “Employees who are __________________ are more likely to
leave New York Gen Company than employees who are not
________________.”
ii) “Candidates who have ___________________ are less likely to
accept a job at New York Gen Company than candidates who
have not __________________.”
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iii) Use the table provided in the template to create your hypothesis.
2.
Final Project
Employee attrition is of major concern to executives at Florida Sun
Company. It is critical that Florida Sun Company hires new employees to
replace their former employees, which is the reason they are involved in
the job search for Senior Staffing Manager.
One of the major responsibilities of the Senior Staffing Manager will be to
fill specific positions vacated by the former employees of Florida Sun
Company. However, unless the company can determine why employees
are leaving, it also faces the risk of abrupt exit of the newly hired
employees as well.
You are hired to research the factors impacting attrition at Florida Sun
Company.
a. What type of data collection technique would you use to conduct this
study?
b. What variables would you include in this study?
c. Why would you choose these measures?
3
 Job Analysis
o Approaches to Job Analysis
o Purposes of Job Analysis
o Job Evaluation
o Organizational Citizenship
Behaviors
Levy
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
After the data from this study is collected, you analyze the results. You
find that there is a moderate, positive correlation (r = 0.4) between one of
the independent variables — satisfaction with one’s supervisor — and the
likelihood of leaving the organization.
d. What does this tell you?
e. What percentage of the variance in “likelihood of leaving the
organization” is accounted for by satisfaction with the supervisor?
Discussion Questions:
1.
You are a job applicant interested in the position of Marketing Manager at
Jay Marketing. Following is a description of the required profile:
Primary Responsibilities of the
Marketing Manager:
Research and implement effective
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marketing strategies and best practices.
Act as a liaison between clients and Jay
Marketing.
Interact with brand managers to ensure a
consistent brand experience.
Utilize market research metrics as a
measure of successful ad placement.
Oversee market research and focus
groups.
Select and partner with various brands to
conduct marketing tie-ins.
Take a proactive approach to problemsolving, and provide leadership in
resolving issues within the marketing
department.
Perform project work as assigned.
An Ideal Candidate:
Education Level: BA/BS in marketing or
a related field required; MA/MS in
marketing or a related field preferred
Experience in marketing required,
leadership experience a plus
Exceptional consulting and account
management skills required
Statistical knowledge preferred
Excellent interpersonal and
communication skills
Exceptional organizational skills
Exemplifies the values of Florida Sun
Company
You apply for the job and are asked to appear for an interview.
a. Do you think the job description is comprehensive enough to allow
potential candidates to determine if they are qualified for and
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b.
interested in the job? Why or why not?
What do you think are the similarities and differences between this
job posting and those you have seen? Use specific examples of other
job postings in your response.
2.
Important considerations in any HR assessment are the legal implications
of such decisions. Cheryl is the HR director for an organization accused of
favoring male employees for promotions.
a. Assuming her organization had conducted comprehensive job
analyses, how should Cheryl investigate this claim?
b. Is it possible that even if job analyses were conducted, Cheryl’s
organization may be guilty of favoring male employees?
3.
Jane is a middle level employee in the marketing department at The
Syman Group, which owns and manages several national department store
chains.
Jane has been doing all that is required of her job and more. She is
punctual, maintains perfect attendance, completes all of her work quickly
and efficiently, and gets along well with others. She even volunteers to
take on boring and difficult assignments. In fact, there were several times
over the past month that Jane stayed late at work, without overtime pay, to
help a colleague meet a deadline.
Discuss which of the above criteria are objective and subjective.
a. For what types of jobs are objective criteria ideal? Provide examples
of at least three jobs that can best be measured by objective criteria.
b. For what types of jobs are subjective criteria ideal? Provide examples
of at least three jobs that can be best measured by subjective criteria.
c. Do you think any job relies solely on either objective criteria or
subjective criteria? If so, describe such a job. If not, why not?
Assignments:
1.
Grade Point Average
John is a good student with a 3.4 Grade Point Average (GPA). He works
hard at school and is proud of his grades. His brother, Steve, has a 3.8
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GPA. John’s parents are constantly remarking about how smart Steve is
and assume that Steve is a much better student than John, based on their
GPAs.
a. Is it necessarily true that Steve is smarter than John? In this situation,
what is the ultimate criterion? What is the actual criterion?
b. Indicate the potential area(s) of criterion relevance as well as criterion
deficiency and criterion contamination.
c. Which other information would you need to maximize the amount of
criterion relevance?
2.
4
 Performance Appraisal
o Contextual Approaches
o Predictors of Performance
o Classification of Tests
Levy
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Final Project
Before creating the job description for Senior Staffing Manager, the
executives at Florida Sun Company conducted an in-depth job analysis.
a. Do you think conducting an in-depth job analysis was the critical first
step? Provide reasons.
b. What potential problems can the executives face if they create a job
description without first conducting a job analysis?
c. Which aspects of the above job description do you think may have
resulted from job-oriented job analysis techniques?
d. Which aspects of the job description do you think were products of
worker-oriented job analysis techniques?
Consider that Senior Staffing Manager is a newly created position at
Florida Sun Company.
e. How will you conduct a job analysis on a newly created position?
f. How will the information for this job analysis be gathered?
g. After Florida Sun Company hires a Senior Staffing Manager, how can
this job analysis continue to be useful?
h. Do you think the company will need to conduct another job analysis
for this position in the future? Why or why not?
Discussion Questions:
1.
Performance appraisal plays a significant role in almost every
organization.
Think about the performance appraisals you have received, either on the
job or at school.
a. Which method was used? Did you think the performance appraisal
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b.
c.
2.
was fair?
Discuss the three main applications of performance appraisal. Why do
you think these applications are so important?
Why do you think it is important to understand an employee’s
perception of his or her performance appraisal, in terms of both the
process and actual evaluation?
Gloria is a middle level employee in the marketing department at Aqfa
Communications, which owns several renowned magazines.
Gloria is a hardworking and efficient employee. She is punctual and
avoids tardiness. She is also popular among her colleagues. She never says
no to her work and completes difficult assignments in time. She often stays
late at work, without overtime pay, whenever there is a deadline to meet.
Last month, Gloria and her colleagues had their semiannual performance
reviews. Although she received a good review, it was similar to most of
her colleagues. Considering all the extra time and effort she had put in her
work, Gloria was surprised that her review was so similar to her
colleagues’ reviews.
a. Provide at least two different explanations for these similar
performance appraisals despite Gloria’s assumption that her
performance would be rated better.
b. What, if anything, can Gloria do to stand out from her colleagues?
c. Do you think the performance appraisal process at Aqfa
Communications provides accurate assessment?
3.
Your friend Liam plans to become a corporate recruiter and wants to know
how structured and unstructured interviews are different. He is also
curious about the advantages and disadvantages of structured and
unstructured interviews.
a. Answering his questions, describe situations that may be most
appropriate for structured interviews and situations that may be most
appropriate for unstructured interviews.
b. In addition, Liam remarks that studies show that interviews are not
good predictors of job performance. Why, then, do you think
interviews are still so popular?
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Assignments:
1.
Personality Inventory
Samantha recently completed a personality inventory as part of her
executive training program. She was supposed to receive a printout of her
results but got only the first page of the packet. This page indicated that
she scored moderately high in Openness to Experience and Agreeableness,
very high in Conscientiousness and Extraversion, and low in Neuroticism.
However, the page offered no analysis of these findings because the
analysis was a part of missing pages.
She has contacted HR to obtain the remaining pages of her feedback
because she is interested in knowing what the results mean.
a. Based on the Big Five model of personality, explain the findings to
Samantha.
b. Include the explanations of each dimension of personality, and
provide examples of each. Be sure to discuss research findings
regarding personality measures and job performance.
c. Do you think Samantha’s personality test suggests that she will be a
successful manager? Why or why not?
2.
Final Project
Mark and Kathy work together in the Finance department of the Florida
Sun Company, and they both report to Paul. The employees at Florida Sun
Company receive performance appraisals in the form of graphic rating
scales every six months. Items in the performance appraisal include:
Employee:
 Consistently shows up for work in time.
 Works well with others.
 Produces accurate work.
 Attends all required meetings and conferences.
 Is friendly.
 Submits work in time.
 Demonstrates leadership abilities.
After their recent performance appraisals, Mark learned that Kathy
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5
 Selection Decisions
o Test Validation
o Legal Issues in I/O Psychology
o Assessing training Needs
o Training Methods
Levy
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
received a favorable review from Paul than he did. Mark now believes that
Paul tends to favor female employees, and this explains why his
performance appraisal was less favorable than Kathy’s. In this regard, he
forwards his complaint to you, the HR director in the Finance department
at Florida Sun Company.
a. You have not witnessed Mark or Kathy’s actual work behavior. How
can you try to determine whether Paul demonstrated bias against
Mark? To what extent do you think the rating format used in Mark
and Kathy’s performance appraisals influenced the difference in their
ratings?
b. In addition to graphic rating scales, which other kinds of rating
formats can be used? What are the advantages and disadvantages of
each of these formats?
c. Describe various types of rating errors. How can these rating errors be
minimized?
d. If you were to devise a strategy to improve performance appraisal,
what would you recommend? How would you ensure that the
appraisal process is objective?
Discussion Questions:
1.
Eastern Financial Company recently experienced a corporate restructuring.
Because some new jobs were added and some old jobs eliminated, many
job responsibilities changed. Human Resources (HR) hired an
Organizational Development (OD) consultant, Joe, to help moderate the
various changes in the corporate structure.
Because of the restructuring, the selection criteria used in the past needed
to be updated. Joe recommended additional selection measures and
planned to conduct some validation studies of the old and new selection
criteria. Depending on the results of these validation studies, he
recommended eliminating or revising some of the selection methods used.
a. Based on your view of predictive validity, how do you think Joe
would demonstrate that the old and new selection criteria at Eastern
Financial Company predict job performance after the corporate
restructuring? What steps would Joe need to take to do this?
b. Based on your view of concurrent validity, when would it be useful to
study the concurrent validity of a measure? Should Joe try to
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c.
demonstrate concurrent validity?
Would it be useful to determine both predictive and concurrent
validity of selection measures at Eastern Financial Company? Why?
2.
Danielle worked in the records department at Taylor Pharmaceuticals.
About a month after she joined, Dawn started her job in the organization.
Danielle‘s supervisor asked her to train Dawn by allowing Dawn to sit
with her and instructing her on her daily responsibilities.
a. Do you think this an effective training method? Why or why not?
b. What potential problems could occur here, if any? How would the
training method used affect Danielle’s work?
c. How can Danielle and Dawn’s supervisor ensure that Dawn receives
quality training?
d. Despite its limitations, on-the-job training (OJT) is the most
commonly used training technique in most organizations. Do you
think it is equally useful at all job levels and for all job types?
e. What are the advantages and disadvantages of OJT?
3.
Star Communications underwent a complete corporate restructuring. A
few jobs were eliminated, and some new jobs were added. As a result, a
few employees acquired new responsibilities. For employees to function
efficiently in these new or changed jobs, Mark, the OD consultant,
recommended that the employees undergo training.
a. Discuss the various levels of analysis Mark should undertake to assess
the training needs of Star Communications. Why is it critical that
Mark assess each of these levels? What might happen if Mark
neglected to conduct, say, an organizational analysis?
b. Based on this scenario, what would you expect organizational
analysis, task analysis, and person analysis to conclude?
c. What are the factors that encourage a high degree of positive transfer
of training?
Assignments:
1.
Selection Battery
The executives at NR Electronics want to ensure the validity of their
selection batteries. They also want to ensure that their selection batteries
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are useful and cost-efficient.
The utility of a selection battery is determined by a number of factors,
including:
 Decision accuracy.
 The base rate of successful employees.
 Selection ratio.
 Cost.
a. Discuss your views regarding each factor. Consider the impact of high
unemployment on each factor, and describe the effects of having a
large applicant pool for a small number of available jobs.
b. Which is the most important — validity or utility? Discuss. Do you
think most organizations value validity and utility equally?
2.
6
 Motivation
o Motivational Theories and Their
Application
o Job Attitudes
o Job Satisfaction
o Organizational Commitment
o Organizational Justice
Levy
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Final Project
You are a member of the selection committee to interview candidates for
the Senior Staffing Manager position at Florida Sun Company. The
committee narrows down to eight candidates who will participate in a
variety of selection methods, including group and individual interviews, a
cognitive ability test, a personality test, and an integrity test. The four best
candidates will then participate in assessment center exercises.
a. List at least two advantages and two disadvantages for each of these
selection methods.
b. Why does the committee want to reduce the number of candidates to
four before conducting assessment center exercises? What information
would these assignments provide that other selection methods do not?
c. Do you think the selection methods used for the position of Senior
Staffing Manager are appropriate? Should all the above methods be
used? Should more selection methods be added?
Discussion Questions:
1.
Janice is currently enrolled in a course entitled “Sociology in America.”
The course has a number of requirements, including completing the
required reading and assignments, participating in class, and preparing a
final project.
a. What factors do you think would motivate Janice to complete and
excel in these requirements?
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b.
If you could use one of the motivation theories as a framework to
explain why she is motivated to work hard to successfully complete
this course, which one would it be and why?
2.
Research found no strong relationship between job satisfaction and job
performance — Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985.
a. However, job satisfaction remains one of the most researched topics
in I/O psychology.
b. Why do you think researchers are interested in the relationship
between job satisfaction and job performance?
c. How are the consequences of job satisfaction important to
organizations?
d. What would you suggest organizations do to increase job satisfaction?
Do you think increased job satisfaction is related to job performance?
3.
Each employee who works for Triangle Development Group for an entire
fiscal year receives a bonus in June. Lila has worked for Triangle
Development Group for seven years. As a result, she has received bonuses
every June for seven years.
The organization hires a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who decides
to make some changes in how bonuses are distributed. A major change is
made to the bonus structure. Bonuses are now merit-based. Based on
performance appraisals, only those employees whose job performance
exceeds expectations and who make significant contributions receive
bonuses.
The CFO sends out a memo to all employees at the beginning of the fiscal
year describing this change. The memo outlines the criteria that would be
used to determine employee bonuses.
a. Do you think the employees would consider the change to the bonus
distribution fair? Why or why not?
b. What is the role of organizational justice in the bonus distribution
process?
c. How relevant are the following in the employees’ perceptions of
fairness:
 Distributive justice
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

Procedural justice
Interactional justice
Assignments:
1.
Organizational Commitment
Susie worked for Ace Enterprises for 12 years. She was always happy with
her work and felt like she belonged at Ace Enterprises and didn’t want to
leave. Many of her friends were her coworkers, and she played on the
company softball team.
The management at Ace Enterprises helped Susie advance in her career.
The organization provided her with training opportunities and stood by her
when she needed to take time off to deal with personal problems.
Recently, Susie’s friends and family suggested that a person with her
credentials would have plenty of job opportunities and that she should find
a better paying, more interesting job elsewhere. However, Susie told them
she preferred to stay at Ace Enterprises. Not only did she like her job and
coworkers, but also felt that they gave her a lot in return for her work.
Answer the questions based on the following three components of
organizational commitment:
 Affective commitment
 Continuance commitment
 Normative commitment
a. What are your views of Susie’s commitment to her organization?
Based on Susie’s experiences at Ace Enterprises, provide examples of
each of the three components of organizational commitment.
b. Why should organizations be concerned with organizational
commitment? What, if anything, should executives do to encourage
organizational commitment in their employees?
2.
Final Project
Florida Sun Company hires Frank for the position of Senior Staffing
Manager at an annual salary of $40,000. This is far below the national
average salary of $65,000 for this type of position. Although Frank feels
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7
 Stress and Worker Well-Being
o Environment and Well-Being
o Work-Family Conflict
o Social Influence in Groups
Levy
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
the salary is low, he takes the job because he feels the organization may
recognize him and allow him to advance to higher-paying jobs in the
future.
a. According to Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory of motivation, is Frank
likely to be dissatisfied on the job because of his low salary? Why or
why not? According to this theory, what aspects of this job may lead
to job satisfaction?
b. Choose one of the theories of motivation to address the following:
 Identify factors that may affect motivation.
 Justify how these factors affect motivation levels.
 Summarize the potential problems an employer faces regarding
motivational issues.
 Include suggestions for an employer to increase motivation.
Discussion Questions:
1.
Walt, your neighbor, retired 15 years ago. He enjoys reading about
business issues in newspapers and magazines.
Walt is unable to understand why there is a lot of discussion about stress in
the workplace. He tells you that when he was working, neither did he feel
stressed, nor did he hear about his coworkers being stressed.
a. How would you explain to Walt why many workers are stressed?
b. Discuss some antecedents to stress in the workplace and whether these
factors are more common now than when Walt was working.
c. Provide your views about why employers should be concerned about
worker stress.
2.
David and Sarah are married and have two young children. Both David
and Sarah have full-time jobs. David is an accountant, and Sarah is a
lawyer.
Sarah is working on a tough case at work and often comes home from
work in a bad mood. She takes out her frustration on David and the
children by yelling and losing patience with them. David concludes that
Sarah’s on-the-job stress is affecting her behavior at home.
a. Which model of work-family conflict do you think best explains what
Sarah is experiencing — the spillover model, the compensation
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b.
c.
3.
model, or the segmentation model?
If you were an employer, what types of work-life supports would you
offer?
Discuss the advantages, risks, and considerations of each.
Groups form in various types of organizations such as schools, the
workplace, and social clubs.
a. Think about an organization of which you are currently or were
formerly a member.
i) Using examples from your personal experience, describe some of
the norms and roles within the organization and the way those are
communicated to organizational members. What would happen if
you violated a norm or role?
ii) Do you consider the organization to be cohesive? How does the
level of group cohesiveness affect outcomes such as group
productivity or members’ satisfaction with group membership?
b. Cohesive groups often fall prey to groupthink. There are many
examples in history where groupthink has had disastrous
consequences.
i) Discuss one such case where a cohesive group made a disastrous
decision due to groupthink.
Assignments:
1.
Decision Making in Groups
You are a consultant hired to help improve the productivity of Celia Jane,
a medium-sized furniture design firm. Celia Jane always kept up with the
competition but now would like to gain some market share and expand its
business.
Traditionally, employees at Celia Jane work in groups of eight. John, the
CEO of Celia Jane, believes that working in groups aids creativity and
productivity. As the consultant, however, you know that working in groups
also has some negative consequences.
a. Explain to John the factors that lead to ineffective decision making in
groups, taking into consideration the following terms:
 Social loafing
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b.
c.
 Free riding
 The sucker effect
 Process loss
 Groupthink
How does each factor affect the organization’s productivity?
John also believes that one great advantage of working in groups is
brainstorming. As the consultant, suggest what he can do to ensure
brainstorming is as effective as possible.
2.
8
 Leadership
o Leadership Theories
o Diversity and Leadership
o Organizational Theory
o Organizational Development
Levy
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Final Project
Florida Sun Company hires Kevin, a 35-year-old father of two, as a
financial analyst in its Cable Network department. The job responsibilities
for this position are demanding. In fact, Joan, the person who formerly
held this position, quit because of work pressure. In her exit interview, she
claimed that the job requirements and work conditions were stressful.
Florida Sun Company asks you to suggest ways to minimize the sources of
stress for Kevin.
a. What are some potential sources of stress on this, or any, job? Be sure
to discuss the impact of the work environment, scheduling, and
interpersonal factors at work and home.
b. Suggest ways Florida Sun Company could minimize stress in this
position.
c. Because it is impossible to eliminate all the sources of stress in the
workplace, provide a summary of coping skills and techniques Kevin
may utilize to combat stress and strain.
Discussion Questions:
1.
Nagel Partners, a regional accounting firm, hires you as an executive
coach. Although about half of its employees are women, only about 10
percent of the top executives are women.
The executives at Nagel Partners would like to implement a leadership
training program directed at female employees. However, before spending
money on such a program, they want to learn more about how increasing
the numbers of female leaders will help their firm.
The organization wants you to write a report about the potential benefits of
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including more women at top executive levels.
a. Write the report, keeping the following in mind:
b. Are there differences between the leadership behaviors of men and
women?
c. What skills and behaviors would you encourage in those female
employees of Nagel Partners who want to become leaders in the
organization?
d. Nagel Partners is an accounting firm, and accounting jobs are
generally task-oriented. To what extent do you think the nature of the
firm’s business focus impacts the relationship between gender and
leadership at Nagel Partners?
2.
Jared and Kathleen work for TeachNews Online, a Web site dedicated to
articles for and about teachers. They are asked to research and write an
article about leadership. Jared believes that leaders are born with certain
characteristics that make them good leaders, while Kathleen believes that
people can learn to behave in ways that make them good leaders.
They approach you, an expert in organizational leadership, for an
explanation on what the research on I/O psychology says about
organizational leadership.
a. What would you tell them about trait theories and behavior theories?
Does current research support these theories?
b. To help Jared and Kathleen research their article, the three of you sit
down to discuss the various traits and behaviors associated with
leaders. Based on your experiences, what traits and behaviors do you
think are associated with leaders?
c. You advise Jared and Kathleen that research on transformational
leadership may be especially useful for teachers. Describe why. In
your explanation, include examples of some well-known
transformational leaders.
3.
You tell your next-door neighbor, Hal, that you are studying to be an I/O
psychologist focusing on implementing organizational change initiatives.
a. Hal does not understand why a large, successful organization would
need to undergo change. His opinion is, “If it works, don’t fix it!”
b. Explain to Hal why organizational change is necessary. Focus on the
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c.
d.
1.
organizational environment.
What types of changes in the environment may lead to organizational
change? Rationalize with examples of real organizations that did not
adapt to changing environments.
What should organizations do to ensure that changes occur smoothly
and efficiently?
Final Project
David is the Senior Staffing Manager at Florida Sun Company. He is
responsible for supervising a team of six employees including four
recruiters and two Human Resources (HR) assistants. Among his
responsibilities as their supervisor, he is responsible for determining any
pay raises and bonuses, delegating assignments and projects, reviewing all
completed work, referring employees to conferences and training
opportunities, and approving or disapproving of changes in their
schedules, such as overtime or vacation.
David’s team members think he is an excellent leader. He is always clear
about his expectations of them and is fair when assigning responsibilities
to them. They feel he is friendly, approachable, considerate, and flexible.
The team members know how their job performance would be measured,
which makes it easier for them to know if they are doing a good job.
a. Describe French and Raven’s five bases of power. Discuss each base
in relation to David in his role as Senior Staffing Manager.
b. Do you think they all are relevant sources of power for David?
c. According to French and Raven, power is not restricted to those in
management positions. What types of power may some of David’s
team members possess?
d. Which factors in the scenario indicate David’s leadership behaviors?
Describe the dimensions of behaviors measured on LBDQ. How
would David rate on the two dimensions of LBDQ?
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Grading Criteria
Grading Scale
Grading requirements
A
100 -93
A-
92 – 90
B+
89 – 88
B
87 – 83
B-
82 – 80
C+
79 – 78
C
77 – 73
C-
72 – 70
D+
69 – 68
D
67 – 63
D-
62 – 60
F
59 and below
Attendance/participation
Weekly Assignments
Final paper
Optional
Optional
25%
20%
35%
10%
10%
100%
Library:
All resources in Argosy University’s online collection are available through the Internet. The campus librarian will provide students with links, user IDs, and
passwords.
Library Resources: Argosy University’s core online collection features nearly 21,000 full-text journals and 23,000 electronic books and other content covering
all academic subject areas including Business & Economics, Career & General Education, Computers, Engineering & Applied Science, Humanities, Science,
Medicine & Allied Health, and Social & Behavior Sciences. Many titles are directly accessible through the Online Public Access Catalog at
http://library.argosy.edu. Detailed descriptions of online resources are located at http://library.argosy.edu/misc/onlinedblist.html.
In addition to online resources, Argosy University’s onsite collections contain a wealth of subject-specific research materials searchable in the Online Public
Access Catalog. Catalog searching is easily limited to individual campus collections. Alternatively, students can search combined collections of all Argosy
University Libraries. Students are encouraged to seek research and reference assistance from campus librarians.
Information Literacy: Argosy University’s Information Literacy Tutorial was developed to teach students fundamental and transferable research skills. The
tutorial consists of five modules where students learn to select sources appropriate for academic-level research, search periodical indexes and search engines, and
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evaluate and cite information. In the tutorial, students study concepts and practice them through interactions. At the conclusion of each module, they can test their
comprehension and receive immediate feedback. Each module takes less than 20 minutes to complete. Please view the tutorial at http://library.argosy.edu/infolit/
Academic Policies
Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: In an effort to foster a spirit of honesty and integrity during the learning process, Argosy University requires that the
submission of all course assignments represent the original work produced by that student. All sources must be documented through normal scholarly
references/citations and all work must be submitted using the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5 th Edition (2001). Washington
DC: American Psychological Association (APA) format. Please refer to Appendix A in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5 th
Edition for thesis and paper format. Students are encouraged to purchase this manual (required in some courses) and become familiar with its content as well as
consult the Argosy University catalog for further information regarding academic dishonesty and plagiarism.
Scholarly writing: The faculty at Argosy University is dedicated to providing a learning environment that supports scholarly and ethical writing, free from
academic dishonesty and plagiarism. This includes the proper and appropriate referencing of all sources. You may be asked to submit your course assignments
through “Turnitin,” (www.turnitin.com), an online resource established to help educators develop writing/research skills and detect potential cases of academic
dishonesty. Turnitin compares submitted papers to billions of pages of content and provides a comparison report to your instructor. This comparison detects
papers that share common information and duplicative language.
Americans with Disabilities Act Policy
It is the policy of Argosy University to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). If a student with disabilities needs accommodations, the student must notify the Director of Student Services. Procedures for
documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodations will be provided to the student upon request.
Students will be notified by the Director of Student Services when each request for accommodation is approved or denied in writing via a designated form. To
receive accommodation in class, it is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her discretion) to the instructor. In an effort to protect student
privacy, the Department of Student Services will not discuss the accommodation needs of any student with instructors. Faculty may not make accommodations
for individuals who have not been approved in this manner.
The Argosy University Statement Regarding Diversity
Argosy University prepares students to serve populations with diverse social, ethnic, economic, and educational experiences. Both
the academic and training curricula are designed to provide an environment in which students can develop the skills and attitudes
essential to working with people from a wide range of backgrounds.
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