Industrial Psychology

• Organization


  Collectivities of parts that cannot accomplish their goals effectively if they operated separately
• Organization


  A tool people use to coordinate their actions to obtain something they desire or value to achieve a goal
• Organization


  Social entity, made up of people that agree on, and work towards goals
• Organizations create value, or else they "die"
• How organizations create value

  Environment (Customers, Suppliers) > Input (Raw Materials, IT, HR) > Process (Machines, Computers, KSAOs) > Output (Products, Services)
• Organizational Theory


  Set of propositions that explains or predicts how group and individuals behave in varying organizational structures and circumstances
• Classical Organizational Theory


  Organizations exist for economic reasons and to accomplish productivity goals
• Classical Organizational Theory


  • System of differentiated activities – activities that are linked to each other
  • People – perform tasks and exercise authority
  • Cooperation toward a goal – unity of purpose in pursuit of their common goals
  • Authority – ensures cooperation among people pursuing their goals
• There is a "right" structure for an organization in Classical Organizational Theory
• Classical Organizational Theory assumes there is one best configuration to accomplish goals
• Classical Organizational Theory deals with the formal organization and concepts to increase management efficiency
• Classical Organizational Theory assumes both people and organizations act in accordance with rational economic principles
• To be successful in the new economy, industrial and mechanical engineers are needed to organize production systems to keep the machines busy and work flowing
• Functional Principle


  Concept behind division of labor, that is, organizations should be divided into units that perform similar functions into areas of specialization
• Scalar Principle


  Deals with the organization's vertical growth and refers to the chain of command that grows with levels added to the organization
• Unity of command


  Each subordinate should be accountable to only one superior
• Line Functions


  Have primary responsibilities for meeting the major goals of the organization, like the production department
• Staff Functions


  Support the line's activities but are regarded as subsidiary in overall importance to line functions
• Span-of-Control Principle


  Refers to the number of subordinates a manager is responsible for supervising
• Large Span-of-Control produce flat organizations, whilst, smaller Span-of-Control produce taller organizations
• Scientific Management by Frederick Taylor


  The organization is a machine, a pragmatic machine whose focus is to simply run more effectively
• Scientific Management


  • Taylor believed that scientific principles could be applied to the study of work behavior to help increase worker efficiency and productivity
  • Based on the concept of planning of work to achieve efficiency, standardization, specialization, and simplification
  • The advantages of productivity improvement should go to workers
  • Physical stress and anxiety should be eliminated
  • Capabilities of workers should be developed through training
  • Traditional boss concept should be eliminated
• Scientific Management is mainly associated with high levels of job specialization and standardization
• Taylor conducted time and motion studies and analyzed temperature, illumination, and other conditions of work, all while looking at the effects of these conditions on productivity and efficiency
• Taylorism


  Has a premise that there is one best way to get the job done
• Taylorism


  • Management gathers data from the workers, who are in the best position to understand the job duties and tasks
  • Workers are selected carefully or scientifically and trained so that they become more efficient than ever
  • Scientific selection, data collection, and training are combined to enhance efficiency
  • The work itself is redistributed, with management taking over tasks previously left to subordinated
  • The most effective companies have detailed procedures and work practices developed by engineers, enforced by supervisors, and executed by employees
• Taylor, along with Frank and Lillian Gilbreth implemented the principles of scientific management
• Scientific Management


  • Worker efficiency would lead to greater managerial efficiency
  • Scientific Selection of the worker
  • Management and labor cooperation rather than conflict
  • Scientific training of the worker
• Bureaucracy by Max Weber


  Described the structure, organization, and operation of many efficient organization
• Bureaucracy is the ideal form of organization
• Bureaucracy


  • Includes formal hierarchy, division of labor, and a clear set of operating procedures
  • Well-defined authority hierarchy with strict rules for governing behavior, with few members with highest status on the top
  • Increase productivity by reducing inefficiencies in organizational operations
• Characteristics of a Bureaucratic Organization

  • Specialization of labor
  • Well-defined Authority Hierarchy
  • Formal Rules and Procedures
  • Impersonality – behavior is based on logical reasoning rather than emotional thinking
  • Employment decisions based on merit
  • Emphasis on written records
• Division of Labor


  Each job is a specialized position with its own set of responsibilities and duties; division of tasks performed in an organization
• One potential difficulty with Division of Labor involves the coordination of various tasks handled by various employees
• Bureaucratic organizations tend to be top-down pyramidal
• Delegation of Authority


  Approach whereby supervisors assign tasks to separate employees and hold them responsible for completing these tasks (Micromanagers); information about which lower-level employees report to higher-level employees
• Organizational Structure


  Formal way an organization is designed in terms of division of labor, delegation of authority, and span of control
• Span of Control


  Number of subordinates who report to a given supervisor
• Principles of Scientific Approach

  • Structure – hierarchy, top-down, and uses legitimate power
  • Specialization – functional basis, separated according to specialization
  • Predictability and Stability – there must be rules and regulations
  • Rationality – equal treatment, no bias/subjective in selection
  • Democracy – ability to vote
• Administrative Management by Henri Fayol

  Aims to improve organizational productivity by focusing on methods that managers can use to synchronize internal processes