INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY COURSE PLAN

 course plan

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V semester Industrial Psychology notes

Training
Why we ‘train’  a Workforce…. 

• To maintain a viable & knowledgeable workforce
• Training is the process of learning a sequence of programmed behavior.
• It is an application of knowledge
• An awareness of the rules & procedures to guide behavior.
• Improve performance on current job or prepare employee for an intended job.

To Train or to Develop…? 

• .

    Training : improve job performance
   Development : directed growth : personality ,maturity & potential actualisation

Vs.. 

Training 
Development 

• Short term process
• Utilizes systematic & organized procedures
• Non managerial personnel learn technical knowledge & skills for a definite purpose
• >Technical & Operations based
• Non-Managers

 

• Long term ‘educational’  process
• Learn conceptual & theoretical knowledge
• > Philosophical & Theoretical
• Managerial Personnel

   What is learnt
   Who is learning
   Why such Learning – Growth vs. Productivity
   When such Learning  Occurs
Purposes of Training 

• Increase Productivity
• Improve Quality
• Future Personnel Needs
• Improve Organizational Climate
• Improve Health & Safety
• Obsolescence Prevention
• Personal Growth

Need for Training 

• Organizations as Economic Entity
• Productivity
• Efficiency
• Instruction to new workers
• Refresher Training

    Training
      Operative Skills
      Interpersonal Skills
      Decision Making Sills
Steps in Training Program  

• Preparation
• Presentation
• Performance Try-out
• Follow up Feedback
• Evaluation of Program

Steps in Training Program  
   Discovering or Identifying  “Training Need”
      Organisational
      Operations or Task description analysis
      Man analysis
   Getting Ready for the Job
      ‘Who’ needs to be trained
      Checklists/performance/performance appraisals
   Preparation of Learner
      Create Desire to be ‘trained’
   Presentation of Operations & Knowledge
   Performance Try Out
   Follow up
      Feedback from trained
      Evaluate Program

Training Techniques 

   Training
      On-the –job [OJT]: Learning by doing
      Off the Job –Class room Based

On the job	Where  Used Best	Merit	Demerit
	“As many jobs as employees “–  Division of labour High degree of specialisation	Learns on actual equipment True environment Gets feel of actual production conditions Economical :no additional personnel or facilities required	1.Haphazard way of training2.No clear way to gauge degree of learning imparted 3. Shopfloor distractions 4. Motivational Issues
1.Job Instruction Training  [JIT]	Skilled Trainers	Immediate Feedback Quick Correction of Errors Provision of Extra Practice	Demands a skilled TrainerInterferes with Production
2.Vestibule /Training Centre training	Duplicate work situations.Semi skilled Large Number to be trained	Less distractions Trained Instructor Non interruption of production Allows for Practice	Large Additional Investments of Manpower & Resources Artificial conditions
3.Experienced Workmen4.Demonstrations & Examples	Specific SkillsTeaching by Example	Effective to show than ‘tell’	High Time  CostsBetter in combination with other methods
5.Apprenticeship	2-3 yrs work with Expert	Loyalty, workmanship intricacies,interest, lower turnover
6.Simulations	Duplicates work conditionsHigh Safety Environs of aero/maritime industries.	High interest & motivation	Expenses Involved

Off-the –job  “Training not part of everyday activity”- Adjunct Function 

Technique	Used When	Merit	Demerit
1.Lectures	Large Numbers to be trained in short time	In depth conceptual knowledge and rigourous depth imparted. Less in cost & time	Passive learning Limited by Speaker knowledge & communication Small attention spans Differences in level of knowledge of those being trained
2.Conference Method:Directed Conference Training Conference Seminar Conference	‘confer’-participative group centered, formal meeting where organiser decides plan.	Better for analysing problems from different viewpoints   Develops conceptual knowledge Attitude modification	Limited by small group Slow progress Limited by knowledge of participants Size of group

Technique	Used When	Merit	Demerit
3.Seminar  or Team Discussion	Critical Discussion around a particular area /problem	Conceptual Clarity Indepth Examination of Issues	No way of evaluating learning Participatory issues Not suitable for fresh learners
4.Case Studies [Learning by Doing?!]Critical incident Live Case	Past ‘concrete’  cases used to disseminate know-howCase = set of data, real or fictional in nature .	Encourages independent critical analystical thinking Integrating knowledge & Openmindedness Help arrive at principles & Generalisations Real-Life Cases Increases Awareness of on-job intricacies	Only as good as wht is taken from a case- degenerates to text book knowledge Method of analysis used importance Permanent Precedents – ‘one case fits all’ Preparation of Case-illustrative of dynamic
5. Role Playing[Moreno-psychiatrist]	‘Method of human interaction involving realistic behavior in imaginary situations’ Employee-Employer Relationships	Emphasizes learning by ‘doing’ Stress on human sensitivity & interactions Knowledge of results is immediate High trainee interest & involvement	Objective of Training  may not be met Suitable for soft skill training

Technique	Used When	Merit	Demerit
6.Programmed Instruction[Teaching by Machine Method]	Sequence of steps  which guide performance in an operationInfo broken down into meaningful units  to acquire particular skill/knowledge Text book - computers	Learning at own pace Small manageable units Immediate feedback Active learner participation Individual differences accounted for Can be conducted in odd times &places High worker motivation	Impersonal instructional setting Advanced training not possible until preliminary garnered Best for Factual matters Concepts/Philosophies/attitudes not imparted High costs in creating such a program
7. T-group Training	AV aides ,Planned Reading Programs Associations	New techniques/Breakthroughs learnt Journals  keep employees informed	Limited for older /experienced professionals

Retraining… 

Older Employees 

• Knowledge Refreshers
• Technological Upgradations
• Economic Upswings or downturns
• Change Management

Effective Training Program 

• Motivates employee to improve job Performance
• Develops a willingness to Change
• Provides for Active Participation in Learning process
• Knowledge of Results[KOR] –Feedback

Assessing & Evaluating  Training Programs 
Interviews
Questionnaires 

• Experimental & Control Groups

 

• Longitudinal –Time Series Analysis

 

• Pre-Post Training

    Employee learning
      Reactions
   Behaviors
      Change vs. static
   Results
      Efficiency Increased?
      Productivity

“The Triumph of Hope over Experience” 

Selection

Recruitment 

• Next step after  Manpower Resource Planning
• Yoder; “process to discover the sources of manpower needed  to meet requirements of staffing & employ effective measures for attracting that manpower”
• Purpose of Recruitment is to locate the sources of manpower to meet job requirements & job specifications

Selection 

• Concerned with securing relevant information about an applicant
• Number of steps –stages
• Objective of selection is to determine whether an applicant meets the qualifications for a specific job and to choose the applicant who is most likely to perform well on that job
• Hiring process=  not a single act but series of methods or steps or stages by which additional information is secured.

Factors that Affect Selection 

• Current Size
• Employment conditions of Organization
• Effect of past selections  -ability to locate and sustain good workforce
• Salary –remuneration packages
• Rate of growth of the organization
• Future Expansion Programs

Steps in the Selection Process 
   Preliminary screening
   Fact Finder-Application bank
   Interview
   Psychological Tests
   Reference Check
   Final Selection
The ‘How’  Of Selection….- Procedures 

• Demographics –Age, Qualifications

• Physical Adequacy

 

• Skills

• Aptitude

• Attitudes

• Interests

• Application Blanks
• Personnel Records    
• Grade Sheets
• Tests, Medical reports, Employment Records 

• Physical Examinations-Dexterity etc. 
• Psychological Tests ,Batteries

• Interviews , Psychological Scales

• Application Blank ,Inventories.

Psychological Tests 

“Systematic procedure for sampling human behavior” 

Purpose:

• Guide & counsel
• Vocational guidance
• Research into human behavior
• Selection of candidates in an organization

Purpose of Psychological Tests in organisations 

• Selection & Placements of New Employees
• Appraising Employees for Promotion Potentials
• Counselling Employees

What Psychological Tests measure 
 

• Personality Traits :  Dominance, Emotional Stability etc
• Interests
• Abilities : Intelligence:Verbal ,Mathematical ,  Spatial, Clerical etc

Characteristics of Psychological tests: 

1. Assumption –  Individual Differences
2. Validity –extent to which a test measures what it is designed to measure
3. Reliability  : degree of consistency of results . “ consistency of scores obtained by same person tested on different point of time – by the same test or an equivalent form of the test.”
4. Standardisation : administered under standard conditions to large groups of people who are representative of population intended.
5. Objectivity  :constructed that 2 or more persons score in same way –no biases in answering or testing  - e.g.. culture fair

Validity  

• Content Validity: how well the content represents all possible situations that could have been included.
• Predictive Validity : degree to which there is a relationship between scores on a test and future behavior which is required on the job.
• Concurrent Validity : extent to which test scores are related with a job behavior measure that is available at the same time.
• Construct Validity : extent to which the test measures the ‘construct’ it purports to measure.  E.g.. Intelligence’ .

Types of Psychological Tests 
   PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
      APTITUDE
         LATENT ABILITY TO LEARN A JOB/SKILL
      ACHIEVEMENT
         PROFICIENCY TESTS –ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE
      PERSONALITY 
         CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INDIVUDAL NON INTELLECTUAL
      INTEREST INVENTORIES
         Likes & dislikes
         Vocational guidance
         Kuder Richardson Record ;Strong Vocational Interest Bank
Aptitude Tests 
   APTITUDE
      LATENT ABILITY TO LEARN A JOB/SKILL
         MENTAL  -IQ –WAIS
         MECHANICAL APTITUDE TESTS -
            Manual dexterity ; spatial visualisation,perceptual speed ,visual motor coordination
         PSYCHOMOTOR OR SKILLS TESTS
            Ability to do a specific job
            Purdue mechanical aptitude test; tweezer dexterity tests ;o’coonor finger; mc quarril test.
Achievement Tests 

• Measure proficiency –  level of acquired knowledge
• Result of training – on the job experience
• Feasability of Admission to a particular job/degree
• General Aptitude Test Battery Abstract Reasoning test Millar Analogies Test Stanford Binet scales

Two kinds :

• Job Knowledge –oral /written
• Work Sample Tests  - on-job e.g..typist

Personality Tests  

• Subjective traits –no right or wrongs- put people on a gradient  of emotional reactions etc
• E.g. NEO-PI : neuroticism , openness, Bell Adjustment Inventory ,MMPI : Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory ,Catell 16PF,California Personality Test etc. ,Thematic Apperception test.
• Widely Used in Industry
• Very little scope to fabricate.

Types of Personality Test 
   Objective Test
      Paper pencil tests  ;MMPI,NEOPI,16PF
      Score objectively – likert scales.
   Projective Tests
      TAT, Rorscach Inkbot
      Project interpretations to standard stimulus stuations
   Situational tests
      Measure an applicants Response in particular situation -stress
      Army , Space
Other Classification of Tests 
Basis of Use 
Basis of Administration 
   Tests
      Selection tests
      Classification Tests
      Placement Decisions  
   Tests
      Individual
      Group
   ‘Tailor Made Tests”
Advantages of tests 

• Selection Devices –  more effective than mere application blanks or interviews
• Uniform Basis for comparing Candidates from diverse backgrounds
• Minimise subjective biases that may creep up in testing due to tester efffects
• Reduce labour turnover –reduce cost of training
• Increase production – because you employ the ‘right fit’
• Minimize time required for selection as compared to other methods
• Discover causes of failure if any
• Diagnose who to train where –in what aspects.

Testing Program Guidelines 

• Good Add –ons. To interview, application blanks .- provide objective check.
• Supplements  to selection process
• Better at predicting Failure than success
• Choosing the ‘correct test’ for correct measure  e.g.. Aptitude –intelligence

Drawbacks- Points to Remember  

• Scores are not precise measures –samples of behavior at given instances
• Validated in organization to be used
• Screening device
• Test Conditions important
• Invasion of privacy
• Competent Testing Professionals should be administering

Interviews 

• Most widely used selection tool
• Integrate and measure relevant characteristics & classifying applicant
• : “selection technique which allows to view the applicant and appraise him or her – interests, personality attitudes etc  …through face to face contact”
• Interviewing: deliberate active listening with a purpose to draw a person out  … “ attempt to secure maximum amount of information from candidate concerning suitability to a job”

Types of Interviews 
   Interviews
      1. Patterned or structured
      2. Free or non directive
      3. Group or Discussion
      4. Panel or Board  5.  Stress Interview
Drawback of Interview Method 

• Veracity –Evidence –  truthfulness of stated claim
• Subjectivity
• Rapport Formation
• Issues of privacy infringement – what to ask and to what extent

V semester Industrial Psychology notes

Task  

   Job
      Identify
      Label
   Elements
      Technical
      Psychological
   Quantify
      Traits
      Skills
   Psychograph
Uses of Job Analyses

Lawshe & Satter [1944]  : 

• Derivation of Training Content
• Setting up of Personnel Specifications
• Improving Job Efficiency
• Establishment of Wage structures

Methods of Obtaining information about job:

• Observation
• Interview
• Questionnaire
• Work Diaries
• Films/Source Materials

Nature of Job Information Gleaned :

• Description in form of essay
• Job Check List /Questionnaire/Interview
• Activity Analyses –Task Analysis
• Time & Motion Study
• Critical Incidents Technique  -Flanagan
• Technical Conference
• Work Participation

Limitations to Job Analyses : 

• Subjectivity
• Standardization

V semester Industrial Psychology notes

Appraising Performance

   Performance
      “what is actually done on a j.o.b”
   Effectiveness
      Evaluation of result of performance
   “Performance Appraisal is the periodic, formal evaluation of employee performance for the purpose of making career decisions.

Biases in Appraisal 

• Racial /Regional Biases & Discriminations
•     : subjective human judgments
• Age Biases : old vs. young?
• Non-uniform Criteria for Compliance
• Halo Effect : to judge all attributes of person based on a single attribute .

Need for Performance Appraisals……. 

1. Provide Systematic judgments for salary hikes,transfers,demotions or terminations
2. Feedback Mechanisms:telling subordinate ‘how’ effective is their performance
3. Base for coaching & counselling and further training.

Where are Performance Appraisals Needed: 

   ADMINISTRATION : pay & promotions
   RESEARCH :
    1. Validating Selection Instruments
   2. Assessing Training Requirements
   Employee Improvement- feedback
   Personnel Decisions : wage/transfer etc.

Methods of PerformanceAppraisal   

   Objective Production Data
   Personnel data
   Judgmental Data

Employee Comparison Methods 

Objective Production 

Computerised Performance Monitoring 

• Assessed in terms of tangibles produced created :e.g..Assembly line, sales,volumes.
• Variability in performance may be due to performance conditions
• Do not tell whole story – quality of product  etc not measured.

 

• Unit of work : keystroke,errors etc stored elecronically
• Telecommunications,Airline,Hotel Telephone operators etc.
• Stressful : Observed all the time . –continuous Monitoring.
• Advantage: Objective, immediate Feedback
• Reduced Rater Bias

Judgmental data
 

Paired Comparison Approach  

• More widely used because objective measures fail where unit of work not quantifuable e.g.. Documentary film maker.
• Subjective assessments
• Supervisors –Peers-Self :
• Accord Ranks on Objective Scales  -360degree

 

• Between two workers. N(N-1)/2

+ Same rank to those of equal ability

+Judgment simpler

• -Increases no. of Comparisons
• - Restricted to Small workforce
• or Single ranking of job effectiveness

Appraisal Techniques 

Types of Judgment Methods 

Advantages vs. Disadvantages 

   Judgmental Methods
      BARS : Behavioral Rating Scales
360 degree appraisals.
      Paired Comparison Method :
N(N-1)/2
      Behavioral Observation Scales :
critical incidents
      Management by Objectives MBO: mutually agreed upon goals 

• BARS/BOS techniques rely heavily on observational skills of supervisor
• May be biased
• Identification of critical incidents which define performance be incomplete
• Frequency of critical incident performances assessed –total is summation of all.

Management by Objectives [MBO]
 

Goals/Period –Mutually agreed upon ‘Objectives’ 
Focus  is on ‘Results’ not on traits or abilities ‘on wht is done’…






 
Two Phases  

 
Advantages Disadvantages:
 
+ Increase Employee Motivation & Productivity  because  self Set Goals 
--  May set far reaching – unattainable goals non-realistic 
 

   Goal setting
      Mutually decide goals
      Given Period 6months/quarter/Annual
      Important to have Realistic Goals
   Performance Review
      Extent to which goals met assessed  mutually
      Result based not trait based assessment.
Performance Appraisal For Managers 

• Objective Techniques more for Blue  Collar Workers
• Managers white collar workers performance cannot be quantified > subjective

 

• Assessment Centres
• Evaluation by Superiors
• Peer Rating
• Self Evaluation Self Ratings
• Evaluation by Subordinnated [juniors]