Industrial-Organizational Psychology

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Ethics. The foundation of Industrial-organizational Psychology
Writer’s Personal Reflection
Conclusion
References

Abstract

This reflective paper on industrial-organization psychology explains the writer’s personal perspective on the field of study. The vastness of the field requires a practitioner to have a wider knowledge on industrial psychology itself, and also basic knowledge of the company’s operations as well as the cultural background of its employees. The paper makes an inquiry on the issues surrounding the holistic training of an industrial psychologist; challenges he/she may face and how to tackle them. Part one of the paper contains the importance of ethics as an aspect of industrial-organizational psychology. The second part is the writer’s personal reflection on this field of study.

Introduction

Industrial-organizational psychology, which is the writer’s area of specialization, is strictly concerned with the research of behavior in industries or organizations. The research is often meant to increase the company’s/organization’s productivity, product or service testing, and employee selection. An industrial-organizational psychologist therefore must have a wealth of knowledge on issues surrounding these activities to be effective in his/her work. Ethical behavior of people at workplace is the launching pad for psychological inquiry into the areas that an industrial-organizational psychologist deals with. This paper is a reflection of the writer’s personal assessment of his academic journey and experience of the field of industrial-organizational psychology.

Ethics. The foundation of Industrial-organizational Psychology

In the field of industrial-organizational psychology, ethics is used as the basis of analysis of workplace behaviors that justify psychological research with an aim of providing a solution(s). The writer’s combination of academic research and experience in this field of psychology reveals that ethical codes, principles, and standards play a monumental role in regulating some behavior that may detour the company/organization from its mission and objectives.

Given that human beings are prone to error and can sometimes become eccentric in their behavior, ethical codes are meant to control personal conduct. Ethics involves personal choices that can easily break or make a person in his/her workplace. The importance of having good conduct enables a person to maintain a high level of respect for his/her profession, but most importantly for people. Organizational ethical codes often work as a guide to employees to uphold certain fundamental issues addressing morality at workplace.

These codes of conduct facilitate personal moral development that brings about business growth. The reason being, doing what one should do at the right time and in the right place develops a sense of discipline that fuels his/her work practices to greater heights. Experience shows that ethical behavior supported by organizational code of conduct promote teamwork among workers given the great respect placed in fundamental issues in the workplace (Kinicki and Williams, 2002). Moreover, such behavior builds confidence, which brings about trust among workers; and trust in one’s profession is a strong quality that is able to make one to progress to greater career success. Being honest and always telling the truth at workplace; having respect and the right attitude; are some of the ethical things that matter most in organizations. The truth, however, is the dearth of these qualities in most organizations.

As an industrial-organizational psychologist, the writer has encountered challenges in his academic research on issues surrounding ethics per se. Many scholars have published works that argue differently, sometimes conflicting one another. Such revelations have left him wondering which way to go, or rather which theory to adopt in solving ethical problems. For example, ethical absolutists and ethical relativists contradict one another when addressing ethical problems. According to Hinman (2007), moral absolutism is not a moral position in itself but a characteristic of other more particular positions. Protection of human rights, for instance, is considered in absolute terms by the author, together with defenses of religious-specific ethical systems, “ethical egoism, utilitarianism, and Kantian moral philosophy” (Hinman, 2007, p. 48).

James Wallace, on the other hand argued extensively for moral relativism given the uniqueness of a situation where a moral problem emanates. He is credited for his ethical contextualism, a form of situational ethics that considers factors such as a people’s value and collective wisdom in deciding a moral case within a given concept (Wallace, 1988). Moral relativism, thus takes into account people’s cultural values when making moral decision; and given the diversity of cultural practices all over the world as well as cultural dynamism, it is improper to apply the same moral standards from one cultural context to another. Furthermore, a moral decision that was made a decade ago regarding a moral problem that has reoccurred can no longer be used to solve the same.

Applying these challenges to industrial-organizational psychology, the writer finds it imperative to master the teachings of the two ethical schools of thought to perform successfully as an industrial-organizational psychologist. For instance, when such a professional is hired by a multinational company that draws its employees from different cultural backgrounds, nationalities, religious affiliations, moral absolutism becomes necessary, though not exclusively, in addressing certain moral issues. Ethical relativism may be applied when an industry/organization has all its employees coming from the same society.

An industrial-organizational psychologist will find it necessary to learn and understand the influence of personal beliefs, cultural values, background, and biases that people have on their workplace behavior. It is this understanding that will make it easier for him/her to address the moral issues that may arise as impediments to company’s productivity. The writer, as an industrial-organizational psychologist finds it appropriate to know the people he/she is dealing with up-front to enable him serve them and the organization better. This knowledge can only be acquired through conducting research, at least theoretical, about their backgrounds. Furthermore, this knowledge enable him/her to apply suitable models of ethical decision-making when faced with challenging industrial moral cases. For instance, s/he will be able to know which case requires utilitarian ethical theory, Kantian formalist theory, and ethical pragmatism, among others.

Writer’s Personal Reflection

The writer’s interest in industrial-organizational psychology provides an impetus for further research on the field to expand his/her worldview. Stopping from undergraduate could not provide thorough knowledge of the course that today’s industries and/or organizations require. With the rapid pace of scientific innovations that has ushered in an era of technology, companies have adopted new technologies that help in production as well as service industries. Some of these changes may pose new ethical problems that can only be solved by someone who understands how these new technologies work.

Industrial-organizational psychologists ought to constantly study and be abreast of the challenges that new technology brings to industries especially in terms of employee behavior. For example, industries that manufacture computer hardware such as Hewlett Packard, Dell, IBM et cetera have recently been taken to task for unsafe disposal of old computer parts that contain heavy metals. As an industrial-organizational psychologist, one should know the long-term danger caused by these parts to the environment and advice the company accordingly (Schultz, 2006).

It is not enough, therefore, for an industrial-organizational psychologist to only study psychology related courses. Science, for example, plays a very important role in intellectual development of a psychologist and widens his worldview. To handle workers in industries it is important not only to understand them but also a bit about their profession to get a glimpse of the connection that is between a worker’s behavior and the nature of his/her work. For instance, researching on the operation of a forklift machine will enable a psychologist to know how that machine is complicated and requires a sober mind to operate it if avoidable accidents can be stopped. Ford (2006) gives a case of a forklift operator had had some accidents when driving the machine because of his drunken state.

Learning different models of ethical decision-making and the criteria of their validity and appropriate applicability should indeed preoccupy the mind of an industrial-organizational psychologist. It is not enough to merely know these theories but what is of equal importance is the ability to know where, when, and which type of ethical decision making best fits the ethical problem. As a graduate student, the writer intends to focus more of his effort in conducting researches on application of the various models of ethical decision-making in a given moral situation. At the undergraduate level, the writer researched on these theories and now it is time to research on their appropriate application on different moral problems.

The application of ethical theories of decision-making definitely requires one to have sound knowledge on multicultural issues and ethical guidelines. These are the additional knowledge that the writer gains by virtue of being in a graduate school. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, an industrial-organizational psychologist has to study/learn various components of a company to facilitate the adjudication of moral cases confronting an organization.

Certain steps or procedures, however, must be completed to demonstrate that the writer successfully undergone the thorough training. One such step is going through detailed graduate education in the field of industrial-organizational psychology. Secondly, the writer must have some practical experience; that is, having at least provided consultancy services to a company. Such experience exposes an in individual psychologist to the type of cases to expect.

Conclusion

Industrial-organizational psychology preferred by the writer as his field of specialization is majorly concerned with workplace behavior and issues that surround. Ethics is an indispensible tool used by industrial-organizational psychologists to gauge employees’ behavior. Ethical behavior is highly recommended and most often codified by various organizations to maintain a standardized conduct for purposes of enhancing the organization’s image. Additionally, it also helps individual employees to scale up the ladder in their careers.

The writer’s personal reflection reveals that a lot more has to be done to enhance his/her holistic growth as an industrial-organizational psychologist. Given that this field does not only need psychological training, a bit of scientific reading about technology applied by various industries is important in informing the psychologist on ways of tackling moral issues posed by such technology. Moreover, extensive reading on employees’ culture, personal beliefs et cetera is important for a psychologist.

References

Ford, G. (2006). Ethical reasoning for mental health professionals. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Hinman, L.M. (2007). Ethics: a pluralistic approach to moral theory. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.

Kinicki, A. and Williams, B. K. (2002). Management: a practical introduction. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Schultz, R. A. (2006). Contemporary issues in ethics and information technology. New York, NY: Idea Group Inc (IGI).

Wallace, J.D. (1988). Moral Relevance and Moral Conflict. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.

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