Predicting an Employees Behaviour
Managers and supervisors can never manage their workplace to achieve perfect productivity, because there will always be some risk of unpredictable behaviour by employees.
Extreme deviant behaviour may not be excessively common; but minor deviance can be more common, and should be watched for and addressed when detected. In day to day life, we observe people’s behaviour (e.g. posture, attitudes, speech, body language, etc). Such observations can leave impressions which might be right, but could also be incorrect. Such observations should be seen as providing clues, but not being sufficient for solid judgements. For more accurate classifications, psychological tests must be conducted. There are two broad applications for such tests -one in clinical counselling, industrial psychology and education; the other in research. Such tests are used as an aid for selection, placement and classification of staff in commerce and industry and the evaluation of progress in education.
Tests can be used to judge future performance against another variable, known as "criterion". e.g. An aptitude test may be administered to all applicants for an engineering course, and scores obtained are then used to predict the likely performance of each applicant in the course. The criterion in this case is the final examination of the course.
There are many different types of tests. Following the lead from intelligence tests, several questionnaires may been drawn up, designed to assist in an analysis of character and temperament. Examples of questions asked might be:
- Do you have fears without insufficient cause?
- Do your feelings tend to be expressed in words or actions?
- What is your reaction to an indifferent boss?
Reviewing Personality and Temperament
The following needs to be constantly reviewed among workers in any workplace:
- Selecting workers for a job that suits them best.
- Ensuring that proper training is provided for any job given.
- Considering how industrial fatigue can be reduced.
- Ensuring that environmental conditions are suitable for the type of work being carried out.
- Through proper safety planning and safety education, keep accidents to a minimum.
- Use modern work study methods to ensure that waste effort is reduced to a minimum.
- By the use of work committees, reduce the gap between management and the workers. This encourages an interest in the organisation, its product/service, and efficiency (& effectiveness) can be increased.
Distance Education Course
INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY BPS103
Duration: 100 hours
To develop an understanding of how the psychological state of employees in the workplace, affects both their work, and their overall well being.
There are ten lessons in this course, as follows:
2. Understanding the Employees Thinking
3. Personality & Temperament
4. Psychological Testing
5. Management & Managers
6. The Work Environment
7. Motivation and Incentives
9. Social Considerations
10. Abnormalities and Disorders
WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE
Here are justr a few examples of what you will do:
*Discuss the following questions with one or two friends, and make notes of the answers you consider.
a/ Discuss the environmental circumstances that you feel have affected your life.
b/ In your opinion, to what extent are mental characteristics inherited?
c/ 'In certain conditions, a committee may pass a resolution for which no member of the committee will hold themself responsible'. What is your interpretation of the meaning of the previous statement.
d/ "The environment can give or withhold the requisite stimuli for the development of mental abilities". Discuss this statement. Interview at least four people. Two of these should have a management role in a business or similar organisation. Two should be involved in a non-managerial position. Ask each of them such questions as:
* The role of morale and discipline in their workplace.
* Do they feel that they have good morale and discipline in their workplaces? Why do they think this?
* Who do they feel should be responsible for ensuring suitable levels of morale and discipline in their
workplace (e.g. management, workplace groups, all employees, etc.)?
* How is morale and discipline maintained in their workplace?
To enrol in Industrial Psychology, click here