Free research paper on organizational psychology

Organizational psychology is the study of human behavior in the workplaces. The purpose of organizational psychology is to improve the health, performance, satisfaction, safety, and well-being of the employees in an organization. Through organizational psychology, research on the behavior and attitudes of employees is conducted, with the aim of improving the welfare of employees and employers. Some of the duties performed through organizational psychology include evaluation of companies and conducting leadership training among employers. The goal of organizational psychology is to study, and understand the human behavior, especially of the workers in their workplaces. Attitudes refer to the feelings and beliefs that determine how employees in an organization perceive their environment and commit themselves towards intended actions. The attitudes of workers affect the setting of their minds, and the way in which they view things. In his article, Katzell asserts that the attitudes of employees in the workplace affect the success of the business activity (Katzell et al. 1990). Although attitudes are hidden and hard to measure, they affect the productivity of a business organization. The workers who have a positive attitude are more productive than those with negative feedback because to them, every challenge is accompanied by an opportunity.
According to the article by Jackson, positive work attitudes are important to the workers because they can better their mental health. This is enhanced by the ability of the workers to cope with stressful situations at their workplaces. Every challenge that the workers with a positive attitude engage in is turned into an opportunity. Positive attitude by workers earns them respect to the society, and makes them serve as role models, and an inspiration to the younger people. A positive work attitude enhances the strength of the immune system of workers (Jackson et al. 1990). People perceive these workers as leaders, and thus can be entrusted with special projects to work on. The managers to companies and organizations should monitor the attitudes of the employees. Jackson explains that through monitoring the attitudes of workers, the managers will have a chance to determine if the workers are satisfied or not. Through monitoring of attitudes, the flow of information between the employees and the managers is enhanced. In return, this improves the innovation and general performance of the organization.
Positive work attitudes by the workers promote engagement that the workers have toward their jobs. The workers who have the same competencies and skill levels are more productive when they have positive attitudes towards their jobs because they are committed, and invest towards success. The performance of workers in the workplace depends largely on the relation that the employees have with their colleagues. The relationship between the colleagues in the workplace is important because the workers are able to discuss issues, and come up with concrete decisions and solutions. Bad attitudes by workers lead to conflicts and disputes, which bring about failure and losses, especially among employees in an organization.
The attitudes of workers in an organization enhance pride, innovation, and commitment among workers. Positive attitudes among workers make them committed to their goals and initiatives, which enhance the success of the organization. Commitment means that the employees will have the willingness and freedom to do whatever it takes, to fulfill their duties. Pride is caused by positive attitudes that workers have towards their jobs, and the chores that they are entitled to. Proud workers work hard to excel in their jobs (Jackson et al. 1990). As a worker, being proud means that the employee will carry out his or her tasks freely, to enhance the quality of the outcomes. Positive attitudes towards workers promote innovative minds because the employees will try to find alternative methods of doing things, to accomplish goals. Innovative minds, at times produce ideas that promote the success of organizations or companies.
The workers with positive attitudes are helpful. This means that these workers are capable of assisting customers, clients, and co-workers to accomplish the goals of the company. The attitudes of employees in a company promote the willingness of employees to partner with them and initiate their projects successfully. Workers’ attitudes in a workplace are determined the trend that the organization will take, in terms of success or failure. The attitude that employees in the workplace have influence the way the workers perform their activities.
According Offermann, Job satisfaction refers to attitudes that employees have about their work, which are based on both extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting individuals. The importance of job satisfaction is that it enhances the retention of workers in an organization. The factors that promote job satisfaction include ensuring that the right people undertake right jobs, in their right cultures that enhance job satisfaction. It is the role of managers in organizations to ensure that they remove the factors lead to dissatisfaction by employees in the workplace. Removal of these factors from workplaces ensures that the employees are productive, busy, and satisfied. However, the employees should also be responsible in ensuring that they are satisfied in their workplaces. The effects of unsatisfied workers in a company include theft, violence, and absenteeism in the workplace (Offermann et al. 1990). Unsatisfied employees tend to steal from companies and organizations which have offered employment to them, so that they can satisfy their needs. Offermann emphasizes that satisfied workers are disciplined and work towards increasing the productivity and success of an organization or company.
Katzell asserts that the workers who have are optimistic and have a positive outlook on life have high chances of job satisfaction in their workplaces. The personality that an individual has is the one that causes consistent behavior, which determines if the worker will be satisfied in a job that he or she does. An individual’s personality is made up of characteristics that dictate the individual’s feelings, and the patterns of thinking (Katzell et al. 1990). Optimism among workers is important because it allows them to withstand the reality in the workplace, which prevents depression from the workers. The employers and managers in workplaces should be aware of the personalities that the employees have. Monitoring the employees enables the managers to observe how well the employees fit in the work environment, the organizational culture, and the in the jobs. Through this, the managers will adjust the environment to ensure that there is a conducive working environment which satisfies the employees. Job satisfaction prevents depression from the employees in the workplace, which makes them promote their productivity.
Job satisfaction has a positive effect on job performance, in that the workers who experience high levels of job satisfaction improve their levels of task performance. Job satisfaction among workers leads to a positive effect on the organizational commitment. The workers who experience high levels of job satisfaction feel high levels of normative and affective commitment. Job satisfaction among workers is correlated to the task performances. Employees who are satisfied improve their productivity by fulfilling the duties that they have been assigned. The positive feelings that the employees have concerning job satisfaction improve the abilities of decision making, problem solving, and the ability to recall information (Offermann et al. 1990). Job satisfaction enables employees pull their attention away from distractions that prevent the success of an organization. Workers who are satisfied and comfortable at their workplaces focus on their jobs at most time.
Satisfied workers are important because they will engage themselves in extra mile activities that are not part of the chore and duties that they have been assigned. Positive feelings about their work and work places make the workers interact in a better way with their colleague workers. Job satisfaction promotes good citizenship among workers, which counter the negative behaviors in workplaces that lead to failure. Satisfied workers involve themselves in few intentionally destructive actions that can cause destructions and harm in workplaces. The employees who are satisfied in their workplaces will lack the temptation, or participating in any underground activities that lead to harm in the organization.
Job satisfaction promotes the willingness that employees have of working in a firm. Satisfied workers are faced with the initiative of repaying back to the organization that has offered them employment. The employees repay through showing commitment in the duties that have been assigned to them. Satisfaction at workplace is important because it is one of the predictors of life satisfaction. The employees feel good about their lives whenever they feel good about their jobs. Research shows that job satisfaction leads to a more satisfied life than increase in salary by employees (Offermann et al. 1990). Compared to job satisfaction, pay satisfaction is a weaker drive leading to satisfaction of life. Job satisfaction is important because it reduces the rate of employee absenteeism. Satisfied workers can miss work due to reasons such as illness whereas unsatisfied workers will always look for excuses to be absent in work. Managers should ensure that the working conditions of workplaces favor the workers, which promotes job satisfaction. Organizations with favorable working conditions that favor workers end up making profits.
Motivation refers to the external and internal factors that stimulate the energy, and the desire that people have when attending to their chores and jobs. Intrinsic motivation among the workers means that the workers take pleasure of what they are doing and are less concerned with the external factors and rewards. Motivated workers mean that they will be highly productive, to achieve their business goals. Before engaging in a motivational strategy, managers should understand what motivates their employees. Through learning what drives the workers at the peak of their performance will help the managers develop strategies that motivate, and retain the workers in the organization (Katzell et al. 1990).
Motivation in a workplace acts as a stimulus to the desirable behaviors. Motivation among the workers results in goal-directed behaviors which lead to success among the workers of an organization. Motivated employees engage in activities that delegate the future, or the present value of the society. The level of productivity of motivated workers is high when compared to the un-motivated workers in an organization. In organizations and businesses, the managers should invest in managing the motivation of their employees, to allow the input of human resources to be maximized, regarding the output that is expected. Research shows that managers should look beyond the salaries that they give to their employees, when it comes to motivation (Jackson et al. 1990). Understanding the external and internal motivations provide a higher motivation than adding the salary rates. Motivated employees are not only efficient and productive, but also quality oriented.
Keeping the workers happy is the secret behind their motivation. A supportive and positive work environment is important because it enhances the motivation and productivity of employees in the workplace. Employees will be motivated to work harder, once they are rewarded, recognized, and appreciated at their workplaces. Motivation promotes the quality and quantity of work that is done by employees. However, managers will retain motivated workers at their companies or organizations. Especially in the countries where business competition is low, the level of unemployment is high. Managers of companies use motivation as a tool to retain workers in their organizations.
In organizations, leaders have an important role of training their employees to perform their tasks effectively. It is the role of the leaders to ensure that each employee completes his or her chores in the expected manner. Moreover, leaders should also inspire their employees, to be excited about their job. This promotes job satisfaction, which helps the company excel. The leadership strategy that is employed by leaders should ensure that the workers are safe, free from both the external and internal threats. Managers employ different leadership strategies in their organizations. There are leaders who adopt the command control system, whereas other leaders are collaborative to their employees. Some leaders dictate actions of their wish toward their employees, giving the workers no space for expression. The facilitative leaders adopt the role of providing their workers with all the requirements to promote the success of their organizations (Beer et al. 1990). The leadership styles that business owners adopt are the ones that determine the cultures of the companies.
Leadership in an organization offers direction and purpose towards achieving the set goals. Moreover, leadership strategies in a workplace shape and determine the behavior of the workers. The strategy of leadership is important because it serves as an important element in the determining the social relationship between groups at workplace. Good leadership in a business organization makes the employees enjoy the feeling of commitment, and thus aim at achieving the objectives of the organization. Proper leadership styles are important in enhancing the achievement of organizational goals (Katzell et al. 1990). The kind of leadership that is offered in organizations influences the roles that individuals have towards achieving the goals that have been set. Leadership is important in stimulating the effective performance of all the workers in a company. It is the role of the leaders to supervise and ensure that the employees carry their duties effectively. Proper leadership motivates the workers to be keen and attentive to their chores, which promote the success of the organizations.
Leadership is linked to the success of organizations. The leaders determine the culture, values, employee motivation, and tolerance of workers in an organization or company. The effectiveness and execution of strategies in an organization are shaped by the leaders. The leaders take part in influencing all the members around them so that they can acquire maximum benefit from the resources of the organization. Leaders influence the effectiveness of workers in an organization because they have the objective of what they want to achieve from the organization.
The pursuit of quality and the success of an organization depends on the organization makes human competencies. The way through which an organization stimulates the commitment towards the organization is also important in determining the success. Commitment by the workers in an organization results to career advancement, increased compensation and rewards, for the employees in an organization. Commitment by workers leads to greater job satisfaction and reduced training costs that are incurred by the managers of organizations. Job satisfaction among workers is influenced by both personal and organizational factors. Satisfaction by workers indicates that the organizational management is effective in its chores (Katzell et al. 1990). The optimal functioning of organizations depends on the level of satisfaction among the workers. Optimal performance in workers is achieved when workers apply full potential while attending to their duties. Happy employees increase their rate of productivity. Some of the facets of job satisfaction include supervision, promotion, and nature of work, pay, communication, operating procedures, fringe benefits, and contingent rewards. Promotions in jobs give opportunities for personal responsibilities, growth, and increase in the social status. The workers who get job promotions in their careers enjoy job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is thus considered as an individual’s evaluation and perception of their jobs, which is promoted by their unique values, needs, and expectations. Job satisfaction is dependent on factors such as working conditions, pay, structure, leadership and size.
Michael asserts that both the positive and negative attitudes have a direct effect on the level of productivity among the workers in an organization. Positive attitudes among workers promote the ability to engage employees in their work. The positive attitudes enhance optimistic exchanges among workers, which promote growth and progress of the company (Beer et al. 1990). Moreover, positive attitudes are important because they promote communication, morale, groups’ performance, and productivity among workers. The workplace attitude tone is set by the manager of the organization. The manager has the capability of setting the workplace tone by remaining positive, thus creating an environment that encourages innovation and creativity by the employees. If the manager portrays a positive attitude towards his or her employees, the employees will feel free to share their ideas and suggestions concerning the organization. This will lead to improvements in the functioning of the organization, and thus company’s success.
Katzell concludes that negative attitudes by workers in the workplace are observed through the actions that workers portray when carrying out their chores. Some of these behaviors include failure to report to the job, lateness, and giving excuses. Workers with negative attitudes are reluctant when it comes to attending to the duties that they have been assigned. On the other hand, the workers with positive attitudes shoe curiosity and enthusiasm about their jobs (Katzell et al. 1990). Positive attitudes by manager and leaders of companies change the attitude of the entire workplace and the employees to. This increases the creativity and innovation by the workers. Attitudes predict the behavior, and provide clues to the intentions of the employees. The positive attitudes towards jobs predict constructive behaviors whereas the negative job attitudes predict the undesirable behaviors by the employees. Satisfied workers are effective in their jobs because they work hard to achieve the level of performance that promotes their satisfaction.

References

Offermann, Lynn R.; Gowing, Marilyn K. (1990). Organizations of the future: Changes and challenges. American Psychologist, Vol. 45(2), 95-108. doi: 10. 1037/0003-066X. 45. 2. 95
Beer, Michael; Walton, Elise (1990). Developing the competitive organization: Interventions and strategies. American Psychologist, Vol. 45(2), 154-161. doi: 10. 1037/0003-066X. 45. 2. 154
Katzell, Raymond A.; Thompson, Donna E. (1990). Work motivation: Theory and practice. American Psychologist, Vol. 45(2), 144-153. doi: 10. 1037/0003-066X. 45. 2. 144
Jackson, Susan E.; Schuler, Randall S. (1990). Human resource planning: Challenges for industrial/organizational psychologists. American Psychologist, Vol. 45(2), 223-239. doi: 10. 1037/0003-066X. 45. 2. 223