Q.1. Define Industrial Psychology and its scope.
Related Question -
Q. Describe the role and scope of industrial psychology in engineering and technology. (AKTU. 2009 -10)
Q. What do you mean by Industrial Psychology, and what are the scope of industrial psychologist. (AKTU. 2010 - 11)
Ans. The definition used by the Canadian Psychological Association includes the statement, “Industrial-Organizational psychologists are able to apply psychological theories to explain and enhance the effectiveness of human behavior and cognition in the workplace”.
For example, principles of learning are used to develop training programs and incentive plans, principles of social psychology are used to form work groups and understand employee conflict, and principles of motivation and emotion are used to motivate and satisfy employees. The application of psychological principles is what best distinguishes I/O psychology from related fields typically taught in business colleges.
Industrial psychology is simply the application or extension of psychological facts and principles to the problems concerning human beings operating within the context of business and industry.
The most important aspect of industrial psychology is its discipline. It clearly recognizes that scientific conclusions must be objective and based upon facts gathered as a result of defined procedure.
Scope: -
One of the best ways to begin to understand the complex field of industrial psychology is by enumerating the various types of activities which can be considered as part of the general domain of the profession.
Industrial psychology must be “what industrial psychologist do” and have tried to empirically determine exactly what it is that they do.
Perhaps the most authoritative source on the functions and activities which comprise industrial psychology is Division 14 itself, since it exists as the official organization of all psychologist concerned with the application of psychological knowledge to the world of industry. The Psychologist in Industry, the Division cited seven major areas which comprised the content area of industrial psychology. These were:
(1) selection and testing,
(2) management development,
(3) counseling,
(4) employee motivation,
(5) human engineering,
(6) marketing research, and
(7) public relation research.
In summary, it would appear that the psychologist employed by an industrial organization is likely to find himself required to tackle nearly any problem involving people. This is made quite apparent by the Division 14 report, which lists over 150 more specific kinds of problems with which industrial psychologist concern themselves.
Q.2. Write short note on scientific Management.
Ans. Scientific Management: -
The father of “scientific” management was Frederick Winslow Taylor, a mechanical engineer who performed management studies in 1890. According to him (1947) “scientific” management (the quotes are ours) is based upon the firm conviction that the interests of the employer and the employee are the same, and that this system makes it possible to give the workman what he wants most-high wages-and the employer what he wants-a low labor cost. Taylor proposed scientific management as opposed to “management of initiative and incentive.” He believed that his system was scientific because it gathered together the knowledge formerly possessed only by workmen and classified, tabulated, and reduced it to laws, rules, and formulas. He proposed that management take on new duties, such as (1) developing a science for each element of a man’s work, (2) scientifically selecting and training workmen (3) cooperating heartily with the men, and (4) taking over all duties and work for which it is better fitted than the workmen. Taylor states in summary, “Under the management of initiative and incentive practically the whole problem is up to the workmen, while under scientific management fully one-half the problem is under management. “To be perfectly blunt, either Taylor must have been a supersalesman or industry in 1890 was very primitive and its executives were very naive. Analyzing Taylor’s system and the manner in which it was put to use allows no justification for the term “scientific”.
Q.3. What do you mean by humanity relation training.
Ans. Human Relation Training: -
Modern management theory accepts without question the notion that interpersonal relationship between a supervisor and his subordinates are an important component in the managerial decision process. Thus, optimizing the decision process must involve training in the understanding of the interpersonal relationships critical to the process. Such training is generally referred to as human relations training.
As in the case of technical knowledge training, there are a number of different training procedures which can be used to teach human relation skills.
(1) Simulated Situations. Almost any situation which is set up to simulate the technical aspects of the decision-making job can be used (perhaps with minor modification) as a training device in human relations. Two excellent examples are the methods of role playing and the in-basket technique.
(2) Group Discussion. In the case of simulated training, the situation in which the trainee operates is a rather well-structured one. A different procedure is to form what are called “unstructured” groups for purposes of discussing problems of interpersonal relations among individuals. Examples of these are the “T” group (training groups) and the sensitivity training methods.
