UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA                                                                                                        

Department of Psychology                                                                                                            

 

PSY 180 - INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Summer, 2016

 Lecturer: Dr. Shreya Sarkar-Barney

 

Text (Recommended)	Muchinsky, P. M. and Culbertson, S. S. (2015). Psychology applied to work (11th Edition). Hypergraphic Press.
Class Hours	Mondays and Thursdays , 3:00PM-7:00PM
Location	Barker 101
Email	sarkarbarney@berkeley.edu/shreya@humancapitalgrowth.com
Telephone	415-755-8907 (cell)
Office Hours	Mondays and Thursdays before class
Reader	Corey Grantham
Final Exam	Last day of class

 

Course Description

This course will provide an Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology, a scientific discipline that studies human behavior in the workplace. Organizational psychologists help institutions hire, manage, develop, support employees and align employee efforts with business needs. Their work contributes to outcomes such as better talent to achieve the strategic goals of the organization, reduced turnover, increased productivity, and improved employee engagement. In February 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics named Industrial and Organizational Psychology as the fastest growing profession with a projected growth of 53% until 2022.

Professionals with a background in Industrial and Organizational Psychology work in a variety of settings including multinational corporations, small and medium-size enterprises, not-for-profit organizations, military, Healthcare, and academia. In the business world, a number of terms are used to describe the activities of organizational psychologists. These include talent management, employee development, human capital management, and workforce management. Within corporations, they typically hold positions in human resources, talent management, leadership development, learning and development, workforce analytics, marketing, organizational development, or research and development.

This course will provide a scientist-practitioner view of the discipline. Through the lectures and class discussions, students will learn the scientific basis of human behavior at work and how they relate to processes of hiring, developing, managing and supporting employees.

Lecturer Bio

Dr. Shreya Sarkar-Barney is the president and founder of Human Capital Growth Inc., a talent management firm that uses the science of human behavior to improve workplace effectiveness. Human Capital Growth is incorporated in the US and India, and services clients around the globe. Shreya’s career has spanned academia, corporate roles, and external consulting. She has worked in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Her primary expertise is in the area of talent and organizational development. In particular, she has deep expertise in designing and deploying enterprise-wide solutions to complex business problems. She has led projects in the areas of leadership assessment, feedback & coaching, team development, competency modeling, succession planning, high volume hiring assessments, sales training, technical training and diversity & inclusion.

In her last internal role, she was responsible for leadership development at Levi Strauss and Company. Shreya has won awards for her work on Global Human Capital Development at Dendrite International where she was responsible for training and development. She has also held a tenure-track professor position at Illinois Institute of Technology, authored several journal articles & book chapters. She is the author of the book “The role of national culture in transfer of training” which is based on a 49 country study of training effectiveness. She currently chairs an SHRM/ANSI team working on developing a standard and metric on employee turnover.

Shreya has a B.A. in Industrial Psychology from Fergusson College, India, and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Bowling Green State University. She along with her husband and two children lives in Vacaville, California. Shreya enjoys experiencing all the beautiful things this world has to offer through travel, food, music, and art.

Course goals and learning objectives

In this course you will:

• understand the origins of I-O Psychology and what I-O Psychologists do
• understand the building blocks of a job and learn a methodology to study jobs
• learn how the science of human behavior is used to select, develop, and manage employees
• learn how organizations can create a supportive work environment
• develop an understanding of how theory and research are applied to work settings
• begin to think and write critically about I-O psychology theory, research, and application
• begin to apply what you’ve learned about I-O psychology to your own and others’ work

Course format

The goal of this course to engage you in thinking critically about the needs of workplaces and understand how the science of I-O Psychology helps address those needs. We will use several learning methods to achieve this goal, including lectures, discussions, and activities. All relevant information will be covered during the class lectures. Class presentation will be made available through bCourses. It is expected that students will review the presentation before coming to class. Students can expect to gain practice in using the learned information through case study analysis, debates, discussions, or activities.

 

Classroom attendance is required, and you are encouraged to bring questions for discussion. To earn the participation grades, students are expected to attend the entire duration of each class and activity participate in all activities. Any absence due to health emergencies will require a note from the doctor. If you have any questions or concerns, please see me before or after the class or schedule an appointment. The best way to reach me is at my work email (shreya@humancapitalgrowth.com) or send a text message to 415-755-8907. I will do my best to respond within 24 hours.

Graded Course Activities

1)         Chapter Quizzes (30% of the grade, 300 Points - 9 quizzes, number of questions     for each quiz             will vary between 15 and 20)

            These will be in a multiple-choice format and designed to gauge understanding from    the lectures and classroom discussion. They should be completed online after each          class lecture and will be due within 24 hours. These are take-home tests and should be completed independently.

 

2)         Midterm examinations (20% of the grade, 200 points)

The midterm exam will be a take-home exam as well. It will be a combination of multiple choice and short essay questions. The exam will assess your knowledge of the assigned topics and your ability to evaluate, integrate, and apply the learned material. The exam will be made available after class on June 12th. Take no more than 2 hours to complete it. It should be submitted by midnight on June 14th.

 

3)         Project Work (30% of the grade, 300 points)

            The purpose of the project work is to practice using the theory and concepts learned in the class to solve real-world problems. You have two options:

 

(a) Conduct a diagnosis of an HR organization. Understand their current practices and recommend better solutions based on what you have learned in the course.

 

(b) Meet with a friend or a colleague to understand some of their challenges at work. Based on the topics covered in the course describe their challenge and propose a solution that their employer can implement.

 

            A one-paragraph proposal of your paper will be due midway through the course. Please           note that late papers will be penalized.

 

4)         Final examination (20% of the grade, 200 points)

            The final will be cumulative though strongly emphasizing the material covered after   the second midterm exam. The format of the final exam will be similar to that of the    midterm.

Grades

Grades for the course will be determined based on the cumulative scores earned in the graded course activities. Students may earn additional points by participating in extra credit activities.

Grading criteria

Grade	Point	Grade	Point	Grade	Point
A+	960+	A	930 - 958	A-	900 - 928
B+	870 - 898	B	840 - 868	B-	800 - 838
C+	770 – 798	C	740 - 768	C-	700 - 738
D+	670 - 698	D	640 - 668	D-	600 - 638
F	< 600

Extra Credit

Students will have an opportunity to earn extra credits by participating in RPP projects. For each RPP point you earn, 3 points will be added to your total score in the course.  When you sign up for RPP credits, be sure to indicate the course it should apply to (e.g. PSY 180).

In order to learn how to create an RPP account and start participating in experiments, please go to the following link:
http://psychology.berkeley.edu/students/undergraduate-program/research-participation-program and click on "Important Information for Students."  If you have any questions, you can contact RPP at rpp@berkeley.edu.

Regrade Policy

A student may request for an exam to be regraded if they can provide accurate reasoning for their exam response(s). If a student would like to request a regrade he/she should write a one-page argument providing a rationale for why his/her answer is correct, and the student is encouraged to use class notes or reading material to support his/her arguments. The regrade rationale can be submitted within two weeks of the time exams are returned to students.

Make-up Exam Policy

Students who miss an exam must have a legitimate excuse (e.g. major illness) and should inform me of his/her plans to miss an exam prior to the examination time. For these students, a make-up exam will be scheduled during the last week of class. Projects not completed on time will receive a zero.

 

 

Syllabus

Class	Date	Classroom	Text Book
1	July 7th	What is I-O Psychology? Relationship to talent management?	Chapter 1: Historical Background of I/O Psychology Chapter 2: Research Methods in I-O Psychology
2	July 11th	Job Analysis Talent Acquisition	Chapter 3: Criteria: Standards for Decision Making Chapter 5: Personnel Decisions (read section on Recruitment)
3	July 14th	Employee selection	Chapter 4: Predictors: Psychological Assessments
4	July 18th	Learning and Development (Training)	Chapter 6: Organizational Learning
5	July 21st	Performance appraisal Take home MID-TERM EXAM (released online after class, deadline midnight July 23rd)	Chapter 7: Performance Management   Review Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7
6	July 25th	Leadership   Submit Project Proposal	Chapter 13: Leadership
7	July 28th	Teams	Chapter 9: Team and Teamwork
8	August 1st	Employee Engagement	Chapter 10: Affect,, Attitudes, and Behavior at work
9	August 4th	Work Motivation	Chapter 12: Work Motivation
10	August 8th	Employee well-being at Work	Chapter 11: Workplace Psychological Health
11	August 11th	FINAL EXAM   Final Project Report Due (by midnight)	Review Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

 

 

 

Project Work Guidelines

(a) Conduct a diagnosis of an HR organization. Understand their current practices and recommend better solutions based on what you have learned in the course.

 

Step 1: Use your network to identify a target organization for your project. The organization should have a minimum of 100 employees and can be located anywhere in the world. Secure a 1-hour long interview with an HR representative of the organization to understand their HR practices. You may conduct this interview in person, by telephone or video conferencing facilities such as Skype or Google Hangouts.

 

Step 2: Create a checklist of items and an interview guide. Because we will not have covered all the topics before your interview, the instructor will make available a standardized checklist. The purpose of the interview should be to understand how the HR function supports the organization; become aware of their goals, objectives, and deliverables; as well as, their key challenges. You can use the checklist to gather data quickly and for probing purposes.

 

Step 3: Upload your project proposal to bCourses for feedback. Also, bring a copy to class on July 25th. In your proposal be sure to include the name of the organization, the title and name of your interviewee, proposed checklist (if modified) and interview questions. The project description and interview question should be no more than a page.

 

Step 4: Conduct your interview using the checklist and interview questions. Take detailed notes. Alternatively, with the permission of the interviewee you can record the interview and transcribe it for your final report.

 

Step 5: Write your project report. This should be approximately five (5) pages long, double-spaced, font size 11, 1" margin. The final report is due on August 11th (Deadline midnight). The final paper should be uploaded to bCourses.

 

Here's a recommended structure:

           

Executive Summary: In five to six sentences describe the purpose of your project, what you did and what you found.

 

Background: Describe the organization, their size, location and industry and products. If your interviewee was promised anonymity, you are not required to name the organization or the interviewee. Outline the organization's key strengths and challenges.

 

HR Practices: In this section describe the company's approach to hiring, managing, developing and supporting employees.

 

Recommendations for improvement: Using the checklist and your course readings describe what opportunities exist to improve the practices. Be sure to cite appropriate research when relevant.

 

Conclusion: Describe the key points from you findings. Share what was most surprising and include personal learning from the experience.

 

(b) Meet with a friend or a colleague to understand some of their challenges at work. Based on the topics covered in the course describe their challenge and propose a solution that their employer can implement.

 

Step 1: Use your network to identify a friend or a colleague at work who is willing to describe their organization and work-related challenges. Secure a 1-hour long interview to understand their situation. You may conduct this interview in person, by telephone or video conferencing facilities such as Skype or Google Hangouts.

 

Step 2: Create an interview guide. The purpose of the interview should be to understand if the interviewee feels supported by their organization; what are some things they like and what are the challenges they experience at work. Try to explore how their employer's approach to hiring, managing, developing and supporting employees. You can use the checklist provided to the class to gather data quickly and for probing purposes.

 

Step 3: Upload your project proposal to bCourses for feedback. Also, bring a copy to class on July 25th. In your proposal be sure to include the name of the organization, the title, and name of your interviewee, proposed checklist (if modified) and interview questions. The project description and interview question should be no more than a page.

 

Step 4: Conduct your interview using the checklist and interview questions. Take detailed notes. Alternatively, with the permission of the interviewee you can record the interview and transcribe it for your final report.

 

Step 5: Write your project report. This should be approximately five (5) pages long, double-spaced, font size 11, 1" margin. The final report is due on August 11th (deadline midnight). Here's a recommended structure:

           

Executive Summary: In five to six sentences describe the purpose of your project, what you did and what you found.

 

Background: Describe the organization where your interviewee works( a type of business, industry). If you promised them anonymity, you are not required to name the organization or the interviewee. Outline your interviewee's situation at work.

 

Organizational Practices: In this section describe the organizational practices impacting your interviewee, particularly as it related to hiring, managing, developing and supporting employees.

 

Recommendations for improvement: Using your course readings describe what opportunities exist to improve things for your interviewee. Be sure to cite appropriate research when relevant.

 

Conclusion: Describe the key points from you findings. Share what was most surprising and include personal learning from the experience.

Overall writing quality and formatting will be important to earn the highest points. Be sure to check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting and writing quality. Use APA style formatting and include a list of references used in the paper. You may use tables and charts as appropriate.