Job analysis

Developing a detailed description of the tasks involved in a job, determining the relationships of a given
job to other jobs and ascertaining the knowledge, skills, abilities necessary for an employee to perform
the job successfully.

Personnel recruitment and selection

I-O psychologists typically work with HR specialists to design (a) recruitment processes and (b) personnel
selection systems. Personnel recruitment is the process of identifying qualified candidates in the
workforce and getting them to apply for jobs within an organization. Personnel recruitment processes
include developing job announcements, placing ads, defining key qualifications for applicants, and
screening out unqualified applicants.

Personnel selection is the systematic process of hiring and promoting personnel. Personnel selection
systems employ evidence-based practices to determine the most qualified candidates. Personnel
selection involves both new hires and individuals who can be promoted from within the organization.
Common selection tools include ability tests (e.g., cognitive, physical, or psychomotor), knowledge
tests, personality tests, structured interviews, the systematic collection of biographical data, and work
samples. I-O psychologists must evaluate evidence regarding the extent to which selection tools predict
job performance, evidence that bears on the validity of selection tools.

Performance appraisal/management
Performance appraisal or performance evaluation is the process of measuring an individual's work
behaviors and outcomes against the expectations of the job. Performance appraisal is frequently used in
promotion and compensation decisions, to help design and validate personnel selection procedures, and
for performance management.

Performance management is the process of providing performance feedback relative to expectations and
improvement information (e.g., coaching, mentoring). Performance management may also include
documenting and tracking performance information for organization-level evaluation purposes.

An I-O psychologist would typically use information from the job analysis to determine a job's
performance dimensions, and then construct a rating scale to describe each level of performance for the
job. Often, the I-O psychologist would be responsible for training organizational personnel how to use the
performance appraisal instrument, including ways to minimize bias when using the rating scale, and how
to provide effective performance feedback. Additionally, the I-O psychologist may consult with the
organization on ways to use the performance appraisal information for broader performance management
initiatives

Individual assessment and psychometrics

individual assessment involves the measurement of individual differences. I-O psychologists perform
individual assessments in order to evaluate differences among candidates for employment as well as
differences among employees. The constructs measured pertain to job performance. With candidates for
employment, individual assessment is often part of the personnel selection process. These assessments
can include written tests, physical tests, psychomotor tests, personality tests, work samples, and
assessment centers.

Psychometrics is the science of measuring psychological variables, such as knowledge, skills, and
abilities. I-O psychologists are generally well-trained in psychometric psychology.

Remuneration and Compensation

Compensation includes wages or salary, bonuses, pension/retirement contributions, and perquisites that
can be converted to cash or replace living expenses. I-O psychologists may be asked to conduct a job
evaluation for the purpose of determining compensation levels and ranges. I-O psychologists may also
serve as expert witnesses in pay discrimination cases when disparities in pay for similar work are alleged.

Training and training evaluation

Most people hired for a job are not already versed in all the tasks required to perform the job effectively.
Similar to performance management (see above), an I-O psychologist would employ a job analysis in
concert with principles of instructional design to create an effective training program. A training program is
likely to include a summative evaluation at its conclusion in order to ensure that trainees have met the
training objectives and can perform the target work tasks at an acceptable level. Training programs often
include formative evaluations to assess the impact of the training as the training proceeds. Formative
evaluations can be used to locate problems in training procedures and help I-O psychologist make
corrective adjustments in the while the training is ongoing.

Motivation in the workplace

Motivation is a positive drive that forces a person to reach the goal. In a workplace the manager or
supervisor has to know the needs or drive of individual and motivate according to it. In an
organization, when an employee is doing good job or production is increased by him, he must be
rewarded with respect to his needs

Organizational culture
Organizational culture can be described as a set of assumptions shared by the individuals in an
organization that directs interpretation and action by defining appropriate behavior for various situations.
There are three levels of organizational culture: artifacts, shared values, and basic beliefs and
assumptions. Artifacts comprise the physical components of the organization that relay cultural meaning.
Shared values are individuals' preferences regarding certain aspects of the organization's culture (e.g.
loyalty, customer service). Basic beliefs and assumptions include individuals' impressions about the
trustworthiness and supportiveness of an organization, and are often deeply ingrained within the
organization's culture.

In addition to an overall culture, organizations also have subcultures. Examples of subcultures include
corporate culture, departmental culture, local culture, and issue-related culture. While there is no single
"type" of organizational culture, some researchers have developed models to describe different
organizational cultures.

Organizational culture has been shown to have an impact on important organizational outcomes such as
performance, attraction, recruitment, retention, employee satisfaction, and employee well-being. Also,
organizations with an adaptive culture tend to perform better than organizations with an unadaptive
culture.

Group behavior
Group behavior is the interaction between individuals of a collective and the processes such as
opinions, attitudes, growth, feedback loops, and adaptations that occur and change as a result of this
interaction.[22] The interactions serve to fulfill some need satisfaction of an individual who is part of the
collective and helps to provide a basis for his interaction with specific members of the group. [23]

A specific area of research in group behavior is the dynamics of teams. Team effectiveness refers to the
system of getting people in a company or institution to work together effectively. The idea behind team
effectiveness is that a group of people working together can achieve much more than if the individuals of
the team were working on their own.
Job satisfaction and commitment
Job satisfaction reflects an employee's overall assessment of their job particularly their emotions,
behaviors, and attitudes about their work experience. It is one of the most heavily researched topics in
industrial/organizational psychology with several thousand published studies. Job satisfaction has
theoretical and practical utility for the field of psychology and has been linked to important job outcomes
including attitudinal variables, absenteeism, employee turnover, and job performance. For instance, job
satisfaction is strongly correlated with attitudinal variables such as job involvement, organizational
commitment, job tensions, frustration, and feelings of anxiety. Job satisfaction also has a weak correlation
with employee's absentee behaviors and turnover from an organization with employees more likely to
miss work or find other jobs if they are not satisfied. Finally, research has found that although a positive
relationship exists between job satisfaction and performance, it is moderated by the use of rewards at an
organization and the strength of employee's attitudes about their job.

Job Performance

Job performance represents behaviors employees engage in while at work which contribute to

organizational goals.[24] These behaviors are formally evaluated by an organization as part of an
employee’s responsibilities. In order to understand and ultimately predict job performance, it is important
to be precise when defining the term. Job performance is about behaviors that are within the control
of the employee and not about results (effectiveness), the costs involved in achieving results
(productivity), the results that can be achieved in a period of time (efficiency), or the value an
organization places on a given level of performance, effectiveness, productivity, or efficiency
(utility).

Leadership
Leadership is a process of influencing and supporting and motivating others to work enthusiastically or
effectively towards achieving the objectives or goal. A leader acts as a catalyst, who identifies the
potential of a worker and tries to put that into reality. A leader can be a positive leader or a negative
leader.

Ethics (also known as moral philosophy) is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions

aboutmorality—that is, concepts such as good vs. bad, noble vs. ignoble, right vs. wrong, and matters
of justice,love, peace, and virtue.
Organization development (OD) is a planned, organization-wide effort to increase an organization's
effectiveness and viability.