Coursework

Posted: August 13th, 2013

Coursework

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Coursework

Question 1

Many critics of I/O psychology seem to lack an appreciation of the field. They fail to recognize the advances that I/O psychologists have made especially in improving the workplace and the conditions of the workers. The fact that they fail to appreciate the measures made and the achievements realized means that they do not understand the field of I/O psychology. I/O psychology continues to hold much relevance in today’s workplace. There have been several changes in the past regarding the functioning at the work place. The change in industries from the industrial to more service oriented workplace required several changes. This was not only on the part of the employees who had to acquire new skills and knowledge necessary for the service industry, but also in the part of the organization’s management, which had to deal with employees with a different mindset. Other factors such as increasing use of information technology and communications and sensitivity to gender and sexual issues have been essential in determining the current workplace, and in changing I/O psychology by requiring further investigation into the issues (Cascio, 1995).

I do not think that the critics are justified in claiming that I/O psychologists have created an artificial barrier. I/O psychologists have learnt from different theories and other sub disciplines of psychology over the years, and this has made it possible for them to work towards providing managements and organizations with meaningful information needed to improve their workplaces (Gather, 2003). I think that the concept of mindfulness from counseling psychology has more promise to I/O psychology. This is because I/O psychology deals with human behavior and I/O psychologists have become behavioral scientists working with people in the organization. Counselors use the concept of mindfulness to help people focus and to reduce stress. This means that it benefits both the individuals and the organization. The organization benefits because focused and stress free employees are able to increase their productivity. Therefore, the two theories essentially work towards improving people’s lives in organizations.

Question 2

Professional interventionists provide services to the clients. They do not dictate what the clients want, but they seek to understand what the clients need and what they are getting. On the other hand, the client depends on the expertise and knowledge of the professional interventionist in providing the necessary services, thereby solving any problem that he might have. Interventionists and clients have discrepancies regarding several issues and this causes disagreements between them. Failure to understand the differences may lead to adverse situations between the clients and the interventionists. The two parties need to communicate to ensure that they have understood each other. The professional interventionists need to understand that they cannot impose their own will on the clients, if the clients are not in favor of their ideas and proposals.

The client, on the other hand, should have a clear idea of what he or she wants before involving the interventionist. Discussing the issue with the interventionist may make clients change their minds concerning the issue. The client should make the decision after receiving all the information, as this will enable him to make an informed choice. The interventionist has the obligation of ensuring that he provides all the necessary information to the client, irrespective of whether he thinks that the client will be in need of the information. The interventionist should be real concerning his possibility of achieving goals. If the clients feel that they cannot work with the interventionist then they should not choose to work with him from the beginning (Argyris, 1973). Large group interventions enable inclusiveness because they have more variety. They are essential because they enable the organization to tackle issue that would have otherwise not been possible with small group interventions (Griffin et al., 2002). Small group interventions may seem to be quantitative, but they do not help in addressing all the concerns.