Applying Organizational Psychology

Applying Organizational Psychology

Psych 570 Organizational Psychology

December 23, 2012

Professor J. Whinghter, PhD

When an individual begins seeking employment within an organization, the application of organizational psychology begins. This is the beginning of an extremely overwhelming and demanding process for the individual and the organization. For any individual seeking employment, he or she looks for the best organization that will fulfill his or her needs; the same applies for organizations. Organizations seek the right person to fit the right position within the company. Beginning with the recruitment and hiring process to the first day of the new work setting, principles of organizational psychology are significant and pertinent within an organization. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the recruitment process from an organizational and applicant perspective, explain how the principles of organizational psychology can be used in the process of recruitment, describe the concept of organizational socialization, and explain how the principles of organizational psychology can be applied to organizational socialization.

Recruitment Process

Organizational Perspective

According to Jex and Britt (2008), the recruitment process is designed to assemble large quantities of qualified candidates. This process allows organizations the ability to determine which candidate will remain in the organization for long periods, have a better chance at success, and is the right fit for the job. Generally, the concept of recruiting does not come into the category of the organization; it adheres more to socialization. This is because the success of recruiting guarantees that new employees' will blend into the culture of the organization and become more socially successful (Jex & Britt, 2008).

The first step in the recruitment process is recruitment planning. Candidates are selected carefully not randomly. These applicants are selected based on factors, such as amount of staff needed, dates staff is needed, and number of current and future staff in the labor market. An organization's recruitment planning should correspond with its strategic planning. Strategic planning is vital for recruitment. Strategic planning allows the company to determine where the company is going and how the company is going to get there (Jex & Britt, 2008). Strategic and recruitment planning must be connected because strategic plans develop precise implications of staff needs. Another important element in recruitment planning is successful planning. Successful planning entails making projections concerning turnover rates within certain job groups. For example, how many people are retiring? Another factor to consider is the talents and expertise of staff. Many staff members are asked to complete a skills inventory test. This lets employees know what abilities exist within the organization and lessens the need to seek candidates outside the company because filling positions within companies has certain advantages.

Once an organization has developed an effective recruitment plan, the next step is to choose various methods of recruiting. One of the main pieces of the puzzles for organizations wanting to recruit is to decide whether to invite applications from external or internal sources. As stated earlier, internal hiring has its advantages; it provides positive incentive to staff and is less expensive than hiring new staff; however, hiring externally can bring new ideas to an organization. Most companies prefer using the Internet as the preferred method of choice to find the best candidates (Jex & Britt, 2008).

Applicant Perspective

From an applicant's perspective, when he or she is seeking employment, he or she asks the question, "Can I see myself performing this particular job at this particular company?" According to Jex and Britt (2008), the best assessment for anyone to make in answering this question is to determine whether his or her expertise and talents meet the needs and requirements to perform the job. Another question is whether or not he or she will fit in with the culture of the organization. Because potential candidates are not employees, he or she has to rely on second- hand information, such as websites, experiences, and brochures.

Organizational Socialization

Organizational socialization is the method whereby organizations train individuals on the skills and knowledge required to assume his or her organizational responsibilities (Chao, O'Leary-Kelly, Wolf, Klein, Gardner, 1994)). Organizational socialization entails educating trainees on the principles, social knowledge, behaviors, and needed workplace skills required to successfully take on an organizational function and partake as an organizational member (Chao et al. 1994).

Organizational socialization process consists of three stages: