Psychology 2660A 001 FW24

Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology

WESTERN UNIVERSITY

LONDON               CANADA

Department of Psychology

Fall 2024

 

Psychology 2660A    Section 001

INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

 

Welcome to our course, which introduces how psychology is applied to understand and improve workplaces. For some students this course can be a foundation for a career in industrial and organizational psychology. But for the many for whom that is not the case, this course will help you leverage an understanding of psychology to improve your workplaces in the future.

 

  • CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

 

An introduction to the theories, methods, findings and applications of industrial and organizational psychology. Topics to be covered include: personnel recruitment and selection, employee training and development, performance appraisal, work attitudes and motivation, leadership and group processes, and organizational design. 

See course in the institutional calendar at:

https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/academics/timetables.html

 

Antirequisite: Psychology 2060, Psychology 2061A/B.

Prerequisite(s): A mark of at least 60% in 1.0 credits of Psychology at the 1000 level.

 

2 lecture hours and 1 tutorial hour; Course Weight: 0.5

 

Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.

 

2     COURSE INFORMATION

 

Instructor: Dr. M. Blair Evans, Assistant Professor, Industrial/Organizational Unit             

Phone:  519-661-2111 x84663

Office Hours: see Brightspace for details

Email: mevan3@uwo.ca

           

 


 

Teaching assistants:

Teaching assistant

Cullen Mccurrach

Rachel Edwards

Office

SSC 8424D

SSC 8434

Office Hours

Tuesdays 2-3pm in person at office or via zoom

Wednesdays from 10-11am at office or via zoom

Email

cmccurra@uwo.ca

redwar49@uwo.ca

 

 

Time and Location of Classes: The course and tutorial sessions will take place in person including two instructional settings

 

see Student Centre or Brightspace for Timetable 

We will also use the OWL brightspace system (https://westernu.brightspace.com/d2l/login) to coordinate all aspects of this course, and deliver in-course activities like quizzes.

 

For courses that include an online component, students must have a reliable internet connection and computer that are compatible with online learning system requirements.

 

3     COURSE MATERIALS

 

Our readings will involve a combination of an online text (see below) along with additional chapters, academic articles, and online content that will be available on the OWL brightspace site and through a formal course readings page supported by Western Libraries. The class schedule below identifies weeks with assigned readings, and these readings are provided along with a guide identifies key messages to derive from each reading.

 

ONLINE BOOKS, AVAILABLE THROUGH UWO LIBRARY

Readings will be posted from textbooks and academic articles that are available through our Library. All readings will be made freely available by Library staff. Our OWL brightspace reading guide and podcasts from Dr. Evans will help you navigate the readings.

 

Dipboye, R. L. (2018). The emerald review of industrial and organizational psychology. Emerald Group Publishing.  Doi: 10.1108/9781787437852

 

Rothmann, S., & Cooper, C. L. (2022) Work and organizational psychology (3rd Edition). Routledge publishing. Doi: 10.4324/b22796

 

4     COURSE OBJECTIVES & LEARNING OUTCOMES

 

This course introduces field of industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology.  This course will introduce a spectrum of psychological constructs and theories that help understand people at work.  The course also introduces the range of ways that that psychology is used to produce evidence-based tactics to improve the workplace. A focus of this course is also the profession of organizational psychology.  People who work within Industrial and Organizational Psychology often make it out of ‘academia’ and into roles with large-scale multinational organizations (e.g., Google), smaller-scale companies, the military, consulting groups (e.g., McKinsey), and hospital systems. The types of tasks that these professionals engage-with include those such as training employees, selecting employees, marketing, team building, and promoting well-being.

 

Following this course, successful students will have the capacity to:

 

Learning Outcome

Learning Activity

Assessment

 

Depth and Breadth of Knowledge.

-Recognize the traditions and theories that dominate Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

-Identify key research findings in Industrial/Organizational psychology

- Identify common workplace practices that relate to psychological research (e.g., interviews; job analysis)

·      Online modules

·      Lectures

·      Readings

Multiple choice exams Graded quizzes

Knowledge of Methodologies.

-Recognize the key research methods used by researchers in Industrial/Organizational Psychology

-Recall effective strategies to select, train, and evaluate employees.

·      Online modules

·      Lectures

·      Readings

Multiple choice exams Graded quizzes

Application of Knowledge.

-Reflect on how they can improve their workplaces as employees and/or leaders.

·       Tutorial discussions

 

Tutorial assignments

Communication Skills 

Critically discuss and write-about contemporary issues within industrial/organizational psychology.

·       Tutorial discussions

Tutorial assignments

 

 

5     EVALUATION

 

The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed in section 4 and are necessary for meeting these learning objectives.

 

Mid-term Exam (25%) and Final Exam (40%)  

 

Mid-term and final examinations will comprise most of the course evaluation activities, worth a total of 65% of the final grade. Items will consist of primarily multiple-choice and matching questions based on material from the preceding lectures and readings, while also including some short-answer style items. The final exam will be cumulative, although lectures will have ‘Questions of the day’ (QODs) that will help students recognize key content. QODs are short-answer style questions and are learning preparation activities that will guide students toward the critical concepts when leading into the final exam. The final exam will, itself, include several of these QODs in their entirety, or part of them. Further information about exam content will be provided in class throughout the term, along with exam reviews.

 

The Mid-term exam will be scheduled during class time (Oct 24th). The final exam will be scheduled with the registrar.

 

Exam conflicts.  Make-up exams will not be offered for mid-terms. Students with an adequate excuse for missing a mid-term, arranged through academic counselling, will be assigned a score based on your grade on the final exam. Students who do not have a documented and excused absence for a missing midterm will receive a grade of 0.

 

To excuse yourself from the registrar-scheduled final exam, contact academic counselling with our course’s information, the final exam date, and any documentation to validate your excuse. If your accommodation is approved, you and the academic counsellor should contact me via email to schedule you for a make-up exam.

 

Reviewing exam results. Exam grades will be posted within OWL brightspace. An online video reviewing exam items and response options will be posted within two weeks after the exam is completed. Each student is also permitted to view their midterm responses by scheduling a meeting with a teaching assistant at any point in time during the term.

 

Quizzes (10%; 6 quizzes, grades derived from top 5 grades, so each is worth 2.5% of the course grade)

 

Throughout this semester, students will complete brief quizzes on assigned reading material using OWL brightspace. The purpose of these quizzes is to assess understanding of the reading material and to provide practice at retrieving information. Each quiz will cover the content of the reading or listening assigned for that day only.

 

Quizzes will take place online (Sep 12, Sep 26, Oct 10, Nov 7, Nov 21, Nov 28) and will be completed using your personal device (i.e., computers) in OWL brightspace. Unless otherwise communicated in class and online, quizzes will be “asynchronous, completed on Thursdays as noted within the schedule during a one-day window (i.e., 9am EST to 11:59pm EST). In other words, students will complete their quiz on their own time during the day of our typical lectures. There will be six quizzes ranging from 8-10 items in length in matching, multiple choice, and short-answer format.

 

Quiz grades will be based upon students’ top five (5) quiz grades.  This means that students may complete all six quizzes and simply will be graded based on their top 5 quizzes.  This also means that students may miss one (1) quiz without accommodations or documentation. All students may miss up to one quiz without any formal accommodation or documentation. In this case, quizzes will be weighted accordingly. If you have formal accommodations to justify missing one or more quizzes, please contact the professor as soon as possible. Quizzes that are missed with appropriate approval will result in: (a) an extension to submit the quiz within the 2 days following the initial due date, or (b) a dropped quiz if you are unable to complete the quiz within 2 days, whereby the quiz grade will be based on the remaining quizzes (i.e., if the student receives one approved quiz absence, that would mean all other quizzes are worth more of the course grade). Otherwise, it is your responsibility to complete all quizzes.

 

Tutorial assignments (total of 25%).

During our tutorials, students engage in student-directed writing to translate knowledge on behalf of a community partner organization. One outside organization will be selected prior to beginning the term and the partner will identify a specific topic for the tutorial session. Students will then be assigned to small groups (3-6 members) that will work together during tutorial sessions to produce a high-quality written contribution of 3-5 pages that will be added to an overall ‘white paper’ that will be shared with the partner.

 

As examples, in previous years we worked with organizational partners seeking to better understand mentorship within small organizations, as well as organizations seeking insights about how to enhance employee experiences during an organizational re-design. Each student group tackles one sub-topic relating to the overarching issue – literature reviews, designing measurement tools, recommending intervention strategies, and conducting environmental scans. These submissions are combined to create a comprehensive document that touches on many issues and is then shared with the partner.

 

Two assignments will be introduced and described during tutorial sessions and related rubrics will be posted in OWL brightspace during the second week of class: 

  1. Individual reflection assignment (10%). This will be an individual written assignment. Students will complete a written reflection on experiences with completing a vocational assessment involving one’s personal values and traits, and sharing insights relating to evidence for the effectiveness of such assessments. They will also complete an annotation of an academic journal article.
  2. Group whitepaper and subtasks (10%). This group assignment is completed during tutorial sessions. Each group will be assigned to complete a 3-5 page written contribution that will be combined with other group members’ contributions and shared with the community partner during the final class of the term. Each group will also receive grades pertaining to group submissions of subtasks on a regular basis (e.g., annotated bibliography; draft submissions with formatting and visualizations).
  3. Tutorial participation/attendance and peer ratings for contribution (5%). Each student will receive a grade for this assignment comprised of a peer-rated evaluation regarding individual contributions to the group (rated twice) and a tutorial engagement component focused on tutorial attendance and participation. Tutorial attendance will be graded as a simple present/absent rating for each tutorial day and students will all be permitted to miss one tutorial without accommodation or documentation.

 


 

POLICY ON MISSING COURSEWORK

 

As a summary of the policies about assignment submission:

 

Activity

Without approved absence

With approved absence

Graded quizzes

 

Up to 48hrs late, 20% off grade. After 48hrs, no grade.

 

Every student can miss up to One (1) quiz without any accommodation or documentation required.

 

Extension or reweighted quiz grade (onto other quizzes).

Tutorial assignments

Up to 48hrs late, grace period (no grade deducted). After 48hrs, no grade.

Extension.

Tutorial participation/engagement

Students may miss up to one tutorial without any accommodation or documentation. No grade for additional missed sessions.

Reweighted onto other sessions.

Mid-term exam

**This mid-term exam requires formal supporting documentation.

No exam make-up, and grade of zero.

Exam weight reweighted onto final exam.

Final exam

No exam make-up, and grade of zero.

Rescheduled final exam.

Keep in mind that instructors are not permitted to receive documentation directly from the student in relation to accommodation requests. All documentation required for approved absences must be submitted to your Academic Counselling Office

 

The Psychology Department follows Western’s grading guidelines:  https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf

 

The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that they will be distributed around the following averages:

 

70%     1000-level to 2099-level courses

72%     2100-2999-level courses

75%     3000-level courses

80%     4000-level courses

 

In the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components.

 

Policy on Grade Rounding

 

Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a future program be considered.

 

 

6     ASSESSMENT/EVAUATION SCHEDULE

 

COURSE COMPONENT (DATE)

GRADE %

1.    Quizzes (Sep 12, Sep 26, Oct 10, Nov 7, Nov 21, Nov 28)

10%

2.    Mid-term Exam (Oct 24)

25%

3.    Final Exam (Final Exam Period)

40%

4.    Tutorial assignments (25%)

 

Individual reflection and article annotation (Oct 3)                                       10%

Group final whitepaper (Nov 29) and subtask submission                           10%

Tutorial participation/attendance and peer ratings for contribution                5%

 

7     CLASS SCHEDULE

 

The complete course schedule is provided on the next page.  All students will be required to access brightspace for class information and materials and any updates to the course schedule. Slides and supplemental required readings will be posted under the appropriate modules. A more detailed editable course schedule and a reading guide will also be available within OWL brightspace.

 

Keep in mind that attendance in course and tutorials are both critical to performing well in class. Particularly for tutorials we will keep track of attendance and will integrate that component into grading for the second tutorial assignment.  As such, if you need to miss a tutorial you are asked to please contact your TA.   

 

Lec.

Date

LECTURE TOPIC

Preparation

Tutorial groups

Readings

Activities

Sep 5

1. Introduction to I/O and research methods.

-

-

-

(No tutorials planned)

Sep 12

2. Job analysis, recruitment, and individual differences

Rothmann

Chs 2 & 7

 

All (Tutorial introduction)

Sep 19

3. Individual assessments in the workplace / Work design

 [Plan: organizational partner visit]

-

-

Beets/Leeks

 

Sep 26

4. Personnel, performance, and training

Dipb.

Ch. 11 & 12

 

 

 

Yams/Gourds

 

Oct 3

5. Diversity and Inclusion

Galinsky et al. 2015. Maximizing the gains

 

 

 

Beets/Leeks

 

Oct 10

6. Occupational health / Sustainability and the workplace

Wiernik et al. 2018 Antecedents of pro-environmental behaviour

Yams/Gourds

 

Oct 12-20 – Reading week

Oct 24

Mid-term exam Oct 24 in class

No tutorial.

Oct 31

7. Work Motivation

[Adam Grant Work/life Podcast assigned]

 

 

 

Beets/Leeks

Yams/Gourds

[combined session]

Nov 7

8. Work and wellbeing

Rothmann

Ch. 13

 

 

Beets/Leeks

 

Nov 14

9. Attitudes and behaviour

-

-

Yams/Gourds

 

Nov 21

10. Leadership

Dipb.

Ch. 9

Beets/Leeks

 

Nov 28

11. Teams & workplace interactions

Lacerenza et al. (2018). Evidence-Based Approaches / additional reading TBD

Yams/Gourds

 

Dec 5

12. Enhancing teams / Organizational partner visit

No tutorial

FINAL EXAM PERIOD Dec 9-22

[see next page for tutorial schedule]

TUTORIAL SCHEDULE:

Dates

Tutorial

Who attends each week?

Thursday

SSC-3018 – 1:30-3 :30

Friday

SSC-3010 – 1:30-3:30

Sept 5/6

No mandatory tutorial.

-

-

Sept 12/13

Introduction to the tutorial and introduction to organizational partner. Splitting into groupings.

All attend

All attend

Sep 19/20

Week A – Completing individual assessment and discussing assignment. Joining subgroups. Preparing team contract.

T.A. presentation: How can we work effectively as members of classroom teams – and how can we set appropriate norms?

Due end of session: Contract.

‘Beets’ members

‘Leeks’ members

Sep 26/27

‘Yams’ members

‘Gourds’ members

Oct 3/4

Week B – Subgroup workshop.

T.A. presentation: What are whitepapers, and how to write for ‘lay’ audiences?

Due Oct 11: Annotated bibliography (group).Peer evals.

‘Beets’ members

‘Leeks’ members

Oct 10/11

‘Yams’ members

‘Gourds’ members

** [No tutorials Oct 17/18 and 24/25]

Oct 31/Nov1

 

Week C - Subgroup workshop and brief presentations to other groups.

T.A. presentation: Summarizing key concepts for our whitepaper.

Due at end of session: 4-sentence summary of group whitepaper problem/solution.

‘Beets’ members

‘Yams’ members

‘Leeks’ members

‘Gourds’ members

Nov 7/8

Week D - Subgroup workshop.

T.A. presentation: Formatting, visualization, and software use for whitepaper preparation.

Due Nov 15: Formatted draft of group whitepaper.

‘Beets’ members

‘Leeks’ members

Nov 14/15

‘Yams’ members

‘Gourds’ members

Nov 21/22

Week E - Subgroup workshop.

T.A. presentation: How can we track and get ‘credit’ for engagement activities?

Due Nov29: Whitepapers. Peer evals.

‘Beets’ members

‘Leeks’ members

Nov 28/29

‘Yams’ members

‘Gourds’ members

Dec 5/6

Last week of class – no tutorials

Note: Each section (Th / Fr) will be split into two groupings (‘I’ / ‘O’) – meaning you only attend tutorials essentially once every-other week.  This provides a smaller setting to work in tutorials. You will be assigned to your specific grouping during the first week of tutorial, which every student will attend.  After that, you will be assigned into a specific grouping aligned with the letter for your section (T/F) and the weekly grouping (I/O).

 

8     ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

 

Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

 

Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.

 

Statement on Use of Electronic Devices

 

In-Class Electronics: Electronics are invited into the classroom, both for note-taking and for participating in activities. During class, students may be invited to use their devices to participate in discussion, or to participate in just-in-time readings. Electronic devices are also critical for tutorial sessions, as students in working groups may be invited to use computers, tablets, or phones to search the internet, complete assessments, or participate in writing tasks. It is up to all class members to work and ensure that these devices are used to further your own learning and development – and to prevent distraction of yourself or others. If students have concerns about other’s use of in-class electronics (e.g., distracting peer), then please share any concerns with the instructor.

 

Out-of-class electronics: Quizzes are conducted online using Brightspace on your own time. These activities are commonly open-book. Considering that a portion of the grade in this class is designated for this activity, all academic integrity principles especially apply to the use of Brightspace quizzes – including the necessity for completing quizzes independently.

 

Plagiarism Detection Software

 

All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism.  All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com.

 

Use of AI

 

The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool to learn, not to produce content.

 

Multiple Choice Exams

 

Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.

 

Exam Proctoring Software

 

Tests and examinations for online courses may be conducted using a remote proctoring service. More information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on Western’s Remote

Proctoring website at: https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca.

 

Personal Response Systems (“Clickers”)

 

In classes that involve the use of a personal response system, data collected will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed.

 

9     Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education

 

View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this link.

 

Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western.

If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit Accessible Education for more information.  Email: aew@uwo.ca  Phone: 519 661-2147

 

10   Absence & Academic Consideration

 

View Western’s policy on academic consideration for medical illnesses this link

 

Find your academic counsellor here: https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.html

 

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain academic considerations. Students must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence.

 

Medical Absences

 

Submit a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for Academic Consideration.

 

Nonmedical Absences

 

Submit appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.

 

Religious Consideration

 

Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term.

 

11   OTHER INFORMATION

 

 

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Health and Wellness@Western https://www.uwo.ca/health/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you.

 

If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf. Please first contact the course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal in writing to the Undergraduate Chair in Psychology (psyugrd@uwo.ca).

 

Copyright Statement

 

Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.

 

12   LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 

We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton. Nations, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum. This land continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) whom we recognize as contemporary stewards of the land and vital contributors of our society.