Within psychology there are a wide variety of branches and specialties. Each and every one of them is of vital importance to understand the world as we know it. However, through one or the other we can learn about certain concepts.
In Psychology-Online we do not want to give more importance to some disciplines than to others, and that is why we want to introduce you and teach you how each one of them works. In this article we have the objective that you know a little more about a deeply rooted and important approach to psychology in our day to day life. It is neither more nor less than organizational psychology.
According to Pérez (2013), organizational psychology is about the discipline or branch of psychology oriented to the study of the behavior of people within an organization. In other words, this type of psychology aims to analyze the behaviors of individuals who are part of an organization.
What does an organizational psychologist or psychologist do?
The main functions of a professional in this field are:
- Study human behavior within an organization.
- Evaluate and select staff.
- Evaluate the performance of both individuals and the organization itself.
- Design training and organizational development programs.
- Carry out planning, organization, direction and control activities.
- Carry out studies on the psycho-labor variables that influence organizations.
Within the psychology of organizations there are different specialties and functions:
Industrial organizational psychology
Industrial organizational psychology is based on the following objectives:
- Determine the characteristics of the most suitable individuals for each job.
- Determine the conditions that guarantee the best and most satisfactory result.
- Determine what influences contribute to maximizing job well-being.
This was born as a result of an increase in interest in the human factor and replaced the mechanical model of behavior with another that took into account the feelings and motivations of the workers.
Positive organizational psychology
It is basically an approach focused on the study of optimal functioning by people in terms of the work context. Its objective is to enhance work environments in order to develop to the maximum each one of the virtues of the workers and thus support business success.
Organizational and work psychology
The basis of his study starts from the search for all the relationships of people and work in each of its manifestations, with the ultimate goal of achieve at the highest level an adequate efficiency, both on the part of the organization and the workers, as well as the personal development of these last.
Organizational psychology and human resources
For a suitable job to be carried out, an adequate worker is needed to perform it. That is why human resources are completely necessary within organizational psychology. Its function is to identify the training and development needs of a company; design and optimize the quality of working life; evaluate the effectiveness of training programs, develop batteries to evaluate the performance of both individuals and organizations themselves.
Our society is based on capitalist bases where, to survive, you have to work. However, this does not imply that you have to do it in inadequate conditions or that companies have to be affected by the inefficiency of the workers.
That is why more and more companies turn to specialists in organizational psychology in order to improve. Thus, at present this is one of the specialties in psychology with more job opportunities, as more and more psychologists are required from organizations.
Organizational psychology career
At present there is no career in organizational psychology as such. However, this knowledge can be accessed from different careers.
On the one hand, the learning of organizations can be initiated by studying the psychology career. Many of the universities have in their curriculum subjects oriented to this field of psychology. For example, the Jaume I University of Castellón, in the third year of the degree, takes the subject of introduction to work psychology and as a fourth elective also offers resource psychology humans.
In turn, this type of psychology can be studied from the degree of labor relations and occupation, which is more aimed at training professionals to master the organization of work from a multidisciplinary perspective. The degree of labor relations and human resources aims to provide students with a complete training in everything related to the organization of work, personal management and the legal organization of work and safety Social.
Once one of the previously named careers / degrees has been completed, a Master's degree specialized in Organizational Psychology as we have detailed previously. In addition there are also other courses and training both face-to-face and online that will allow us to further develop our skills in terms of organizational psychology. These trainings will allow you to acquire the necessary knowledge to organize in a professional human resources areas and thus improve the quality of work and behavior labor.
If you want to increase your knowledge through reading, I leave at your disposal the titles of a series of books that can help you to calm your concern about this topic. Or to increase it, who knows.
- Introduction to Organizational Psychology. Francisco Gil Rodríguez; Carlos María Alcover de la Hera. ISBN 10: 8420635642 / ISBN 13: 9788420635644. Ed. Alliance, 2003. The objective of this manual is to present an overview of the Psychology of Organizations that is, at the same time, rigorous, current and affordable, in a field characterized by great activity and expansion both in the field of research and in the field of application in all types of companies, organizations and institutions
- Organizational Psychology. Martínez Tur, Vicente (coord.); Ramos López, José (coord.); Moliner Cantos, Carolina (coord.) ISBN 13: 9788490770832. Editorial Síntesis, S. A., 2015
- Executive coaching. Alonso García, Miguel Aurelio; Streets Doñate, Ana María; Gioya Rivero, Pedro. ISBN 10: 8497567161 / ISBN 13: 9788497567169. Editorial Síntesis, S.A., 2010. Executive coaching helps and facilitates a process of change, seeks to achieve positive changes in people and that these changes have an impact on the organizations in which they work.
- Qualitative techniques in Human Resources. Vera María Lorente; Laura Martinez Isabel. ISBN 10: 8497568168 / ISBN 13: 9788497568166. Editorial Síntesis, S.A, 2012. This book collects the main contributions of qualitative techniques to the organizational context.
- Theory of the labour relations. Challenges. Juan Carlos Rodríguez Serrano; María Pilar Curòs Vila; Victor Oltra Comorera. ISBN 10: 8484293114 / ISBN 13: 9788484293118. Ed. Uoc, 2003
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
