What is I-O?

Anyway, as always, please feel free to e-mail your comments and reactions regarding this issue of TIP or anything else that piques your interest. My door is always open.

Thats a Rappelling Development

Do you know how I always know when the December holidays are coming? No, its not the appearance of lights strung on trees or silhouetted in window sills. No, its not the smarmy muzak played in malls and stores. No, its not the warm fuzziness of humankind overflowing into daily existence. No, its not the seemingly sudden plummet in temperature on the east coast from the crispness of fall to the bone-chilling cold of winter. The truth is, I know that the holidays are around the corner when, just as I enter my driveway, I notice that our mail box is bloated, indeed practically bursting, because it is crammed full with mail-order catalogues. Sure, as frequent mail-order shoppers (who wants to hear all that mall muzak anyway?), we receive catalogues all year round, but nothing can compare to the renewed avalanche of brightly colored glossy paper. Whether its insipid looking models wearing the latest fashions regurgitated from the 1970s or detailed explanations of why the latest must-have gifts are truly the best of their kind, the sheer number of catalogues we receive is mind numbing. Between the three slightly different versions sent simultaneously from the same company or three copies of the exact same catalogue addressed to three different versions of my name, its no wonder there are so few trees left in America! In fact, there is such an accumulation at home that I often fear for the lives of our cats when the piles start sliding off the counter.

Why am I writing about these catalogues, you wonder? Well, normally the products offered are the same old same old, but this year I received a new catalogue (one targeted at people who spend way too much on things nobody actually needs) that offered a truly unique gift that I had to mention here: the James Bond combat training adventure. Thats right folks, for a mere $19,995 you too can spend a week in an 11,000-acre resort in luxury accommodations, where you feast on three gourmet meals a day, and receive continuous beverage service (as opposed to interrupted beverage service) while experiencing the truly ultimate development experience for any executive wanting to truly challenge him- or herself and hone his or her effectiveness. The adventure boasts target ranges, lakes for amphibious operations, rock formations perfect for rappelling, thick underbrush for cover and camouflage operations, and a final mission involving a helicopter assault landing replication of actual combat scenarios. Make no mistake, this is real stuffdesigned and managed by trained military and police experts. Assuming you can afford it, whats my beef with this latest offering in adult entrainment?

Well, first of all, the fact that this adventure package is listed in a mail order catalogue from a well-known store is troubling enough. I mean, who is really going to buy this for $20K for their spouse for the holidays? Surprise honey, I am sending you on a nice rappelling mission. Dont bump your knees. I guess if someone has that much disposable income they can spend it on whatever they please, and no doubt about it, there are people who will find this type of activity to be just the thing. Still, what does an offering like this in a holiday catalogue say about our culture and our economy? Are people so bored with their lives that they need to spend what amounts to someones annual salary on an highly advanced week-long game of cops and robbers? Is this what happens when we run out of bad guys in the world?

The other concern I have with this adventure, however, is that it makes some pretty lofty claims about its expected benefits: Youll learn the core issues of leadership, the warrior concept of how to take charge, and situation awareness so that you are more in tune with and aware of your living and working environments. Or to put it another way, this is not your standard corporate executive development program. For that matter, this would be hard to replicate in a corporate setting. I mean, can you imagine some executives rappelling down the elevator shaft or trying to blend in with the underbrush of the lobby plants? Yet if this adventure does what it claims, those of us interested in leadership and executive development will be out of business in no time. And to think we in I-O psychology were all concerned with competition from the clinicians! Of course, leadership theory and research does have its roots in the military, so this new direction in management education should come as no surprise. Perhaps I am overly doubtful, but it seems to me that this is probably a classic example of a lack of generalizability. Sure, you might be able to learn how to take charge under simulated artillery fire, but can that skill really be applied to the next board meeting? I know some people like to bark orders at others, but come on.

All levity aside, what does an executive adventure offering like this say about our field? Are we truly meeting the need for leadership development in organizations? Do our programs deliver as much benefit as this one? What can we learn from this adventure? I have to say it made me stop and think. Send me your thoughts on this. I look forward to hearing from you.

Office Space

No, this segment is not about that hilarious movie by the same name (which features two definitely non I-O psychology related management consultantsBob and Bobby the way); its about innovations in the use of space.

Recently, following a change in locations, my colleagues and I had the opportunity to experience first hand the latest trend in workspace managementthat is, hoteling. I-O practitioners in consulting firms are probably quite familiar with the concept, since several people to whom I have mentioned the topic found it intriguing, and I thought it might be worth discussing here, albeit briefly.

Clearly, this approach to office management is best used in firms where the work force is very mobile and/or often not in the officehence its usage in the consulting world. Ernst &Young, for example, has found hoteling to be highly successful, saving them an estimated $25 million in occupancy costs between 19921994 alone, and Andersen Consultings versionthe Just-in-Time (JIT) office concepthas been quite successful as well (Potter, 2000). Moreover, hoteling is also very popular in firms with large segments of the work force that telecommute or telework (Maximizing the benefits of teleworking, 2000). Apparently, even the Canadian Public Works and Government Services has moved to a hoteling system (Innovative officing in the Canadian Federal Government, 2000).

All systems have their plusses and minuses. On the plus side, hoteling allows the employee to try different workspaces (How many times have you wondered what it would be like to work on the other side of the building facing the sun, or nearer to the Flavia coffee machines?) on a regular basis. It also ensures that you can be reached by clients and colleagues without having to provide an alternative phone number every other day. In addition, since each space is vacated at the end of the day, a clean desk policy means that by and large the space will be free of piles and junk (which is unlike working in somebody elses permanent space).

Of course, this same norm of a clean desk means that the empty, or unused, workspaces are indeed quite empty, which can connote a somewhat ghost-like feeling when few people are around (particularly if the hoteling system is implemented in conjunction with an open-space setting). Moreover, since you never have a permanent space, unless you bring your family photos and that stress squeeze pop-out head with you every day, there are no personal items at your space either. Finally, in over-crowded locations, it can be next to impossible to check-in, and thus the procrastinator (or late sleeper) can find him or herself without a space and accompanying phone entirely.

What I find most interesting about the hoteling concept, however, is its potential impact on the psychological state of those who use it. It seems to me that this would be an interesting area for research. For example, although I understand the need from a management perspective for reducing overhead and waste (particularly in many service firms where people are not working at the office every day), from an employees standpoint there is probably something unsettling about not having a permanent space of ones own. What effect, if any, might this have on job satisfaction?

Further, while the hoteling process may empower employees to choose their own workspaces, at the same time it goes against the traditional (and largely Western) notions of individuality and unique contribution. What impact, if any, might this have on organization commitment or citizenship? Kevin Donahue, a senior real estate specialist at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, warns that additional measures such as social events, stewardship reviews, and specialized management training need to be put in place to ensure that employees dont lose their sense of belonging (Hoteling reduces facilities costs, 2000).

Finally, unless you hotel together with a group or team, your desk neighbors are likely to be total strangers. To anyone that has read Bellah et al.s (1985) Habits of the Heart, this approach would probably be cited as an example of the increasing lack of emphasis on community in our society. For extraverts, however, this could actually be seen as a positivea chance to meet new people all the time! For introverts, however, I would imagine that this could create a sense of isolation. I can see it now, an office full of introverts hunched over, all starting intently at their laptops, waiting for the next e-mail to arrive. Not a pretty sight!

These are all potential research questions that would be fun to investigate. Given that the use of this highly cost-effective approach to office space is likely to continue to increase in the service and technology arenas, and even expand into other types of industries (and perhaps even into academia) over the next 10 years, it might prove to be a fruitful area for I-O researchers to explore.

Here I Go Again

Listed below is a quick rundown on the latest and greatest features, columns, reports and news items in this issue.

Featured Articles. Once again, the issue opens with SIOP President Nancy Tippins providing an informative status report of the state of the Society. Read her column and you will agree; there is a great deal of activity going on these days. How she keeps on top of all of these initiatives, Ill never know.

Next is a short article from Elana Newman and Deidra Schleicher describing the (hidden) benefits and opportunities of working with community nonprofit agencies, particularly for graduate students. Its clear that corporations arent the only type of organizations that can benefit from I-O services.

If youve ever wondered what else you can do with your SIOP program guide, look no further than the article by Thomas Brice and Marie Waung. They put their programs to good use by examining trends in scientist and practitioner collaborations at the Annual Conference over the last 10 years. Some of their findings may surprise you.

Speaking of practitioners, in Turf Issues and Professional Identity, Eric Carbone presents his side of the story on the potential impact (or as he argues, the lack thereof) of clinicians and MBAs entering the traditional practice areas of I-O psychology.

Last but not least, we have a research effort from Monica Hemingway on the perceptions, use, and general editorial policy toward qualitative methods in I-O psychology. Naturally, she used a qualitative approach for her study. Some of the comments she received regarding qualitative approaches are indeed disappointing (though perhaps not surprising).

Editorial Departments. This edition of Practice Network from Mike Harris focuses on new developments in organizational training with help from David Baker, Paul Damiano and Scott Tannenbaum. After discussing the pros and cons of online training methods, Mike explores some interesting implications for the future including the diminishing role of the traditional corporate trainer.

After announcing a contest to determine the next set of student columnists, Kim Hoffman and Tom King discuss some of the complexities involved in the classic scientist-practitioner (and academic-consultant) debate in this issues TIP-TOPics for Students. Next, they provide some helpful tips for getting through the wonderful world of comps.

Given our national leadership crisis of late, it should come as no surprise that this edition of The Real World by Janine Waclawski focuses on the timely topic of leadership. See if you can guess which presidential candidate has a better grasp of the concepts outlined in the Machiavelli book.

Next, Art Gutman in his column On the Legal Front tackles some of the complexities concerning the designation of mental disability and the role that employers can play in this process.

While this installment of the International Forum by Dirk Steiner does not contain an interesting interview with an I-O colleague from another country, it does ask a very simple yet important question: What kind of international involvement do SIOP Members and Foreign Affiliates want? I encourage you to e-mail Dirk with your thoughts.

Finding and developing the right leaders is always an issue in organizations, particularly as people change jobs much more frequently than ever before. Steven Rogelbergs Informed Decisions column in this issue provides an interesting and helpful article from Elaine Sloan on the subject of succession planning.

As if the eight things that really tick him off werent enough, The High Societys Paul Muchinsky returns this issue with five words thatyes, you guessed itreally tick him off. While I certainly respect Pauls choices, my list would most certainly have to include solution on it as well. Between assessment solutions, network solutions, change management solutions, training solutions, and e-business solutions, I need someone to suggest a solutions solution.

Moving right along, Dawn Riddle and Lori Foster bring us yet another interesting interview this issue with past SIOP President Kevin (Kaz) Murphy. Later, they provide some helpful tips and suggestions for achieving worklife balance.

Finally, the second edition of the TIP Crossword by Steven Katzman is offered for your puzzling pleasure. This time the topic is Intro to Personnel Psychology.

News and Reports. As always, there are a number of interesting and informative pieces in the News and Reports section. In this issue we have a formal response from the Society to the student proposal (discussed in part in prior issues), the SIOP Secretarys report from Janet Barnes-Farrell, an APA Council update from Georgia Chao, a report from Heather Fox on APA funding for Occupational Health Psychology curricula, and previews of the 16^th Annual I-O Doctoral Consortium from Martha Hennen and Donna Chrobot-Mason, as well as next years expanded tutorials from Adrienne Colella.

There is also an interesting article from Erica Klein on pro bono work currently being done by SIOP members, a useful piece on how to prepare oneself to be an expert witness on the stand from Paschal Baute, a short article outlining a nonprofit group in Boston dedicated to improving the state of executive coaching from Lew Stern, and, of course, David Pollacks handy list of future conference dates and locations. The latest Missives, IOTAS, Calls and Announcements, and job postings round out the offering for January.

If you have any comments, suggestions, reactions or random thoughts, you can email me at Allanhc@aol.com. Ill be back for my final issue as editor in April. Until then, enjoy!

References

Bellah, R. N., Madsen, R., Sullivan, W. M., Swidler, A. & Tipton, S. M. (1985). Habits of the heart: Individualism and commitment in American life. New York: Harper & Row.

Bloom Mirsky, D. (1999). The key to office hoteling success. [Online]. Available: TMCnet.com.

Hoteling reduces facilities costs while improving work/life balance for employees (2000). [Online]. Available: www.pwcglobal.com.

Innovative officing in the Canadian Federal Government (2000). InnoVisions Canada [Online]. Available: www.ivc.ca/pwgsc_officing.html.

Maximizing the benefits of teleworking (2000). [Online]. Available: www.icn.siemens.com/icn/products/messaging/teleworking/understand_value.htm.

Potter, F. (2000). Hoteling: Rethinking the officewhos been sitting in my chair? [Online]. Available: www.ivc.ca/pwgsc_officing.html.