Tara Shetye
North Carolina State University
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To find out how I-O psychologists network in The Netherlands, I spoke with Neil Anderson, head of Management at the University of Amsterdam, and Sonja Schinkel, one of Neils PhD candidates.
The Netherlands has a population of around 18 million and can be traversed by car in under 3 hours. Neil emphasized that the small size and dense population of The Netherlands means that networking isnt too difficultin fact, a greater problem is overnetworking! With only about 11 active I-O departments, a large part of the connection among professionals happens informally between people with similar research interests.
Thats not to say that The Netherlands doesnt have formal networking organizations. Dutch I-Os have strong representation at conferences abroad, such as SIOP and the European Association for Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP;
www.eawop.org). In addition, there are four major networking channels that exist to bring Dutch I-O psychologists together. Although the four are connected and have a great deal of shared membership, each takes a unique approach to the field of I-O psychology (or A&Oshort for Arbeids & Organisatiepsychologie, as it is called in Dutch). Each of these four groups is described below.
The Netherlands Institute of Psychology
The Netherlands Institute of Psychology (NIP; www.psynip.nl) consists primarily of practicing psychologists and addresses such issues as professional accreditation and continuing education. The NIP is divided into four sectors that correspond to different areas of psychological specialty. Most A&Os belong to the Labour & Organization (A&O) sector. The A&O sector hosts a variety of meetings and symposia throughout the year. A recent symposium at the University of Utrecht featured
Wouter Schoonman, Marise Born, and Wim Bloemers, who discussed the contribution of A&O psychologists to organizations. A symposium like this one will typically last for an entire day, with a built-in time block at the end for socializing and networking. The NIP has also begun to host regional meetings, which typically last for several hours and contain small group discussions, a keynote speaker, and most importantly, free drinks!
Like I-O psychologists in the U.S., A&O psychologists in The Netherlands struggle with issues of accreditation and professional licensure. Because anyone who has qualified from a graduate program at masters level can call themselves a psychologist, the NIP offers a professional trademark title of Psychologist SIP. This title is available to any practicing psychologist in The Netherlands who meets the professional standards of the NIP. In addition to this type of service, the NIP publishes a monthly magazine, offers its members legal advice, and acts as a point of connection between psychologists and potential clients. NIP even pairs up with WAOP (discussed next) to publish
A&O Items, a quarterly digital newsletter detailing all the current events in A&O. Clearly, this is an organization with a broad range!
The Association for Work and Organizational Psychology
One organization that takes a more research-oriented approach to networking has a mouthful of a name: Werkgemeenschap van Onderzoekers in de Arbeids & Organisatiepsychologie (WAOP;
www.waop.nl). Although WAOP is affiliated with the NIP, this groups focus is shifted toward the more academic end of the spectrum. Their mission is to promote the cooperation of scientists and professionals working in The Netherlands. One of the exciting initiatives the WAOP has put forth is their Small Group Meetings. These meetings are like miniconferences for 2025 participants each. If a small, intimate conference with like-minded scientists sounds like your dream come true, dont despair if youre not a WAOP member. In fact, the meetings require that at least 25% of the participants are from neither the UK nor The Netherlands. Any WAOP member who is interested in hosting a Small Group Meeting can submit a proposal for consideration.
The Kurt Lewin Institute
Doctoral students in The Netherlands have a unique opportunity to network with more seasoned professionals. The students have their own conference each year, during which they present their research and receive feedback and comments from faculty and practitioners in attendance. This conference is hosted by the Kurt Lewin Institute (KLI;
www.kurtlewininstitute.nl), a center for graduate training and research supported by five Dutch universities. The next KLI conference is June 89, 2006, and will feature keynote addresses by Arie Kruglanski, Gn Semin, and Joop van der Pligt. The typical KLI conference has from 7080 students from KLI institutions in attendance, making this a great chance to hone presentation skills and improve relationships with colleagues at the same time.
The Dutch Human Resource Management Network
One organization that bridges the gap between academics and practitioners is the Dutch Human Resource Management Network (DHRMN;
http://www.hrmnetwork.utwente.nl). This group has had four successful internationally attended conferences since its creation in 1999. The DHRMN exists to bring together researchers from diverse disciplines and areas of specialization. They are also the point of contact for organizations that are looking for expert advice in the area of HRM.
A typical DHRMN conference is organized around several topic areas. Hot topics for the most recent conference included HRM & Social Capital and HRM & New Forms of Work. Keynote speakers, such as
Denise Rousseau and Nick Bacon, address a broader audience. The most recent DHRMN conference took place in November 2005 at the University of Twente.
In general, its clear that there is no shortage of networking opportunities in The Netherlands! According to Neil, there are many benefits to this situation. First, The Netherlands enjoys excellent links between the academic and practitioner sides of A&O. This results in an outstanding corporate culture for research, which then leads to even better relationships between organizations and A&O researchers. Second, the extensive networking that goes on leads to unlikely pairings of researchers with diverse interests, which gives way to new insights in the field.
Of course, its not all positive when everybody knows everybody else, as anyone who has lived in a small town can tell you! Many A&Os would like to address issues of international concern. One problem that the Dutch A&O community faces is the predominantly Dutch focus of some of the more traditional programs. Still, it should be noted that a well-established trend is underway, and many programs now maintain a strong international focus and international faculty. In fact, Neil himself is a licensed I-O from the UK (as well as a SIOP Fellow).
Having moved to The Netherlands from the UK, Neil mentioned that his aim is to one day publish in a journal printed in the Dutch language. In fact, setting up and maintaining Dutch journals is a bit of a challenge for our counterparts in The Netherlands. Systemic pressures and rewards to publish in
international journals with the highest citation indices have resulted in many Dutch researchers focusing upon European and American journals. Dutch researchers are increasingly required to write in their second or even third language to publish in English (or APA-ish, as Neil calls it).
Neil also told me that Americans (especially SIOP members!) are always welcome to visit The Netherlands. Many have taken him up on this offer, including recent visitors such as
Michelle Gelfand, Michael Harris, Tim Judge, Steve Kozlowski, Deniz Ones, Frank Schmidt,
and Shelly Zedeck. The typical visitor will host a workshop, conduct a symposium, or even teach a course to graduate students. Similarly, many Dutch A&Os have held visiting appointments in the U.S. either as visiting professors or supported through a Fulbright award.
Interestingly, some people in the Dutch community say that Dutch A&Os are more closely tied to U.S. I-Os than to other European research groups or practitioners, despite the close geographical proximity of other European countries. In my opinion, though, it seems that whether their colleagues come from SIOP, EAWOP, or WAOP is a small pointoverall, The Netherlands is home to some of the most well-connected psychologists around!
Concluding Editorial
So there you have itan informative overview of networking in The Netherlands, which is anything but trivial. Our Dutch counterparts have developed enviable mechanisms for connecting with like-minded others both within and outside of their country. The value of these networking channels is clear, and their success is evidenced by excellent research, outstanding practice, and the resulting top-tier publications, which our Dutch colleagues are producing with increasing frequency.
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