What is I-O?

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology is the scientific study of the workplace. Rigor and methods of psychology are applied to issues of critical relevance to business, including talent management, coaching, assessment, selection, training, organizational development, performance, and work-life balance.

Michigan Association of Industrial-Organizational Psychologists (MAIOP) means cocktail hour and dinner to many I-O psychologists in Michigan. Besides having a good time, members also enjoy an event following dinner. Typically, that event takes the form of presentations related to the science and practice of I-O (e.g., Frank Yates on decision making, Ron Ash on job analysis, Art Gutman on legal issues, etc.). Once a year, members also participate in the, if not world famous at least Michigan famous, Roundtable where 45 topics are entertained, and lively debate and discussions rule the night. Previous Roundtable topics included Behavioral Interviewing, Successful Consulting, Teams: Facts and Fads, Using 360s, Organizational Change, and Reducing Adverse Impact in Selection.

In addition to quarterly dinner meetings, MAIOP hosts a series of workshops. In January 2002, Ralph Mortensen, a veteran executive coach and MAIOP past president, facilitated a workshop titled Coaching Essentials for I-O Psychologists (Dont Try This At Home). This workshop emerged as a follow-up to a very successful dinner meeting on executive coaching. 

All events are posted on www.maiop.org for members and passers-by. A key part of our recruitment drive is converting the passers-by to full members before attending the events. Waitdid we say before? Yes, indeed. The lure is the discount they receive for the events as full-fledged members. 

MAIOP has a dedicated base of student members who travel from near (Detroit) and far (Lansing, Mt. Pleasant). MAIOP meetings are held in the far west corner of Metro Detroit to accommodate our friends from the other side of the state. In February, we host a student paper competition. The winner receives a stipend to be used toward the SIOP conference and presents his or her paper at the March MAIOP meeting. Every May, MAIOP hosts the Career Workshop, inviting local employers to speak to students and other job-seekers to share job opportunities and tips for getting a job. In fall 2002 we launched a partnership with local universities to cosponsor student memberships. Since then, we have seen even more student memberships. 

Another sign that students are a large part of the organization is the fall 2002 election of the first student Member-At-Large. Jaclyn Nowakowski (Michigan State University) joins board members Greg Huszczo (Eastern Michigan University), President; Michele Jayne (Ford Motor Company), Past President; Margareth Bastos (Ford Motor Company), President Elect; Shin-Chin Lee (Aon Consulting), Secretary-Treasurer; Laura Lee (Aon Consulting), Secretary-Treasurer Elect; Sandy Fiaschetti (DaimlerChrysler AG), Member-At-Large; and Jack Smith (The Kingwood Group), Member-At-Large.

The board conducts most of its business via e-mail. When it takes 5 days to reach consensus on who will transport the audiovisual equipment to a dinner event, it is not because the board is indecisive. No, no, never. It must be the speed of the Internet. Of course, the reality is, MAIOP is a volunteer organization (as Michele Jayne, our past president, likes to remind us) and everyone is busy. To that end, MAIOP has made the Web site a self-service portal whereby members can update their contact information and find other members, without having to bother the secretary-treasurer. In addition, it has employed Evite as the means to announce meeting events (and to track RSVPs and dinner choices). Further, MAIOP conducts its financial business on PayPal. All these changes reduced the secretary-treasurers job from an FTE to a casual part-timer. Thats a good thing because recently Shin Chin-Lee, secretary-treasurer, has left the state and consequently MAIOP, (Would you believe she wouldnt continue as our secretary-treasurer from her new job in Iowa?!?) leaving the newly reduced workload to Secretary-Treasurer-Elect Laura Lee. 

Before the days of PayPal, e-mail (When was that?), and even MAIOP boards,¹ many opportunities existed (and still do) for I-O graduate students and full psychologists alike to apply their science in many different industrial settings, with the auto industry being the primary setting in Detroit. These MAIOP precursors were instrumental in the formation of the vibrant organization we know today as MAIOP. Local psychologists built associations between industry and academia to discuss the science and local practice. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Michigan I-O psychologists gathered informally to discuss opportunities and to have dinner and discussion with visiting prominent psychologists (e.g., Marv Dunnette, Doug Bray, Fred Fiedler). Those informal meetings grew such that in May 1979, the first official MAIOP meeting was held. Our first Executive Committee (198081) reflects a rich mix of academic (Wayne State, Michigan State), automotive (General Motors), and other industry affiliations (Ernst & Young, Detroit Edison). That variety has lasted and sustained MAIOPs value through present day.

¹ The authors thank Alan R. Bass, the first MAIOP president (1980-81) and Professor Emeritus from Wayne State University for providing the MAIOP history (and of course for being instrumental in starting MAIOP!).

So if youre ever passing through Michigan (no doubt for your winter vacation), remember to check www.maiop.org: We may have a workshop or dinner going on. Guests are always welcome with a MAIOP member! And if youre currently in Michigan and not a MAIOP member, contact us to check us out and become a member. The camaraderie and learning are unparalleled. 

Future Spotlights on Local Organizations:

Stay tuned for the October TIP issue when we profile MPPAWthe Minnesota Professionals for Psychology Applied to Work. Im looking forward to jumping from the Motor City to the Twin Cities (As those who know me best know Im a true Minnesotan at heart!) to explore this hotbed of I-O psychology activities happening in the Midwest.

To learn more about local I-O organizations, see http://www.siop.org/IOGroups.htm for a list of Web sites. If you have questions about this article or are interested in including your local I-O psychology group in a future Spotlight column, please contact Michelle Donovan at michelle.a.donovan@intel.com.

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