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.

Psychologists Roles in Organizations: 2003 APA Convention Cluster B Programming 

Rosemary Hays-Thomas

Whats a cluster, and why is it B? Its a group of APA divisions, and surely one of our readers can make up some witty explanation for why its B. (The Best?) In the last TIP, Bill Howell described how cluster programming was developed in an attempt to make the format of the APA Convention more appealing. Division 14s cluster includes several other APA divisions with similar interests (Measurement, Military, Applied Engineering, Consulting, Consumer) which have organized two tracks of programming on the role of psychologists in organizations at the next APA convention in Toronto. 

The first track deals with psychologists as external consultants and includes two sessions:

Frazier in the Boardroom: Psychologists as Business ConsultantsSession 1194: 10:0011:50 Friday, August 8
Virginia Mullins, Chair, Valparaiso, IN (Division 13)
Richard Kilburg, Johns Hopkins University: Psychodynamic Origins of Seven Deadly Management Errors
Gerald P. Koocher, Simmons College: Top 10 Ethical Failures by Psychologists in Management Consulting
Guy M. Beaudin, RHR International: Hitting the Ground Running: Accelerating Executive Integration
Diane L. Coutu, Harvard Business Review, Comments on Trends from the Experience of the Harvard Business Review

Invited Keynote AddressSession 1195: 1:002:00 Friday, August 8
Diane L. Coutu, Harvard Business Review, Psychology Interfaces with Business

The second track concerns how organizations make decisions, including decisions to use psychologists in various roles. 

Invited Keynote AddressSession 1295: 11:0011:50 Saturday, August 9
Gary Klein, Klein Associates, Inc., Naturalistic Decision Making

Several SIOP members will participate in a panel approaching this topic from the perspectives of consultants, corporate managers, and researchers. SIOPs Visibility Committee and the proposal to change the very name of our division are indications of the importance of better recognition of our field within organizations. Come and hear what our panelists have to say and join in the discussion.

How Organizations Decideto Use PsychologistsSession 1294: 1:002:50 Saturday, August 9
Rosemary Hays-Thomas, University of West Florida, Chair
Participants: 
Nancy T. Tippins, Personnel Research Associates, Inc.
Carl I. Greenberg, Independent Practice
Stephen M. Fiore, University of Central Florida, and Jonathan W. Schooler, University of Pittsburgh
S. Morton McPhail, Jeanneret & Associates, Inc.
Rodney Lowman, Alliant International University

In addition to the cluster programming, there is a full complement of Division 14 programming organized by MaryBeth Mongillo: a mentoring roundtable; a CE workshop on cognitive ability and personality testing; symposia on emotion in teams, money, and motivation, and the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire; posters; and a mock board hearing dealing with the boundaries of clinical and I-O practice. Details appear elsewhere in this TIP. See you in Toronto!

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