SIOP Members in the News October 2001

SIOP members continue to be a source of expertise for reporters writing news stories related to the workplace. As reporters become more aware of SIOP and the wide range of knowledge its members possess, they are increasingly using SIOP members as resources.

Media Resources, which can be found on the SIOP Web site, remains a valuable source for the media, as does the SIOP Administration Offices monitoring of news requests on ProfNet, a media referral service currently being subscribed to by SIOP. In addition, many SIOP members have developed their own contacts with the media. No matter how the media contacts SIOP members, the result is greater visibility for industrial-organizational psychology and its practitioners.

Some SIOP members who have contributed to recent media stories include:

Michael Leiter, professor of psychology at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, was a major source for an article entitled Keeping Work at Work that appeared in the August issue of Human Resource Executive. The co-author of The Truth About Burnout: How Organizations Cause Personal Stress and What to Do About It (with Christina Maslach, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley), Leiter said, in this information economy, its coming up with ideas that makes a big difference, rather than putting in long, grueling hours. Its hard for employers and managers to get their heads around this notion.

In an article discussing how Motorola is turning to on-line simulation to develop its future leaders, CIO Magazine, in its June 15 issue, quoted Kirk Rogg, a senior vice president at Aon, a Chicago-based HR consulting firm. Aon created a Web-based skills assessment tool software program, called Catalyst, that Motorola uses to evaluate and develop its middle managers. The appeal of e-training goes beyond cost effectiveness because managers cant or wont take 3 days out of a work week to go to training centers, nor can the traditional training classes replicate real-life management problems as well as Catalyst can, he says.

The May issue of Essence magazine featured Quinetta M. Roberson, an assistant professor of human resource studies in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. Roberson started her career in the private sector but became involved with a national program called The PhD Project, which recruits people of color to doctoral programs with the intent that they become faculty members. She earned her doctorate at the University of Maryland and is now a mentor for young men and women of color.

An article describing how psychology can help individuals in the workplace appeared July 10 in the MSN Careers section of the online news source. Research conducted by Greg Stewart, associate professor of human resource management at Brigham Young University, and Rodney Lowman, dean of the College of Organizational Studies at Alliant International University in San Diego, was cited by the writer. Stewart, who co-authored Team Work and Group Dynamics, offered thoughts on how a person can do well in a team setting. Lowman cited common communication mistakes that employees need to avoid if they want their coworkers to take them more seriously.

A story entitled Match Game in the June 1 issue of Human Resource Executive quotes Mark Schmit, senior vice president of product development and delivery for ePredix in Minneapolis. The article stresses companies are increasingly relying on assessment tools like the Global Personality Inventory developed at Personnel Decisions International to determine whether employees will be successful in international assignments. He said the GPI has been very successful in predicting how well employees will perform in different cultures. Schmit led PDIs development team and is now with ePredix, a PDI spinoff that develops measurement tools for employee selection, development, succession planning and placement.

Three SIOP members were cited in the July 25 Wall Street Journals Work and Family column about Learning How to Work With the Good Stress, Live With the Bad. Vonda Mills, an executive coach at Personnel Decisions International in Minneapolis, noted that involvement in other life roles, including family, friendships or volunteer work, can ease bad stress at work. The rewards of a balanced life cushion the damage layoffs and job setbacks can do to ones self-worth, she said. Wendy Boswell, a professor of management at Texas A&M University, added that good, or challenge, stress, is linked to individuals who have lots of projects, assignments and responsibilities. Generally these employees are loyal, satisfied with their work and unlikely to be looking for new work. John Boudreau of Cornell Universitys Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, noted that bad, or hindrance, stress was associated with stalled careers, red tape, lack of job security, confusion over job goals and office politics. As might be expected, this kind of stress is found in employees who are dissatisfied and who are looking for new jobs.

More men than ever are experiencing the benefits of psychological self-evaluationas long as it is called coaching, says Bertram Edelstein, president of The Edelstein Group in La Jolla, CA. His comments appeared in the Los Angeles Times on June 18. Not only does personal coaching or consulting help an individual in the workplace but, according to Edelstein, nine times out of ten, I hear from the spouse that the side effect of coaching is improved personal relations at home.

A study on the effectiveness of computer-based training versus instructor-based learning by Ken Brown of the Department of Management and Organization at the University of Iowa, was cited in the Wall Street Journals July 3 Work Week column. He noted that in computer-delivered training, the learner typically has greater control over the instruction that he or she receives. In learner-controlled environments, learner choices regarding practice level, time on task and attention are expected to be critical determinants of training effectiveness, he said. The study was published in the Summer 2001 issue of Personnel Psychology.

Richard Kopelman, a professor of management in the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College in New York, provided expertise for an article entitled Risky Rewards in the June issue of Working Woman. He noted that merit system systems that have only one winner (eg. contests) are not very rewarding. How motivating can it be if you have 400 people and only one can receive an award?

Patrick Wright, director of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell University, coauthored a study on how executives view their human resource departments, which was mentioned in the July 24 Work Week column in the Wall Street Journal. The study, which first appeared in Human Resource Management, noted that executives gave their HR departments lower ratings than the human resource people gave themselves. Wright was also quoted in the July Time Magazine Your Business bonus section where he observed that the value of managers with aggressive management styles is less in vogue than it was several years ago because the workplace now places more emphasis upon teamwork. Also mentioned in the same Time article was David Peterson of Personnel Decisions International who counsels driven Type A managers, teaching them patience and listening skills and learning when to step back.

The June 12 Wall Street Journal published a letter to the editor from David Arnold of Reid London House in Chicago critiquing a previously published article regarding testing in the Chicago schools. Arnold was acting as general counsel for the Association of Test Publishers.

Deirdre Knapp, manager of assessment research and analysis program at Human Resources Research Organization in Alexandria, VA, testified on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA) before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense in May. She urged the subcommittee to provide funding for intramural and extramural behavioral research within the Department of Defense and its military service laboratories.

Let us know when you or a SIOP colleague are mentioned in a news story. We will include these in future SIOP Members in the News. You can send copies of articles that feature, mention or quote SIOP members, to the SIOP Administrative Office at 520 Ordway Avenue, P.O. Box 87, Bowling Green, OH 43402, or tell us about them by e-mailing Lhakel@siop.bgsu.edu or fax to (419) 352-2645.

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