What is I-O?

Tip-Topics for Students

Eyal Grauer
Bowling Green State University

Traversing our way through the I-O galaxy, we return ready to report our findings. In this issue, we focus on two areas. In Scientists AND Practitioners, we present various perspectives on the perennially hot topic of organizational datahow can we get access to it? In Path to Glory, we offer some stress-relief suggestions. We would like to remind everyone about the IOOB conference taking place March 79, 2003. The IOOB conference is a student-run conference where grads get a chance to meet and network with fellow graduate students from around the country. Next years host is the University of Akroncheck out www.ioob.org, and the ad in this issue of TIP. Submissions are due January 8. 

Scientists AND Practitioners

Collecting data is one of the quintessential components of the I-O psychologist realm. As a graduate student, data from an undergraduate population is very accessible, but not necessarily good for all kinds of research (e.g., research on turnover). What is more difficult is obtaining information from existing companies. This organizational data is a common ground for both Scientists AND Practitioners because practitioners have access to organizational data but may not have the desire/time to publish it, and scientists are often dying to get real world data to analyze. Striving towards the scientist-practitioner model espoused by SIOP and graduate schools alike, interacting with organizations gives graduate students practice in interpersonal interactions and the chance to communicate our goals. These interactions can also allow us to acquire invaluable data.

In an effort to conduct meaningful thesis and dissertation research, Wayne State University students Cara Bauer and Jacqueline Trayser, along with their advisor Marcus Dickson, investigated the question, How do students get access to organizations to collect data? They hosted a panel discussion at the 2001 SIOP Conference entitled Collecting Organizational Data as a Student: Academic and Practitioner Perspectives. The panel members for the SIOP session included Bernard Bedon, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Tomas Giberson, Wayne State University alumnus (currently with Oakland University); Marilyn Gowing, ASI/AON Consulting; Greg Oldham, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; David Oliver, Frito-Lay; and Neal Schmitt, Michigan State University. This section of TIP-TOPics for Students provides portions from that meeting which we think will be useful to graduate students everywhere. Furthermore, one of the panel members (Tom Giberson), who recently received his PhD from Wayne State, got 32 of 50 CEOs to personally participate in his dissertation research (which is an amazing response rate both for dissertation research and for this particular population). We asked him to describe the strategies he used in gaining entry to these organizations and making his data collection a success. His suggestions and ideas follow the panel discussion excerpts.

Lastly, wed like to thank Marcus, Jackie, and Cara for their hard work and insight. If you would like a more detailed version of their panel discussion or have any additional questions, contact Cara Bauer at carab20@aol.com. 

Collecting Organizational Data:
Academic and Practitioner Perspectives

How should one go about approaching a company for organizational data? For example, who should one contact initially and how should they sell their idea to the company?

Marilyn Gowing (MG): I think the key is relationshipswho do you know? Internships are a wonderful opportunity to get to a key decision-maker in the organization.

David Oliver (DO): SIOP contacts in the organization are a good start, especially if your faculty members have contacts there too.

Greg Oldham (GO): I have used a couple of other contactsstudents who have been involved in our Executive MBA programs and former masters students and MBAs from our regular programs.

Bernard Bedon (BB): In addition to going through alumni or internships, if you are not lucky enough to have a contact person that you know, a good way is to look at titles within an organization. Approach someone who has responsibility for recruitment and retention, and then you know they are going to have access to people data.

Neal Schmitt (NS): Everyone is focused on relationships and I would second that. I dont think that you can cold call and get a positive response very often. But there is another set of people that you might consider contacting or cultivating for these purposes. Most of us are located in fairly large urban areas where there is a local I-O association. Go to those meetings, and get to know the people. Most of these people have an HR or similar function in their organization, and they are the people who are going to open the doors if you are going to get them open.

Tom Giberson (TG): The first step is figuring out what is in it for the organization. A lot of times, it is the president or CEO of the organization who feels the need that you can help resolve, perhaps by collecting some information for them.

(DO): But also keep in mind that there are groups within the organization that have responsibility for the types of work youre doing. So, if you are going in to do some research in selection, for example, and you talk to the CEOthat person might champion the idea but might not be aware of the details of the selection research underway at the company.

(MG): Also, you should know about the business that you are entering into. Do your homework. Go on the Web, learn all you can about their strategic plan, the issues that they are confronting, and then when you are preparing a proposal, distill it down to a page-and-a-half, maximum. I was given advice early in my career to try and write for a lay audienceI explain my research as if I were explaining it to someone with no I-O experience, and that really does make all the difference in the world. Again, you always have to focus in on the benefits to the organization.

(TG): The thing that I realized very early in trying to engage an organization into my research is that I was in a sales mode. I was trying to help them understand what the benefits were and whats in it for them. It didnt cost them anything, but they had to release people to complete surveys and do a couple of interviews and that takes timethats a resourcethats a cost to the organization. So, you need to figure out, How can I produce something of value for them?

(DO): I-O people within the organization really do support the research in the community and really do want to see people get their degrees and keep fostering that. One thing that I have noticed is that internally, we have a very hard time even getting time to do our own research. We dont have a lot of options in terms of getting data collected. So keep that in mind when you come inyou want to do something that is efficient.

What are the roadblocks or obstacles that you have experienced or witnessed during this initial step? Were they overcome and if so, how?

(GO): I have experienced quite a few obstacles over the years. One of the biggest has been the commitment to the project of the management team at the site where the research was going to be conducted. In one case, a corporate VP was very enthusiastic about a research project and informed the managers of a work unit that they and their employees would be participating in the research. The managers of this unit were considerably less enthusiastic about the research, and the project was stalled for months while we negotiated with these individuals. I think the solution here is to involve all the relevant managers in discussions about the researchand to do that early on in the process.

(TG): Building on that, you should have someone inside be the manager, so to speak, of your project. You have to remember that you are an outsider, and you dont know the culture, you dont know the norms of behavior, what it takes to get someone to follow through with something. I think that that is absolutely keyyou need to have a person inside who will be your point person and who will champion your project.

(BB): I take a little bit of a different slant because I am on the organizations side. You have to remember that were going to hold you responsible as a co-project manager, but on my side, this is one of 100 different things that are going on so the flexibility needs to come from your side. There is going to be a different time frame than you are used to, and it is not because we are putting things offit is just that there are a million things going on in the meantime. Be prepared for setbacks, and plan a worst-case scenariofor example, what if this site loses funding and they drop out? Know the industry well enough to be able to plan for these things.

Given the importance of developing relationships, how can graduate students make contact with CEOs or presidents and foster those kind of relationships in a graduate school time frame?

(NS): I hate to be pessimistic, but I dont think it is possible. If you are being held responsible by your graduate program to be finished with your masters thesis in 2 years, then it is very difficult to make these contacts and get these organizations to cooperate in any extensive data collection. That is why I think that for a lot of masters and doctorate research, if you are going to do any organizational research, you probably have to tack on to an existing project or at least an existing relationship that someone in your academic program has fostered over several years.

(TG): One thing that you have to consider when you put together your strategy for how you are going to get into an organization is, Do I need one organization or do I need many? I think that it can be doneI agree with many of the comments that it is very difficult, but I think it comes down to how you match up with what organizations need, whether it is one organization or many. Be strategic about your personal and professional network and put together that compelling case as to why you should have access to this critical resource.

What are the one or two main things that one can do to make sure that a project does not get derailed?

(MG): I would say that if you narrow the scope of the project, you will have a better chance. Dont try to be too grandiose. I would try to focus that research question, and get it in a controlled situation if you really want to be successful.

(DO): Early on, focus on several different organizations. If you talk to multiple organizations and find out what their needs are, it may turn out that one opportunity opens up for you and not the otherone of them hopefully will play out for you.

(NS): I want to underscore one thing. I sort of avoided saying it, but we actually dont encourage our students to do field research, particularly for their dissertation or their thesis. They do applied projects with faculty at Michigan State very frequently, but when push comes to shove, you need that dissertation done at the end of your 4th or 5th year. I think it is bad advice to tell a student to start finding an organization to collect data.

(TG): What I hear in your question is that, as a student, there is a certain amount of risk involved in betting your future degree on an organization. But both my masters and doctorate were based on using real organizations. It ultimately comes back down to how hard you are going to work. In both cases, I parallel-processed in the sense that as I did my literature review and fine-tuned my hypotheses, I also went out and began attempting to recruit organizations and build that contract or agreement. That way, by the time I got to the point of proposing my research, I already had commitment from over 30 organizations. I have done it twice and it is possible, but it is a lot of work. Its also fun to be out there with people in real situations, helping them solve real problems. 

Getting Organizations to Participate in YOUR Research

I recently completed my doctoral dissertation at Wayne State University based on data from multiple organizations and wanted to share ideas that could help you do the same. First, some statistics: I spoke with 53 CEOs/
Presidents; 33 committed to participate in my research (62%), and 32 followed through by completing four survey/assessments. A total of 544 surveys went out to these 33 organizations, and 499 came back (92%). The entire process from initiation to defense took about 20 months. While getting organizations involved in your project can be daunting, putting together research relevant to the real world of work can be highly rewarding.

As the dissertation progressed, I came to think of my efforts in three broad phases: selling my ideas to others, managing the collection of data, and ensuring adequate closure for participating organizations. This leads to the definition of a robust, generic process that can help you build a solid project plan for gaining entry into organizations (open), working with them through the data collection process (focus), and providing feedback or another appropriate conclusion to the project (close). Each phase is completed through six basic steps that help you to open (initiate & understand), focus (value & evaluate) and close (agree & commit) the phase, prepared to move in partnership with your participants to the next phase (Bell, 2001).

Throughout the remainder of this short piece, Ill describe a way to utilize the open, focus, close model to build your project plan, as well as the types of skills required by phase to ensure your success. As you review each phase and step, consider how the general descriptions could be applied to your specific research project. Two factors must be mentioned that are critical to your success. First, enter into the organization at the highest possible level (youd be surprised how supportive top leaders can be of your project, assuming the second factor is established). Second, take into account your own mindset: Are you meekly asking organizations to participate as a favor, or have you translated your work into something relevant and valuable for the participants/organizations? The latter is commonly referred to as WIIFM (Whats In It For Me?), and is clearly the way youll want to frame your pitch to organizations. There is no doubt that the perceived value of the final deliverable promised to my participants (i.e., a customized report with implications for action) contributed significantly to my participants acceptance and follow-through with the study. 

Phase I: OPENBuilding Interest and Gaining Commitment to Participate

During the open phase, you must identify the type of organization(s) you need to participate, build interest in your research, and secure commitment from those organization(s). Brief explanations below should provide you with ideas regarding how to apply them to your project. Key skills in this phase include persuasion, time management, presentation, and project management. 

1. Initiatebased on your selection criteria, initiate contact with organization leaders through your network, phone calls, and so forth. Are there associations (industry-specific or broad) that you can contact?

2. Understandcommunicate in clear, layperson terms what youre interested in doing, and why it is important to your field and for the organization.

3. Valueclarify WIIFM, both for the organization and for you.

4. Evaluatepresent the cost/benefit of participationdont let them guess.

5. Agreemake it easy to take the next stepto participate or to request additional information (have them sign something). Describe specifically what you will do when, and get agreement regarding next steps.

6. Commitsecure their commitment via a signed document regarding your respective roles and approximate timeframes to get started. 

Phase II: FOCUSManaging the Data Collection Process

Phase II assumes that youve secured commitment from one or many organizations and that youve started with the top of the organization (e.g., upper management approved). At this point, you likely have other people to persuade to participate via focus groups, interviews, survey/assessments, and so forth. Throughout this phase, you are essentially managing your data collection process utilizing the same six steps as phase I, only you are now intervening (via your data collection process) in the organization. You will be most successful if you are able to put yourself in the participants shoes: What would you want to know in order to agree and commit to participate? Key skills for this phase are project management, written/oral communication, and timely follow-up. 

1. Initiaterequest introduction into the organization by the project sponsor (in person, through a letter youve drafted for them, etc.).

2. Understandthrough your introduction, describe your project, and disclose what participation means and the likely implications.

3. Valueclarify whats in it for the organization, the participant(s), and you.

4. Evaluatesupport their decision to participate through simple cost/
benefit statements.

5. Agreeobtain agreement to participate in the study by making it as easy and safe as possible.

6. Commitcollect your data, ensuring a balance between sound quasi- or experimental design and the realities of work and what is required of participants. 

Phase III: CLOSEClosing the Project

This phase addresses closing the research project from the organizations perspective; this does not necessarily mean finishing your analyses and write-up. Sound scientist-practitioner principles suggest that youve opened something with the organization via data collection, and you must now provide some sort of closure. Closure could be feedback to the organization, such as a report on your findings with suggestions on what to do next, training, and so forth. How you help organization(s) to closure will depend on your project; just ensure that you do help close the project. Action-research (e.g., Grundy, 1982) philosophy and practices provide effective models for working through the feedback process. Key skills for this phase are communication, presentation, listening, facilitation, and project management. 

1. Initiateremind the organization what they did and why they did it.

2. Understanddebrief meaningful information in a useful way.

3. Valueensure the organizations know what to do with the feedbackvalue comes from the utility of the feedback.

4. Evaluateconfirm that what they received matches what they expected.

5. Agreeagree to any next steps required to close the project.

6. Commitleave the door open if possiblekeep in touch to see how the organization has used the information; you may be asking the organizations to participate in a follow-up study in the future, and they are part of your network nowkeep it alive! 

What Ive attempted to do is provide a simple model and some tips that you can use to build a project plan specifically designed to get organizations engaged and successfully follow through. I do hope it at least gives you some ideas about what will work for you and that it encourages you to get out of the lab and into the real world of work. Now get started by defining WIIFM for your participants!

Path to Glory

With the fall semester underway, there is obviously an increased level of stress among graduate students. New students are getting accustomed to their environments, and older students are feeling the pressure that comes with more responsibilities and less time. Thus, we wanted to provide a few stress-reducing TIPs to help you during your semester and throughout the rest of your time in graduate school. Relax, and enjoy. 

1. Avoid procrastinating. This is easier said than done, but it is advice well worth following. The longer you put off a project or assignment, the less time you have to do it, and chances are you will have to finish it when many other things are simultaneously due at midterm or the end of the semester. Some of the calmest people we know begin by at least thinking about their papers or projects soon after the semester starts and doing some of the legwork ahead of time. Individuals with the best-laid plans adhere to a well-paced strategy allowing them to work on and finish the assignment at their convenience, rather than during a high-pressure point in the semester. And even if an assignment is finished last-minute, doing term papers or projects (or even reading articles) in multiple, smaller chunks yields better quality work.

2. Exercise, exercise, and more exercise. No, were not your physicians telling you to get in better shape! But what we have learned through our experience in graduate school thus far is that exercising is one of the best ways to reduce stress. You need not be athletic to heed this advicejust do whats best for you. This might consist of a fast-paced, 20-minute walk around your apartment complex, a refreshing swim, or a run. The most important thing is that you get those endorphins up and running so that you feel more relaxed while you work.

3. Make time for yourself. Consider this familiar scenario: Youve just spent the day at school working on various projects and assignments, meeting with professors, and interacting with your peers. You come home, grab a microwave dinner, and continue working into the nightmaybe reading some articles that are due in class the next day. Whew! Take a break! Literally! Before hitting the sack, take at least half an hour to a full hour of time, just for you, to relax from what has most likely been a hectic day. Maybe read for fun, watch some old re-runs on TV, have a beer with your roommates, give yourself a manicure and/or pedicure, take a bubble bath, or play your favorite computer game. This mental downtime really helps put closure on the day so that you can start the next one refreshed and ready to go.

4. Take a deep breath (or three). Mastery of Zen is not necessarydeep breathing is a quick way to reduce stress and can be done at almost anytime, whether its before taking a difficult exam, while at the computer desperately finishing a paper (Tip: see #1 above), or during those nerve-wracking comprehensive examinations. You can even take this one step farther and consider learning and practicing meditation. This activity helps reduce stress while simultaneously providing you with more control over your daily thoughts, feelings, and actions by increasing your mindfulness. Self-hypnosis involves very similar techniquesthe important thing is to slow down, and concentrate on yourself and your breathing.

5. One step at a time. Thats right. Or, as some might put it, baby steps. Lets take a minute and look at your weekly planner. Wowthat things full! Calm down and look at it this way: I can do this if I just focus on one day, one thing, one step at a time. Thinking of and organizing what you need to accomplish in small, manageable segments, and then focusing on each segment one at a time will reduce stress and keep you from being overwhelmed by the big picture of your day or week. By using TIPs #1 and #5 together, you can set up long-term goals and follow through by making shorter, more attainable goals. Ah, Locke and Latham would be proud!

6. Out on the town. Grab those dancing shoes, because it is time to get out of the apartment and into the city! (Or wherever it is that will get you away from your graduate life for at least one afternoon or evening a week.) Even if its when youre preparing for comps. Meet friends and go to clubs, get coffee or drinks, go fishing, walk in a park, go to movies, get some ice cream, or just go for a drive. Do anything but get out!

7. Vacation (n.): A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation. Our final tip? Take your vacations. This means that when fall break, winter break, and spring break roll around, take some or all of the days off. You think were being overly obvious when we say this, but honestly, many graduate students fail to take time off and wind up being more pressed and stressed because of it. Or, they take work with them on vacation, making it hard or impossible to relax. We all work hard, and we all need a rejuvenating break, so well put this very simply: Take one!

*****

Seeking Graduate Student Columnists: Do you enjoy TIP-TOPics? Have you ever thought about contributing to SIOP and to the professional development of your fellow students? Eyal, Marcus, and Nancy will soon be handing over the TIP-TOPics column to a new group of writers. Check out the January 2003 issue of TIP for details and start getting those column ideas together.
 

References

     Bell, R. K. (2001). Workframes Software.
     Grundy, S. (1982). Three Modes Of Action Research. In S. Kemmis and R. McTaggert (Eds.), (1988). The Action Research Reader (3rd ed.). Geelong, Australia: Deakin University Press.

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