Foundational Concepts in Organizational Behavior and I-O Psychology

Posted on Jan 15, 2026 in Energy Resources, Fuels, and Explosives Engineering

1. Organizational Behaviour (OB)

OB (I-O Psychology) is the scientific study of behavior in organizations.

  • Applies psychology to work settings.
  • Goal: Explain, predict, and improve job behavior and performance.
  • Uses the scientist–practitioner model, emphasizing data-driven decisions.

2. Individual Differences

These are stable differences between people used to predict behavior and job performance.

Main individual differences include:

  • Cognitive ability (g)
  • Personality
  • Knowledge, skills, and competencies
  • Emotional intelligence

3. Cognitive Ability (g)

The ability to learn, reason, and solve problems.

  • It is the strongest predictor of job performance.
  • More predictive for complex jobs.
  • Limitation: Does not guarantee success; social skills and teamwork are also needed.

4. Personality

Definition: A characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Personality predicts:

  • Performance
  • Absenteeism
  • OCB (Organizational Citizenship Behavior) & CWB (Counterproductive Work Behavior)
  • Job and life satisfaction

Personality represents what an employee “will do”; intelligence represents what they “can do”.

5. Big Five Personality (OCEAN)

  • Openness: Creative, curious.
  • Conscientiousness: Most important for performance.
  • Extraversion: Sociable, assertive.
  • Agreeableness: Cooperative, trusting.
  • Neuroticism: Emotional instability (low scores are better).

6. Assessment & Selection

Individual differences must be measured using various assessment methods:

  • Cognitive ability tests
  • Personality tests
  • Knowledge tests
  • Physical & psychomotor tests
  • Interviews
  • Work samples

7. Interviews

Used in recruitment and promotion to assess knowledge, skills, personality, and person–organization fit.

Types:

  • Structured interviews are superior to unstructured ones.
  • Behavioral (focuses on past behavior).
  • Situational (focuses on future behavior).

8. Job Performance Determinants

Performance has three direct determinants:

  1. Declarative knowledge (what you know).
  2. Procedural knowledge & skills (how you do it).
  3. Motivation (wanting to do it).

9. OCB vs CWB

  • OCB (Organizational Citizenship Behavior): Extra-role, voluntary behaviors, such as helping others or exerting extra effort.
  • CWB (Counterproductive Work Behavior): Harmful voluntary behaviors, including theft, absenteeism, and sabotage.

10. Performance Measurement

Performance measurement is used for:

  • Employee development
  • Motivation & feedback
  • Rewards
  • Promotion decisions
  • Layoffs

11. 360-Degree Feedback

Feedback gathered from:

  • Manager
  • Peers
  • Subordinates
  • Customers

Advantages: Leadership development, better teamwork, improved performance evaluation.

Disadvantages: Time and cost, risk of conflict, requires follow-up.

12. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

  • Diversity: Differences (demographic and psychological).
  • Equity: Fair systems and access.
  • Inclusion: Ensuring everyone feels valued.

Benefits include better financial performance, improved decision-making, and higher team performance.

13. Organizational Culture

  • Culture: Shared values and beliefs.
  • Climate: Shared perceptions.

Culture types include innovative, aggressive, outcome-oriented, stable, people-oriented, team-oriented, and detail-oriented.

14. Multicultural Approaches

  • Ethnocentric: Parent culture dominates.
  • Polycentric: Local culture dominates.
  • Regiocentric: Regional blend.
  • Geocentric: Global culture.

15. Organizational Fit & Socialization

  • Organizational fit: Match between the person and the culture.
  • Socialization: Learning company values and norms.

Good fit and socialization lead to higher performance, OCB, and lower turnover and absenteeism.

16. Staffing

Staffing decisions involve hiring, promoting, and firing.

Statistical decisions are superior to clinical (intuitive) decisions.

17. Training

Skills and knowledge are trainable and training complements selection efforts.

The Goldstein & Ford model involves:

  1. Needs analysis
  2. Training objectives
  3. Design & delivery
  4. Evaluation

18. Motivation

Motivation determines the intensity, persistence, and quality of behavior.

  • Intrinsic: Internal enjoyment (long-term).
  • Extrinsic: Rewards or punishments (short-term).

19. Motivation Theories

  • Maslow: Physiological, Safety, Belonging, Esteem, Self-actualization.
  • Herzberg: Motivators lead to satisfaction; Hygiene factors prevent dissatisfaction.
  • Goal-Setting Theory: Specific and difficult goals result in higher performance.
  • Self-Determination Theory: Focuses on Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness.

20. Job Attitudes & Emotions

  • Job satisfaction: A positive attitude toward the job, leading to performance, retention, and OCB.
  • Organizational commitment: Affective (strongest), Continuance, Normative.
  • Engagement: Characterized by energy, enthusiasm, and involvement.

21. Psychological Contract

The unwritten expectations between an employee and the organization.

A breach of this contract leads to lower commitment, lower engagement, and poor performance.