Business Psychology:

Business psychology is booming. It is becoming more common for leaders in the business world to consult psychologists in order to improve the ability of organizations to function effectively, grow and solve complex problems.

A career in business psychology offers a great deal of opportunities, and somebody with a background in this field will have many different options to choose from in a career. Some of the fields related to business psychology include consulting, human resources, management solutions and organizational development.

Students who pursue a degree in business psychology will find themselves being educated in several different fields. They will learn about the theory of human organizations, as well as some of the research that is currently underway in the field. This will give them the ability to select personnel, perform interventions and assess and develop organizations. They will also gain knowledge of research and statistical analysis. This will give them the ability to approach problems from a rational perspective in order to devise solutions that are more likely to work based on previous research.

Furthermore, students of business psychology will learn how to create and properly administer surveys in such a way that minimizes bias. They will gain an understanding of performance management systems and selection systems. In addition to this, many of the programs will also expose students to communication and interpersonal skills so that they can operate more effectively in a business environment. This includes the ability to resolve conflicts, communicate effectively, network, strategize, train others and develop ideas with coworkers.

How Psychology Helps in Business:

Job Analysis

This is when a job is analyzed from a psychological angle. It can either be used to identify workers who are best suited to a job or to identify ways of changing a job so that workers can perform it more efficiently. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Personnel Recruitment and Selection

Business psychologists may work with the HR department to find and identify individuals who are best suited for particular jobs. They may also work together to determine where those who are best suited for the job are likely to be found.

Psychologists can prevent organizations from making costly recruitment mistakes by identifying top talent who will not only help the organization through leaner times but also enable it to come out of the downturn in a stronger position. Business psychologists offer organizations a layer of information that often goes beyond standard interviewing processes.

Acute understanding of different types of intelligence and the affect of personality on corporate and leadership behavior can be fed back to employers. Furthermore, an understanding of the effect of corporate culture on staff enables expert advice to be given on the best ‘fit’ of your prospective candidates.

Organizational culture

Whilst many organizations will be focused on immediate challenges, such as short-term budgeting and restructuring for survival, it is also important to maintain a long-term perspective. At a time when many organizations are looking to cut costs through redundancies and pay rises that are below inflation, it is vital that you protect the culture that has been created and make the organization an attractive place to work.

Development

Investing in staff through personal, managerial and leadership development will not only help organizations to retain their top performers but also attract talent in the market. Such provision provides a competitive advantage to attracting these people, who increasingly expect such organizational support as part of their package. Furthermore, succession planning and maintenance and development of future leaders can be addressed.

Pain points

Several recent London surveys have confirmed that the majority of us are scared of losing our jobs, and employees are often stretched to capacity, working long hours and doing the jobs of two or three people. The fear of an unstable economic climate can severely reduce core leadership skills and at worst can create a paralysis and lack of productivity.

Business psychologists have the knowledge to deal with and tackle the ‘pain points’ within a business to significantly reduce levels of stress and tension. Consequently, the organization can be in a better state to innovate and formulate solutions to its current challenges. Executive coaching offers senior leaders the opportunity to develop the ‘soft skills’ that are required to engage and re-motivate employees, as well as build their own resilience to lead others through times of change.

Downsizing

Many organizations may also be forced to consider a downsizing strategy. In redundancy situations it is important to make informed and timely decisions, communicate clearly, and treat people respectfully. Psychologists are well placed to offer career transition coaching to exiting staff who may be distressed and needing support in their job search.

Offering such services can facilitate the job termination process and result in a mutually beneficial outcome. Negative feedback from exiting staff can be minimized, legal complications avoided, and the opportunity made available to collect valuable exit interview data.

Performance Management

This is when an individual’s behavior is weighed against what would be most effective for a job. Performance management is implemented by using feedback in order to improve productivity.

Individual Assessment

This is used to assess differences between individuals that can be used to select employees for particular jobs.

Compensation

Business psychologists may analyze a job to determine the appropriate level of compensation in order to attract the most effective employees.

Training Applications

Job analysis and structural design can be used to determine how best to train individuals for a given job.

Group Behavior

This is the study of how individuals function as a collective, and it can be applied in order for teams to operate more effectively.

After all Psychology helps business and which helps can make a business successful one.

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