LEARN ABOUT BUSINESS, INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY

After the industrial revolution, humans were expected to work in different ways in factories, for set hours and to perform quick tasks. Technology has lead to changes in the way we work with increased sedentary time and more time spent using computers.

Industrial psychologists apply the use of psychology to organisations and the work place. Industrial psychology is a branch of applied psychology. It is concerned with the efficient management of staff and with the problems that staff may encounter in a mechanised and technological environment. It has also been defined as –

“the scientific study of the relationship between man and the world of work... in the process of making a living” (Guion, 1965)

“Simply the application or extension of psychological facts and principles to the problems concerning human beings operating within the context of business and industry.” (Blum and Naylor, 1968)

This course is a 600hr Certificate Qualification level course that consist of 4 Core Modules, and 2 Elective Modules. 

CORE MODULES

1. Introduction to Psychology

• The Nature and Scope of Psychology
• Neurological Basis of Behaviour
• Environmental Effects on Behaviour
• Environmental Effects on Behaviour
• Consciousness and Perception
• Personality
• Psychological Development
• Needs, Drives and Motivations

2. Industrial Psychology

• Introduction
• Understanding employee's thinking
• Personality and Temperament
• Psychological Testing
• Management and Managers
• The Work Environment
• Motivation and Incentives
• Recruitment
• Social Considerations
• Abnormalities and Disorders

3. Personnel Management

• Human behaviour
• Workplace communications
• Workplace conditions
• Controlling operations
• Recruitment and induction
• Staff training
• Work teams
• Positive discipline
• Grievances and complaints
• Monitoring and reporting

4. Psychology and counselling

• Stress
• Abnormal Behaviour
• Individual behaviour
• Group behaviour
• Methods of dealing with abnormalities
• Conflict resolution
• Interpersonal Communications skills
  
  
  

ELECTIVE MODULES

• Conflict Management
• Leadership
• Business Coaching
• Career Counselling
• Stress Management
• Supervision
• Biopsychology I
• Management
• Marketing Psychology
• Counselling Skills I

LEARN TO APPRECIATE HOW OTHERS PERCEPTION DIFFERS TO YOURS

The study of perception – how we see the world, others and ourselves – and how it affects our behaviour is one of the oldest objectives of psychology. Artists, philosophers, physicists and psychologists have long been intrigued by perception, and for good reason. Our impressions of, and attitudes towards the world and our experience in it are shaped by both sensation and perception.

Perception begins with a stimulus, a factor (such as colour, sound, shape, texture, heat, a person or an event) in our environment that is registered by one of more of our senses. This means that the nerves connected to those senses are excited or aroused, and that arousal is sent as a message to the brain. When the message reaches the brain, it is registered as a sensation (eg, red, bright, square, smooth, hot, friendly, scary), which causes an emotional and physical reaction. Perception refers to this process of interpreting or making meaning of different stimuli. Some of our perceptions are instinctive (for instance, all infants across cultures show aversion to snakes), but many (perhaps most of them) are based on our experience, expectations and other influences.

Sensations alert our bodies to possible physical danger and unmet needs, and are therefore essential to our survival. For this reason, our bodies are programmed to instinctively respond to some danger-signalling stimuli by removing us from the source of danger. For instance, if we put our hand on a hot stove, the nerves in our body will immediately carry the signal of ‘hot’ to the central nervous system, which instructs the hand to pull away. Sensations also allow us to enjoy the pleasures of the world through our senses of hearing, smell, taste, touch and sight.

Aside from such instinctive responses, however, our enjoyment, our displeasure or any other responses to stimuli are based on how we perceive them. For instance, one person might find the feel of hot sun on their skin pleasant, while another dislikes it. These perceptions can be affected by many factors, an important one being learning. We learn to form certain perceptions and to respond to them in certain ways. We learn as children from our parents and care providers, from our teachers, our peers, and our society, and we learn from our experience. For instance, some people have learned to find normally pleasurable sensations disturbing or shameful while others have learned to accept them. Some people have learned to see pain as something to be erased at any cost, where others have learned to see it as a sign that something needs attention. Some have even learned to find even pain pleasurable, or to see it as ennobling and character building.

Our perceptions are influenced by many different factors, such as experience. Suppose we visit a restaurant to which we are regular customers, where we have become accustomed to the height of the chairs and tables. If the chairs have been replaced by lower chairs, and we have not noticed, we can experience a shock as our body falls lower than we had expected. Our body’s experience has led us to expect higher chairs (which is a perception), and we now perceive the chairs as being low (another perception). Another person who is not accustomed to the higher chairs will not share those perceptions.

This illustration also shows us something else about perception. Often, we are not aware of our perceptions, and take them for granted. Each time we take a seat in the same restaurant, we do so with unconsciously expectations. When the circumstances change, our expectation (perception) becomes conscious, and we think, “I expected the chair to be higher”. This tells us that, once developed, our perceptions can affect our behaviour (such as our sitting movements) without our being conscious of either the perception or of its effect on our behaviour. When something occurs to alter the context in which we are experiencing the event (such as falling rather than sitting in the chair), our perception is isolated and becomes apparent.

The reason context is so important is that perception always occurs in context. Imagine the smell of newly-turned earth. This sensation will probably be associated with both experience and emotion, such as our memory or a flower garden, the scent of flowers, or a warm summer day gardening with grandmother. If you try to isolate the memory (of the smell) from those other memories, it is virtually impossible to do, or if you can do it, the memory of the aroma will be weak and difficult to maintain. It is very difficult, if possible at all, to hold a perception without referring (consciously or unconsciously) to some emotional and experiential background.

To illustrate this further, think of professionalism in your field. What does it mean to you? To answer this question, you will find that you will refer back to your experience, prior learning, perhaps to memories of some people that you have judged to be very professional or very unprofessional. All of these associations and experiences have formed your perception of what is professional behaviour. Based on these perceptions, you will judge your employees, your superiors, and your colleagues.

Until you thought about it, you were probably not even aware of all the things that have influenced your judgement, though they continue to have a strong effect on your perception of others, and your behaviour towards them. You may not even be aware that you have judged others at all based on your perceptions and the expectations that they create.

Consider the issue of the ‘problem employee’. Some supervisors will see an employee who gets good results but prefers to work alone and do things in an unorthodox way, or an employee who is opinionated and freely expresses his or her opinion about the way things are done or situations, as a problem. This judgement is based on the supervisor’s expectations of how an employee should behave, his or her beliefs about the importance of following correct procedure, and his or her own priorities, such as maintaining control or ensuring consistency of procedures. The supervisor’s judgement of the employee as a ‘problem’ or ‘difficult’ may be accurate, and it may be in the best interests of the supervisor and the organisation to modify that person’s behaviour through disciplinary action.

On the other hand, because of various influences such as training, experience, or attitude, another supervisor might see the employee as a valuable contributor to the organisation, someone able to make sound decisions and willing to act on them. Such a supervisor’s expectations may allow for this kind of individualism and independence, as long as it produces good results. This supervisor’s priorities might be include encouraging innovation and creativity, and letting each person do what he or she does best. The difficulties that might arise from this employee’s lack of conformity, such as occasional conflict and resentment, might be seen by this supervisor as manageable and worth the results that this employee produces. This supervisor’s judgement may be correct, or it may be faulty, depending on how closely his perception of the situation matches the reality of the situation.