Abstract
The study was undertaken to explore the professional roles and contributions of industrial psychologists in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 23 registered psychologists to gain their views on the roles and contributions within each of the dimensions of a conceptual framework of organisational success developed earlier. A process of analytical induction, supported by thematic content analysis, revealed a range of generic roles yet specific industrial psychological contributions. The implications of the findings for the development of academic curricula, the establishment of clarity among industrial psychologists and the fostering of awareness in organisations regarding the value of these professionals are discussed.
Highlights
Industrial and Organisational Psychology (I/O Psychology) as a science had its origins about a century ago when psychologists in the United States of America started to use their insight into human behaviour to address workplace-related problems, such as finding the right person for a job
The three independently developed frameworks were studied in depth to identify similarities, differences and unique contributions within each and these insights were subsequently integrated into a Multi-dimensional Conceptual Framework that was intended to form a basis against which the roles and contributions of industrial psychologists could be ‘mirrored’ (Barnard & Fourie, 2007)
Many industrial psychologists became nothing more than consultants and true I/O Psychology inputs were sacrificed for the sake of Human Resource Management (HR) consultation. The fact that such as wide array of roles and contributions were identified within each of the sixteen dimensions of the conceptual framework, served to partially validate the usefulness of the framework to define the roles and contributions of industrial psychologists in a discourse generally familiar to business. It demonstrated that industrial psychologist have meaningful roles to play and contributions to make in all the dimensions of business perceived to be important, according to three popular business management frameworks used as a basis for this study (Balanced Scorecard, South African Excellence Model, King II Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa)
Summary
Specific jobs imply inherent values, norms and standards associated with that job that largely guide and inform group members’ conduct Since organisations and their members seemingly have clear expectations in terms of the roles they confer onto individuals within their organisations, it was deemed important to explore the specific roles and contributions of industrial psychologists to facilitate understanding among all stakeholders – the organisation, its members and industrial psychologists themselves. Fourie use existing business frameworks to direct and monitor their business, it was believed important to frame the roles and contributions of the industrial psychologist in similar terms For this purpose, three popular business frameworks were identified as a basis for this study: The Balanced Scorecard (Strategic Management Framework) (Kaplan & Norton, 1996), the South African Excellence Model (Continuous Improvement Framework) (South African Excellence Foundation, 1997) and King II Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa (Institute of Directors, 2002). It was believed that industrial psychologists could prove their worth if they could demonstrate their roles and contributions in terms of each of the criteria of the criterion domain, for example: How did the industrial psychologist contribute towards ensuring the long-term sustainability of the organisation, including its relevance, growth and survival?
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
