INDUSTRIAL VISIT

​Industrial and organizational psychology (I/O psychology), which is also known as occupational
psychology, organizational psychology, and work and organizational psychology, is an applied
discipline within psychology. I/O psychology is the science of human behavior relating to work
and applies psychological theories and principles to organizations and individuals in their places
of work as well as the individual's work-life more generally. I/O psychologists are trained in the
scientist–practitioner model. They contribute to an organization's success by improving the
performance, motivation, job satisfaction, and occupational safety and health as well as the
overall health and well-being of its employees. An I/O psychologist conducts research on
employee behaviors and attitudes, and how these can be improved through hiring practices,
training programs, feedback, and management systems.
Industrial-organizational psychology is the branch of psychology that applies psychological
theories and principles to organizations. Often referred to as I-O psychology, this field focuses
on increasing workplace productivity and related issues such as the physical and mental
well-being of employees
​I/O psychology is one of the 15 recognized specialties in professional psychology in the United
States. It is represented by Division 14 of the American Psychological Association (APA),
known formally as the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP).
The Two Sides of I-O Psychology

​Industrial-organizational psychology as having two major sides. First, there is the industrial side,
which involves looking at how to best match individuals to specific job roles. This segment of
I/O psychology is also sometimes referred to as personnel psychology.

​People who work in this area might assess employee characteristics and then match these
individuals to jobs in which they are likely to perform well. Other functions that fall on the
industrial side of I-O psychology include training employees, developing job performance
standards, and measuring job performance.

​The organizational side of psychology is more focused on understanding how organizations

affect individual behavior. Organizational structures, social norms, management styles, and role
expectations are all factors that can influence how people behave within an organization.
​While industrial-organizational psychology is an applied field, basic theoretical research is also
essential. With roots in experimental psychology, I-O psychology has a number of different
sub-areas such as human-computer interaction, personnel psychology, and human factors

Six Key Areas

​According to Muchinsky's book, "Psychology Applied to Work: An Introduction to Industrial

and Organizational Psychology," most industrial-organizational psychologists work in one of six
major subject areas:

● Training and development: Professional in this area often determine what type of skills are
necessary to perform specific jobs as well as develop and evaluate employee training programs.
● Employee selection: This area involves developing employee selection assessments, such as
screening tests to determine if job applicants are qualified for a particular position.
● Ergonomics: The field of ergonomics involves designing procedures and equipment designed
to maximize performance and minimize injury.
● Performance management: I-O psychologists who work in this area develop assessments and
techniques to determine if employees are doing their jobs well.
● Work life: This area focuses on improving employee satisfaction and maximizing the
productivity of the workforce. I-O psychologists in this area might work to find ways to make
jobs more rewarding or design programs that improve the quality of life in the workplace.
● Organizational development: I-O psychologists who work in this area help improve
organizations, often through increasing profits, redesigning products, and improving the
organizational structure.

Role of HR professions in Organizational Setting:

​1. Psychology plays a very important role at the time of recruitment, taking disciplinary action or
resolving disputes between employees.

​2. HR focus and expertise mainly lies in dealing with people. The essence of Human Resources
lies in knowing the person in front of you. It is essential to observe their behavioral attributes and
conduct oneself accordingly. Sure processes, competencies and technology come into play but
really, it's all about people. So, it makes sense that the study of the human mind should fall
within their area of expertise.

​3. Psychology not only illuminates the challenges we face in modern living, but it also provides
some solutions. Understanding it's result can help the HR professional maximize the well-being
and performance of his or her workforce. Seligman distinguishes between three types of
happiness: pleasure, engagement, and meaningfulness. If people feel a strong sense of
engagement or meaningfulness, they tend to be very happy. Pleasure provides a bonus for these
people, but people who have only pleasure without engagement or meaningfulness are not as
happy. The sense of engagement, which derives from using your strengths in your work, is
probably the most relevant of these to HR. Placing the right employee in the right position based
on his or her strengths, and then building a sense of flow and engagement in work, not only
boosts productivity but contributes to the loyalty and well-being of the worker.

​4. Psychologists often apply research to increasing workplace productivity, selecting employees
best suited for particular jobs. People working in areas like teaching, training & development and
marketing, are becoming more attracted to these courses. This allows them to broaden their
horizons and to think in context about human behavior rather than burdening themselves with
only management books. You don't need to go for an advanced degree, if you are a busy
professional. Much of the related topics and knowledge is easily available online and by far
accessible today. HR professionals are experts in maximizing the potential and understanding the
psychology of any organization's most important assets its people.

What Industrial Psychologists Do

Industrial psychologists apply theories and principles honed through research to improve
workplace dynamics. They identify training and development needs in areas such as
productivity, management and employee working styles, and help companies address problems
by coaching employees, developing performance evaluation criteria and assessing market
strategies. Professionals in this field must have knowledge of ethical considerations,
administrative regulations and case law relating to workplace activities.

Objectives to be achieved

● To understand the roles of a psychologist in an industrial setting.

● To have a deeper knowledge in the field of organizational behavior.
● To understand how psychological principles are implemented in organizations.

Objectives achieved
● The roles of a psychologist in an industrial setting was understood: A psychologist plays
several roles in an industrial setting. Some of the important roles played by the HR
manager.
● Deeper knowledge in the field of organizational behavior were attained: There were
several management techniques that are adapted by the HR manager in an industry and
there are even several roles and responsibilities that are to be maintained by the HR
manager.
 ● Understood how psychological principles were implemented in organizations: There are
several principles that are adopted by psychologist in an industry according to certain
situations.

Milma Dairy
Nature of Visit
​On 7th November 2019, we visited Malabar regional cooperative milk production union Milma
dairy, Kannur. The main objective of the visit was to explore the role of psychologist (HR
manager) in an industrial setting. At the beginning of the visit we were guided by an intern
working there and led us to see and have a tour around their industry. Later the visit we had an
interactive session with Ms. Lesitha & Mr. Mathew they gave an idea about the background of
the industry and the management techniques they adopted in the industry and sections of the
industry. The visit was for about 2 hours.

Description of Visit
​The Milma Dairy was chosen for the Visit as they had an HR manager. On 7th November 2019,
we arrived at our destination- Milma Diary at Kannur. We reached there by 11:25 AM. Milma is
the brand name for the industry, Malabar Regional Cooperative Milk Production Union which
was established in 1987 as a chilling plant. It opened as a dairy on January 2002-03.
​Upon arrival we were welcomed by an intern who gave us a tour of the industry. They gave us a
detailed information about the processing of their products such as milk, curd, lassi etc and
disposal of effluents. We got an opportunity to know more about the production of milk, like
how much temperature should be given and they get the raw products from their society itself
and they choose the better milk for their further process. They showed us all the major process
that undergo while processing milk.
​After the tour, we were guided to the auditorium wherein we met the HR manager and the plant
manager. The HR manager, Ms Lesitha & Mr Mathew gave us a background about the dairy, the
departments, employees .Ms Lesitha explained the HR role in the industry. There are more than
170 employees working in the dairy who were classified as permanent workers, fixed period
contract workers and outsourced workers. They work under five departments namely,
accounts/finance, engineering, marketing, production and quality control. There are two trade
unions that communicate the worker's needs to the management.
​An HR manager's role begins right from the identification of a vacant job position or need for
employees. She takes care of the recruitment, selection, appointment, appraisal, training and skill
development, compensation, welfare and exit formalities.
The HR functions include Labour-relative, performance appraisal, stress management and
selection. In the Milma Dairy, recruitment and promotion for higher positions is usually done by
top management or in the head office. The manager, however gives the proposals for promotion
and mediates the 3 month evaluation of the workers conducted in the head office. She is also
responsible for food allowance, insurance policies and medical coverage of the workers.
​The lecture was concluded by stressing that as a small dairy, the workers are treated like family
and that they don't experience any major problems in the dairy. Later after the interaction
session, The manager and the interns were thanked for giving us an opportunity to learn about
the functioning of an organization. We left the place by 2pm.

PANDA

Nature of Visit
Panda was the next industry we had chosen. It is located at Wayanad. We reached the destination
at 3 PM and spent about an hour there. We led to visit their production unit first. After that, a
staff had described the history, functioning, production of Panda. He described how they increase
the productivity by training the workers.

Description of Visit
We reached there at 3 PM. First of all we led to watch the processing of the products. After that
we received a session by a staff of Panda who described about the history, functioning, etc.
Panda was found in 2000 by D N K Ahmed who is the chairman. He started this industry as
people friendly. The industry let the local people to have a permanent job.
He said that the role of HR on the mental health of workers is not that much active because the
workers don't feel that much stress during that job. He mainly focus on the attendance, training
programme, insurance, etc. QC (quality Controller) was the one who control the production of a
product from a raw material. Different training programmes were conducted to increase the
productivity.

CONCLUSION
These visits had let us know the role of HR in an industrial setting. The importance of HR in an
industry is vital. The workers’ work-home balance had to be kept for a good production. So they
have to keep the burden of life out of their minds. The challenges faced by HR also had
understood.

REFERENCE

Cherry, K. (2019, November 12). How Industrial-Organizational Psychology Helps Improve

Workplaces. Retrieved from

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-industrial-organizational-psychology-2795302

Murali, D. (2011, May 21). Role of HR in technology industry. Retrieved from

https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/role-of-hr-in-technology-industry/article2037

637.ece

Writers, S. (2019, July 01). Industrial Psychology Careers. Retrieved from

https://www.learnpsychology.org/industrial-psychology/