Organizational Structure
This refers to the number of employees directly supervised by a single manager.
What is span of control?
This early psychologist, often called the “father of industrial psychology,” studied topics like advertising and the selection of salespeople.
Who is Walter Dill Scott?
This branch of psychology studies behavior in work settings and applies principles to solve workplace problems.
What is Industrial/Organizational Psychology?
In this type of organizational structure, decision-making authority is concentrated at the top levels of management.
What is centralization?
This engineer pioneered “scientific management” by arguing there was “one best way” to perform a job.
Who is Frederick W. Taylor?
This trend emphasizes how technology, telecommuting, and virtual teams have reshaped the modern workplace.
What is the changing nature of work?
A company groups workers by functions such as marketing, finance, or production. This is called a _______ structure.
What is a functional structure?
These famous studies at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works in the 1920s–30s showed how social factors and worker attitudes influence productivity.
What are the Hawthorne Studies?
When I/O psychologists influence laws on workplace safety or equal employment, they are part of this trend.
What is the increasing relevance of I/O psychology in policy and practice?
This traditional structure emphasizes rules, procedures, and a clear hierarchy, often leading to rigid processes.
What is a bureaucracy?
During this major historical event, psychologists developed the Army Alpha and Beta tests to assess soldier abilities.
What is World War I?
As more organizations employ international teams, I/O psychology increasingly addresses this workforce trend.
What is diversity and globalization?
When employees report to two supervisors at once — for example, one from product development and one from marketing — this type of hybrid structure is being used.
What is a matrix structure?
This German psychologist applied experimental methods to work problems and is credited with early contributions to industrial psychology in the U.S.
Who is Hugo Münsterberg?
This theory of management argued for applying scientific principles to increase efficiency, famously proposing that there is “one best way” to do any job.
What is scientific management?