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INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Perhaps the first Filipino IO psychologist was Mariano Obias who graduated with
a PhD in Comparative and Physiological Psychology from Stanford in 1955 and then
went on to head the Personnel department at Caltex Philippines. However, as an
academic field, although psychology was first introduced in the Philippines in 1926, the
actual teaching of IO psychology did not emerge until the 1960’s when Fr. Jaime
Bulatao, one of the founding fathers of psychology in the Philippines, introduced the
science of group process in the Ateneo de Manila University. The Philippine Institute of
Applied Behavioral Science was established in the 1970's by Fr. Eugene Moran,
together with Carmencita Abella, Teresita Nitorreda, and Jose de Jesus. It was one of
the pioneer groups in adult. education methodologies and introduced alternative modes
of interventions such as sensitivity training and the use of structured learning
experiences (Ortigas, 1990a). In 1974, the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU)
Department of Psychology also created the Ateneo Human Resources Center (which
was later renamed to Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development or
Ateneo CORD). This center was intended to be the practice and extension arm of the
department especially in the field of IO and Social Psychology.
On a national level, although the Psychological Association of the Philippines
was founded in 1962, the first standing committee in IO psychology was created in
1988. Ten years later, a formal division in IO psychology was created with Dr. Carmela
Ortigas as its head.
In terms of the science of IO, the first documented IO psychology research done
in the country was "The Personality of the Esteemed Filipino Employee" by Aurora
Yambot in 1966 as her Master's thesis in AdMU. However, research in IO did not begin
to flourish until the 1980s. Some notable researches during this time were Dr. Lenora V.
de Jesus' (1985) dissertation in UP entitled "Explaining and predicting Filipino industrial
workers' performance and satisfaction: The socio-psychological perspective" and Dr.
Arnaryllis Torres' (1988) book entitled "The Urban Filipino Worker in an Industrializing
Society".
Perhaps the first recognition for work in IO was given to Dr. Amaryllis T. Torres
who was named an Outstanding Young Scientist by the National Academy of Science
and Technology (NAST) in 1985 in recognition of her researches in population. industrial
psychology, social development and participatory strategies, and in evaluation studies,
as well as her work on training.
EDUCATION IN IO PSYCHOLOGY
Other than in the academe, IO psychologists have mainly practiced in the field of
Human Resource Management (HRM). A recent study by the Personnel Management of
the Philippines (PMAP) and the Ateneo CORD on the profile of the Filipino HR
practitioner reveals that 49% of HR practitioners have psychology or behavioral science
backgrounds. In addition, 58% of HR practitioners surveyed had graduate
units/education in psychology or HRM related courses (Lanuza, 2005).
Today, typical areas of practice within HRM include recruitment and selection,
training and development, compensation and benefits or rewards management,
performance management, labor and employee relations and organization
development. The strong influence of the West is evident in the evolution of IO
psychology and, subsequently, human resource management in the Philippines. Like in
the West, the first HR roles and functions to emerge in the Philippines were those
related to personnel administration. However, in the past decade, HR has been called to
step up and play a more strategic role.
ISSUES IN IO PSYCHOLOGY
What’s in a Name?
Despite the fact that it is one of the fastest growing areas in psychology, the
reality is that the term IO psychology is still faced with a number challenges— foremost
of which is its label. Even in North America that has the largest population of IO
psychologists, the term is not very well known or understood (Ryan, m03). IO Guru Paul
Muchinsky (2002) cites the many labels that are being used by people in this field:
organizational psychologist, work psychologist, occupational psychologist, job
psychologist, company psychologist, labor psychologist, and employment psychologist.
Admittedly, all of these labels may also be open to misinterpretation especially by
laymen.
In Search of an Identity
An emerging issue in IO psychology in the past decade is establishing its own
identity. The study of work behavior is not the exclusive domain of psychologists; it is
shared with other fields such as management, sociology, economics, and political
science, to name a few. In Philippines, only half of HR are trained in behavioral sciences
– the rest having various backgrounds such as management, communications, etc.
(Lanuza, 2005). Such multi-disciplinary nature has also made it difficult to differentiate
itself from HR practitioners that are products of these other fields. There is die issue of
whether HR practitioners would rather choose MBA rather than an MA degree because
10 psychology appears to be fairly unfamiliar to general public.
Disseminating Knowledge
Although the dearth in research is lamentable, what is even more distressing is
that very little of the research in IO get published. Part of this gap is because our
journals are not readily available nor are interesting to the HR practitioners. Clearly, if
we are to maximize the value of our research, we need to make more effort in
disseminating our findings.
Relevant Education in IO
The requirement of CHED to include IO as an undergraduate program is a good
sign that IO is recognized as a legitimate area of competency for psychology students.
However, there is a need to review the psychology curriculum to ensure that psychology
students are better equipped to take on HR work. The BS Psychology programs are
popular as pre-med courses.
However, the A.B. Psychology programs tend to be quite general in nature and
students may have only one course related to IO psychology. That B.S. Human
Resource Management programs are emerging from Business/Management schools
indicates that psychology students will have greater competition for HR jobs.
EMERGING TRENDS IN IO
Beyond the need to address the above issues, the applied nature of the field
requires that IO psychologists are able to adjust to the fast-changing environments.
From such dynamism emerge various trends in both research and practice.
Global Trends in IO
In a round table discussion during a SIOP conference, IO gurus talked about
what is to come in the field of IO (Harris. 2001). The first theme identified is the growing
use of technology in 1IO related functions such as testing, employee development,
performance management, compensation and benefits administration, etc. In addition,
there is emerging research on the interface of people and technology. However, there
are also concerns for privacy issues as well as the possible dehumanization of work due
to technology.
A second theme cited was talent management. As opposed to the issue of
employee turnover, talent management is concerned about attracting and keeping the
high potentials or performers in an organization. Other themes cited were work-life
balance, and emotional intelligence.
IO psychologists also noted growing government regulation on HR management
(Harris, 301). On one hand, the increase in regulation can make organizations realize
value of IO. Such was the case of the equal opportunity law in the US that made it
necessary for organizations to provide evidence the validity of their selection tools and
procedures. On the other hand, regulation is a double-edged sword as it can also stifle
the practice of HR.
The growth of global HR consulting companies and multinational corporations
can also be both none and boon. On one hand, it will allow us to generate knowledge
on people and organizations across cultures. On the other hand, it can also encourage
organizations to simply transplant HR systems programs without regards for its
applicability in the local culture. This can deflate the interest in generating local
knowledge.
An area where counseling and IO psychologists may interface more in future is in
career counseling and executive coaching. This service involves a third-party providing
one-on-one feedback and coaching sessions to top talent of organizations.
Local Trends in IO
Closer to the home front, Franco’s (2005) study on the issues and trends in
Philippine HR found that the top issues reported by Philippine organizations are: a poor
economy, lack of of peace and order in the country poverty and rise in number of skilled
employees leaving to work abroad globalization and increasing use of information
technology. In turn, Philippine organizations have responded by improving quality of
products/services, improving organizational efficiency and productivity, capacity
building, decreasing operational costs, motivating and rewards employees and
networking and alliance building. Consequently, to address the issues facing
organizations, human resource (HR) practitioners report their priority responses are:
facilitating change, creating an HR information system, developing new HR
competencies, and becoming a business partner.
CONCLUSION
IO in the Philippines has seen a steady growth since it's introduction three
decade ago. In a country where economic growth is key to national development,
Filipino IO psychologists can play a vital role in nation building. The increasing
population of trained IO psychologists and the growing body of indigenous knowledge in
human resource management highlight the potential to influence not just individuals, but
organizations and national policy as well. However, there are many challenges that we
will need to conquer such as resource constraints, identity and image issues, and the
need to balance demands of science and practice. All these challenges suggest that
there is much more to be done within ourselves and working with others, so that that we
can indeed make a difference.