Management Psychology

Author: Chief Editor: Yu Xin'an / et al
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-09-01
Features:
Content Summary
This book is guided by Marxist theory and, starting from the commonalities of modern management, combines the practical realities of management in China's current stage to conduct an in-depth analysis and research on issues such as individual psychology and management, group psychology and management, organizational psychology and management, and leadership psychology and management. The book has a rigorous structure, novel perspectives (fluent writing, strong theoretical and practical relevance, and broad readership. It is suitable for the study and research of leaders and management personnel in various enterprises and public institutions, as well as for teaching and research reference by educators and researchers in universities, party schools, and administrative colleges. Excerpt:
II. Research Objectives, Content, and Tasks of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
(1) Research Objectives and Content of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
The research object of industrial and organizational psychology is the psychological phenomena and their laws of individuals, groups, organizations, and leadership in the process of management and management activities. All human activities are carried out under the regulation of psychological factors. Under socialist conditions, whether it is the development of subjective initiative or the improvement of work efficiency in enterprises and public institutions, in addition to socialist ideological awareness and economic factors, there is also an indispensable psychological factor. Engels pointed out: "For any individual, all the driving forces of his actions must pass through his mind and must be transformed into his desires and motivations before he can take action."① Here, Engels clearly stated that all the driving forces of individual behavior are driven by motivations expressed in the form of desires. Additionally, human productive labor is not carried out by individual laborers in isolation but by laborers participating in productive labor forming certain groups through certain relationships. At the same time, human productive labor is organized and led labor. Thus, the needs, labor motivations, and attitudes toward labor of individual laborers; the relationships between individuals, between leaders and subordinates, and between groups; and organizational factors such as communication methods, decision-making processes, wage systems, and personnel supervision systems will all affect the efficiency of labor and work. Therefore, to enable communication in thought between individuals, superiors and subordinates, and groups, to achieve coordination, unity, and collaboration, to maximize the potential of individuals and the fulfillment of their duties, and to improve production and work efficiency to the greatest extent, it is necessary to treat the relationships between people in the management process as a system, i.e., a person-person system, and to study it using scientific theories and methods from disciplines such as psychology to analyze the psychological phenomena and their laws of individuals, groups, organizations, and leadership. Based on the above research objectives, the content of industrial and organizational psychology mainly includes four aspects: individual psychology, group psychology, organizational psychology, and leadership psychology. The main research content of individual psychology includes the relationship between individual psychological processes and management, the relationship between individual psychological characteristics and management, the relationship between needs, motivations, and management, the relationship between behavior, motivation, and management, and the relationship between attitudes, frustration, and management. The main research content of group psychology includes the relationship between group psychology and management, including the psychological management of formal and informal groups, the handling of group conflicts, and the organization of group competition; as well as the relationship between group interpersonal relationships and management, including the improvement of interpersonal relationships and the social measurement methods of interpersonal relationships. The main research content of organizational psychology includes the characteristics and elements of organizations; organizational functions and organizational design; organizational structure and organizational forms; and organizational reform and development, including the procedures and methods of organizational reform, the obstacles to organizational reform and ways to overcome them, and the forms, content, and standards of organizational development. The main research content of leadership psychology includes the relationship between leadership psychological qualities and management, including the psychological qualities of individual leaders and the psychological structure of the leadership collective; the relationship between leadership decision-making psychology and management, including the psychological process of leadership decision-making, the thinking methods of decision-making, and the psychological factors affecting leadership decision-making, as well as the psychological effects of individual and collective decision-making.
(2) Tasks of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
The task of industrial and organizational psychology is to improve the ability to predict and control human behavior by studying and mastering the laws of psychological phenomena, thereby better guiding people to achieve their predetermined goals.
Postscript:
This book is edited by Yu Xin'an and Jiao Guodong as chief editors, with Ma Zhongmin, Du Shuang, Huang Daorong, and Dong Yizhang as deputy editors. The authors who participated in the writing of this book (in alphabetical order) are: Ma Zhongmin, Ma Guoqun, Wang Tianxiang, Wang Wenming, Wang Jumei, Wang Quanying, Tian Hesheng, Fu Qintai, Feng Xianchao, Feng Zhen Guang, Li Yongliang, Li Xinqi, Liu Shunxing, Sun Dezhong, Du Shuang, Chen Yanyan, Chen Kuo, Zhang Baoshuan, Meng Zhaocheng, Jiang Hong, Yuan Xiaobo, Huang Daorong, Gao Zhijun, Chang Zhitao, Yu Xin'an, Jiao Guodong, and Dong Yizhang. During the writing process of this book, the research achievements of relevant colleagues were referenced. Gao Kangmei and Wang Aiying of the Henan Provincial Party School provided materials, and their gratitude is hereby expressed. Industrial and organizational psychology is an emerging discipline, and some theoretical issues are still under research and exploration. Moreover, due to the limitations of the authors, omissions and inaccuracies in this book are inevitable. We sincerely ask the readers to correct them.
Author: April 1994