Assessment Brief Unit and Assessment Details Course Title: HND Business Unit Number: 58 Unit Title: Assessor: Mr. Bilal Ahmad Internal Verifier: Centre Head Assessment Title: Theories and Methods of Psychological Enquiry in the Workplace Assessment Method: Report Assessing in: Individually Number of Words: 3000 Outcomes Covered: 1,2, 3, & 4 Issue Date: 6 th June, 2012 Pre-Submission Date(s): Wednesdays & Thursdays (Before Due Date) Due Date: 12 th July, 2012 Statement of authenticity College No. Learner Name Learner Signature Learner s Declaration: I confirm that the work submitted for this assignment is my own. Date Outcomes Covered Outcome No. Description 1 Explore the different perspectives in psychology and assess the contribution psychology has made to understanding human behavior in the workplace 2 Examine the role of psychology in the assessment of individual differences in the workplace 3 Investigate the range of research methods used in psychological enquiry 4 Recognize and assess the ethical issues raised by the investigation of human behavior and by the application of psychological theory in the workplace. NOTE: Attach this page as first page of your report and the remaining pages at the end of your report. Page 1/8
Purpose The purpose of this assessment is to develop an understanding of the contribution that psychology makes to the investigation of human behavior in the workplace. Student is required to report on theories and methods of psychological enquiry and their utility in solving human problems in the workplace. Guidelines Your sources MUST be academic, ideally book(s) provided by your tutor. Alternatively you can refer to textbooks listed in the recommended resources. Cite your sources and use Harvard referencing for bibliography. This should be observed for all tasks. Perspectives in Psychology Task-01 Using your own words, write a brief note on major theoretical approaches in psychology. Some major perspectives of psychology are Neuroscience, Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Cognitive and Humanistic. Assessment Criteria 1.1 Task-02 Work psychology is an applied discipline in which scientific enquiry and problem solving are two ways of conducting research. The findings of such research are used for investigating workplace behavior. The formulation, conduct, output and utilization of research in work psychology are all part of a complex process. (Refer to Figure, The research process in work psychology in the Appendix). Personality of an employee can be investigated by two main approaches, labeled as nomothetic and idiographic. Read text related to mentioned approaches for developing your understanding. Suppose Edwardes College while recruiting teachers assesses the personalities of candidates during selection process. Keeping in view the requirements of hiring a teacher, write a critical report and perform a comparison of The Big Five (Nomothetic Approach), Erik Erikson s Theory (Idiographic Approach) and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (Complementary Approach). Which of these approaches are feasible for Edwardes College recruitment process? What are the strengths and limitations of these approaches in investigating personalities? Assessment Criteria 1.2 & 1.3 Page 2/8
Individual Differences Task 03 Write a brief note on individual difference (personality, ability, intelligence, attitudes, learning and memory. Provide at least one example for these individual differences). Assessment Criteria 2.1 Task 04 Assess the strengths and limitations of psychometric instruments with particular reference to reliability and validity Using at least two examples, critically respond to the following; What are psychometric instruments? Why psychometric tests are used? What factors can determine the quality of a psychometric instrument? Assessment Criteria 2.2 Research Methods in Psychology Task 05 Write critical responses (using at least one example from work psychology) for each of the following research designs. Your responses should include strengths and weaknesses of research designs listed below. You are expected to be clear and concise. The survey design The experimental design Qualitative design Action research design Assessment Criteria 3.1 & 3.2 Page 3/8
Ethics in Psychology Task 06 Using one example each, write briefly on the following; What professional bodies develop ethical guidelines in UK and Pakistan for the practice of psychology? What is the need for establishing ethical guidelines? What are some of the major ethical concerns in conducting research with human participants? What is socially sensitive research? What are the ethical implications of applying psychological findings and theories in the workplace Reading Material On being a scientist responsible conduct in research (online book) http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4917 Psychology textbook The British Psychological Society website www.bps.org.uk Assessment Criteria 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5 Required Evidence Report - your report should be approximately 3000 words and you are likely to be penalized if it exceeds 3500 words. If you feel it is essential to include detailed information, put it in an appendix and refer to this appendix in the text. Your sources of information should be clearly identified) Notes to Students The Assignment should have a cover page that has assignment title, assignment number, course title, unit title, lecturer / tutor name and student s name. Attach all the pages of assignment brief with your report Ensure that statement of authenticity has been signed Contents sheet with a list of all headings and page numbers Use 12 point Arial or Times New Roman font Your assignment should be word-processed and should not exceed 3000 words in length. Exhibits / appendices are outside this limit Use the Harvard Referencing System All work should be comprehensively referenced and all sources must be acknowledged fully. This includes books & journals used as well websites visited. Details such as page numbers, publishers and publication year should also be stated, in addition to the name of the author(s) and publication. Books, articles and journals should be the main sources; online sources are allowed up to 15% Pages should be numbered (bottom right hand corner) Spell-check the document and read thoroughly for grammatical errors 1.5 line spacing is preferred Page 4/8
Recommended Resources 1. Arnold J Prof et al Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace (Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2010) ISBN: 9780273711216 2. Mullins J L Management and Organisational Behaviour, 8th Edition(Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2007) ISBN: 9780273708889 Plagiarism Policy The college has strict penalty for plagiarism and the assignment will be cancelled if the assignment is observed for this. The definition and scope of plagiarism are presented below: Plagiarism occurs when a student misrepresents, as his/her own work, the work, written or otherwise, of any other person (including another student) or of any institution. Examples of forms of plagiarism include: The verbatim (word for word) copying of another s work without appropriate and correctly presented acknowledgement; The close paraphrasing of another s work by simply changing a few words or altering the order of presentation, without appropriate and correctly presented acknowledgement; Unacknowledged quotation of phrases from another s work; The deliberate and detailed presentation of another s concept as one s own. All types of work submitted by students are covered by this definition, including, written work, diagrams, designs, engineering drawings and pictures. General Instructions Books and online resources can be accessed at the College Library and Central Computer Lab Visits need to be arranged and made to the organizations. For meeting the respective managers, the college will provide a reference letter for the project and the manager of the organization is welcome to contact the administration at the college Page 5/8
Grading Statement (For Report) Pass LOC-01 Explore the different perspectives in psychology and assess the contribution psychology has made to understanding human behaviour in the workplace 1.1 describe the major theoretical approaches and the model of people which they present 1.2 assess the contribution of a scientific approach to investigating workplace behaviour making reference to normative and idiographic approaches 1.3 assess strengths and limitations of quantitative and qualitative approaches to understanding workplace behavior LOC-02 Examine the role of psychology in the assessment of individual differences in the workplace 2.1 describe the type of individual differences which have been the subject of measurement/assessment 2.2 assess the strengths and limitations of psychometric instruments with particular reference to reliability and validity LOC-03 Investigate the range of research methods used in psychological enquiry 3.1 describe the different methods most commonly encountered in psychological research 3.2 evaluate the methods described in terms of their strengths and weaknesses with particular reference to issues of control and validity LOC-04 Recognise and assess the ethical issues raised by the investigation of human behaviour and by the application of psychological theory in the workplace 4.1 describe the establishment of ethical guidelines by professional bodies in psychology 4.2 explain the need for such guidelines 4.3 identify the major ethical concerns in conducting research with human participants 4.4 explain and define socially sensitive research 4.5 evaluate ethical implications of applying psychological findings and theories in the workplace with reference to models of people suggested by theories Merit M1: Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions (complex problems with more than one variable have been explored) M2- select and apply appropriate techniques (a range of sources of information has been used and complex data has been synthesized and processed) M3- Present and communicate appropriate findings (a range of methods of presentation have been used and technical language has been accurately used) Distinction D1- Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions (conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and have been justified) D2- Take responsibility for managing and organizing activities (Independence has been demonstrated, project has been planned, managed and organized) D3- Demonstrate creative thinking (generation of ideas, self evaluation, creative problem solving, dealing unfamiliar contexts) Page 6/8
Feedback to Learner Criteria Feedback to learner (Evidence presented against the published criteria) Achieved? General comments Assessor signature Internal Verifier signature Date Date Page 7/8
Appendix Page 8/8