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Book Preface

In the first edition of our book, we began with the premise that the world of work in the 21st century was very different from what it had been as recently as 15 years ago. That premise is even more relevant today and worth repeating. Today’s workplace is technological and multicultural. Work is often accomplished by teams rather than by single individuals. The computer dominates the workplace. In any given company or department, we find greater diversity in terms of demographic characteristics, interests, and styles than in past decades. Although mental and physical abilities remain important attributes for predicting job success, personality and interpersonal skills are receiving increased attention. A satisfying life is now defined as striking a balance between work and nonwork. In addition, the psychological “stability” of work may be at an all-time low. Mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, outsourcing, and radically changing technologies have all made the idea of “life-long employment” at one company, or even in one occupation, an elusive dream. All of these themes will appear in the text and will be tied together in a way that will acknowledge the rich and intriguing nature of the modern workplace.

An important thing to keep in mind in studying I-O psychology is that work is complex and cannot be reduced to a set of equations or principles. In the real world, all of the components of work, the work environment and, most importantly, the people who populate the workplace, interact in complicated ways. For example, in considering organizational and individual effectiveness, we cannot think of hiring strategies in a vacuum. Hiring is preceded by recruiting and screening. It is followed by training and socialization. Once the individual joins the organization, there are issues of satisfaction, performance, rewards, and motivation. The way the organization is designed, both psychologically and physically, can limit or enhance productive efforts. This textbook necessarily treats these topics one at a time, but no topic covered in the text can really “stand alone.” In the real world, the topics are interrelated, and we will show these interrelationships in the text.

The first edition of this text was warmly received by both instructors and students. Their experience told them that the world of work had changed and that our text captured those changes. The field of I-O psychology has also noted these changes, resulting in an evolution of new research and theory. A scientific article is published every second of every minute of every hour of every day somewhere around the world. This explosion of research is just as true in I-O psychology as in chemistry, anthropology, or molecular biology. That is what textbook revisions are all about—sifting through this ever-expanding material to present the reader with a summary of new developments in the particular field.

NEW TO THE SECOND EDITION

We are also always thinking about ways of “packaging information” in a way that is more accessible to students and instructors. Our first edition had 16 chapters. Feedback from our users suggested that 14 chapters provided a better “fit” for the instructional schedule. In addition, we learned that the critical thinking exercises that had been incorporated into the text could be more valuably included as part of the text’s website, freeing more text space for content and examples. Users liked the four color treatment of the first edition but suggested a different color theme, which we have now adopted. Finally, users asked for a somewhat reduced length for the text. As a result, we reduced the number of pages in order to make the text more manageable for the instructional schedule. It is important to note that in reducing the number of chapters and pages, we simply presented information more efficiently. In addition, we concentrated on providing the most important citations for topics rather than all relevant citations. In many areas, we actually increased the depth and breadth of coverage. We will provide examples of those areas in the next paragraph. When our first edition was published, it had the most current coverage of the field of I-O in any available text. We do even better in the second edition, because more than 94 percent of the 672 new references we incorporated were published in 1998 or more recently, and more than 76 percent of the new references were published in 2002 or more recently!

We have been gathering new information for four years in anticipation of the next edition of the text, and new developments in the field have been substantial. This edition includes many new topics including unions as stakeholders in organizations, the motivation of entrepreneurs, organizational identification, overtime pay and fair compensation practices, and Internet attitude measurement. You will find expanded coverage of areas such as organizational citizenship, counterproductive work behavior, the use of situational judgment in assessment, competencies, behavioral interviewing, transformational leadership, core self-evaluations, and 360 degree feedback. Throughout the text, you will find timely examples and applications of I-O principles including the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina, and popular television shows such as The Apprentice and The Sopranos.

STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF THE SECOND EDITION

Because the full range of industrial and organizational psychology is so broad, we have broken the text into three sections. The first section addresses the fundamentals of the field by examining what I-O psychologists do and where they do it, as well as the methods we use to accomplish research and application. The second section considers topics in personnel psychology such as individual differences, assessment, performance evaluation, staffing, and training. The third section examines organizational topics such as motivation, attitudes, stress, workplace health, fairness, leadership, work teams, and organizational design.

The content of our text supports our observation that work in the 21st century has changed from what it was previously. In virtually every chapter, we include substantially modified treatments of topics, as well as entirely new topics that might not have appeared 10 years ago. Consider the following representative list:

There is another parameter that sets our text apart from its competitors: range. The authors of this text have taught at institutions ranging from four year state to premier private research universities. We also have a domestic–international balance. Frank Landy has taught I-O topics in Slovenia, Germany, Italy, Romania, Australia, Sweden, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. In addition, he consults and lectures extensively internationally and continues to develop his view of cultural influences on work behavior. Jeff Conte is also interested in cross-cultural topics and has conducted research in organizations across the United States as well as in Canada and France. In this second edition, Frank and Jeff have enhanced the treatment of culture and work considerably. We know what cross-cultural means. Moreover, both authors have done extensive research in practical settings. We span the application continuum from tightly controlled laboratory experiments to real-world consulting at Fortune 100 companies. As a result, we can distinguish the applicable from the inapplicable. This is reflected in our determination to tell the reader what matters in the actual workplace and what doesn’t. If you look at work through 20th-century lenses, the gap between science and practice does not seem so large. When you try on 21st-century lenses, the gap is considerably larger. That means we need stronger and wider and longer bridges to negotiate that gap. We have made every effort to build those bridges. We want to prepare the student to deal with the workplace as he or she will see it in the next few years, not as it was 10 or more years ago. Fortunately, the theory, research, and practice that constitute modern I-O psychology provide the materials for those bridges.

As you read through the book, you will notice that a given topic may appear in several different chapters. That is not a mistake or oversight. The fact is that some topics have relevance in many different chapters and to mention them only once presents too sterile a view of work dynamics. As an example, competencies are higher-order forms of ability, personality, interests, and attitudes. Competency modeling is an enhanced form of job analysis. Competencies can be learned. And there are both leader competencies and team competencies. This means that you will see the term “competency” in several chapters. Even though you will see the term often, it will be treated from a different perspective each time it appears. You will see similar treatments of issues related to work/family balance. This balance is important in the attitudes that an individual holds toward work and organizations. Balance is also important in addressing work stress and work design. So “balance” will appear in at least three chapters. We hope that this method of treatment will provide a richer understanding of the effects of work on people and people on work.

STRUCTURE OF THE CHAPTERS

Within each chapter, we have further divided concepts and topics into stand-alone modules. A module consists of material that is relatively homogeneous within a particular chapter. As examples, one module might deal with the historical development of a concept, the second with modern approaches, the third with applications of the concept, and the fourth with related concepts. Some chapters have as few as three modules, whereas others have four or five modules depending on how much material is covered by the chapter. Each module ends with a summary of the main points and a list of glossary terms.

Every module can be considered valuable in one way or another. Nevertheless, we realize that it may be difficult to cover every module in a semester. Thus, each module has been designed as a stand-alone unit, permitting the instructor to cover or skip any particular module. As an example, an instructor might cover the first three modules in a chapter, but may choose to skip the final module on “Specialized Topics.” We believe this modular approach gives instructors maximum flexibility. In addition to covering or deleting a module within a chapter, or changing the order of modules within a chapter, an instructor can assign modules across chapters, in essence creating a new “chapter.” For example, an instructor might assign a module on statistics from Chapter 2, a module on job analysis from Chapter 4, and a module on assessment from Chapter 3 to create a “validity” chapter. Although we believe that the modules within a chapter complement each other, instructors might prefer a different order of modules.

SUPPLEMENTS FOR STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS

Landy and Conte’s Work in the 21st Century offers several supplements to enhance learning processes and teaching activities. The supplements are available on the text’s website:
www.blackwellpublishing.com/landyconte2e

Website for Instructors

The instructor side of the Landy and Conte Work in the 21st Century website contains all
the material instructors need for course design, and it is a convenient way to access the
Instructor’s Manual, Test Bank, PowerPoint slides, links, and supplementary material.

Instructor’s Manual

Here you will find learning objectives, chapter outlines, glossary terms, and suggestions for
class discussions and activities.

PowerPoint Slides

This package of 30–40 slides per chapter includes lecture outlines in addition to figures
and tables from the text. The slides can be used as is or customized to match your course
design and goals.

Computerized Test Bank

This array of 30–50 multiple choice items per chapter covers all the important concepts
with factual and applied questions as well as questions of a more conceptual nature to facilitate critical thinking.

WEBSITE FOR STUDENTS

The student side of the Work in the 21st Century website at www.blackwellpublishing.com/
landyconte2e contains links to a variety of Internet resources as well as supplementary
material on many I-O psychology topics.

Student Study Guide and Workbook

Available on the student side of the website, this guide is a valuable tool for maximizing students’ understanding of material and preparation for exams. The guide was developed in close conjunction with the textbook and facilitates the instructor’s course design by providing students with the same learning objectives, chapter outlines, and glossary terms as the Instructor’s Manual. In addition, it includes practice exam questions and exercises for each chapter. The workbook exercises, based on organizational issues that I-O psychologists are often asked to study and resolve, facilitate active learning and practical application of the ideas and concepts discussed in class and in the textbook.


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many colleagues were kind enough to provide suggestions about the new chapter structure as well as send us their work in particular areas. These generous offers to share work that was in progress, awaiting publication, or in technical reports were instrumental in allowing us to incorporate updated material. These colleagues included Laura Borgogni, Gian Vittorio Caprara, Gary Carter, Wayne Cascio, Jan Cleveland, Peter Dorfman, Fritz Drasgow, Filip de Fruyt, Richard Hackman, Scott Highhouse, David Hofmann, Geert Hofstede, Susan Jackson, Ruth Kanfer, Jerry Kehoe, Steve Kozlowski, Kurt Kraiger, David Lubinski, John Mathieu, Jack Mayer, David Morris, Doug Reynolds, Paul Sackett, Gary Schmidt, Ben Schneider, Graham Seager, Norbert Semmer, Peter Smith, Paul Thayer, Peter Warr, and Dieter Zapf. Colleagues who provided assistance and material for the first edition included Patti Ambrose, Bruce Avolio, Zeynep Aycan, Talya Bauer, Wally Borman, André Büssing, Dan Cable, Paula Caligiuri, Diane Catanzaro, Donna Chrobot-Mason, Jan Cleveland, Cary Cooper, Fritz Drasgow, Dov Eden, Miriam Erez, Jim Farr, Harold Goldstein, Irv Goldstein, Randy Gordon, Mark Griffin, Lee Hakel, Michael Harris, Dave Harrison, Chris Hartel, Beryl Hesketh, Scott Highhouse, Ann Howard, Dick Jeanneret, Ruth Kanfer, Rich Klimoski, Laura Koppes, Steve Kozlowski, David Kravitz, Dianne Maranto, Terry Mitchell, Susan Mohammed, Nigel Nicholson, Rupande Padaki, Sharon Parker, Bob Pritchard, Anat Rafaeli, Robert Roe, Ivan Roberston, Wilmar Schaufeli, Neal Schmitt, Heinz Schuler, Karen Smola, Dirk Steiner, Robert Tett, Paul Thayer, Kecia Thomas, Susan Vanhemmel, Peter Warr, Howard Weiss, and Shelly Zedeck.

Our colleagues at our respective institutions were a captive, but nevertheless enthusiastic, audience, providing both substantive and logistic support. At Landy Litigation Support Group, these included Kylie Harper, Art Gutman, Barb Nett, Laura Koppes, and Tim Crean. At San Diego State, many colleagues within and outside the psychology department helped to provide a supportive environment in which to work. In particular, Karen Ehrhart, Mark Ehrhart, Keith Hattrup, Jorg Matt, and Scott Roesch represent a wonderful group of applied psychologists at San Diego State University. Jacob Seybert was our main research assistant for most of the project and went well beyond what was expected in his efforts to track down obscure research studies.

In addition, several colleagues went well out of their way to help us by providing reviews of draft material, suggestions for additional research, and contacts with researchers whose excellent work might have gone unnoticed. These colleagues include Robert Baron, Dave Bartram, Stuart Carr, David Day, Michelle Dean, Michael Frese, Bob Guion, Rick Jacobs, Tim Judge, Kurt Kraiger, David Kravitz, Kevin Murphy, Neal Schmitt, Ben Schneider, Rolf Van Dick, Bernie Weiner, Howard Weiss, and Bob Wood. In addition, Kylie Harper read every chapter and provided invaluable comments.

We also wish to acknowledge those who accepted Blackwell’s invitation to review our outline and critical content. These reviewers include

Rolf van Dick
Aston Business School

John Aiello
Rutgers University

Barbara Sloan
Marshalltown Community College

Dianne Leader
Georgia Institute of Technology

Jeffrey Labrador
Central Michigan University

Greg Loviscky
Penn State University

Thomas Mitchell
University of Baltimore

Stuart C. Carr
Massey University

Our editorial team at Blackwell was headed by executive editor Christine Cardone and project editor Sarah Coleman, both of whom guided us through all of the critical steps in developing this second edition. We were also fortunate to have the help of freelance editors John Turner and Judy Brody. Production manager Simon Eckley oversaw the transformation of the manuscript into the book. Thu Yen Mac has taken charge of bringing the text to the attention of our target audience of instructors and students. We express our heartfelt thanks to these individuals and the many other members of our Blackwell team.

A NOTE FROM FRANK LANDY

I truly love to write. There is only one activity more satisfying than researching a topic, looking for key elements, identifying ambiguities, identifying applications, and projecting where the research will take us—the ultimate joy is in transforming these thoughts into words that can be understood and applied by a reader. When an edition of a text is completed, I literally cannot wait to start on the next edition because there is always new information, new topics, new ways of expression, new ways of thinking about things—so much research and application, so few pages with which to describe it. And an added bonus is interacting with old and new colleagues in collecting the information. Preparing the second edition was even more rewarding than preparing the first. A special note of thanks
must go to my wife Kylie Harper, an I-O psychologist with considerable experience—and even more considerable common sense. She was my sounding board throughout the development of the second edition, and I will be forever grateful for her support and contributions. As was the case with the first edition, I am truly blessed to be able to collaborate with Jeff Conte. His encyclopedic knowledge of the literature and his sense of the student enhance our joint effort. In addition, his enthusiasm and general goodwill provide the emotional foundation for the tough work of textbook writing. And finally, as I have been doing since 1969, I thank Bob Guion for modeling the intellectual rigor to which I aspire and to Bob’s grandson Ethan Lillard for modeling the courage to extract from life the best it has to offer.

A NOTE FROM JEFF CONTE

I would like to express my deep appreciation to Frank Landy for offering me the opportunity to work with him on this book. My teaching and research have both been influenced by Frank’s support and mentoring in graduate school and beyond, and it has been extremely gratifying to work with him so closely in writing the first and second editions of this book. I also thank Rick Jacobs, a friend and mentor who has greatly influenced my thinking about I-O psychology and who has been very supportive throughout my career. I greatly appreciate the unwavering support and encouragement that I have received over the years from my parents (Anne and Tom) and siblings (T. J., Scott, and Deanna). I would also like to thank Paula Caligiuri, Kat Ringenbach, and James Groeneveld for their support and encouragement throughout the writing of this book. Most importantly, I would like to thank my wife, Michelle, and daughter, Caroline, for their support while I was working on this book and for the wonderful diversions they provided when I was taking breaks.

Frank J. Landy
Jeffrey M. Conte