Relevance of Psychology to Managers

Is psychology of any relevance to business administrators or managers? If yes justify your answer and if no justify your answer. Yes, psychology is of relevance to business administrators or managers. Psychology was coined in the 16th century from 2 Greek words. Psukhe/psyche which means “breath” or “soul” and logos which means “word” or “reason” and its initial meaning was “study of the soul”. Later the definition changed to “science of mental life” when it became a science in 1879. Also in the 1920s it was commonly defined as “the scientific study of behavior”. From the 1960s till date it has taken a broader definition “the science of behavior and mental processes. Psychology also refers to the application or usage of understanding knowledge and skills to a number of areas of human activity, involving issues concerning with daily activities such as education, events, people and their task, employment, association, relationship as well as the treatment of mental-health problems. Importance of psychology Psychology is important as it is concerned with the study of behavior and mental processes and at the same time, it is also applied to many different areas of human life. Everything we do is very much related to psychology. Psychology primarily studies who and what we are, why we are like that, why we act and think like that and finally how we can improve ourselves. Psychology is important in many different ways. For example, there have been a large number of studies conducted on various illnesses. With the help of psychology, the psychologist can help in the diagnosis of different diseases such as Parkinson’s disease; Alzheimer’s disease and some other neurological diseases. By making use of psychological research, doctors have now developed medicines and even able to alleviate the impact of different illnesses. Psychology helps you to understand and determine how the mind and the body of an individual works. With that said, it can help us make better decisions. It can also help us avoid things that cause stress, it can help us manage our time to a greater degree and help us set goals, be more effective in our studies, or chosen career and last but not least it can help us tackle mental illnesses. According to Benjamin B. Lahey ( 2001) Psychology is applied in various fields. Psychological knowledge is used to solve human problems. Some applied psychologists teach and do research, but most work in mental health centers, industries, companies, school systems, medical centers and other applied settings. There are major specialties within applied psychology, some of them are:
a) Industrial and organizational psychology;-this field focuses on ways to match employees to jobs, to train and motivate workers and to promote job satisfaction and good relationships among workers.
b) Abnormal psychology;- this focuses on the study of abnormal behavior. The study is conducted to determine, describe, predict, explain, illustrate and change abnormal patens of performance. It studies the nature of psychopathology and it causes. It is very applicable in treating the patient with psychological disorders.
c) Biological psychology;- this is the scientific study of biological basis of behavior and mental condition. Since the person’s behavior is controlled by the nervous system, biological psychologist suggested examining the way the brain operates in order to comprehend the person’s behavior.
d) We also have psychology and law;- this is also known as legal psychology. Explore the topic regarding jury decision making, eye witness memory, scientific evidence and legal policy.
e) We also have quantitative psychology;- this involves the usage of mathematical and statistical methods in psychological research and the development of statistical technique in analyzing and illustrating a behavioral data.
f) Health psychology;- the mental of applying psychological theory and studies to health, disease and health care. It is concerned with health related behavior involving healthy diet, the doctor- patient relationship, the patient’s comprehension regarding health information and viewpoint about illness.

An organization is an institution, created by society to undertake a set of tasks. Its success depends upon the knowledge, skills, and abilities of their employees. It is also through psychology that you can know the abilities of your employees well. Psychology is of relevance to business administrators or managers in the following ways. In recruiting new staff; - when recruiting new staffs, psychology helps managers to determine the characters of people from their behavior during interview. It also helps managers in designing standard interview methods. In motivation of staff; - psychology helps managers to motivate individually by analyzing every ones character. Psychology also helps managers in designing motivation programs. It also helps in training top executives to give proper motivation to their employees. Also with the help of psychology, managers are able to reduce stress. When managers learn psychology, they get to know the ways and means by which they can reduce stress at work place. It also helps them to avoid stressful situation at the work place and find relaxing alternatives. Often many are forced to work late and it has an adverse effect on the employees’ health. Here is where psychology comes to the rescue, psychologist can offer counseling and help staffs to adjust to the changes and the new environment. Hence psychology helps the organization and the employees face challenges and keeping work life smooth. Psychology improves daily communication at the work place;- by understanding psychology, managers learn to communicate effectively to his employees. It teaches managers to understand what others are saying and of course in comprehending the person’s action or gestures towards a certain condition. Psychology enriches careers: by managers knowing and understanding their co-workers, they are able to get along with them, they know where to stand and know where their co-workers are coming from and what they are going through. Psychology teaches managers how to correctly and rightfully deal with other people around them. As this condition continues occurring in a work place, it will positively enrich everyone’s career.

Psychology helps managers to design training courses: through psychology managers are able to know exactly which course their employees needs at the work place
In conclusion the above essay explains why psychology is relevant to business administrators or managers.

Reference
Lahey B. Benjamin (2001).Psychology. An Introduction. 7th edition