Measurement of Organisation-Professional Conflict in the industrial psychology profession

Abstract

Orientation: Professionals, employed in organisations, operate within professional and organisational contexts serving different stakeholders. Subsequently, professionals may experience tension or conflict between their role as professional and employee.

Research purpose: To establish the measurement of the perceptions and experiences of industrial psychology (IP) professionals, employed in South African organisations, with regard to Organisation-Professional Conflict (OPC) as well as the antecedents associated with this phenomenon.

Motivation for the study: Although the extent to which professionals experience OPC is well documented for medical and accountancy professionals, the extent to which IP professionals experience this phenomenon remains unclear.

Research design, approach and method: A structured questionnaire was developed and applied as a cross-sectional survey to all registered South African IP professionals employed in organisations. Responses based on the N = 143 self-selecting respondents were captured and utilised for statistical analysis.

Main findings: OPC in the IP profession can be considered as the incongruence between professional organisational roles and duties, and their responsibility to adhere to professional obligations. Professional autonomy and strategic alignment were found to mitigate the occurrence of OPC, whereas power tension and compromise of professionalism seem to exacerbate the occurrence thereof.

Practical/managerial implications: The research might create an awareness of the existence of OPC amongst the respective stakeholders. Knowledge of OPC may have implications for professionals who render their professional services to organisations.

Contribution/value-add: The findings may inform formal professional associations, industrial psychologists employed by organisations, their employing organisations, and the governing board, about the nature and extent of OPC.