Organisations in Indonesia are currently facing the challenging reality of changing workplace demands that are being driven and shaped by transnational pressures from; organizational globalisation: world economy and free market competition. This reality applies for business organisations (enterprises) as well as for social-humanitarian ones (NGOs). In responding to the global challenges, it is essential that these organisations develop qualified and relevant human resources; otherwise they will suffer a sustained competitive disadvantage. However, preparing competent human resources of Indonesia within this global competition is no easy matter. In fact, many hurdles to organizational change, in Indonesia, are rooted within people issues: poor work-ethic, lack of competence at all organizational levels, poor job evaluation, training and development and inefficient work culture. This study discusses Indonesian work values and behavior based on cultural beliefs and norms of 3 types of Indonesian organisations: state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and joint-venture/foreign enterprises (Tjan, 2005).
Currently, psychology in Indonesia is focused on the traditional roles of recruitment and selection training. However, consistent with psychology's role as a behavioral science, there is now an opportunity to acquire a strategic role within organizations, explicitly within change and development programmes. Cultural change requires behavioural re alignment, and it is here that psychology can demonstrate a capacity for a strategic organizational role. Accordingly, a new perspective on the role of I/O Psychology is needed. The aim of this study is to develop a profile of key opportunities and challenges for a strategic role of I/O Psychology in Indonesia.
To gather a comprehensive nature of thoughts, opinions and ideas on the role of I/O psychology in Indonesia, a number of focus group discussions are applied. The respondents are psychologists, psychology students from the faculty of psychology Atma Jaya, and users (total number of respondents are 48). The study result presents the reality of I/O Psychology in Indonesia along with its potential role and current obstacles to be managed. |