Mission
Industrial/organizational
(I/O) psychology, a division of the American
Psychological Association (APA), develops and applies psychological
theory and methods to problems of organizations. We strive to
assist public and private organizations become better and more
effective places to work by translating this knowledge into
daily practice. DSS will give your organization the educated
edge needed to build competitive advantage.
Company
History
Decision
Support Services, Inc. was founded by Phyllis
C. Panzano, Ph.D. in 1993 shortly after earning her doctorate
in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology at The
Ohio State University (OSU). About that time, Phyllis joined
the faculty of the Psychology
Department at OSU where she has continued to serve as a
visiting or adjunct professor.
From
the outset, DSS has engaged in both research and consulting
activities. Research has been conducted for state agencies (e.g.,
the Ohio Department of Mental
Health), federal agencies (e.g., the
Social Security Administration) and private foundations
(e.g., the MacArthur Network).
DSS associates also consult with public (e.g., Franklin
County ADAMH Board, Dublin
City Schools) and private sector firms (e.g., Rubbermaid,
Limited Brands). [see
Our Clients or Consulting
for more info]
DSS'
strong ties with OSU have resulted in benefits to both organizations.
The link has facilitated our aim to stay abreast of state-of-the-art
knowledge and approaches that add value to our work. The link
also has resulted in research dollars for the OSU Psychology
Department, provided graduate students with applied work experience
and research opportunities, and has made research and consulting
opportunities available to OSU faculty.
Competencies
The nature of our work is varied. A
sample is highlighted below.
Groups of stakeholders are convened by organizations
for a variety of reasons. For example, a group of customers
may be assembled to react to new product ideas or to express
concerns about current products or services. The use of groups
and group process techniques are important mechanisms for advancing
organizational interests.
Jobs can be designed with a variety of interests
in mind. They can be designed to maximize performance efficiency,
minimize physical strain, or optimize employee motivation. Job
design has implications for employee attitudes and performance
and other important organizational outcomes such as turnover.
Having satisfied employees is important in
its own right. In addition, job satisfaction has consistently
been associated with good work performance and negatively linked
to costly outcomes such as turnover and absenteeism. As a result,
many organizations are concerned with assessing the job satisfaction
of employees and taking action to improve satisfaction.
DSS designs market research studies, develops
questionnaires and interprets findings related to various types
of projects from customer needs assessments to product and packaging
design.
Selecting employees and systematically evaluating
their performance are important to all organizations. Unbiased
and valid methods for identifying individuals who are likely
to be successful performers are needed by all organizations.
Organizations also need reliable methods for evaluating job
performance in order to identify approaches for improving individual
worker and organizational performance.
Planning helps organizations prepare for the
future by making decisions and taking actions today. Planned
change shapes and guides what an organization does to deal with
problems or opportunities that merit action. If managed well,
planned change facilitates communication among stakeholders,
accommodates diverse interests, provides a means for orderly
decision-making, and lays the groundwork for the successful
implementation of a plan.
DSS has expertise and university teaching
experience in I/O psychology. Special topic seminars can be
designed to augment your organizational development program.
DSS designs and conducts a wide variety of
research projects. Visit our website for more information. We
also have extensive experience writing research proposals and
grant applications. We can assist your organization with these
processes.
