History and Definitions of the Concept of Pyschological Contract

A social contract between two parties is used to make an agreement. They reflect societal expectations from businesses, especially in the social aspect. The social contract theories in business grasp that businesses are all trying to improve the status of societies. To achieve this, businesses are required to be aware of employees’ interests without having to break the rules of any society. Social contract theories in business come from the traditional models of a social contract.

The history of Psychodynamic psychology originated with Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century. Freud proposed a psychodynamic theory to which personality consists of the id. The Id is present at birth and it resides in the world of unconsciousness. Freud also said that the unconscious is also a place where human instinctual biological drives reside. The drives direct our behaviour towards choices that promise to satisfy our basic human needs. The drives ensure our survival like drinking water and eating food, the desire for reproduction and the necessity for aggression.

The psychological contract can help both employee and employer to gain awareness on contemporary employment relationships; indeed, it has been debated that perceived obligations within the psychological contract are usually more vital to work related attitudes and behaviour than are the official and explicit elements of contractual acknowledgement (Grant, Branka and David 2010, 6-7).

Being that employers face a multitude of stipulations under federal, state and local laws and statutes, employers should make a conscious effort to not self-impose additional burdens. It is essential that all employers have a solid relationship

Equal opportunities - These policies are set out to say how employees should be treated in

3. This organization could also create an Employee Engagement protocol that will define the relationship between employee and employer along with expectations. This protocol will create a positive environment for the

between the needs of the company and the needs of the employees, and should be enforced in a

A company’s culture can have a huge impact on employment relations. If the organisation encourages staff to be engaged and involved in how business is delivered, they are more likely to be motivated and productive and retention will be higher. Creating a good reputation outside the business can also help with future recruitment.

oriented being as if the unconscious and a number of assumptions playing a major role in an individual’s life. The whole family together as a unit.

In chess you know the pieces but you can’t see into the other person’s mind. In negotiation you don’t necessarily know the ‘pieces’. You have to discover and develop your own pieces and find ways of uncovering your counterparts’.” The Essentials of Job Negotiations, (2011)

Limitations that could be identified in the study were the small sample size that included only managers, was conducted only in New Zealand and therefore may not be able to be generalized to other countries (Cable, 2010). Results and discussion suggests that future research could expand the understanding on how the fulfillment of the psychological contract could impact an individual employee’s attitudes and behaviors (Cable, 2010).

The Personal Bargaining Inventory questionnaire measures perceptions of human behavior in situations of bargaining and negotiation (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2010). This questionnaire revealed that I am honest, trustworthy, care about relationships, not a good liar, and ethical. I am not afraid to stand up for my principles and am willing to share power with others. Additionally, I avoid conflict, when possible.

Critically evaluate the utility of the psychological contract for understanding the contemporary employment relationship. (2500 Words)

According to Halpert et al.’s Path model, negotiation consists of different phases such as preparation, differentiation, exploration, and exchange. The preparation phase in our previous negotiation became an essential part that played a role of evaluation of both parties positions in our successful outcome.

These require that employee have a clear understanding about how their jobs will change and how they will be rewarded. For example, an employee who doesn't cooperate with the change effort of the company, the employee will still doing the same job and do not have an incensement in their pay.