12 October 2004	Tuesday	26 Shaban 1425

KARACHI, Oct 11: Psychologists, industrialists and representatives of banking and corporate sector organizations at a seminar on Monday called for establishment of an institute of applied psychology as a joint venture of Karachi University and ministry of industries and production, to initiate research on problems confronting the local industry and corporate sector.

They were of the view that qualified industrial psychology experts could help industrial units, banking and corporate sector organizations in recruitment, resolving problems of their employees, enhancing productivity and understanding consumers' behaviour.

The seminar on "Role of Psychology in Industry, Organizations and Consumers Behaviour" was organized by the KU's Psychology department, at its arts auditorium, where academicians, psychologists, representatives of industry, banking and corporate sectors spoke on various related themes.

Ms Saima Qamar, on the occasion said that several problems relating to behaviour of industrial employees and consumers could be resolved through hiring industrial psychologists, who could also enhance productivity of the workers.

However, she opined that use of industrial psychology and its tools could also bring good results with respect to production and make products more acceptable to consumers by bringing them in consonance with their desires.

Zaheer Baig, Director, Human Resource, at a local textile mill, in his presentation stressed the need for more interaction between varsities and industry, saying without coordinating and interacting with each other, academic sector could not benefit the other with its expertise and excellence.

Advocated the idea of establishing an institute of applied psychology, he said that research done in other countries could not be applied in Pakistan due to local industrial and social environment, norms and rules and regulations.

Siddique Shaikh, chief of a food manufacturing unit, suggested to Psychology department, KU, to establish an institutional link with the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), saying this would help it in getting connected with 40 regional chapters of the federation and trade and professional associations.

He further called for establishment of human resource management division at the department, and claimed that graduates having knowledge of business management with human psychology, consumers' behaviour and other related skills would be more acceptable to the industry than simple graduates.

KU Vice Chancellor Dr Pirzada Qasim lauded the faculty of the Psychology department, especially its seminar in charge Ms Farah Iqbal, for holding the seminar on an important issue, but deplored that both academia and the industry were suffering owing to lack of liaison between them.

He said although a majority of the institutions and organizations were aware of the importance of counselling and evaluation of aptitude, there was hardly any organization which took it into consideration before recruiting staff or labour to run its affairs.

He said that the whole nation was in the grip of fears, phobias and stress owing to the uncertainty prevailing in the country, mainly due to the wrong policies of the past rulers.

In these circumstances, effective coordination between the industry and the varsities could help people resolve their issues on their own, besides creation of more employment opportunities, he observed.

According to recommendations of the seminar, the industry was urged to recruit industrial psychologists at their personnel departments, as they could help in areas of assessment, job-analysis, training, placement and merit rating of employees.

Psychological tests should be used for selecting industrial staff, as through standardized intelligence and aptitude tests, right persons could be selected, it maintained. Participants also called for holding regular industrial counselling programmes for employees to overcome their psychological problems. -PPI