ABSTRACT

In recent years, a new movement has emerged within organizational psychology, transposing the established principles of the field onto arenas of more pressing humanitarian need, including the humanitarian treatment of all workers in all work settings. Humanitarian Work Psychology (HWP) stretches the parameters of the discipline to focus on regions, communities, and groups of workers that can potentially benefit most from its research and insights.

Humanitarian Work Psychology and the Global Development Agenda is the first book to provide a collection of case studies of HWP in action. Edited by some of the leading scholars in the field, it benchmarks HWP against the developmental goals set out by the United Nations at the start of the century as the most pressing issues of our age, ranging from the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and the achievement of universal primary education, to gender equality and empowerment, the reduction of child mortality, greater environmental sustainability and global partnership-building.

Including findings from interventions conducted in Nigeria, India, Ghana, Hong Kong and Sierra Leone, the book examines how the latest research from organizational psychology can be used to support people working in developing economies, as well as in humanitarian work itself. The collection concludes with a section on how this exciting new field will develop in the future, particularly in reference to the forthcoming United Nations goals for global sustainable development.

Humanitarian Work Psychology and the Global Development Agenda will be a fascinating read not only for all students and researchers of Organizational Psychology, but also those working and studying in the related fields of Development Studies, Environmental Sustainability, International Politics and International Economics.

part I|70 pages

Practical applications of using humanitarian work psychology to address the Millennium Development Goals

chapter 2|14 pages

Reaching MDGs 4 and 5

The application of organisational psychology to maternal and child health programme sustainability in Sierra Leone

chapter 5|13 pages

Leadership development via humanitarian work

IBM's efforts in Nigeria

part II|86 pages

Process considerations in applying humanitarian work psychology to the Millennium Development Goals

chapter 7|15 pages

Putting human capabilities to work

A person-centered approach to international skills development

chapter 9|14 pages

Catch-22 in humanitarian and development work

Emotional exhaustion, withdrawal, health, and work motives of these workers

chapter 10|14 pages

Inter-organisational and network learning through cross-cultural education partnerships

Implications for the health-related Millennium Development Goals

chapter 12|14 pages

Organizational change to advance corporate sustainability

Achieving greater societal impact through partnerships

part III|50 pages

Reflections on humanitarian work psychology beyond the Millennium Development Goals

chapter 13|6 pages

Stepping up, by stepping out

Sustaining humanitarian work psychology

chapter 14|5 pages

The difficulties of applied reseach

A challenge for humanitarian work psychology and the Millennium Development Goals

chapter 15|5 pages

Volunteer management and the Millennium Development Goals

Integrating humanitarian work psychology and the study of volunteerism

chapter 17|8 pages

Humanitarian work psychology

Unique contributions and theoretical development in the context of the global development agenda

chapter 18|5 pages

The maturation of a profession

A work psychology for the new millennium