Open AccessExamining the strings of our violins whilst Rome is burning: A rebuttal
Author(s) -
Theo H. Veldsman
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
sa journal of industrial psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.438
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 2071-0763
pISSN - 0258-5200
DOI - 10.4102/sajip.v45i0.1725
Subject(s) - rebuttal , argument (complex analysis) , violin , psychology , reputation , sociology , criminology , social psychology , law , public relations , social science , political science , management , medicine , economics
Problemification: In response to the admirable objective of Efendic and Van Zyl’s (2019) article to offer recommendations to address the crisis of replication in industrial organisational psychology (IOP), I offer the counter-argument that this immediate crisis, although important, is of lesser importance in the greater scheme of the challenges faced by IOP, going into the future. It is merely symptomatic of a deeper and greater illness in IOP.Implications: I contend that the ‘lesser’ crisis of replication pales into insignificance against the backdrop of three accelerating and snowballing, interacting meta-crises within IOP: (1) growing irrelevance (= a burning Rome), (2) an outdated, constraining research paradigm (= an antiquated violin) and (3) ill, even toxic, research community dynamics and functioning (= our stressed-out violinists).Purpose: The aim of my rebuttal is to elucidate the three meta-crises and point out their life-threatening implications for IOP going into the future. Future-fit responses to address these meta-crises are offered.Recommendations: Given these meta-crises, going forward in building the academic reputation of the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology (SAJIP), a number of recommendations are made regarding making SAJIP future-proof (= fit-for-purpose, fire-fighting violins and violinists).