Module 3

Question 1

What is Maslow’s Hierarchy?

Answer 1

1. Self actualisation
2. Esteem
3. Belongingness
4. Safety
5. Physiological

Question 2

Explain Herzberg’s (or Motivator-Hygiene) Theory of Motivation?

Answer 2

Hygienes are contextual factors that, if not present, lead to the impoverishment of the employee’s job. Employees experience job frustration and stress if their jobs have few hygienes. Employees might experience short increases in job satisfaction hygiene factors are improved, but will take them for granted again after a relatively short period of time. If hygienes are removed job satisfaction plunges.

Motivators are factors that raise job satisfaction and performance in the long run. They are related to the employee-job interaction and are job-centered characteristics.

Question 3

Define Negative Inequity and Positive Inequity in the context of Equity Theory?

Answer 3

Negative inequity is perceived when the employee feels that he receives relatively fewer rewards for his effort that others.

Positive inequity is perceived when an employee feels that he receives relatively more rewards for his efforts that others.

Question 4

How might an employee restore equity?

Answer 4

1. Change work inputs and reduce performance efforts to eliminate negative inequity
2. Change the outcomes received (e.g. ask for more responsibility to reduce positive inequity)
3. Exit the circumstance (e.g. leave job)
4. Change the people that are used for comparison
5. Mentally distort or alter the comparison
6. Take a decision to alter the inputs or outcomes of the comparison ‘other’ (e.g. get the other to work less hard)

Question 5

Define the components of expectancy theory?

Answer 5

Behavior must be understood in terms of the probabilities that a certain behavior will lead to outcomes valued by the individual.

Valence is defined as the personal attractiveness of different outcomes. If an outcome has a high personal valence, an individual is attracted to behaviors that make that outcome more likely.

First-level outcomes are results of expending effort in some way (e.g. job performance, leaving a position) and are important for organizations. Second-level outcomes are the result of achieving (or not achieving) the first level outcomes (e.g. getting a promotion, receiving recognition). Employees assign valence to each type of outcome.

Instrumentality is the personal believe that first-level outcomes lead to second-level outcomes.

Expectancy is the subjective belief that a given level of effort will lead to a first level outcome on the job. Expectancies are judgments about the relationships between certain levels of effort and the various first level outcomes.

Question 6

What does the concept of behaviour modification state?

Answer 6

Behaviour modification is a function of its consequences.

Question 7

What is the law of effect?

Answer 7

Tendency of an individual (operand) to repeat behaviors that cause favorable consequences and not to repeat behaviours that cause unfavorable consequences

Question 8

What is behavioural shaping?

Answer 8

Structuring of reinforcements, punishment, and extinction to achieve successively closer and closer approximations of the desired behaviour

Question 9

What is Operand Conditioning?

Answer 9

Reinforcement which modifies behaviour of an operand through it’s consequences

Question 10

What are the schedule of reinforcement?

Answer 10

Continuous
Partial
Partial reinforcement schedules
Fixed ratio (FR) (fixed number of behaviours)…
Variable Ratio (VR) (variable number of behaviours)
Fixed Interval (FI) (time)
Variable Interval (VI) (time)

Question 11

What are the pros of Behavioural Modification?

Answer 11

• It focuses on observable behavior instead of intangible individual differences
• No manipulation occurs when employees participate in the behavior modification
• It improves employees instrumentalities
Employees receive higher quality feedback about their performance

Question 12

What are the cons of Behavioural Modification?

Answer 12

• It undermines employees respect and dignity
• It makes organizations more manipulative and exploitative
• It makes employees dull an de-humanized extensions of the machines that they operate
It oversimplifies work behavior and erodes employee creativity

Question 13

Why do managers not like to use punishment?

Answer 13

1. they have hired the wrong employee
2. the work environment they help create is less than ideal
3. they and their organization treat their employees badly

Question 14

What are the reasons not to use punishment?

Answer 14

1. For it to be effective managers must closely watch employee’s behavior
2. Punishment does not eliminate unwanted behaviour, but just suppresses it temporarily until the punisher is removed.
3. Employees become anxious, fearful, less creative, hostile and may reject delegated responsibility

Question 15

What are the alternatives to punishment?

Answer 15

• Use of Extinction
• Re-engineer the work environment so that undesirable behavior can not occur
• Reward behavior which is physically incompatible with undesired behavior (e.g. reward employees for tidy workplaces)
• Be patient and allow time for undesirable behaviour to disappear

Question 16

What are the guidelines for using punishment?

Answer 16

Rapid
Intense
Equitable
Informative
Private and focused
Not followed by rewards

Question 17

Conditions that should be met before installing a B Mod program?

Answer 17

• Moderate to high trust between employees affected and their supervisors exists.
• Employee must believe that good workplace hygiene exists.
• Employee must have control over pace of work (i.e. no machine paced work).
• Employee ability can not be the cause of the problem.
• Employees understand successful performance behaviors that they can measure and record.
• Employees must get regular feedback about their progress towards performance goals
• Supervisors must be trained and committed to the B Mod program so that they understand the underlying principles

Question 18

What are the steps to setting up a behavioural modification program?

Answer 18

1. Conduct a job analysis to ensure understanding of job responsibilities
2. Define performance behaviors and set performance goals
3. Conduct a baseline audit to identify the rate of correct performance
4. Select powerful and abundant reinforcers to reward excellent performance
5. Use continuous reinforcement to encourage new performance behaviors
6. Practice behavioral shaping to obtain closer and close approximations to the desired behaviors
7. Establish desired behaviors by adding new positive reinforcers which employees value
8. Review and evaluate the program to identify and measure target goals such as cost reduction, employee attendance, safety and improved productivity.