Semester 1 Flashcards
Organizational Behavior Definition
- A social arrangement for achieving controlled performance in pursuit of collective goals
- The systematic study of the behavior of individuals and groups in organisational settings
Research Methods
- Correlational research - relationship between 2 variables (e.g verbal ability & performance)
- Longitudinal studies - repeated observations of variables over time
- Experimental studies - manipulates one variable (independent) and measures the effects on dependent variables whilst holding all other variables constant
Describe the Cycle of Theory & Research
- Theory - an explanation of how and why variables are related to each other.
- Involves empirical data collection and analysis
- Test outcomes influence views & revised theories
- Cycle - Theory>Hypothesis>Research>Correlational research OR Experimental research>Outcome»Theory
Theory for explaining behaviour
- Kurt Lewin’s famous formula of 1931
- B = f(P,E)
- Behavior is a function of the person and environment
- Lewin claims that the best way to understand behavior is to use the Cycle of Theory.
The definition of Spearman’s ‘g’
(general mental ability)
- Influential definition - “a very good general mental capability that involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience”
The idea behind Spearman’s ‘g’
(general mental ability)
- Idea - The ‘g’ factor underlies all specific cognitive abilities such as verbal, numerical, spatial abilities and problem solving
- Measured via any test batteries of specific cognitive abilities
Explanation of One General Intelligence & Measures of Intelligence
- One GMA factor can explain the correlations among different specific cognitive abilities
- The first statistical test of human intelligence by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon was early 20th century (Contemporary intelligence tests)
- Modern intelligence tests are of this type. A combination of verbal comprehension, word fluency, numeric and spatial intelligence. (standardized conditions)
The idea of Spearman’s ‘g’ and how it links to job performance
- Test of Spearman’s ‘g’ idea using factor analysis:
- Empirical result: extraction of one strong overall factor underlying specific aspects (idea of G as one underlying factor has empirical support)
- Meta-analytic support: strong correlation between GMA & job performance
- GMA also predicts training success/income
- Job complexity strengthens positive GMA performance relation
- Person with high GMA learns more job knowledge and faster
Thurstone’s Primary Mental Abilities (1938)
- Intelligence - a set of PMA’s all rather independent of one another
- PMAs - verbal comprehension, word fluency,numerical ability, spatial visualization, reasoning, perceptual speed, associative memory
-Produces intelligence profiles as opposed to a single IQ score
- Used in clinical & organisational assessment (Weschler’s intelligence scale)
- PMA structure is compatible with hierarchical GMA structure
- However, this can be resource intensive
Critical evaluation of Spearman’s ‘g’ and Thurstone’s PMA
- Link between intelligence and success is robust
- Specific cognitive abilities predict performance better when matched to job demands
- Tests a ‘maximum performance paradigm’ (the best you do under test conditions, not everyday life) so motivation is important
- GMA & specific abilities predict task performance (but do they predict other outcomes such as helping & extra role behaviors?)
- Potential bias against certain ethnic groups
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
- Idea: All intelligences are completely independent
1. Linguistic
2. Spatial
3. Logical-mathematical
4. Musical
5. Bodily-kinaethetic
6. Interpersonal
7. Intrapersonal
Critical Evaluation of Multiple Intelligences
- No measure was developed by Gardner
- No systematic research to test his theory
- Incompatible with well established concept of ‘g’
- Empirically, several intelligences have high inter correlations and thus are not independent
- key cognitive abilities not covered by the theory
- Textbooks often present MI as biased
- Best to conceptualize MI as talent, skills or competence
Emotional Intelligence Definitions
- “the ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior.” (Colman, 2006)
- As ability - “the ability to carry out reasoning about emotions and the ability to use emotions and emotional knowledge to enhance thought.”
Emotional Intelligence (Mayer et al., 2000; 2008)
- Extends traditional intelligence models and addresses individuals’ ability to perceive, process and manage emotions and emotional information effectively.
- Measure - Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS) which is a performance based measure.
- Assessing emotions scale - assesses how effectively respondents identify, understand, regulate and harness emotions in themselves and others.
Critical Evaluation of Emotional Intelligence
- Important for jobs with emotional demands
- Measurement issues for ability EI (scoring)
- Faking measurements in self-reported EI can be problematic for selection
- There is some evidence of EI predicting job performance
- EI concepts are too broad and lack coherent definition (Golemans)
- Limited data across jobs to compare. emotional task analysis
Personality definitions
- “Characteristics of the person that account for
consistent patterns of experience and action”
(Pervin, Cervone, & John, 2004) - “a relatively stable and consistent set of
traits that interact with environmental factors
to produce emotional, cognitive and
behavioural responses” (Hughes & Batey, 2017)
Sources of personality differences
- Genetic inheritance
2.Family experience
3.Culture - Life experience
Definition of a Trait
” a dimension upon which people differ psychologically. Traits are stable over time.”
(Arnold et al. 2010 p715)
Definition of Factor Analysis > personality factors
“Factor analysis is a statistical technique used to identify key factors that underlie relationships between variables.”
seeks to discover if the observed variables (e.g., ratings on
trait adjectives or personality items) can be explained in terms of a smaller number of variables called factors (e.g., personality factors).
Trait Theories: The Big 5
(Costa &McCrae, 1992)
OCEAN
- Openness to experience - like working with ideas and possibilities, ready to re-examine attitudes and values.
- Conscientiousness - highly organised and thorough in one’s approach to tasks, a desire to do well.
- Extraversion - quantity and intensity of energy directed outwards into the social world, outgoing, assertive
- Agreeableness - being helpful to others, mindful of others’ feelings, preferring cooperation over competition, kind, sympathetic
- Neuroticism - prone to worry and self-doubt, highly affected by their emotions in stressful situations
The Big 5 Personality Dimensions
- On a continuous scale shown by normal distribution of each trait
- 5 factors are relatively independent of each other
- Widely accepted for many years
- Hierarchical, global & facet levels
- Be aware that there are sub facet levels too.
Psychometric Criteria: Critical Evaluation of tests
- Reliability: consistent accurate measurement; few measurement errors.
- Criterion-related validity: the strength of relationship between a predictor (e.g., personality/intelligence test, interview) and the criterion (e.g. effective work behaviours)
- Content validity: covers representative behaviours/indicators of a construct
→ expert judgement needed - Construct validity: Does an instrument measure what it intends to measure. Expected relations to (theoretically) similar constructs/measures.
→ correlations & factor analyses (CFA, EFA)
Define Criterion-related validity
the strength of relationship between a predictor (e.g., personality/intelligence test, interview) and the criterion (e.g. effective work behaviours)
Define Content validity
Covers representative behaviours/indicators of a construct
→ expert judgement needed
Define Construct validity
Does an instrument measure what it intends to measure. Expected relations to (theoretically) similar constructs/measures.
→ correlations & factor analyses (CFA, EFA)
Big 5: Predicting Performance
(Meta-analytic Evidence)
- Openness - positively predicts training performance; professional occupations
- Conscientiousness - positively predicts job performance across a range of jobs
- Extraversion - positive relation in some jobs (i.e social jobs, such as sales/management)
- Agreeableness - positively related to teamwork (healthcare)
- Emotional Stability (low neuroticism) - positively associated with job performance (military, law enforcement)
- Relations differ across major occupational groups
Type vs Trait Theories
- Trait - people differ in amounts on a single continuem
- Type - distinct, discreet, discontinuous categories of personality
- Empirical data pattern is needed for personality ‘type’ theories
- Bimodal distribution supports ‘type’ ideas
Definition of Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Jung’s Theory
- 8 different patterns for how we carry out mental activities
- Developed from Jung 4 dichotomies (16 personality types)
extraversion vs introversion
sensing vs intuition
thinking vs feeling
judging vs perceiving
Critical Evaluation of Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
- Construct Validity - 16 types don’t replicate well
- Reliability - people would be reclassified if they took the test 5 weeks from now
- Incomplete - Doesn’t address emotional stability
- Use is problematic for recruitment/selection
- It is popular in the UK and claimed to be useful for team development
- They do NOT receive empirical support.
Personality and Faking
- Prevalent in high stakes situations
- Increases scores in conscientiousness and emotional stability
- Extreme fakers impact criterion-related validity
- Faking has negative impacts on some honest candidates as they may be screened out in the early stages
Definition of a Group (Schein 1980)
A group is a number of people who interact with each other, are psychologically aware of each other and perceive themselves to be a group
Definition of a Team (Brill 1976)
A team is a group of people who hold a common purpose, who communicate, collaborate and consolidate knowledge from which future decisions are influenced
Stages of Team Development (Tuckman 1965, Tuckman and Jensen 1977)
Creating Stages:
1. Orientation (Why am I here?) <forming>
2. Trust Building (Who are you?) <forming>
3. Goal/role Clarification (What are we doing?) <storming>
4. Commitment (How?) <norming>
Sustaining Stages:
5. Implementation (Who does what, where, when?) <norming>
6. High performance (How?) <performing>
7. Renewal (Why continue?) <performing></performing></performing></norming></norming></storming></forming></forming>
Common Characteristics of Stage 1: Forming
- Individualistic
- People withhold full participation
- Trust: wait and see
- Management gives no real authority to act
- Mission is understood, but does not motivate
- Communication from leader to members, rather than members to members, little listening
Common Characteristics of Stage 2: Storming
- Honeymoon is over, energy dissipating
- Stress over roles, over uneven contribution
- Trust: working out who to trust
- Purpose: slowly becoming clear
- Communication: often aggressive
- Team processes start to be worked on
Common Characteristics of Stage 3: Norming
- Informal experts emerge; team over-rely on them
- Swear allegiance to team/team pride; rivalry with other teams
- Reluctant to challenge others
- Trust: developing, but not tested
- Clear focus on performance and goals
- Communication to each other as well as to leader
- Team processes well underway
Common Characteristics of Stage 4: Performing
- Team is pro-active; sets most of its own priorities
- Team seek wider business info & involvement
- Strong culture of “high accountability”
- Team share leadership: all involved
- Team prioritise what is good for the business as a whole
- Trust high: climate of support and challenge
- Team manages its performance as a team
Application of Theory for Stages of Team Development (Tuckman 1965, Tuckman & Jensen 1965)
- Promote effectiveness of work groups
- Starting point for team development practitioners
- Understanding team processes across different organisations
_ OTHER EXAMPLES NEEDED
Critical evaluation of Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development Theory
- Limitations of model: no representative sample of settings where small group development processes are likely to occur.
- Lack of quantitative research: The model was based on a literature review and observation of a limited number of small group settings
- Recent theories recognize the complexity of group dynamics in today’s world and are not easily represented in a simple model
Definition of a Team Role (Belbin, 1981)
A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way.
What are the 3 action-orientated team roles?
- Shaper
- Implementer
- Completer/Finisher
Describe the action-orientated team role: Shaper
Contributions:
Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. The drive and courage to overcome obstacles.
Allowable Weaknesses:
Prone to provocation. Offends people’s feelings.
Describe the action-orientated team role: Implementer
Contributions:
Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Turns ideas into practical actions.
Allowable Weaknesses:
Somewhat inflexible. Slow to respond to new possibilities.
Describe the action-orientated team role: Completer/Finisher
Contributions:
Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors and omissions. Delivers on time.
Allowable Weaknesses:
Inclined to worry unduly. Reluctant to delegate.
What are the 3 people-orientated team roles?
- Coordinator
- Team worker
- Resource Investigator
Describe the people-orientated team role: Coordinator
Contributions:
Mature, confident, a good chairman. Clarifies goals, promotes decision-making, delegates well.
Allowable Weaknesses:
Can often be seen as manipulative. Off loads personal work.
Describe the people-orientated team role: Team worker
Contributions:
Co-operative, mild, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens, builds, averts friction.
Allowable Weaknesses:
Indecisive in crunch decisions.
Describe the people-orientated team role:
Resource Investigator
Contributions:
Enthusiastic, communicative, extravert. Explores opportunities. Develops contacts.
Allowable Weaknesses:
Over - optimistic. Loses interest once initial enthusiasm has passed.
What are the 3 cerebral-orientated team roles?
- Plant
- Monitor Evaluator
- Specialist
Describe the cerebral-orientated role: Plant
Contributions:
Creative, imaginative, unorthodox. Solves
difficult problems.
Allowable Weaknesses:
Ignores incidentals. Too pre-occupied to communicate effectively.
Describe the cerebral-orientated role: Monitor Evaluator
Contributions:
Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options. Judges accurately.
Allowable Weaknesses:
Lacks drive and ability to inspire others.
Describe the cerebral-orientated role: Specialist
Contributions:
Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply.
Allowable Weaknesses:
Contributes only on a narrow front. Dwells on technicalities.
Belbin’s Team Roles
- Are about behavioral preferences, not a personality profile
- Most individuals are capable of playing more than one role
- You don’t ‘give’ people a Belbin role
Application of Belbin’s Team roles Theory
- Should NOT be used for recruitment and selection
- A tool to become aware of your own strengths and abilities, and understanding own role within a team helps to deal better with the demands of the environment
- Different team roles can have different jobs but they will just do it differently (Resource Investigator as chair)
Team Problems and their Belbin Solutions
Underachievement > Shaper
Late Projects > Team needs a finisher/completer
Conflict > Requires more team workers or strong
co-ordinator
Satisficing > Resource investigator, plant or monitor evaluator
Mistakes Prone > Monitor evaluator
According to Belbin, what 2 roles do members perform?
- Functional Role (professional knowledge)
- Team Role (pattern of team interaction)
- Team needs optimal balance in both functional & team roles, that balance is dependent on the tasks faced
- Team effectiveness improves if members can recognize and adjust themselves to the team strengths
Critical Evaluation of Belbin’s Team Roles
- Discriminant Validity; overlap between the roles (good according to van Dierendock & Groen, 2008)
- Reductionist - we are more than team roles
- Interaction between situation and team task requirements needs to be better understood. (Which roles required for which task in which situation?)
- Behaviour can change depending on the situation; people have agency (teams with ‘intelligent’ members seem to perform better, maybe due to better behaviour adaption)
Factors affecting group cohesiveness and performance
Membership:
- size of the group
- compatibility of members
- permanence
Organization:
- leadership
- HR policies and procedures
- success
- threat
Work Environment:
- nature of task
- physical settings
- communications
- technology
Group Development:
- forming
- storming
- norming
- performing
Pros and Cons of Decision Making in Teams
Advantages:
- More information from different sources
- Mutually acceptable solution
- Credibility/legitimacy of solution
- Commitment towards implementation
Disadvantages:
- Pressures to conform
- Groupthink
- Extreme-decisions (e.g. polarised)
- Takes more time
- Lines of responsibility can become unclear
- Social loafing
Groupthink Defintion
“…is the psychological drive for consensus at any cost that suppresses dissent and appraisal of alternatives in cohesive decision-making groups.” (Janis, 1982)
Occurs when:
“…powerful members of the group…coerce less powerful group members to go along with a decision in public even though they may disagree in private.” (Dyer, 1998)
Symptoms of Groupthink
- Illusion of invulnerability
- Collective rationalization
- Belief in inherent morality
- Stereotyped views of out-groups
- Direct pressure on dissenters
- Self-censorship
- Illusion of unanimity
- Self-appointed mind-guards
Examples of Groupthink
- The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
- US invasion of Iraq
- Bay of Pigs Invasion
Ways of minimizing Groupthink
- Impartial leaders
- Critical evaluators
- Devil’s advocate
- Subgroup for policy evaluation
- ‘Second chance’ meeting
- Group norm - disagreement doesn’t mean disrespect
- Climate of constructive controversy (e.g. get someone to support the minority point of view)
Definition of Group Polarisation
“Groups tend to make more extreme decisions than we might expect, given the initial preferences of group members”
(Bettenhausen, 1991)
Why does Group Polarisation occur?
- Social comparison (we like to present ourselves in a socially desirable way)
- Persuasive Argumentation (information consistent with the views held by the majority will dominate the group discussion)
(Isenberg,1986)
Definition of work attitudes
- Evaluations of one’s job that express
one’s feelings toward, beliefs about,
and attachment to one’s job” (Judge &
Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012, p. 344) - collection of feelings, beliefs and predispositions to behave in one’s job/organisation
What are attitudes?
- Can concern almost anything we like or dislike
- They differ in valence (+ or -) and strength
- May not be consistent with behavior
- Assessing attitudes is very common in work organizations, universities etc (Schneider et al 1996)
- Job attitudes capture the evaluations employees make about their work environment
Measuring Attitudes
- Construct Validity (does it measure what it should)
- Reliability (does it measure accurately)
- Likert scale - ranging from agreement to disagreement
- Range of questions, some reverse coded (avoids social desirability)
- Check reliability by calculating mean
Definition of attitudes
“Mental states, developed through experience,
which are always ready to exert an active
influence on an individual’s response to any
conditions or circumstances to which the person
has been directed” Allport (1935)
What’s the difference between personality and attitudes?
Personality:
Reflects a person’s stable predispositions (naturally inclined to respond) across a range of situations (e.g introvert vs extrovert etc)
Attitudes refer to a particular:
- Target (person)
- Object (work equipment)
- Concept (performance-related pay)
What are the two central components of work-related attitudes?
Specific attitudes differ in the weight that each of these components has.
- Evaluation - Work environments, or specific elements in these environments, are liked or disliked and are evaluated positively or negatively.
- Identification - the degree of identification with work in general or with specific aspects of the work environment such as the actual job you do.
Personality effects on work
attitudes – work evaluations
Traits can influence evaluative processes, which will then be primarily reflected in attitudes concerning satisfaction.
- High neuroticism – pessimistic viewpoint
- High extraversion – tend to be have more positive evaluations of careers (Judge,Higgins, Thoresen, & Barrick, 1999).
- High agreeableness – mild and forgiving in evaluations
- Low/er agreeableness – reputation of being harsh (Costa & McCrae, 1992)
Personality effects on work attitudes - big 5
- High Neuroticism - less likely to develop career
ambitions and to set performance and career
goals as a result. - High Extraversion - more likely to demonstrate
greater commitment to the work role (Judge &
Ilies, 2002) - High on Conscientiousness - constant striving for
success and to do what it takes to succeed
(Barrick, Mount, & Strauss, 1993).
The findings of a study on personality effect on work attitudes by (Wille et al 2014)
- Decrease in Openness to experience during transition from young to middle adulthood
- Job satisfaction - greater changes in the direction of maturity were reflected in more positive work evaluations
- Work involvement - attitude changes in response to personality maturation
Why do work attitudes matter?
They may effect:
- someone seeking new job
- how co-operative they are with others
- whether they present themselves positively
- how they react to change
- how hard they work
- their psychological/physical health
Components of work attitudes (Breckler, 1984)
Affective Component:
- How a worker feels about their job/organisation
Cognitive Component:
- What a worker believes to be true about their job/organisation
Behavioural Component: How a worker is predisposed to act towards their job/organisation.
Influences on attitude formation
Personality:
- The enduring ways a person has of feeling, thinking and behaving
Values:
- Intrinsic and extrinsic work values
Social Influence:
- Co-workers; groups; culture
Work situation:
- Work itself; co-workers, supervisors and subordinates; physical working conditions; working hours, pay, job security
To what extent do attitudes predict behaviour?
Empirical data…
Meta-analytic evidence:
- JS has .30 correlation with JP
- OC has 0.20 correlation with JP
-“job attitude”(JS+OC) has 0.59 correlation with JP
Higher levels of JS in organisations creates:
- Higher customer satisfaction>lower staff turnover
- Generation of high profits>Lower accident rates
- More productive
To what extent do attitudes predict behaviour? Limitations…
-“In some situations for some people” (Snyder & Kendzeirski,1982)
- Social pressures not to reveal attitudes
- Limitations on ability and opportunity
Theory of planned behaviour
Behaviors are immediately determined by behavioral intentions, which in turn are determined by a combination of three factors: attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.
Factors Affecting Attitude Change
- Credibility of persuader - expertness and trustworthiness
- Attractiveness of persuader - similarity
- One-sided and two-sided arguments
- Use of fear
- Social Pressures and conformity
- Logical argument
Definition of Job Satisfaction
- The degree to which job features that are highly
valued by individuals are present in their work
environment (Furnham et al., 2002)
-Such as pay and benefits, work itself, career opportunities, job security, working conditions (JCB offer dentist, doctor etc)
What are the three factors contributing to job satisfaction?
- Personality & Disposition
- Job Characteristics
- Distributive Justice
The 5 job characteristics for satisfying work?
- Task Identity (whole tasks)
- Skill Variety (lots)
- Feedback (correct, precise, timely)
- Autonomy (freedom to decide)
- Task Significance (impact on others)
What is Distributive Justice, Procedural Justice and Trait Affectivity?
Distributive Justice:
- fairness of allocation of rewards
Procedural Justice:
- how fairly is everyone treated?
Trait Positive Affectivity:
- To see things positively and remember more vividly positive experiences (vice versa for negative)
Possible relationships between job satisfaction and job performance.
- Job Satisfaction and Job Performance influence each other
- Job satisfaction and performance are correlated, but only because of another variable that affects them both
-JS & JP may be causally linked, but the link strength depends on some other variable
-JS &JP are specific instances of more general constructs of positive feelings and personal effectiveness, and these have a causal impact on each other.
Definition and key aspects of Organisational Commitment
- “The relative strength of an employee’s identification with and involvement in an organisation”
(Mowday et al., 1979)
Three key features:
– Desire to stay
– Believe in and accept organisation’s goals
– Willing to exert effort on behalf of organisation
What are the 3 forms of commitment?
- Affective: personal emotional attachment to organisation (liking)
- Continuance: costs and risks of leaving (personal sacrifice & investment and lack of alternatives)
- Normative: moral dimension, felt obligation and
responsibility to the employer (loyalty)
-Each form has different things that cause it
- Multiple commitments can be experienced
Some of the findings of Organisational Commitment
- High affective OC linked to high performance (especially linked to being ‘good organisational citizens’ / ‘extra mile’ / ‘voluntary helping’)
– High continuance OC sometimes linked to low
performance (staying because you don’t have a choice?)
– Commitment to manager linked to performance
– Commitment to organisation linked to turnover
Ways to develop commitment
- Challenge and autonomy more than pay and reward (affective & normative)
- Perception of investment in the organisation
(continuance – perception that current organisation is
now better than alternatives?) - Organisational values: fairness, courtesy, openness,
initiative
Satisfaction and Commitment are/have impacts on what aspects?
- Both involved in people’s decisions to stay in or leave jobs/organisations
- Both have implications for people’s general well-being
- Both associated with motivation
- Some connection with people’s job performance
Definition of Perceived Organisational Support
A general evaluation regarding the extent to which employees feel their organisation values their contribution and cares about their well-being (Eisenberger et al. 1986)
Dark Triad Personality Traits
- Narcisissm - characterised by entitlement, self-importance, selfishness, lack of empathy and need for constant affirmation
- Machiavellianism - characterised by strategic exploitation, interpersonal manipulation and cynicism
- Psychopathy - characterised by interpersonal manipulation, callousness, irresponsibility, lack of remorse for hurting others.
- Significant positive correlation between the three, ranging from 0.25 to 0.50
Negatives of the dark triad in terms of work attitude and work related motivation.
- Associated to negative work phenomena such as counterproductive work behaviour
- Individuals with high levels of these traits generally show relatively low levels of work attitudes
- Negative association between these traits and organisational commitment, job satisfaction and organisational identification
Potential Positives of dark triad in terms of work attitude and work related motivation
- High in narcissism individuals identified strongly with the organisation and perceived themselves as central to the organisations identity.
- Narcissism found to be positively related to intrinsic forms of work motivation
- Psychopathy and machiavellianism were related to extrinsic forms of work motivation
- Narcissism was positively associated with achievement motivation, organisational commitment
Critical evaluation of dark triad in terms of work attitude and work related motivation
- Potential positives may be accompanied by high costs of unethical work behaviour
- Potential positive can be temporary
- High narcissism individuals more likely to job hop to climb the ladder which raises questions about the sincerity of their positive work attitude.
Behaviour Modification Definition
Behavior modification is to change behavior by
techniques to improve behaviour – Nakashima,
2013
Operant Conditioning Definition (Skinner, 1938)
process that attempts to modify behavior by using positive and negative reinforcement.
Classical conditioning & example
- automatic response
- Jim & dwight mint (pavlov’s experiment)
Shaping behaviour
The gradual building up of behaviours
by reinforcing successive approximations.
Generalization
The tendency for responses similar to the original reinforced or conditioned response to be made in the conditioning situation.
Discrimination
The ability to distinguish between the conditions that will and won’t lead to reward / punishment.
Extinction
– the disappearance of behaviour following
withdrawal of reinforcement
Behaviour Modification defintion
- Replaces undesirable behaviours with more desirable ones
- Based on the principles of operant conditioning
Behaviour modification uses in businesses.
- Improved productivity
- Decrease lateness
- Decrease absenteeism
- Increase sales volumes
- Improve worker safety
- Reduce theft by employees
- Improve management-employee realtions
Organisational Behaviour Modification Definition
(Luthans & Kreitner, 1985)
- Encourages safe behaviour
- Based on observable safety critical behaviours
- Provides objective analysis and measurement of safety performance
The Five Stages of Organisational Behaviour Modification
- Identification
- Measurement
- Analysis
- Intervention
- Evaluation
Organisational Behaviour Modification - Identification
- Identify and name critical behaviours through discussion and observation (record attendance)
- Specific desired behaviours or those to avoid
Organisational Behaviour Modification - Measurement
- Measure rate of current occurrence for specific desired/undesired behaviours (baseline)
Organisational Behaviour Modification - Analysis
Antecedents - causal event (what triggers behaviour)
Behaviour - what we can observe someone make?
Consequences - What happens after behaviour that’ll encourage/discourage reptition?
Organisational Behaviour Modification - Intervention
Design and implement +ve/-ve reinforement/punishment
Requires:
- Clear targets
- Observation/ check lists
- Feedback on performance against target
Organisational Behaviour Modification - Evaluation
Measure baseline measurement for behaviours against how often they now occur.
Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen,1991)
The idea that attitude, social norms and perceived behviour control lead to intentions which in turn lead to behaviour.
Governemnt example of the use of theory of planned behaviour
- Influence our attitudes about smoking (social norms) by showing non-smokers positively and changing the norm.
