Learning Theory – assessment of behavior in objective and measurable terms.

Learning – permanent change in the frequency of occurrence of a specific individual behavior.

Classical Conditioning – process which individuals learn to link the information value from a neutral stimulus that would not naturally cause a response.

• Unconditional stimulus (environmental event) brings out a natural response

Reflexive Behavior – stimuli and responses (include: flinches, jumps, screams, blinks, flexes)

Operant Conditioning – process by which individuals learn voluntary behavior.

Social-cognitive theory – learning by watching others and develop mental pictures of their behaviors and results. (Positive – repeat Negative – don’t repeat)

Vicarious learning – when one person (learner) observes another person’s (model) behavior and consequences.

Self control – learning occurs when new behavior is learned without external pressure.

Empowerment – giving employees the authority, skills and freedom to perform their tasks.

Self-Efficacy – individuals confidence in their ability to perform a specific task in a situation.

• They have the ability needed Capable of effort required

• No outside events will keep them from performing at a high level

Self-Efficacy influences the activities and goals individuals choose for themselves

Self-Efficacy influences the effort that individuals exert on the job

Self-Efficacy affects the persistence with which a person stays with a complex task

Contingency of reinforcement – relationship between a behavior and the preceding and following environmental events that influence the behavior.

• Antecedent – precedes and is a stimulus to a behavior.

• Consequence – result of behavior, which can be positive or negative in terms of goal or task.

• Positive events – desirable or pleasing Adverse events – undesirable or displeasing

Reinforcement – a behavioral contingency that increases the frequency of a particular behavior.

Positive Reinforcement – presenting a pleasant consequence after the occurrence of a desired behavior.

• Reward – an event that the person finds desirable or pleasing.

• Primary reinforcer – an event for which the individual already knows the value.

• Secondary reinforce – event that once had neutral value but has taken on some value (+/-)
• Three categories of secondary reinforcer:
• Core benefits (life insurance, sick pay, retirement) Optional Benefits (dental, eye care)
• Other benefits (tuition reinforcement, car pooling)

Principle of Contingent reinforcement – reinforcer must be administered only if desired behavior is performed.

Principle of Immediate reinforcement – reinforcer will be most effective if administered immediately after the desired behavior has occurred.

Principle of reinforcement size – larger the amount of reinforcement delivered after the desired behavior, the more effect the reinforcer will have on the frequency of the desired behavior.

Principle of reinforcement deprivation – the more a person is deprived on reinforcer, the greater effect it will have on the future occurrence of desired behavior.

Kaizen – suggestion that results in safety, cost or quality improvements. (awards given)

Negative reinforcement – an unpleasant event that precedes the employee behavior is removed when the desired behavior will occur.

Escape Learning – an unpleasant event occurs until employee performs a behavior, or escape response to terminate it.

Avoidance learning – person prevents an unpleasant event from occurring by completing the proper behavior.

Omission – removal of all reinforcing events.

Punishment – an unpleasant event that follows a behavior and decreases frequency.

Positive Discipline – places emphasis on changing employee behaviors by reasoning rather than by imposing increasingly severe punishments.

Continuos reinforcement – behavior is reinforced each time it occurs and is the simplest schedule of reinforcement.

Intermittent reinforcement – reinforcer being delivered after some, but not every, occurrence of the desired behavior.

• Intermittent subdivisions – interval and ratio fixed and variable

• Interval schedule – reinforcers delivered after a certain amount of time

• Ratio Schedule – reinforcers delivered after a certain number of behavior performed

• Fixed interval schedule – constant amount of time must pass before a reinforcer is provided

• Variable interval schedule – changes in amount of time between reinforcers

Fixed variable schedule– desired behavior must occur a specified # of times before reinforced.

Variable ratio schedule– certain # of desired behaviors must occur before reinforcer is delivered.

Behavioral modification – Processes and principles that are based on operant conditioning.

Charting – method to track employee’s behavior or measuring their over time.

Behavior Modification Issues – Individual differences Group Norms Ethical Consideration

Goal Setting – process intended to increase efficiency and effectiveness by specifying desired outcomes toward individuals, departments, teams and organizations.

Goals – the future outcomes that individuals and groups desire and strive to achieve.

• Goals Guide and direct behavior Goals provide challenges and standards

• Goals serve as a source of legitimacy Goals define the basis for the organizations Structure

• Goals serve an organizing function Goals reflect what the goal setters consider important

Stakeholders – groups having potential or real power to influence the organizations decision.

• Reliability – ability to perform promised service dependably and accurately.

• Tangibles – appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel.

• Responsiveness – willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.

• Assurance – knowledge and courtesy of employees and ability to convey trust & confidence.

• Empathy – provision of caring, individualized attention to customers.

Challenge

• Goal difficulty – goals should be challenging.

• Goal Clarity – goals must be clear and specific if it is to be useful.

Moderators

• Goal Commitment – individual’s determination to reach a goal, regardless goal was set by that person or someone else.
• Feedback – makes goal setting and individual responses to goal achievement.
• Task Complexity – last moderator of the strength between goals and performance

Mediators

Performance

• Code of Ethics – helps employees make better ethical decisions.

Rewards Satisfaction Consequences Significance of workplace

Management by objectives (MBO)- philosophy and system of management that serves as both a planning aid and a way of life in the workplace.

• MBO Steps (5): Goal setting Participation Implementation

Performance appraisal and feedback Significance of workplace

Gain sharing plans – regular cash bonuses are provided to employees for increasing productivity, reducing costs and improving quality.

Profit sharing plans – gives employees a portion of the company’s profits.

Scanlon plan – a system of rewards for improvements in technology.

Flexible benefit plans – allow employees to choose the benefits they want, rather than management.

Skill based pay – depends on the # and level of job-related skills that an employee has learned.

Job design – specification of goals and tasks to be accomplished by employees, including expected interpersonal and task relationships.

Re-engineering – radically new ways of thinking about organizations, including breaking away from the outdated rules and assumptions.

Three R’s of re-engineering

• Rethink – examines the organizations current goals and assumptions

• Redesign – analysis of the way an organization produces the goods or services

• Retool – evaluation of the current use of advanced technologies.

Complexity – refers to the extent to which a job design approach require change in many factors, involvement of individuals with diverse competencies at various organizational levels.

High level of decision-making competency for successful implementation.

Human factors approach (5)– important job design approaches used in businesses.

• Job rotation – moving employees from job to job to give them opportunities to perform a variety of tasks

• Job engineering – focuses on tasks to be performed, methods used, work flows among employees, layout of workplace, performance standards and interdependencies between people and machines.

• Job enlargement – expansion in the number of different tasks performed by an employee.

• Job enrichment – empowerment of employees to assume more responsibility and accountability for planning, organizing, controlling, and evaluating.

• Sociotechnical systems model – based on the premise that every organization is made up of people with various competencies.

Ergonomics – minimizing the physical demands (costs) and biological risks of work.

Work flow uncertainty – degree of knowledge that an employee has about when inputs will be received and required processing.

Technology – techniques, tools and machines to transform objects (material, info, people)

Task uncertainty – degree of knowledge that an employee has about how to perform the job when it needs to be done

Task interdependence – degree to which decision making and cooperation between two or more employees is necessary for them to perform their jobs.

Pooled interdependence – ability of an employee to act independently of others in completing tasks.

Sequential interdependence – need for an employee to complete certain tasks before other employees can perform their tasks.

Reciprocal interdependence – outputs from an individual becoming the inputs for to others.

Job characteristics enrichment model – focuses on increasing the amounts of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback in a job.

• Skill Variety – degree to which a job requires a variety of personal competencies to carry out the work.

• Task Identity – degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work. (beginning to end)

• Task Significance – degree to which the employee perceives the job as having a substantial impact on the lives of other people.

• Autonomy – degree to which the job provides empowerment and discretion to the employee in scheduling tasks and in determining procedures to be used in carrying out the tasks,

• Job Feedback – degree to which carrying out the job-related tasks provides the individual with direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his/her performance.

Growth need strength – degree to which an individual desires the opportunity for self-direction, learning and personal accomplishment at work.

Contextual factors – organizational policies and administration, technical supervision, salary and benefit programs, interpersonal relations and work conditions.

Structural clues method – process of checking for contextual factors associated with deficiencies in job design.

Job diagnostic survey (JDS) – make diagnosing jobs relatively easy and systematic.

Motivating Potential Score (MPS)

(MPS) = Skill variety + Task identity + Task significance * Autonomy * Feedback

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Vertical Loading – delegation to employees of responsibilities and tasks that were formerly reserved for management or staff specialists.

Flextime – allows employees, within certain limits to vary their arrival and departure times to suit their individual needs and desires and helps in self-scheduling of work.

Geographic Types of business Organizational Alphabetic/Numeric Customer groups

Social information processing model - characterizes work environment, information how the individual should weigh the various dimensions, cues concerning evaluate work environment, (+/-) evaluation.

Social systems model – recognizes the importance of technology in job design.

Innovativness Human resource development Environmental agility

Cooperation Commitment and Energy Joint optimization