Organizational Behavior Robbins & Judge Chapter 2 Foundations of Individual Behavior

Organizational Behavior

Robbins & Judge

Chapter 2

Foundations of Individual Behavior

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Summary of Lecture 25

- What is organization- Different types of organizations- Defining OB- Why study OB- History of OB- Level of Analysis- Challenges in OB

Robbins and Judge (2008): Organizational Behavior, Pearson, Prentice Hall

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• Globalization

- Increased foreign assignments

- Coping with anti-capitalism backlash

- overseeing movement of jobs to low cost labour countries

- Managing people in crises places

• Managing work force diversity

• Total Quality Management- Improving Customer Service

• Improving People Skills

Challenges and Opportunities for OB


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Challenges and Opportunities for OB

- Stimulating Innovation and Change

- Coping with “Temporariness”

- Working in Networked Organizations

- Helping Employees Balance Work-Life Conflicts

- Creating a Positive Work Environment

- Improving Ethical Behavior

- Responding to coming labour shortages (In Western world)

- Empowering employees


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Learning Objectives

Ability and Dimensions of Ability

Biographical Characteristics

What is learning

Learning Theories

- Classical or respondent conditioning theory

- Operant or instrumental conditioning theory

- Social learning Theory


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Ability

“An individual’s capacity to perform the various tasks in a job.”

Individuals are not equal in terms of their ability

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses that make them to perform well in certain tasks and activities

Managers has to identify abilities of employees to use of this knowledge to increase performance


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Ability

Ability made up of two sets of factors:– Intellectual Abilities– Physical Abilities

Intellectual Abilities: - Needed to perform mental activities for thinking reasoning,

thinking and problem solving- IQ test is used to measure intellectual abilities- GMAT, SAT and GRE


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Dimensions of Intellectual Ability

Dimensions Description Job Example

Number aptitude Ability to process arithmetic Accountant

Verbal Comprehension

Ability to understand read and heard, relationship of words

Every Manager: Policy and Rules

Perceptual Speed Ability to identify visual similarities and differences quickly and accuracy

Fire Investigator

Inductive Reasoning Ability to identify logical sequence Market research: Sales forecast

Deductive Reasoning Ability to use logic to assess implication of argument

Supervisor: Choosing between two different suggestions

Spatial Reasoning Ability to imagine object look when positions is changed

Interior decorator

Memory Ability to recall and retain information Sales person: Remembering the names of customers


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Dimensions of Intellectual Ability

1 Cognitive2 Social3 Emotional4 Cultural


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Nine Basic Physical Abilities

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Strength Factors Description

Dynamic strength Exert muscular force continuously

Trunk strength Exert muscular strength using trunk

Static strength Exert force against external objects

Explosive strength Expend a maximum energy in series of explosive acts

Flexibility FactorsExtent flexibility Moving trunk and back muscles

Dynamic flexibility Rapid and repeated flexing movement

Other FactorsBody coordination Coordinate simultaneous actions of different parts

Balance Maintain equilibrium

Stamina Prolonged effortRobbins and Judge (2008): Organizational Behavior, Pearson, Prentice Hall

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Ability

• OB concerns explaining and predicting behavior of people at work

• High Ability and Job fit = High Performance • Abilities job fit also reduces job dissatisfaction• Employees feel dissatisfied when abilities are

under utilized or lack of ability to perform job (stress and pressure)


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Objective and easily obtained personal characteristics.

•Age– Older workers bring experience, judgment, a strong work

ethic, and commitment to quality.– Older workers less adaptive to change – Older workers less likely to quit job (turnover) and low

absence rate (avoidable)– General perception that productivity declines with age– Age-Job satisfaction: In Professional jobs increase with age


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•Objective and easily obtained personal characteristics.•Gender– Few differences between men and women that affect job

performance (like physical ability)– Should operate on assumption that there is no significant

difference in performance based on gender (consider profession as well)

– Women have higher absenteeism rate

•Race (the biological heritage people use to identify themselves)– Issue of favoritism and perception bias based on race– Differences exist, but mostly related to culture-based than

race-based.


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• Tenure– People having long job tenure are more productive, less

absenteeism, lower turnover, and generally more satisfied.

• Religion– No general effect on performance– Do have affect on attitude towards different works

• National Culture:- Cultural differences do have affect on individual behavior and work

related attitudes and behaviors

2-14Robbins and Judge (2008): Organizational Behavior, Pearson, Prentice Hall

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Learning

“Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experienceAccording to the behaviorists, learning can be defined as “the relatively permanent change in behavior brought about as a result of experience or practice.”Learning is the acquisition of knowledge, skill, or values through study, practice, or experience.Learning components:– It Involves Change– Is Relatively Permanent– Experience is required


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Learning Theories

•- Classical or respondent conditioning theory




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Classical Theories

Classical conditioning was the first type of learning to be discovered and studied within the behaviorist tradition (hence the name classical) in early 1990s.

• The major theorist in the development of classical conditioning is Ivan Pavlov

• Theory proposes that learning that takes place when the learner recognizes the connection between an unconditioned stimulus and a conditioned stimulus.


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Classical Conditioning Theory

Pavlov was studying the digestive system of dogs and became intrigued with his observation that dogs deprived of food began to salivate when one of his assistants walked into the room.

He began to investigate this phenomena and established the laws of classical conditioning.

Skinner renamed this type of learning "respondent conditioning” since in this type of learning, one is responding to an environmental antecedent.


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Classical Conditioning

• A type of conditioning in which an individual responds

to some stimulus that would not ordinarily produce

such a response.

• Unconditioned Stimulus: Food

• Unconditioned Response: Saliva

• Conditioned Stimulus: Bell


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• General model

– Stimulus (S) elicits =>Response (R)

Classical conditioning starts with a reflex (R): an•innate, involuntary behavior.

ResponseStimulus

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•- This involuntary behavior is elicited or caused

• by an environmental event.

For example, if air is blown into your eye, you blink.

You have no voluntary or conscious control over

whether the blink occurs or not.

Classical Conditioning

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- The specific model for classical conditioning is:

A stimulus will naturally (without learning) elicit or•bring about a reflexive response

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US) elicits >

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

Food > SalivationUNS UCR

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Stimulus

• Unconditioned Stimulus: Anything that produces an unconditioned response.

• Unconditioned response: The Reaction occurred due to the occurrence of UC stimulus.

• Conditioned Stimulus: A neutral stimulus that, as a result of being paired with an unconditioned stimulus, elicits a response.

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The specific model for classical conditioning is:

• Neutral Stimulus (NS) -- does not elicit the response of interest

This stimulus (sometimes called an orienting stimulus as it elicits an orienting response) is a neutral stimulus since it does not elicit the unconditioned (or reflexive) Response.

NS No Response

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The Neutral/Orienting Stimulus (NS) is repeatedly paired with the Unconditioned/Natural Stimulus (US).

Bell Was Conditioned with the presentation of food. Whenever the food was presented before that Pavlov rang bell.

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The Neutral Stimulus (NS) is transformed into a•Conditioned Stimulus (CS). (Bell is transformed•into a conditioned stimulus)

•That is, when the CS is presented by itself, it elicits or•causes the CR (which is the same involuntary•response as the UR. (only at the bell dog salivated•even without presenting food)

- The name changes because it is elicited by a• different stimulus.

• This is written CS elicits > CR.

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•In the area of classroom learning, classical•conditioning is seen primarily in the conditioning of •emotional behavior.

For example: Things that make us happy, sad, angry, etc. become associated with neutral stimuli that gain our attention.

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For example, the school, classroom, teacher, or subject matter are initially neutral stimuli that gain attention.

Activities at school or in the classroom automatically elicit emotional responses and these activities are associated with the neutral or orienting stimulus

After repeated presentations, the previously neutral stimulus will elicit the emotional response

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Example:

• 1 Child is beaten at school

• 2 Child feels bad when beaten

3 Child associates being beaten and school

• 4 Child begins to feel bad when she thinks of school

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Note: In order to extinguish the associated feeling, bad and thinking of school, the connection between school and being beaten must be broken.

Eidy on Eid bring memories of childhood

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Operant Conditioning Theory

Operant conditioning is the study of the impact of consequences on behavior.

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Individuals learn by observing others what

happens to other or by telling something or through

direct experience

Social Learning Theory

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Managerial Implications

• Three Individual Variables:– Ability

• Influences level of performance• Managers need to focus on achieving job-ability fit means to

consider ability in selection, promotion, and transfer decision.• Fine-tune job to better fit to incumbent’s abilities. Job

redesign, change of equipment, reorganize task with group of people etc.

– Biographical Characteristics• Manager should not use in management decisions: can

possible be source of bias.– Learning

• Observable change in behavior = learning.• Remember positive reinforcement is powerful tool


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Summary

Ability and Dimensions of Ability


What is learning

Learning Theories

- Classical or respondent conditioning theory



Process of Influence

Documents

Organizational Behavior Robbins & Judge Chapter 2 Foundations of Individual Behavior