FOUNDATIONS OF

INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR

FOUNDATIONS OF

INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR(Chapter – 2)

Biographical CharacteristicsBiographical Characteristics

Biographical Characteristics:

Personal characteristics—such as age, gender, and marital status—that are objective and easily obtained from personnel’s records.

Age. It is usually said that age has no direct relationship with productivity. Older workers are less likely to resign and married employees have fewer absences, less turnover and report higher job satisfaction than the unmarried ones.

Gender. There are few important differences between men and women that do affect their job performance; however, these differences should not be used as discriminatory tool.

Biographical CharacteristicsBiographical Characteristics

Marital Status. Although married female employees have specific problems that affect their job; there are indications that they have fewer absences, undergo less turnover and show more job satisfaction.

Tenure/ Seniority. There is positive relationship between productivity and seniority. Similarly, old employees have less turnover ‘past history is the best predictor of future performance’.

Ability, Intellect, and IntelligenceAbility, Intellect, and Intelligence

Ability:An individual’s capacity to perform the various tasks in a job.

Intellectual Ability:The capacity to do mental activities.

Multiple Intelligence:

Intelligence contains four subparts - cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural.

Physical Ability:The capacity to do physical activities.

Dimensions of Intellectual AbilityDimensions of Intellectual Ability

DIMENSION DESCRIPTION JOB EXAMPLE

Number aptitude

Ability to do speedy and accurate arithmetic

Accountant: Computing the sales tax on a set of items

Verbal comprehension

Ability to understand what is read or heard and the relationship of words to each other

Plant manager: Following corporate

policies

Perceptual speed

Ability to identify visual similarities and differences quickly and accurately

Fire investigator: Identifying clues to

support a charge of arson

Inductive reasoning

Ability to identify a logical sequence in

a problem and then solve the problem

Market researcher: Forecasting demand

for a product in the next time period

Deductive

reasoning

Ability to use logic and assess the implications of an argument

Supervisor: Choosing between two

different suggestions offered by employees

Spatial visualization

Ability to imagine how an object would

look if its position in space were

changed

Interior decorator: Redecorating an

office

Memory Ability to retain and recall past experiences

Salesperson: Remembering the names

of customers

Physical AbilitiesPhysical Abilities

Physical Abilities:

The capacity to do tasks demanding stamina, dexterity, strength, and similar characteristics.

Nine Basic Physical AbilitiesNine Basic Physical Abilities

Dimension Dimension Types Description

Strength Factors

1. Dynamic strength

2. Trunk strength

3. Static strength

4. Explosive strength

Ability to exert muscular force repeatedly or continuously over time

Ability to exert muscular strength using the trunk (particularly abdomen) muscles

Ability to exert force against external objects

Ability to expend a maximum of energy

in one or a series of explosive acts

Flexibility

Factors

5. Extent flexibility

6. Dynamic flexibility

Ability to move the trunk and back muscles as far as possible

Ability to make rapid, repeated flexing movements

Other

Factors

7. Body coordination

8. Balance

9. Stamina

Ability to coordinate the simultaneous actions of different parts of the body

Ability to maintain equilibrium despite

forces pulling off balance

Ability to continue maximum effort requiring prolonged effort over time

Ability-JobFit

The Ability-Job FitThe Ability-Job Fit

Employee’sEmployee’sAbilitiesAbilities

Job’s AbilityJob’s AbilityRequirementsRequirements

LearningLearningLearningLearning

Learning:

• Involves change

• Is relatively permanent

• Is acquired through experience

Learning:

• Involves change

• Is relatively permanent

• Is acquired through experience

Learning:

Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience.

Theories of LearningTheories of LearningTheories of LearningTheories of Learning

Classical Conditioning. A type of conditioning in

which an individual responds to some stimulus that

would not ordinarily produce such a response.

Learning a conditioned response involves building up an association between a conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

When the stimuli, one compelling and the other one neutral, are paired, the neutral one becomes a conditioned stimulus and, hence, takes on the properties of the unconditioned stimulus.

Classical conditioning is passive — something happens, and we react in a specific way. It is elicited in response to a specific, identifiable event.

Pavlov’s ExperimentPavlov’s Experiment

Analysis of Pavlov’s StudyAnalysis of Pavlov’s Study

Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)

Operant Conditioning:

Operant Chamber:

Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)

Operant Conditioning:

A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behaviorleads to a reward or prevents a punishment. Tenets of Operant Conditioning are:

• Behavior is learned.

• People are likely to engage in desired behaviors if they are positively reinforced for doing so.

• Rewards are most effective if they immediately follow the desired response.

• Any situation in which it is either explicitly stated or implicitly suggested that reinforcements are contingent on some action on your part involves the use of

operant learning.

Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)

Social-Learning Theory:

People can learn through observation and direct experience. Key Concepts are:

• Attentional processes. People learn from a model only then they recognize and pay attention to its critical features.

• Retention processes. A model’s influence will depend on how well the individual remembers the model’s action after the model is no longer readily available.

• Motor reproduction processes. After a person has seen a new behavior by observing the model, the watching must be converted to doing.

• Reinforcement processes. Individuals will be motivated to exhibit the modeled behavior if positive incentives or rewards are provided.

Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)Theories of Learning (cont’d)

Key Concepts:

• Reinforcement is required to change behavior.

• Some rewards are more effective than others.

• The timing of reinforcement affects learning speed and permanence.

Key Concepts:

• Reinforcement is required to change behavior.

• Some rewards are more effective than others.

• The timing of reinforcement affects learning speed and permanence.

Shaping Behavior:

Systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves an individual closer to the desired response.

Types of ReinforcementTypes of ReinforcementTypes of ReinforcementTypes of Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement:

Providing a reward for a desired behavior.– If an employee is on time every day during the week

and, as a result, receives extra pay equivalent to one hour of normal work, the employee has received positive reinforcement of his or her good attendance by receiving a desired award.

Negative reinforcement:

Removing an unpleasant consequence when the desired behavior occurs.– An employee who arrives at work on time every day

may do so to avoid a supervisor’s criticism. Thus, the potential for criticism leads to the employee’s taking the desired action.

Types of ReinforcementTypes of ReinforcementTypes of ReinforcementTypes of Reinforcement

Punishment:

Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an undesirable behavior.– Action taken to repel a person from undesirable action is

punishment. A grocery manager may punish a stock clerk for leaving the stockroom dirty by forcing her to stay after work and clean it up.

Extinction:

Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its cessation.– Behavior can also be modified through a technique known

as extinction, which is the absence of an expected response to a situation. The hope is that unreinforced behavior will not be repeated.

Schedules of ReinforcementSchedules of ReinforcementSchedules of ReinforcementSchedules of Reinforcement

Continuous Reinforcement:

A desired behavior is reinforced each time it is demonstrated.

Intermittent Reinforcement:

A desired behavior is reinforced often enough to make the behavior worth repeating but not every time it is demonstrated.

Schedules of Reinforcement (cont’d)Schedules of Reinforcement (cont’d)Schedules of Reinforcement (cont’d)Schedules of Reinforcement (cont’d)

Fixed-Interval Schedule:

Rewards are spaced at uniform time intervals.

Variable-Interval Schedule:

Rewards are initiated after a fixed or constant number of responses.

Schedules of Reinforcement (cont’d)Schedules of Reinforcement (cont’d)Schedules of Reinforcement (cont’d)Schedules of Reinforcement (cont’d)

Fixed-ratio

Behavior ModificationBehavior ModificationBehavior ModificationBehavior Modification

Five Step Problem-Solving Model:

1. Identify critical behaviors

2. Develop baseline data

3. Identify behavioral consequences

4. Develop and apply intervention

5. Evaluate performance improvement

Five Step Problem-Solving Model:

1. Identify critical behaviors

2. Develop baseline data

3. Identify behavioral consequences

4. Develop and apply intervention

5. Evaluate performance improvement

OB Mod:

The application of reinforcement concepts to individuals in the work setting.

OB MOD Organizational ApplicationsOB MOD Organizational Applications

Well Pay versus Sick Pay:

– Reduces absenteeism by rewarding attendance, not absence.

Employee Discipline:

– The use of punishment can be counter-productive.

Developing Training Programs:

– OB MOD methods improve training effectiveness.

Self-management:

– Reduces the need for external management control.

Assignment # 2Assignment # 2

Q # 1: Describe three different roles of a manager; What skills are essential to perform these roles? (06)

Q # 2: Contrast between Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning theories of learning. Give suitable example for each. (04)