Unit 4Learning

Smita Choudhary Faculty HR/OB

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.

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Contents

• Introduction• Theories of learning• Shaping behavior• Behavior modification• Specific organizational

application

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Introduction• Learning is not a one time activity or an annual, half yearly,

quarterly or monthly activity. Learning is a continuous process. It begins right from when a child is born and ends with his death.

• It is rightly said by Denis Waitley (American motivational speaker), “All of the top achievers I know are life-long learners... Looking for new skills, insights, and ideas. If they're not learning, they're not growing... not moving toward excellence.”

• There is no end to learning.

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Introduction

• Learning is a process that improves the knowledge, skill and attitude (KSA) of individuals, increases his/her willingness to adopt these KSAs and implement them on the job.

• Learning can be defined as “any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience”.

----- (Robbins, 2003)

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Why Learning is Important• Learning is important to ensure that we keep up-to-date

with developments in our particular field. • It is also an important source of motivation, stimulation and

job satisfaction. • Learning is therefore important because it helps us to keep

in tune with trends and developments in our own field.• Learning has the power to change us. Specifically, we can

become more successful.

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Characteristics of Learning

• Changes take place during learning.• The change must be permanent• Learning is related to behavior• Some experience is necessary for learning

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Theories of Learning

Classical conditioning• It was proposed by Ivan Pavlov in 1927.• It evolved from the experiments conducted on dogs by

Russian psychologist, Ivan Pavlov.• In the process of classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus

when paired with an unconditioned stimulus, becomes a conditioned stimulus that brings about a conditioned response.

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Classical Conditioning Key:UCS – Unconditional StimulusUCR – Unconditional ResponseCS – Conditional StimulusCR – Conditional Response

Only meat given to dog, salivation takes place

Only bell is rung, no salivation

Bell + meat, salivation takes place

Only bell, no meat, yet salivation takes place

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Operant Conditioning

• This theory was proposed by B.F. Skinner (1953, 1954).• It believes that learning depends on change in overt

behavior.• The behavior of an individual changes due to his response to

the stimuli.• The individual responds, when a particular Stimulus-Response

(S-R) pattern is rewarded.• Reinforcement is an important part of Skinner’s S-R theory.• A reinforcer improves the desired response.• Operant conditioning is more applicable in human learning.

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Principles of Operant Conditioning

• Behavior is learned.• Positively rewarded behavior will occur again.• Information should be presented in small amounts. • Rewards are most effective when they are given immediately

after the desired response.

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Social Learning

• It was proposed by Bandura in 1977.• It gives importance to observing and shaping the behaviors,

attitudes, and emotional reactions of others.• According to Bandura, most human behavior is learned by

observation.

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Processes of Social Learning• Attentional processes – People learn from a model only when they pay

attention to its important characteristics.• Retention processes – A model’s effect depends on how well an individual

remembers the model’s action after the model is not available. • Motor reproduction processes – After a person has observed the model,

he/she must do what the model did.• Reinforcement processes – Individuals are encouraged to follow the

behavior shown by the model if they are positively rewarded for it.

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Principles of Social Learning• The best observational learning is achieved by practicing the modeled

behavior and perform it openly.• Individuals may implement a modeled behavior, if it produces results that

are important for them.• There is higher possibility that an individual will implement modeled

behavior, if the model is similar to the individual and has a good status.

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Shaping Behavior

• It is the process of changing the individual’s behavior by guiding their learning in systematic steps.

• The four methods of shaping behavior are-• 1. Positive reinforcement• 2. Negative reinforcement• 3. Punishment• 4. Extinction

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Meaning of Reinforcement: Reinforce means to strengthen, and reinforcement refers to a stimulus

which strengthens the probability of a particular response being

repeated.

Positive reinforcement.

Negative reinforcement. Reinforcement is anything that increases the intensity of a response. It

can be negative or positive. Commonly used reinforcers in organizations:-

Appreciating the good work of employees Awarding promotions or raises

•

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Positive reinforcement

• It is the process of getting something nice after showing a desired behavior. This is done to repeat the same behavior.

• Example of Positive Reinforcement -• When a manager praises an employee for successfully completing a task on

schedule, this is positive reinforcement. • This encourages the employee and increases the possibility of completing his work

on time.

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Negative Reinforcement

• In this, a reward is taken away if an undesired behavior is displayed.

Example of Negative reinforcement-• Taking away scholarship from a student, if he does

not perform well in the examination.• When a worker is asked to get back to work when

he is noticed talking to his colleagues, this is negative reinforcement.

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Punishment 1. Punishment is the practice of forcing something unpleasant

or on a person, usually in response to disobedient or morally wrong behavior or undesired behavior.

2. Should be immediate.3. Has effect on others who are watching4. Punisher must provide an acceptable alternative to offender5. Can have side effects of hate and revenge

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Extinction

• It is removal of any reward (reinforcement) that is helping to maintain a particular behavior.

• If a person puts in extra effort but his work is not being recognized or rewarded, he will stop doing it.

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Schedules of Reinforcement

• Reinforcement schedules are of two types-– Continuous reinforcement schedule– Intermittent reinforcement schedule

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Continuous Reinforcement Schedule

• In this a desired behavior is always rewarded.• It is the traditional reinforcement schedule.

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Intermittent Reinforcement Schedule

• In this schedule, every case of desired behavior is not rewarded.

• But the frequency of reward is sufficient to encourage desired behavior.

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Categories of Intermittent Techniques

• Fixed interval reinforcement schedule – Rewards are given at fixed time intervals. E.g. honesty pay

• Variable interval reinforcements – Rewards are given at time intervals that are not fixed.

• Fixed ratio schedule – Reward is given after a fixed number of responses. E.g. Piece rate

Generally variable schedules lead to higher performance than fixed schedules.Continuous reinforcers are appropriate for newly desired, low frequency or unstable

responses.Intermittent reinforcers are appropriate for stable or high frequency responses.

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Behavior ModificationIdentifying critical behaviors

Developing baseline data

Identifying behavior consequences

Developing and implementing an intervention strategy

Evaluating performance improvement

Critical behaviors have an important effect on employee’s job performance.

It determines the number of times identified behavior is occurring in present conditions

Tells the manager the signals that produce the behavior and the results due to which it is maintained

It involves changing some elements of the performance reward linkage structure to make high level performance rewarding.

It is important because it shows that a change took place after the intervention strategy.

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Specific Organizational Application

1) Using lotteries to reduce absenteeism• In this method lotteries are used to reduce absenteeism in

organizations.• This method was used by Continental Airlines to reward its

40,000 employees for attendance. • The company holds a draw two times a year and gives eight

new sports utility vehicles.• For this draw employees who have not taken a single leave

during the last six months are eligible.• This reduced the company’s absence rate to a great extent

(Robbins 2003).

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2) Well pay vs. sick pay

• Organizations that pay for sick leaves face two times more absenteeism than organizations who do not pay for sick leaves.

• One organization in USA implemented a well pay program.• It paid bonus to employees who did not take any leave for a

four weak period.• This program increased organization’s savings, reduced

absenteeism, increased productivity and improved employee satisfaction.

• Forbes magazine also used this approach to cut its health care costs.

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3) Employee Discipline

• All managers have to deal with problem behaviors in the organization.

• To counter this, managers may take disciplinary action like oral warning, written warning and temporary suspension. But it is a short term solution and causes side effects.

• Disciplinary action tells the employees what not to do but does not teach them what to do.

• Practically, it is used commonly because it can give fast results in the short run.

• Most organizations have some kind of training program.

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4) Suggestions of Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory suggests that training should------• Present a model to attract trainee’s attention.• Provide motivational guidance.• Give trainee an opportunity to practice new behaviors.• Offer positive rewards for completing a task.

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5) Self-Management

• Use of learning concepts allow individuals to manage their own behavior.

• Self-management requires an individual to carefully control the stimuli, internal processes and responses to achieve personal behavioral results.

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