Learning

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Amity Business School
Fostering Learning and Reinforcement

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Amity Business SchoolNature of Learning
• Learning is a relatively permanent change in
knowledge or observable behavior that results
from practice or experience.

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• Importance of Learning to OB
– Most organizational behavior is learned (remember
that only 2-12% of behavior is directly linked to
personality)
– By controlling the situation, a manager can
influence behavior/performance
– The manager is held accountable for the
performance of his/her subordinates

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Three Types of Learning
• Classical Conditioning: The learning of “involuntary,”
reflexive behavior, such as emotional reactions
• Operant Conditioning: The learning of voluntary, goal-
directed behavior through the direct experience of
consequences
• Social Learning: The learning of voluntary, goal-directed
behavior through observation and imitation of others

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Classical Conditioning
Unconditioned
stimulus
(food)
Conditioned
stimulus
(bell)
Reflex
response
(salivation)

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• Classical conditioning has real limitations in its
applicability to human behavior in organization:
1. Human are more complex than dogs and less
amenable to simple cause-and-effect conditioning.
2. Behavioral environments in organizations are complex
and not very amenable to single stimulus-response
manipulations
3. Complex human decision making makes is possible to
override simple conditioning.

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Operant Conditioning
• Is the process of modifying behavior through the
use of positive or negative consequences
following specific behaviors.
• The consequences of behavior are used to
influence, or shape, behavior through three
strategies: reinforcement, punishment, and
extinction.

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Amity Business SchoolExamples of Operant Behaviors
and Their Consequences
 works and is paid.
 is late to work and is docked pay.
 enters a restaurant and eats.
 enters a football stadium and watches a football game.
 enters a grocery store and buys food.
BEHAVIORS CONSEQUENCES
The Individual

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• Difference:
• The strength and frequency of classically
conditioned behaviors are determined mainly by
the frequency of the eliciting stimulus.
• The strength and frequency of operantly
conditioned behaviors are determined mainly by
the consequences

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Social Learning Theory
• Learning occurs through the observation
of other people and the modeling of their
behavior.
• Central to social learning theory is the
notion of task-specific self efficacy

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• Reinforcement- is the attempt to develop or strengthen
desirable behavior by either bestowing positive
consequences or withholding negative consequences .
• Positive reinforcement: results from application of a
positive consequences following a desirable behavior.
• Negative reinforcement: results from withholding a
negative consequence when a desirable behavior
occurs.

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• All reinforcers fall into one of two categories:
– Primary Reinforcers -- Based upon the
satisfaction of physiological needs, such as food,
water, air, escape from pain, etc.
– Secondary Reinforcers -- Learned reinforcers;
“an event that once had neutral value but has
taken on some positive or negative value for an
individual because of past experience.”

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Types of Contingencies of Reinforcement*
Pleasant
Event
Unpleasant
Event
Event is Added Event is Removed
Positive
reinforcement
(increases behavior)
Negative
reinforcement
(increases behavior)
Omission
(decreases behavior)
Punishment
(decreases behavior)
(best to use)
(worst to use)

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• Positive Reinforcement
– Gives people outcomes they desire when they
perform organizationally functionally behaviors
• Positive reinforcers: Pay, praises, or promotions
• Negative Reinforcement
– Eliminating undesired outcomes once the functional
behavior occurs
• Negative reinforcers: criticisms, pay cuts,
suspension

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• Extinction
– Curtailing the performance of a dysfunctional behavior
by eliminating whatever is reinforcing it.
• Punishment
– Administering an undesired/negative consequence to
immediately stop a dysfunctional behavior.
• Manager administers an undesired consequence
to worker (verbal reprimand, demotion, pay cut).

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Rewards Used by Organizations
MATERIAL REWARDS
Pay
Pay raises
Stock options
Profit sharing
Deferred compensation
Bonuses/bonus plans
Incentive plans
Expense accounts
SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS
Company automobiles
Health insurance plans
Pension contributions
Vacation and sick leave
Recreation facilities
Child care support
Club privileges
Parental leave
STATUS SYMBOLS
Corner offices
Offices with windows
Carpeting
Drapes
Paintings
Watches
Rings
Private restrooms
SOCIAL/INTER-
PERSONAL REWARDS
Praise
Developmental feedback
Smiles, pats on the back, and
other nonverbal signals
Requests for suggestions
Invitations to coffee or lunch
Wall plaques
REWARDS FROM
THE TASK
Sense of achievement
Jobs with more responsibility
Job autonomy/self-direction
Performing important tasks
SELF-ADMINISTERED
REWARDS
Self-congratulation
Self-recognition
Self-praise
Self-development through
expanded knowledge/skills
Greater sense of self-worth

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Potential Negative Effects of Punishment*
Fear of
manager
Recurrence
of undesirable
employee behavior
Undesirable
emotional reaction
Aggressive,
disruptive
behavior
Apathetic,
noncreative
performance
High turnover
and absenteeism
But
leads to
long-term
Short-term
decrease in
frequency
of
undesirable
employee
behavior
Punishment
by
manager
Undesirable
employee
behavior
Antecedent
Which tends
to reinforce

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How to Make
Punishment Effective
Managers should:
• Use the principles of contingent punishment, immediate punishment,
and punishment size
• Praise in public, punish in private
• Develop alternative desired behavior
• Balance the use of pleasant and unpleasant events
• Use “positive discipline” (i.e., change behavior through reasoning, with an
emphasis on personal responsibility or “self control,” rather than by
imposing increasingly severe punishments)

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Schedules of Reinforcement
• Definition: The determination of when reinforcers are applied; after every
response or only after some responses
• Two general categories of schedule are:
– Continuous Reinforcement: Every behavior is reinforced; the
simplest schedule
– Intermittent Reinforcement: Only some behaviors are reinforced;
four types are identified in the text:
• Fixed Interval: based on a fixed time interval
• Fixed Ratio: based on a fixed number of responses
• Variable Interval: based on a variable time interval
• Variable Ratio: based on a variable number of responses

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Comparisons of Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed interval Reward on fixed
time basis
Leads to average
and irregular
performance
Fast extinction of
behavior
Fixed ratio
Variable ratio
Variable interval
Reward tied to
specific number of
responses
Leads quickly to
very high and
stable performance
Moderately fast
extinction of
behavior
SCHEDULE
FORM OF
REWARD
Reward given after
varying periods of
time
Leads to
moderately high
and stable
performance
Slow extinction of
behavior
Reward given for
some behaviors
Leads to very high
performance
Very slow
extinction of
behavior
INFLUENCE ON
PERFORMANCE
EFFECTS ON
BEHAVIOR

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Organizational
Behavior Modification
• Organizational Behavior Modification
– Managers systematically apply operant conditioning
techniques to promote the performance of
organizationally functional behaviors and discourage
the performance of dysfunctional behaviors

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• Used to improve productivity, efficiency,
attendance, punctuality, safe work practices, and
customer service
• Sometimes questioned because of lack of
relevance to certain work behaviors
• To critics it is overly controlling and robs workers
of their dignity, individuality, freedom of choice
and creativity

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Steps in
Organizational
Behavior
Modification

Learning

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Editor's Notes