Chapter 2Foundations of Individual Behavior

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BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS

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A. AGE

1. The relationship between Age And Job Performance is increasing in importance.

2. Employers’ perceptions are mixed.

3. It is tempting to assume that Age is inversely related to Absenteeism.

4. Belief that Productivity Declines with Age and that individual skills decay over time.

5. The relationship between Age and Job Satisfaction is mixed.

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B. GENDER

There are few, if any, important differences between men and women that will affect their job performance, including the areas of:

Women are more willing to conform to authority, and men are more aggressive and more likely than women to have expectations of success, but those differences are minor.

There is a difference between men and women in terms of preference for work schedules.

Absence and turnover rates

–Problem-solving–Analytical skills–Competitive drive

–Motivation–Sociability–Learning ability

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C. Tenure

The issue of the impact of job seniority on job performance has been subject to misconceptions and speculations.

Extensive reviews of the seniority-productivity relationship have been conducted:• There is a positive relationship between tenure and job

productivity.• There is a negative relationship between tenure to

absence.• Tenure is also a potent variable in explaining turnover. • Tenure has consistently been found to be negatively

related to turnover and has been suggested as one of the single best predictors of turnover.

• The evidence indicates that tenure and satisfaction are positively related.

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ABILITY

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• Number aptitude

• Verbal comprehension

• Perceptual speed

• Inductive reasoning

• Deductive reasoning

• Spatial visualization

• Memory

• Number aptitude

• Verbal comprehension

• Perceptual speed

• Inductive reasoning

• Deductive reasoning

• Spatial visualization

• Memory

DIMENSIONS OFINTELLECTUAL ABILITY

E X H I B I T 2-1

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PHYSICAL ABILITY

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NINE PHYSICAL ABILITIES

Other Factors

• Body coordination

• Balance

• Stamina

Other Factors

• Body coordination

• Balance

• Stamina

Strength Factors

• Dynamic strength

• Trunk strength

• Static strength

• Explosive strength

Strength Factors

• Dynamic strength

• Trunk strength

• Static strength

• Explosive strength Flexibility Factors

• Extent flexibility

• Dynamic flexibility

Flexibility Factors

• Extent flexibility

• Dynamic flexibility

E X H I B I T 2-2

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Ability-JobFit

THE ABILITY - JOB FIT

Employee’sEmployee’sAbilitiesAbilities

Job’s AbilityJob’s AbilityRequirementsRequirements

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LEARNING

Learning

• Involves change

• Is relatively permanent

• It is concerned with behaviour

• Is acquired through experience

Learning

• Involves change

• Is relatively permanent

• It is concerned with behaviour

• Is acquired through experience

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THEORIES OF LEARNINGIt was conducted by a Russian Physiologist Ivan Pavlov in the early 1900s.

Key Concepts

• Unconditioned stimulus

• Unconditioned response

• Conditioned stimulus

• Conditioned response

Key Concepts

• Unconditioned stimulus

• Unconditioned response

• Conditioned stimulus

• Conditioned response

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Thus we can say that a conditioned response involves building up an association between conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.

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

Classical conditioning is passive.

Something happens and we react in a specific way.

It is elicited in response to a specific and identifiable event.

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Key Concepts

• Reflexive (unlearned) behavior

• Voluntary (learned) behavior

• Reinforcement

Key Concepts

• Reflexive (unlearned) behavior

• Voluntary (learned) behavior

• Reinforcement

It was propounded by a Harvard psychologist B F Skinner and he argues that behaviour is a function of its consequences.

The tendency to repeat such behaviour is influenced by the reinforcement or lack of reinforcement brought about by the consequences of the behaviour.

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Key Concepts

1. Attention processes

2. Retention processes

3. Motor reproduction processes

4. Reinforcement processes

Key Concepts

1. Attention processes

2. Retention processes

3. Motor reproduction processes

4. Reinforcement processes

It acknowledges the existence of observational learning and the importance of perception in learning

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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.

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TYPES OF REINFORCEMENT

Positive reinforcement Providing a reward for a desired behavior.

Negative reinforcement Removing an unpleasant consequence when the

desired behavior occurs. Punishment

Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an undesirable behavior.

Extinction Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its

cessation.

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Positive Reinforcemente.g.: you receive bonus

after successfully completing important

task

Negative Reinforcement

e.g.: supervisor stops criticising you when

your job performance improves

Punishmente.g.: you are

threatened with demotion or discharge

after treating client badly.

Extinctione.g.: co-workers no

longer praise you when you engage in

dangerous pranks

Desirable Behaviour

Undesirable Behaviour

Event is Added

Event is Removed

1. Both Positive and Negative Reinforcement results strengthen responses and increases the probability of repetition

2. Both Punishment and Extinction weaken the behaviour and tend to decrease its subsequent frequency.

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Schedules of Reinforcement

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E X H I B I T 2-4

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed-ratio

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Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement

E X H I B I T 2-5a

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Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement (cont’d)

E X H I B I T 2-5b

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BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION

Problem-solving Model

• Identify critical behaviors

• Develop baseline data

• Identify behavioral consequences

• Apply intervention

• Evaluate performance improvement

Problem-solving Model

• Identify critical behaviors

• Develop baseline data

• Identify behavioral consequences

• Apply intervention

• Evaluate performance improvement

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OB MOD ORGANIZATIONAL APPLICATIONS

Well Pay versus Sick Pay Reduce 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.