Download The Foundations of Individual Behavior - NOTES SOLUTION

The Foundations
of Individual
Behavior
Prepared by:
GREGAR DONAVEN E. VALDEHUEZA, MBA
Lourdes College Instructor
Objectives:
• Identify two types of ability
• Define the key biographical characteristics
• Understand how to shape the behavior of
others
• Distinguish between the four schedules of
reinforcement
• Clarify the role of punishment in learning
ABILITY
-
Refers to an individual’s capacity to
perform the various tasks in a job.
Types of ability
1. Intellectual abilities – the capacity to do mental
activities - thinking, reasoning, and problem
solving.
2. Physical abilities – the capacity to do tasks
demanding stamina, dexterity, strength, and
similar characteristics.
Dimensions 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 Plant manager: following
heard and the relationship of
corporate policies on hiring
words to each other
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 is
space were changed
Interior decorator: redecorating
an office
Memory
Ability to retain and recall past
experiences
Salesperson: remembering the
names of customers
Nine Basic Physical Abilities
Strength Factors
1. Dynamic strength
Ability to exert muscular force repeatedly or continuously over
time
2. Trunk strength
Ability to exert muscle strength using the trunk (particularly
abdominal) muscles
3. Static strength
Ability to exert force against external objects
4. Explosive strength
Ability to expend a maximum of energy in one or a series of
explosive acts
Flexibility Factors
5. Extent flexibility
Ability to move the trunk and back muscles as far as possible
6. Dynamic flexibility
Ability to make rapid, repeated flexing movements
Other Factors
7. Body coordination
Ability to coordinate the simultaneous actions of different parts of
the body
8. Balance
Ability to maintain equilibrium despite forces pulling off balance
9. Stamina
Ability to continue maximum effort requiring prolonged effort
over time
The ability-job fit
- jobs make differing demands on people and that
people differ in their abilities
- employee performance in enhanced when there
is high ability-job fit
- poor ability-job fit, employees will likely to fail
BIOGRAPHICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
- Personal characteristics that are
objective and easily obtained
from personnel records.
•
Age
effect of age on turnover:
- older you get, less likely to quit
reasons:
- fewer job opportunities
- higher benefits
effect of age on absenteeism:
- older employees, lower rates on unavoidable absence
effect of age on productivity:
- unrelated
reason:
- some decay due to age, offset by gains
due to experience
effect of age on satisfaction:
- tends to increase among professionals
- tends to decrease among nonprofessionals during
middle age and rises in later years
• Gender
- no consistent male-female differences in problemsolving ability, analytical skills, competitive
drive, motivation, sociability, or learning
ability
- women are more willing to conform with
authority
- men are more aggressive and more likely to have
expectations of success
- women with pre-school children prefer part-time
work, flexible work schedules, and
telecommuting to accommodate family
responsibilities
- issue on absenteeism, no significant difference
• Race
- some scholars argue that it is not productive to discuss
race for:
1. policy reason (divisive issue or can cause
disagreement)
2. biological reason (large percentage are a
mixture of races)
3. genetic & anthropological reason
(anthropologists & evolutionary
scientists reject concept of distinct racial
categories)
- Department of Education classifies individuals according
to five racial categories: African American, Native
American (American Indian/Alaskan Native),
Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and White
- racial differences in cognitive ability tests continues to be
hotly debated.
• Tenure
- most recent evidence demonstrates a positive
relationship between seniority and job
productivity.
- tenure (work experience) appears to be a good
predictor of employee productivity
- in terms of both frequency of absence and total
days lost at work, tenure is the single most
important explanatory variable.
- potent (strong) variable in explaining turnover
- longer a person in a job, less likely to quit
- past behavior is the best predictor of future
behavior
- tenure and job satisfaction are positively related
- stable predictor of job satisfaction than
chronological age
LEARNING
Any relatively permanent change in
behavior that occurs as a result of
experience
• Almost all complex behavior is learned.
• Learning is a continuous, life-long process.
• The principles of learning can be used to shape
behavior
Theories of learning
• Classical conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
– a type of conditioning in which an individual
responds to some stimulus that would not ordinarily
produce such a response.
4 key concepts:
- unconditioned stimulus
- unconditioned response
- conditioned stimulus
- conditioned response
• Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner)
- The theory that behavior is a function of its
consequences and is learned through experience.
- Operant behavior: voluntary or learned behaviors
• Behaviors are learned by making rewards contingent to
behaviors.
• Behavior that is rewarded (positively reinforced) is likely
to be repeated.
• Behavior that is punished or ignored is less likely to be
repeated.
• Social learning
- the view people can learn through observation and
direct experience.
- Attributes of models that influence learning:
• Attentional: the attractiveness or similarity of the model
• Retention: how well the model can be recalled
• Motor reproduction: the reproducibility of the model’s
actions
• Reinforcement: the rewards associated with learning the
model behavior
Shaping: A Managerial Tool
Shaping behavior – systematically reinforcing each
successive step that moves an individual closer
to the desired response.
Methods of shaping behavior
•
Positive reinforcement: rewarding desired behaviors.
•
Negative reinforcement: removing an unpleasant
consequence once the desired behavior is exhibited.
•
Punishment: penalizing an undesired behavior.
•
Extinction: eliminating a reinforcement for an
undesired behavior.
Schedules of reinforcement
Schedules of Reinforcement
Reinforcement
Schedule
Nature of
Reinforcement
Effect on Behavior
Example
Continuous
Reward given after
each desired behavior
Fast learning of new behavior but
rapid extinction
Compliments
Fixed-interval
Reward given at fixed
time intervals
Average and irregular
Weekly paychecks
performance with rapid extinction
Variable-interval
Reward given at
variable time intervals
Moderately high and stable
performance with slow extinction
Pop quizzes
Fixed ratio
Reward given at fixed
amounts of output
High and stable performance
attained quickly but also with
rapid extinction
Piece-rate pay
Variable ratio
Reward given at
variable amounts of
outputs
Very high performance with slow
extinction
Commissioned
sales
Organizational behavior
modification (OB Mod)
- application of reinforcement concepts
to individuals in the work setting.
Five steps in OB Mod:
1. identifying critical behaviors
2. developing baseline data
3. identifying behavioral consequences
4. developing & implementing an intervention
strategy
5. evaluating performance improvement