Organizational Behaviour

FLAME School of Business

Learning
Relatively permanent change in
behaviour acquired through
experience

Social & cognitive

Behavioural
learning &
theories
theories
 Learning

Behavioural
theories
 Classical Conditioning
Pairing natural responses with specific stimulus (not natural) to elicit specific behaviour
 Classical conditioning (Pavlov)

Unconditioned stimulus [food] unconditioned response [salivation]

Conditioned stimulus [bell] + unconditioned stimulus [food]

unconditioned response [salivation]

Conditioned stimulus [bell] unconditioned response [salivation]

Is classical conditioning useful in organizations to change human

behaviour?
The reverse conditioning joke – how the dog sees it!
 Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

Learning specific behaviour by pairing responses with

positive or negative consequences
 Reinforcement Theory
• Reinforcement
– Process of changing behaviour by manipulating the consequences
following that behaviour

• Positive reinforcement

• Negative reinforcement

• Punishment
 Reinforcement theory

• Continuous

• Intermittent reinforcement
– Interval schedule: Fixed/variable [pay/bonus]

– Ratio schedule: Fixed/variable [bonus]

 Learning

Social &
cognitive
learning theories
 Social learning theory
• Learning involves cognitive
processing
• Observing behaviour
• Observing consequences of behaviour
– E.g.: Gender roles and gender specific
behaviours
– E.g.: Appropriate workplace behaviour

Application of social learning theory?

Cognitive theory of learning
 Cognitive theory of learning
• Differences in preferred ways to process information
• Different learning styles

Info. Info. Decision Decision

Gathering Gathering Making making
Intuition Sensor Thinker Feeler

Theory,
Empirical
meaning, Analyse data,
data,
interrelation logical
practical Interpersonal
ships, fitting conclusions,
applications, involvement,
concepts into no personal
realistic and subjective
grand involvement,
doable
scheme of objective
things
things
 Learning styles – Questionnaire
Source: Murrell
Book: Behaviour in Organizations, An experiential approach
 Performance Management

Defining Measuring Appraising Providing

performance performance performance feedback
 Performance Management

Defining Measuring Appraising Providing

performance performance performance feedback
 Performance Management

Defining Measuring Appraising Providing

performance performance performance feedback

Evaluating performance
 Performance Management

Defining Measuring Appraising Providing

performance performance performance feedback

360 degree feedback

 Goal setting and performance
• MBO
– Characteristics
– Impact
Characteristic of effective performance appraisal systems

Validity Capturing multiple dimensions of person’s performance

Collecting information from multiple sources and at different

Reliability
times

Responsive
Providing inputs to the person being evaluated
ness

Flexibility Openness to changes in performance criteria

Equitability Fair evaluation against established criteria

Company response to performance

Correcting poor
Rewards
performance

Identifying
Individual
reasons of poor
rewards
performance

Coaching and
Group rewards
mentoring
Kelly’s attribution theory & Performance

Consensus Consistency Distinctiveness

Does the person Does the person

How do others
usually behave also behave in
behave in similar
similarly in the similar manner in
situation?
situation? other situation?

High/Low High/Low High/Low

 Kelly’s attribution theory at work

X has not been meeting sales X has not been meeting sales
targets targets

Other employees are able to meet targets Other employees have also not been able to
• LOW CONSENSUS meet targets
• HIGH CONSENSUS
X has consistently not been able to meet targets X has been able to meet targets most of the
• HIGH CONSISTENCY times
• LOW CONSISTENCY
X has not been able to meet targets in previous X has been not been able to meet targets only on
job roles this role/task
• LOW DISTINCTIVENESS • HIGH DISTINCTIVENESS

INTERNAL ATTRIBUTION EXTERNAL ATTRIBUTION