Learning

Definition

• Learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge or skills

through study, practice or experience

• Learning usually causes a relatively permanent change in the

behavior of a person
 Significance of Learning
• Learning impacts practically all aspects of OB

• All behaviors of people in an organization are learnt, either

directly or indirectly

• The learned behaviors are:

 The skills of a worker
 Attitude of a manager
 A manager’s style of dressing

• Organizations can mould the behavior of employees through

applying learning principles to enhance their performance
 Activity
• Stand and tell what designation you would like
to be in after MBA
• Sit only when I say “okay”! Else keep standing.
 Classical Conditioning Theory (S-R)- Ivan
Pavlov
• Classical conditioning is defined as a process in which a
formerly neutral stimulus, when paired with an unconditioned
stimulus, becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits a
conditioned response

• NEUTRAL STIMULUS + UNCONDITIONED

STIMULUS = CONDITIONED STIMULUS +
CONDITONED RESPONSE

• First, there is a stimulus and then, there is a response (S-R)

 Operant Conditioning (Reinforcement)
Theory (R-S)- F Skinner

• Consequences determine the behavior that results in learning

• Behavior is repeated depending on the reinforcement or lack

of reinforcement brought about as a consequence of a
particular behavior

• First, there is a response and then, there is a stimulus (R-S)

Examples of Classical and Operant
Conditioning
 Ex-1

Watches favorite tennis player winning a

tournament

AND

Jumps with Joy

Ex-1-Key- Classical Conditioning

Watches favorite tennis player winning a

Tournament (S)

AND

Jumps with Joy (R)

 Ex-2

Touches a hot vessel

AND
moves away
Ex-2-Key- Classical Conditioning

Touches a hot vessel(S)

AND
moves away(R)
 Ex-3

Achieves sales targets

AND
obtains incentives and gifts
Ex-3- Key- Operant Conditioning

Achieves sales targets(R)

AND
obtains incentives and gifts(S)
 Ex-4

Hears a good music

AND
hums and rocks gently
Ex-4-Key- Classical Conditioning

Hears a good music (S)

AND
hums and rocks gently (R)
 Ex-5

Browses the Internet

AND
obtains desired information
Ex-5-Key-Operant Conditioning

Browses the Internet (R)

AND
obtains desired information (S)
 Ex- 6

Uses power carefully

AND
saves money on electricity bills
Ex- 6-Key-Operant Conditioning

Uses power carefully (R)

AND
saves money on electricity bills (S)
 Ex-7

Steps on a nail
AND
jumps and screams in pain
Ex-7-Key- Classical Conditioning

Steps on a nail (S)

AND
jumps and screams in pain (R)
 Ex-8

Carries a credit card

AND
finds it convenient for shopping
Ex-8-Operant Conditioning

Carries a credit card (R)

AND
finds it convenient for shopping (S)
 Ex-9

Pays loan installments promptly

AND
attracts no penalty for delayed payment
 Ex-9

Pays loan installments promptly

AND
attracts no penalty for delayed payment
Ex-9-Key- Operant Conditioning

Pays loan installments promptly (R)

AND
attracts no penalty for delayed payment (S)
 Reinforcement
• Law of Effect states that responses followed by pleasant
consequences are more likely to be repeated, while responses
followed by unpleasant consequences are less likely to be
repeated
• Reinforcement refers to a stimulus which strengthens the
probability of a particular response being repeated
• Positive Reinforcement increases the chances that a particular
behavior would be repeated because it results in a desirable
consequence
• Negative Reinforcement makes an individual repeat a
behavior not because he wants to but because he wants to
avoid negative consequence
• Punishment can be defined as an action that weakens a
particular behavior and reduces its frequency
Examples of Negative Reinforcement and
Punishment
 Ex-1

A Manager who has a poor performance record

had to face curtailment of some of his
organizational privileges
 Ex-1-Key- Punishment

A Manager who has a poor performance record

had to face curtailment of some of his
organizational privileges

Stimulus presented: Curtailment

Behavior suppressed: Poor Performance
 Ex-2

Calling off a strike and resuming work thinking

about being dismissed
 Ex-2-Key- Negative Reinforcement

Calling off a strike and resuming work thinking

about being dismissed

Stimulus removed or withheld: Strike

Behavior encouraged: Resuming work
 Ex-3

Getting nauseous after eating rotten food

 Ex-3- Key- Punishment

Getting nauseous after eating rotten food

Stimulus presented: Getting nauseous

Behavior suppressed: Eating Rotten food
 Ex-4

No access to recreation facilities or emailing

system for a week for employees who were
caught wasting time at work
 Ex-4-Key- Punishment

No access to recreation facilities or emailing

system for a week for employees who were
caught wasting time at work

Stimulus removed or withheld: Recreation

facilities and emailing system

Behavior suppressed: Wasting time at work

 Ex-5

A worker is asked to get back to work when the

supervisor notices him talking to his
colleagues
 Ex-5-Key: Negative Reinforcement

A worker is asked to get back to work when the

supervisor notices him talking to his
colleagues

Stimulus removed: Talking to colleagues

Behavior encouraged: Focus at work
 Ex-6

Jimmy doesn’t want to eat carrots but his

parents keep trying to get him to eat them. At
dinner time, if there are any carrots on his plate
he will scream and shout until they are taken
off his plate. His parents always give in to the
tantrums and take away the carrots because his
tantrums are becoming increasingly severe and
last longer
 Ex-6- Key- Negative Reinforcement

Jimmy doesn’t want to eat carrots but his parents keep

trying to get him to eat them. At dinner time, if there
are any carrots on his plate he will scream and shout
until they are taken off his plate. His parents always
give in to the tantrums and take away the carrots
because his tantrums are becoming increasingly severe
and last longer

Stimulus removed or withheld: Carrots on the plate

Behavior encouraged: Screaming
 Ex- 7

The car stuck in front of Sarah is aversive to her

and she wants it removed. She blasts her horn
at the car and it moves out of the way
 Ex- 7-Key- Negative Reinforcement

The car stuck in front of Sarah is aversive to her

and she wants it removed. She blasts her horn
at the car and it moves out of the way

Stimulus removed or withheld: Annoying Car

Behavior encouraged: Blast the car horn
 Ex- 8

Siblings get in a fight over who gets to go first

in a game or who gets to play with a new toy,
the parent takes the game/toy away
 Ex- 8-Key-Punishment

Siblings get in a fight over who gets to go first

in a game or who gets to play with a new toy,
the parent takes the game/toy away

Stimulus removed or withheld: Game/ Toy

Behavior suppressed: Getting in a fight
 Ex-9

A student plays with his mobile phone during

class and the teacher reprimands him in front
of his classmates
 Ex-9-Key- Punishment

A student plays with his mobile phone during

class and the teacher reprimands him in front
of his classmates

Stimulus Presented: Reprimand

Behavior suppressed: Playing with mobile

phone
 Ex-10

Mike’s morning alarm goes off at 5:00am. He

hates this noise and reaches over and hits the
STOP button which stops the alarm noise. He
does this every morning when his alarm goes
off.
 Ex-10-Key- Negative Reinforcement

Mike’s morning alarm goes off at 5:00am. He

hates this noise and reaches over and hits the
STOP button which stops the alarm noise. He
does this every morning when his alarm goes off

Stimulus removed or withheld: Noise made by

alarm

Behavior encouraged: Hitting the STOP button

 Schedules of Reinforcement
• Definition: a tactic used in operant conditioning that is
critical in modifying the behavior. It is the concept of
encouraging any behavior by arranging interval
between reinforcers and responses.
• Objective: to try and decide how and when a desired
behavior occurs.
• The rate of any behavior occurring repeatedly is
increased by the use of reinforcers and decreased
through the use of punishments. Removal of stimulus
however renders the behavior to be extinct.
 Fixed-Ratio (FR) Schedule
• Reinforcement should be delivered after a
constant or “fixed” number of correct
responses.
– A fixed ratio schedule of 2 (FR2) means
reinforcement is delivered after every 2 correct
responses
 Fixed Interval (FI) Schedule
• Reinforcement becomes available after a
specific period of time.
– An FI2 would mean reinforcement becomes
available after 2 minutes has passed
 Variable-Ratio (VR) schedule
• delivery of reinforcement will “vary” but must
average out at a specific number.
– A “VR2” schedule of reinforcement might give
reinforcement after 1 correct response, then after
3 more correct responses, then 2 more, then 1
more and finally after 3 more correct responses.
 Variable-Interval (VI) schedule
• The time periods that must pass before
reinforcement becomes available will “vary” but
must average out at a specific time interval.
– Following a “VI3” schedule of reinforcement, a teacher
could make reinforcement available after 2 minutes,
then 5 minutes, then 3 minutes, then 4 minutes and
finally 1 minute.
• In this example, reinforcement became available 5 times over
a total interval period of 15 minutes. On average then, three
minutes had to pass before reinforcement became available
(2 + 5 + 3 + 4 + 1 = 15 ÷ 5 = 3) and so this was a VI3 schedule.
 Cognitive Theory (S-S)- Edward Tolman

• Cognitive learning involves learning a relationship between

two stimuli and thus is also called S‐S learning.
• Types of cognitive learning
– Latent learning (incidental learning): Learning without reinforcement
and is not immediately demonstrated when it occurs.
• An employee wants a coffee break, wonders where to go, and suddenly remembers a
new coffee shop near campus.
– Insight: A new way to organize stimuli or a new approach to solving a
problem.
• An employee struggling with a mathematical problem who suddenly sees how to
solve it without having been taught additional methods has had an insight.
 Social Learning- Albert Bandura

• Modeling process: People could learn by observing others

– Through observation a person acquires a mental picture of an act
carried out by someone and its consequences
– Then, the person enacts the acquired image

• Self-efficacy: beliefs about one's capabilities to learn or

perform behaviors at designated levels
– People with high in self-efficacy tend to persevere at their tasks and do
a good job without becoming stressed out
 OB Mod Process
OB Mod process focuses on:

• Influence of the environment on employee behavior

• Antecedent cues or conditions that precede a behavior

• Consequence of a particular behavior

• Impact of the behavior on performance effectiveness

 OB Mod Process Steps

• Identify critical performance behaviors

• Measuring the critical performance behaviors

• Carrying out a functional analysis of the behaviors

• Developing an effective intervention strategy

• Evaluation of the intervention strategy to ensure performance

improvement
 Application of OB Mod Process

• Employee productivity

• Absenteeism and Tardiness

• Safety and accident prevention

• Sales performance