Chapter 6 Learning and Performance Management Copyright ©2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Definition of Learning Learning – the development of experience, insights, knowledge, and understanding that eventually leads to a change in behavior.

Information, Understanding, Knowledge Information deals with the what questions: What do my employees do? Knowledge deals with the how questions: How do my employees do what they do? How do I get them to do things differently? Understanding deals with the why questions: Why do my employees do the things they do? I K U

Behavioral Models of Learning in Organizations Modifying behavior by pairing a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit an unconditioned response Has limited applicability to human behavior in organizations Classical conditioning Modifying behavior through the use of positive or negative consequences following specific behaviors Uses reinforcement, punishment, and extinction strategies to influence behavior Operant conditioning

Positive and Negative Consequences Positive Consequences Results of a behavior that a person finds attractive or pleasurable Negative Consequences Results of a behavior that a person finds unattractive or aversive 4

Reinforcement, Punishment, and Extinction Cultivates desirable behavior by either bestowing positive consequences or withholding negative consequences Types - Continuous, intermittent, fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval Reinforcement Discourages undesirable behavior by either bestowing negative consequences or withholding positive consequences Punishment Weakens behavior by attaching no consequences to it Extinction

6.1 Reinforcement and Punishment Strategies SOURCE: Table from Organizational Behavior Modification by Fred Luthans and Robert Kreitner. Copyright © 1985, p. 58 by Scott Foresman and Company and the authors. Reprinted by permission of the authors.

Examples of Negative Reinforcement Focused on desirable behaviors that occur more frequently: If a clerical worker feels that being ahead is a favorable condition, the worker will be motivated to work hard in order to avoid the unpleasant state of being behind. An instructor deducts 10 points from a student’s grade for each observed absence but there is no effect on a student’s grade for attendance. Example of an alarm in a child’s room.

Examples of Punishment Focused on undesirable behaviors that should occur very infrequently: If you exhibit unprofessional behavior in this class, you will lose a letter grades If you are caught cheating on an exam, you could fail the course If you steal something at work, you will be terminated.

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory Learning occurs when one observes others and models their behavior Task-specific self-efficacy: One’s internal expectancy to work effectively Sources Prior experiences and behavior models Persuasion from other people Assessment of current physical and emotional capabilities

Goal Setting at Work Establishing desired results To guide and direct behavior Establishing desired results Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound Characteristics of effective goals Increases work motivation and task performance Reduces stress caused by confusing expectations Improves the accuracy and validity of performance evaluation Functions

Employee Participation Goal acceptance Goal commitment Goal accomplishment

6.2 Goal Level and Task Performance

Problems with Goal Setting?

Evaluating Performance Process of defining, measuring, appraising, providing feedback on, and improving performance Performance management Behavior above and beyond the call of duty Enhanced by employee involvement programs Emphasizes collective performance Organizational citizenship behavior Performance appraisal systems Measuring performance

Effective Appraisal Systems Develop people and enhance careers Requires establishment of mutual trust between supervisors and employees Characteristics Validity Reliability Responsiveness Flexibility and equitability

Actual and Measured Performance

Communicating Performance Feedback Refer to specific verbatim statements and observable behaviors Focus on changeable behaviors Both supervisor and employee should plan and organize before the session Begin with something positive

It is more effective to ask employees to do something differently than it is to ask them to be different

Your employees are not responsible for fixing their systems Your employees are not responsible for fixing their systems. That is YOUR responsibility as a manager, and it is the abdication of management to blame employees for problems when there are almost always systemic variables that need continuous improvement. PA Exercise

Individual or Team Rewards Directly affect individual behavior Encourage competition within a work team Skill-based and pay-for-knowledge systems Individual reward systems Encourage cooperation, joint efforts, and the sharing of information and expertise Gain-sharing plans Team reward systems

© 2011 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Organizations get the performance they reward, not the performance they say they want. © 2011 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.