FOUNDATIONS

FOUNDATIONS OF
OF
INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
BEHAVIOR
(Chapter 2)

Biographical
Biographical Characteristics
Characteristics
Biographical Characteristics:
Personal characteristicssuch as age, gender, and
marital statusthat are objective and easily obtained
from personnels records.
Age. It is usually said that age has no direct
relationship with productivity. Older workers are
less likely to resign and married employees have
fewer absences, less turnover and report higher
job satisfaction than the unmarried ones.
Gender. There are few important differences
between men and women that do affect their job
performance; however, these differences should
not be used as discriminatory tool.

Biographical
Biographical Characteristics
Characteristics
Marital Status. Although married female
employees have specific problems that affect
their job; there are indications that they have
fewer absences, undergo less turnover and show
more job satisfaction.
Tenure/ Seniority. There is positive relationship
between productivity and seniority. Similarly, old
employees have less turnover past history is the
best predictor of future performance.

Ability,
Ability, Intellect,
Intellect, and
and Intelligence
Intelligence
Ability:
An individuals capacity to
perform the various tasks in a job.
Physical Ability:
The capacity to do physical activities.

Intellectual Ability:
The capacity to do mental activities.

Multiple Intelligence:
Intelligence contains four subparts - cognitive,
social, emotional, and cultural.

Dimensions
Dimensions of
of Intellectual
Intellectual Ability
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

heard and the relationship of words to
each other

Plant manager: Following corporate

policies

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 in space were
changed

Interior decorator: Redecorating an

office

Memory

Ability to retain and recall past

experiences

Salesperson: Remembering the names

of customers

Physical
Physical Abilities
Abilities
Physical Abilities:
The capacity to do tasks demanding
stamina, dexterity, strength, and
similar characteristics.

Nine
Nine Basic
Basic Physical
Physical Abilities
Abilities
Dimension
Strength
Factors

Flexibility
Factors
Other
Factors

Dimension Types

Description

1.

Dynamic strength

Ability to exert muscular force repeatedly or

continuously over time

2.

Trunk strength

Ability to exert muscular strength using the trunk

(particularly abdomen) 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

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

7.

Body coordination

Ability to coordinate the simultaneous actions of

different parts of the body

8.

Balance

9.

Stamina

Ability to maintain equilibrium despite

forces pulling off balance
Ability to continue maximum effort requiring
prolonged effort over time

The
The Ability-Job
Ability-Job Fit
Fit

Employees
Abilities

Ability-Job
Fit

Jobs Ability
Requirements

Learning
Learning
Learning:
Any relatively permanent change in behavior
that occurs as a result of experience.
Learning:
Learning:
Involves
Involveschange
change
Is
Isrelatively
relativelypermanent
permanent
Is
Isacquired
acquiredthrough
throughexperience
experience

Theories
Theories of
of Learning
Learning
Classical Conditioning. A type of conditioning in
which an individual responds to some stimulus that
would not ordinarily produce such a response.

Learning a conditioned response involves building up an

association between a conditioned stimulus and an
unconditioned stimulus.

When the stimuli, one compelling and the other one

neutral, are paired, the neutral one becomes a conditioned
stimulus and, hence, takes on the properties of the
unconditioned stimulus.

Classical conditioning is passive something happens,

and we react in a specific way. It is elicited in response to a
specific, identifiable event.

Pavlovs
Pavlovs Experiment
Experiment

Analysis
Analysis of
of Pavlovs
Pavlovs Study
Study

Theories
Theories of
of Learning
Learning (contd)
(contd)
Operant Conditioning:
Operant Chamber:

Theories
Theories of
of Learning
Learning (contd)
(contd)
Operant Conditioning:
A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior
leads to a reward or prevents a punishment. Tenets of Operant
Conditioning are:

Behavior is learned.

People are likely to engage in desired behaviors if they

are positively reinforced for doing so.

Rewards are most effective if they immediately follow

the desired response.

Any situation in which it is either explicitly stated or

implicitly suggested that reinforcements are contingent
on some action on your part involves the use of operant
learning.

Theories
Theories of
of Learning
Learning (contd)
(contd)
Social-Learning Theory:
People can learn through observation and direct
experience. Key Concepts are:
Attentional processes. People learn from a model only then
they recognize and pay attention to its critical features.
Retention processes. A models influence will depend on
how well the individual remembers the models action after
the model is no longer readily available.
Motor reproduction processes. After a person has seen a
new behavior by observing the model, the watching must be
converted to doing.
Reinforcement processes. Individuals will be motivated to
exhibit the modeled behavior if positive incentives or
rewards are provided.

Theories
Theories of
of Learning
Learning (contd)
(contd)
Shaping Behavior:
Systematically reinforcing each successive step
that moves an individual closer to the desired
response.
Key
KeyConcepts:
Concepts:
Reinforcement
Reinforcementis
isrequired
requiredto
tochange
changebehavior.
behavior.
Some
Somerewards
rewardsare
aremore
moreeffective
effectivethan
thanothers.
others.
The
The timing
timing of
of reinforcement
reinforcement affects
affects learning
learning
speed
speedand
andpermanence.
permanence.

Types
Types of
of Reinforcement
Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement:
Providing a reward for a desired behavior.
If an employee is on time every day during the week
and, as a result, receives extra pay equivalent to one
hour of normal work, the employee has received
positive reinforcement of his or her good attendance by
receiving a desired award.

Negative reinforcement:
Removing an unpleasant consequence when the desired
behavior occurs.
An employee who arrives at work on time every day
may do so to avoid a supervisors criticism. Thus, the
potential for criticism leads to the employees taking the
desired action.

Types
Types of
of Reinforcement
Reinforcement
Punishment:
Applying an undesirable
undesirable behavior.

condition

to

eliminate

an

Action taken to repel a person from undesirable action is

punishment. A grocery manager may punish a stock clerk
for leaving the stockroom dirty by forcing her to stay after
work and clean it up.

Extinction:
Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its
cessation.
Behavior can also be modified through a technique known
as extinction, which is the absence of an expected
response to a situation. The hope is that unreinforced
behavior will not be repeated.

Schedules
Schedules of
of Reinforcement
Reinforcement
Continuous Reinforcement:
A desired behavior is reinforced
each time it is demonstrated.

Intermittent Reinforcement:
A desired behavior is reinforced
often enough to make the
behavior worth repeating but not
every time it is demonstrated.

Schedules
Schedules of
of Reinforcement
Reinforcement (contd)
(contd)
Fixed-Interval Schedule:
Rewards are spaced at
uniform time intervals.

Variable-Interval Schedule:
Rewards are initiated after
a fixed or constant number
of responses.

Schedules
Schedules of
of Reinforcement
Reinforcement (contd)
(contd)

Fixed-ratio

Behavior
Behavior Modification
Modification
OB Mod:
The application of reinforcement concepts to
individuals in the work setting.
Five
FiveStep
StepProblem-Solving
Problem-SolvingModel:
Model:
1.1. Identify
Identifycritical
criticalbehaviors
behaviors
2.2. Develop
Developbaseline
baselinedata
data
3.3. Identify
Identifybehavioral
behavioralconsequences
consequences
4.4. Develop
Developand
andapply
applyintervention
intervention
5.5. Evaluate
Evaluateperformance
performanceimprovement
improvement

OB
OB MOD
MOD Organizational
Organizational Applications
Applications
Well Pay versus Sick Pay:
Reduces 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.

Assignment
Assignment ## 22
Q # 1: Describe three different roles of a manager;
What skills are essential to perform these roles? (06)
Q # 2: Contrast between Classical Conditioning and
Operant Conditioning theories of learning. Give
suitable example for each.
(04)