Individual

Behavior and
Learning in
Organizations

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Customer Service at Singapore Air

Singapore Airlines provides

exceptional customer service by
paying attention to the four
drivers of individual behavior and
performance: motivation, ability, Courtesy of Singapore Airlines

role perceptions, and situational

factors (MARS).

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MARS Model of Behavior and Performance

Role
Perceptions

Motivation
Individual
Behavior and
Performance
Ability
Situational
Factors

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Employee Motivation

Internal forces that affect a

person’s voluntary choice of
behavior:
 Direction
 Intensity
 Persistence
R
M
BAR
A
S

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Employee Ability
Natural aptitudes and learned capabilities
required to successfully complete a task
 Competencies -- personal
characteristics that lead to
superior performance
 Person-job matching
select qualified people
R
develop employee abilities M
through training BAR
redesign job to fit person's A
existing abilities S

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Employee Role Perceptions
Beliefs about what behavior is required to
achieve the desired results
 Understanding what tasks to perform
 Understanding relative importance of tasks
 Understanding preferred behaviors to accomplish
tasks

R
M
BAR
A
S

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Situational Factors
Environmental conditions
beyond the individual’s short-
term control that constrain or
facilitate behavior
 Time
 People
 Budget
 Work facilities R
M
BAR
A
S

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Types of Work-Related Behavior

Joining the
Organization

Exhibiting Remaining
Organizational Types of with the
Citizenship Work-Related Organization
Behavior
Performing Maintaining
Required Work
Tasks Attendance

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Definition of Learning

A relatively permanent change

in behavior (or behavior
tendency) that occurs as a
result of a person’s interaction
with the environment.

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Behavior Modification

We “operate” on the environment

 Alter behavior to maximize positive and minimize
adverse consequences.

Operant versus respondent behaviors

Law of effect
 Likelihood that an operant behavior will be
repeated depends on its consequences

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A-B-Cs of Behavior Modification

Antecedents Behavior Consequences

What happens What person What happens

before behavior says or does After behavior

Example
Employee Employee
Attendance
attends receives
bonus system
scheduled attendance
is announced
work bonus

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Contingencies of Reinforcement

Consequence No Consequence
is Introduced Consequence is Removed

Behavior
Increases/ Positive Negative
Maintained reinforcement reinforcement

Behavior Punishment Extinction Punishment

Decreases

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Schedules of Reinforcement
Behaviors
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Continuous

Fixed ratio
Variable ratio
Time (Days)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Fixed interval

Variable interval

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Behavior Mod at Nova Chemicals

Nova Chemicals’ million dollar

“recruitment and retention
program” cut absenteeism rates
by 25 percent and improved
long-term employment at its
Canadian construction site.
Courtesy of Nova Chemicals

© N. B. Scott

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Behavior Modification Limitations

Can’t reinforce nonobservable behavior

Reinforcer tends to wear off
Variable ratio schedule is a form of gambling
Ethical concerns about perceived
manipulation

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Learning through Feedback

Any information about consequences of

our behavior
Clarifies role perceptions
Corrective feedback improves ability
Positive feedback motivates future
behavior

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Multi-Source (360 Degree) Feedback

Supervisor
Project
Customer
leader

Co-worker
Evaluated Co-worker
Employee

Subordinate Subordinate
Subordinate

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Giving Feedback Effectively

Specific

Relevant Effective Frequent

Feedback

Credible Timely

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Social Learning Theory

Behavioral modeling
 Observing and modeling behavior of others
Learning behavior consequences
 Observing consequences that others experience
Self-reinforcement
 Reinforcing our own behavior with consequences
within our control

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Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model

Concrete
experience

Active Reflective
experimentation observation

Abstract
conceptualization

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Experiential Learning at CREST

Around the tranquil Auburn

Hills campus of Oakland
Community College in
Michigan, police, fire, and
emergency medical
personnel are acquiring
tacit knowledge through
experiential learning.
Courtesy of CREST

McShane/ Von Glinow 2/e Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Developing a Learning Orientation

Value the generation of

new knowledge

Reward experimentation

Recognize mistakes as
part of learning process

Encourage employees
to take reasonable risks Courtesy of CREST

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Action Learning

Experiential learning in which employees are

involved in a “real, complex, and stressful
problem,” usually in teams, with immediate
relevance to the company
 Concrete experience
 Learning meetings
 Team conceptualizes and applies a solution to a
problem

McShane/ Von Glinow 2/e Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.