 Organizational Behaviors

CHAPTER-II
FOUNDATION OF
INDIVIDUAL
BEHAVIOUR &
LEARNING IN AN
ORGANIZATION
 Course Outline
Perception.
Attitude.
Personality.
Learning.
Strategies of Reinforcement,
Punishment and extinction.
Perception
 Perception is the process through which the information
from outside environment is selected, received, organized
and interpreted to make it meaningful to you
Perception involves the way we view the world around us. It
adds, meaning to formation gathered via the five senses of
touch, smell, hearing, vision and taste.
 Environmental stimuli Observation Perceptual selection

Perceptual organization Interpretation Response

Why is the study perception important?
 Simply because people's behavior is based on their
perception of what reality is, not on reality itself? Virtually
all management activities rely on perception.
Factors
FactorsThat
That
Influence
Influence
Perception
Perception

E X H I B I T 5–1
E X H I B I T 5–1
 Factors Influencing Perception
1.In the perceiver
The major characteristics of the perceiver
influencing perception are:
 Attitudes
 Moods
 Motives
 Self-Concept
 Interest
 Cognitive Structure
 Expectations
 Factors Influencing Perception
I. In the perceiver
The major characteristics of the perceiver influencing
perception are:
Attitudes:

The perceiver's attitudes affect perception. For

example, suppose Mr.X is interviewing candidates for
a very important position in his organization – a
position that requires negotiating contracts with
suppliers, most of whom are male. Mr X may feel that
women are not capable of holding their own in tough
negotiations. This attitude will doubtless affect his
perceptions of the female candidates he interviews.
 Factors Influencing Perception
 Moods:

Moods can have a strong influence on the way we

perceive someone. We think differently when we are
happy than we do when we are depressed. In addition,
we remember information that is consistent with our
mood state better than information that is inconsistent
with our mood state. When in a positive mood, we
form more positive impression of others. When in a
negative mood, we tend to evaluate others unfavorably.
 Factors Influencing Perception

Motives:

Unsatisfied needs or motives stimulate individuals

and may exert a strong influence on their
perceptions. For example, in an organizational
context, a boss who is insecure perceives a
subordinate's efforts to do an outstanding job as a
threat to his or her own position.
 Factors Influencing Perception
Self-Concept:

Another factor that can affect social perception is

the perceivers’ self-concept. An individual with a
positive self-concept tends to notice positive
attributes in another person. In contrast, a negative
self-concept can lead a perceiver to pick out negative
traits in another person.
 Factors Influencing Perception
Interest:

The focus of our attention appears to be influenced

by our interests. Because our individual interests
differ considerably, what one person notices in a
situation can differ from what others perceive.
 Factors Influencing Perception
Cognitive Structure:

Cognitive structure, an individual's pattern of

thinking, also affects perception. Some people have a
tendency to perceive physical traits, such as height,
weight, and appearance, more readily.

Cognitive complexity allows a person to perceive

multiple characteristics of another person rather than
attending to just a few traits.
 Factors Influencing Perception

Expectations:

Finally, expectations can distort and falsify your

perceptions in that you will see what you expect to
see.
 Factors Influencing Perception
II. In the object or target being
perceived
Characteristics in the target that is being observed can
affect what is perceived.
Physical appearance plays a big role in our perception of
others.
Extremely attractive or unattractive individuals are more
likely to be noticed in a group than ordinary liking
individuals.
Motion, sound, size and other attributes of a target shape
Physical appearance plays a big role in
our perception of others.
The perceiver will notice the target's
physical features like height, weight,
estimated age, race and gender.
Physical attractiveness often colors our
entire impression of another person
 Factors Influencing Perception
III. In the context of the situation in
which the perception is made.

The situation in which the interaction between the

perceiver and the target takes place has an influence on
the perceiver's impression of the target.

For example, meeting a manager in his or her office

affects your impression in a certain way that may
contrast with the impression you would form had you
met the manager in a restaurant.
Frequently
Frequently Used
Used Shortcuts
Shortcuts in
in Judging
Judging
Others/Barriers
Others/BarriersTo
To Perception
Perception
Selective Perception
People selectively interpret what they see
on the basis of their interests, background,
experience, and attitudes.
Frequently
Frequently Used
Used Shortcuts
Shortcuts in
in Judging
Judging Others
Others
Halo Effect
Drawing a general
impression about an
individual on the basis of
a single characteristic

Contrast Effects
Evaluation of a person’s characteristics
that are affected by comparisons with
other people recently encountered who
rank higher or lower on the same
characteristics
 Frequently
Frequently Used
Used Shortcuts
Shortcuts in
in Judging
Judging Others
Others

Projection
Attributing one’s
own characteristics
to other people.

Stereotyping
Judging someone on the
basis of one’s
perception of the group
to which that person
belongs.
Managerial Implications Of Perception

This is the more obvious applications

of perceptions in organization:-
1.Employment Interview
2.Performance Evaluation
3.Performance Expectations
4.Employee Loyalty
Therefore, our perception is largely influenced by
different factors. Those factors can be divided into
external and internal factors.

The external factors are those factors which out of the

control of an individual; and include size, intensity,
contrast, motion repetition and Novelty&
familiarization.

The internal factors are factors which are internal to

the perceivers. It includes factors like: personality,
learning and motivation.
Attitudes
Attitudes

Attitudes Cognitive component

The opinion or belief
Evaluative segment of an attitude.
statements
or Affective Component
judgments The emotional or feeling
concerning segment of an attitude.
objects,
people, or Behavioral Component
events. An intention to behave in a
certain way toward someone or
(Robbins).
something.
 ATTITUDES
 Relatively lasting feelings, beliefs and behavioral tendencies
directed towards specific people, groups, ideas, issues or objects
(Hellriegel).
 It is a settled way of thinking or feeling about something.
 In short, attitude can be defined as a persistent tendency to feel and
behave in a particular way towards some subject or object or event.
 It is the evaluative statements either favorable or unfavorable
concerning objects, people, or events.
 It reflects how one feels about something. For example when you
said, I like: OB”; it means that an individual express his attitude
towards “OB”
CHARACTERISTICS OF ATTITUDES
 It tends to persist unless something is done to change
it.
 It is unique to self. Two people may look at a single
situation differently.
 It is learned
 It is organized and is close to the core of personality.
 It is the predisposition/inclination of the individual to
evaluate some objects in favorable or an unfavorable
manner concerning the objects, people or events
 COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES
Attitude has three components :
1.Cognitive -opinion or belief segment
2.Affective - emotional or feeling segment
3.Behavioral- an intention to behave in a certain way towards someone or something

1. Cognitive Component
This component includes the beliefs an individual has about a certain person, object,
or situation. Example: “X” is not a good teacher. (You get information about the
teacher)
2. Affective Components
This component refers to the person's feelings that result from his or her beliefs about
a person, object or situation. Example: I do not like teacher X (Here, you draw some
feeling about him)
3. Behavioral Components

This component refers to the individual's behavior that occurs as a result of his or her
feeling about the focal person, object or situation. Example: I might stop attending to
“X” classes because of the bad feeling on him.
 SOURCES OF ATTITUDES
Attitudes are acquired from parents, teachers,
and peer group members.
We model our attitudes after those we admire,
respect or fear.
We observe the way family and friends
behave, and we shape our attitudes and
behavior to align with theirs.
 Types
Types of
ofAttitudes
Attitudes
Job Satisfaction
A collection of positive and/or negative feelings
that an individual holds toward his or her job.

Job Involvement
Identifying with the job, actively participating
in it, and considering performance important to
self-worth.

Organizational Commitment
Identifying with a particular organization and
its goals, and wishing to maintain
membership in the organization (Affective,
Normative, and Continuance Commitment)
What
What is
is Personality?
Personality?

Personality
The sum total of ways in which an individual
reacts and interacts with others; measurable
traits a person exhibits.

Personality
Personality
Personality Traits
Determinants
Determinants
Enduring • •Heredity
Heredity
characteristics that • •Environment
describe an Environment
• •Situation
Situation
individual’s behavior.
 PERSONALITY cont…
 Personality refers to the relatively stable pattern of behaviors
and consistent internal states that explains a persons

behavioral tendencies (R.T. Hogan)

 It is the combination of characteristics or qualities that form
an individual's distinctive character.
 Most people tend to equate personality with social success
(being good or popular, or having a lot of personality) and to
describe personality by a single dominant characteristic a
strong, weak or polite).
Major Personality characteristics influencing
organizational Behavior
There are different personality characteristics influencing OB,
we have selected the following:-

Locus of Control, Machiavellianism, Self-esteem, Self-efficacy,

Self-monitoring, Positive/Negative effect, Risk Taking, and
Type “A” Personality,

1. Locus of Control
Some people believe they are masters of their own fate. Other
people see themselves spawns of fate, believing that what happens to them in
their lives is due to luck or chance. An individual's generalized belief or
perception about the source of his/her fate is called locus of control and it
can be internal and external.
Major Personality characteristics influencing
organizational Behavior
2. Machiavellianism

Niccolo Machiavelli was a sixteenth century Italian states man. He wrote

"The Prince”, a guide for acquiring and using power. The primary method for
achieving power that he suggested was manipulation of others. Machiavellianism
then is a personality characteristic indicating one's willingness to do whatever it takes
to get one's way. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains
emotional distance and believes that ends can justify means. "If it works use it", is
consistent with a high-Mach perspective.

3. Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is an individual's general feeling of self-worth, or expectation

for success. Individuals with high self-esteem have positive feelings about
themselves, perceive themselves to have strength as well as weaknesses, and believe
their strengths are more important than their weaknesses. Individuals with low self-
Major Personality characteristics influencing
organizational Behavior
4. Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief that he or she is capable

of performing a task. The higher your self-efficacy, the more confidence you
have in your ability to succeed in a task. So, in difficult situations, we find
that people with low self-efficacy are more likely to lessen their effort or
give up altogether whereas those with high self-efficacy will try harder to
master the challenge.

There are four sources of self-efficacy:

Prior experiences;
Behavior models - witnessing the success of others;
Persuasion from other people; and

Major Personality characteristics influencing
organizational Behavior
5. Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring refers to an individual's ability to adjust his or her behaviors

external situational factors. High self-monitors pay attention to what is
appropriate in particular situations and to the behavior of other people, and
they behave accordingly. Low self-monitors, in contrast, is not as
vigilant/aware to situational cues and act from internal states rather than
paying attention to the situation.

6. Positive/Negative Effect

Individuals who focus on the positive aspects of themselves, other people,

and the world in general are said to have positive effect. In contrast, those
who accentuate/ emphasise the negative in themselves, others, and the world
are said to possess negative affect.
Major Personality characteristics influencing
organizational Behavior
7. Risk-Taking
People differ in their willingness to take chances. High-risk-taking managers made
more rapid decisions and used less information in making their choices than the low-risk taking
managers.

8.Type A
Type A personality individual is "aggressively involved in a chronic, struggle to
achieve more and more in less and less time, and if required to do so, against the opposing
efforts of other things or other persons".
Are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly:
Feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place;
Strive to think or do two or more things simultaneously;
Cannot cope with leisure time; and
Are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how much of everything they
acquire.
Major Determinants Of Personality
1. Biological Factor
2. Cultural Factors
3. Family Factors
4. Social Factors
5. Situational Factors
1. Biological Factor
The study of the biological contributions to personality may be studied under
different heads:
(a)Heredity: Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception.
Physical stature, facial attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle composition and
reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms are characteristics that are considered
to be inherent from one’s parents.
(b)Brain: The second biological approach is to concentrate on the role that the brain
plays in personality.
(c)Biofeedback: Until recently, physiologists and psychologists felt that certain
biological functions such as brainwave patterns, gastric secretions, and fluctuations in
blood pressure and skin temperature were beyond conscious control. Now some
scientists believe that these involuntary functions can be consciously controlled
through biofeedback.
(d)Physicalfeatures: A vital ingredient of the personality, an individual's external
appearance, is biologically determined.
2. Cultural Factors
Among the factors that exert pressures on our personality
formation are the culture in which we are raised, our early
conditioning, the norms among our family, friends and social groups
and other influences we experience.
3. Family Factors
Whereas the culture generally prescribes and limits what a
person can be taught, it is the family, and later the social group, which
selects, interprets and dispenses the culture.
4. Social Factors
There is increasing recognition given to the role of other
relevant persons, groups and especially organizations, which greatly
influence an individual's personality.
5. Situational Factors
Human personality is also influenced by situational factors. The
effect of environment is quite strong. Knowledge, skill and language
are obviously acquired and represent important modifications of
behavior.
The
The Big
Big Five
Five Model
Model of
of Personality
Personality Dimensions
Dimensions
Extroversion
Sociable, gregarious, and assertive

Agreeableness
Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting.

Conscientiousness
Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized.

Emotional Stability
Calm, self-confident, secure under stress (positive), versus
nervous, depressed, and insecure under stress (negative).

Openness to Experience
Curious, imaginative, artistic, and sensitive
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
 DETERMINANTS OF LEARNING
Motive

 Motives also called drives, prompt

people to action.
 They are primary energizers of behavior.
 They are the ways of behavior and
mainspring of action.
 They are largely subjective and represent the
mental feelings of human beings.
 DETERMINANTS OF LEARNING
Stimuli
Stimuli are objects that exist in the
environment in which a person lives.
Stimuli increase the probability of eliciting a
specific response from a person.
Generalization:

 The principle of generalization has important

implications for human learning.
 Generalization takes place when the similar
new stimuli repeat in the environment.
 When two stimuli are exactly alike, they will
have probability of eliciting specific response.
 It makes possible for a manager to predict
human behavior when stimuli are exactly alike.
 DETERMINANTS OF LEARNING
Discrimination:

What is not generalization is discrimination.

In case of discrimination, responses vary to
different stimuli.
For example, MBA student may learn to
respond to video teaching but not to the oral
lecturing by his professor.
 DETERMINANTS OF LEARNING
Responses:

o The stimulus results in responses – Whether it

is in the physical form or in terms of attitudes
or perception or in other phenomena.
o However, the responses need to be
operationally defined and preferably
physically observable.
 DETERMINANTS OF LEARNING
Reinforcement:

 Reinforcement is a fundamental conditioning of

learning.
 Reinforcement can be defined as anything that both
increases the strength of response and tends to
induce repetitions of behavior that preceded the
reinforcement.
 No measurable modification of behavior can take
place without reinforcement.
 Determinants Of Learning
Retention:

Retention means remembrance of learned behavior

overtime. Converse is forgetting.
 Learning which is forgotten over time is called
"extinction".
 When the response strength returns after extinction
without only intervening reinforcement, it is called
"spontaneous recovery".
Strategies of Reinforcement, Punishment And
Extinction

REINFORCEMENT

Reinforcement can be defined as anything that both

increases the strength of response and tends to
induce repetitions of behavior that preceded the
reinforcement.

There are four basic reinforcement strategies:

Positive reinforcement, Negative reinforcement,
Extinction, and Punishment,
 Strategies Of Reinforcement, Punishment
And Extinction
1. Positive Reinforcement
A positive reinforcement is a reward for a desired
behavior. The reward should be sufficiently powerful and
durable so that it increases the probability of occurrence of
desirable behavior. Bonuses paid at the end of a successful
business year are an example of positive reinforcement
2. Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement also known as "escape
conditioning" or "avoidance learning" it is also a method of
strengthening desired behavior. Negative reinforcement results
from withholding a threatened negative consequence when a
desired behavior occurs. For example, students study hard, write
term papers and do their homework on time to avoid the
consequences of failure in the examination.
 Strategies Of Reinforcement, Punishment
And Extinction

3. Extinction

In humans, extinction can lead to frustration or even

anger. For example, if a student in the class is highly
mischievous and disturbs the class, he is probably
asking for attention. If the attention is given to him, he
will continue to exhibit that behavior. However, if he is
continuously ignored and misrecognized, then such
undesirable behavior will vanish over a period of time.
 Strategies Of Reinforcement, Punishment
And Extinction

4. Punishment

Punishment is the attempt to eliminate or weaken

undesirable behavior. It is used in two ways. One way
to punish a person is through the application of a
negative consequence following an undesirable
behavior. The other way to punish a person is through
the withholding a positive consequence following an
undesirable behavior.
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.
 Theories
Theories of
of Learning
Learning (cont’d)
(cont’d)

Operant Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary
behavior leads to a reward or prevents a punishment.
Reinforcement strengthens a behavior and increases
the likelihood that it will be repeated.
Operant conditioning argues that behavior is a
function of its consequences.
Operant behavior means voluntary or learned
behavior in contrast to reflexive or unlearned
behavior.
What Pavlov did for classical conditioning, the
Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner did for operant
 Rewards are most effective if they immediately follow
the desired response.

Key
KeyConcepts
Concepts
••Reflexive
Reflexive(unlearned)
(unlearned)behavior
behavior
••Conditioned
Conditioned(learned)
(learned)behavior
behavior
••Reinforcement
Reinforcement

S.E..
 Theories
Theories of
of Learning
Learning (cont’d)
(cont’d)

Social-Learning Theory
People can learn through observation and
direct experience.
Although social-learning theory is an
extension of operant conditioning—that is, it
assumes that behavior is a function of
consequences—it also acknowledges the
existence of observational learning and the
importance of perception in learning.
Key
KeyConcepts
Concepts
••Attentional
Attentionalprocesses
processes
••Retention
Retentionprocesses
processes
••Motor
Motorreproduction
reproductionprocesses
processes
••Reinforcement
Reinforcementprocesses
processes
 A review of research findings on the impact of
reinforcement upon behavior in organizations
concluded that
 1. Some type of reinforcement is necessary to
produce a change in behavior.
 2. Some types of rewards are more effective for use
in organizations than others.
 3. The speed with which learning takes place and the
permanence of its effects will be determined by the
timing of reinforcement
 3. Motor reproduction processes. After a person has
seen a new behavior by observing the model, the
watching must be converted to doing. This process
then demonstrates that the individual can perform the
modeled activities.
 4. Reinforcement processes. Individuals will be
motivated to exhibit the modeled behavior if positive
incentives or rewards are provided. Behaviors that
are positively reinforced will be given more attention,
learned better, and performed more often.