Influences on Employee Behavior

A Major Purpose of Human Resource Development

To change employee behavior through training and other incentives

Model of Employee Behavior

Forces that influence behavior:

na) External to the employee:

w External environment (economic conditions, laws and regulations, etc.)‏

w Work environment (supervision, organization, coworkers, outcomes of performance)‏

nb) Within the employee:

w Motivation, attitudes, knowledge/skills/abilities (KSAs)‏

The External Environment

Factors in the External Environment

Economic conditions

Technological changes

Labor market conditions

Laws and regulations

Labor unions

Factors in the Work Environment

Outcomes

Supervision and leadership

Organization

Coworkers

Influences on Employee Behavior

Outcomes Can Influence Employee Behavior

a) Personal outcomes

b) Organizational outcomes

n(i) Both expectancy theory and equity theory predict that employee perceptions of the outcomes they receive (or hope to receive) influences their performance of that behavior.

Supervisor Characteristics

Leadership

Performance expectations (Pygmalion effect)‏

Evaluation of efforts

Organizational Influences

Reward structure

Organizational culture

Job design

Coworker Influence

Norms

Group dynamics

Teamwork

Control over outcomes

Motivation

Psychological processes that cause the arousal, direction, and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal-directed

Motivation Characteristics

a) Pertains to voluntary behavior

b) Focuses on processes affecting behavior such as:

n Energizing of effort

n Direction of effort

n Persistence of effort

c) An individual phenomenon

Energizing Effort

The generation or mobilization of effort

Direction of Effort

Applying effort to one behavior over another

Persistence

Continuing (or ceasing) to perform a behavior

Explanations of Work Motivation

Need-based

Cognitive-based

Noncognitive-based

Need-Based Theories

Underlying needs, such as needs for survival, safety, power, etc., are what drives motivation

Theories:
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory
Alderfer’s existence, relatedness, and growth (ERG) theory
Herzberg’s two-factor theory

Need Activation-Need Satisfaction Process

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Cognitive Theories

Expectancy theory

Goal-setting theory

Social learning theory

Equity theory

Expectancy Theory

a) Motivation is viewed as a conscious choice

b) People put their efforts into actions they can perform to achieve desired outcomes

c) Three key elements:

n(i) Expectancy – expect effort to result in success

n(ii) Instrumentality – performance results in reward

n(iii) Valence – value individual puts on outcome

Expectancy Theory

You believe you can do it

You believe your performance is linked to the results

You believe that the results are worth the effort

You won’t do it if you don’t believe it’s worth the effort

Goal Setting Theory

Specific, difficult, and understood goals generally lead to higher performance

Keys to success are the level of difficulty and the clearness of goals

Social Learning Theory

1) Self-efficacy – judgment of what you think you can do with the skills you have

2) Major prediction of the theory is that expectations determine:

na) Whether a behavior will be performed

nb) How much effort will be expended

nc) How long you will perform the behavior

Self-Efficacy and Effort

Equity Theory

Major assumptions:

If you are treated fairly, you will keep working well

If you think you are being treated unfairly, you will change your behavior in order to be treated fairly

Equity Theory

A Noncognitive Theory

Reinforcement theory

ne.g., behavior modification

Complexity of Behavior

Behavior Modification

Principles for controlling employee behavior:

Positive Reinforcement

Negative Reinforcement

Extinction – decrease occurrences by eliminating reinforcement that causes the behavior

Punishment – introduce an adverse consequence immediately after behavior

A Specific Example

Sleeping in Class:

1. Warning

2. Leave class and explain to the Assistant Dean why you were asked to leave

Too often – you are dropped from the class

Question: Is this positive or negative reinforcement, and why?

Other Internal Factors That Influence Employee Behavior

Motivation

Attitudes

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs)‏

Wagner-Hollenbeck Model of Motivation and Performance

Attitudes

A person’s general feelings of favor or disfavor towards something

Feelings towards a person, place, thing, event, or idea

Tend to be VERY stable and hard to change

Attitudes are important in training – e.g., does the trainee intend to use the training or ignore it?

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs)‏

Abilities – general capacities related to the performance of specific tasks

Skills – combines abilities and capacities, generally the result of training

Knowledge – understanding of the factors or principles related to a specific subject

HRD programs mostly focus on changing skills and knowledge

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom

Cognitive

Psychomotor

Affective

HRD

Knowledge

Skills/Abilities

Attitudes

Summary

HRD generally seeks to change human behavior (some efforts to change attitudes)‏

Behavior is influenced by both external and internal factors

Worker motivation is the key

We can work on knowledge, skills and abilities

Attitudes are often where the problem lies