15 June 2008


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

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