MHR 310 Chapter 8 Redal

Tacit Knowledge

Is what employees can typically learn only through experience. (not easily communicated)

What is learning, and how does it affect decision making?

Learning allows employees to make better decisions by making those decisions more quickly and by being able to generate a better set of alternatives( make accurate and sound decisions)

How does learning affect job performance and organizational commitment?

Learning has a moderate positive relationship with performance and a weak positive relationship with organizational commitment.

Social identity theory

holds that people identify themselves by the groups to which they belong and perceive and judge others by their group memberships.

Punishment

occurs when an unwanted outcome follows an unwanted behavior. (employees are given something they don't like as a result of performing behaviors)

Negative reinforcement

occurs when an unwanted outcome is removed following a desired behavior. Example: Performed a task for the specific reason on NOT getting yelled at.

Stereotype

occurs when assumptions are made about others on the basis of their membership in a social group.

Transfer of training

occurs when the knowledge, skills, and behaviors used on the job are maintained by the learner once training ends and generalized to the workplace once the learner returns to the job.

Extinction

occurs when there is the removal of consequences following an unwanted behavior. (good way to stop unwanted behaviors)

Self-serving bias

occurs when we attribute our own failures to external factors and our own successes to internal factors.

Rational decision-making model

offers a step-by-step approach to making decisions that maximize outcomes by examining all variable alternatives.

Learning orientation

where building competence is deemed more important than demonstration competence.

Fixed interval schedule

workers are rewarded after a certain amount of time, and the length of time between reinforcement periods stays the same.(most common)

Non-programmed decision

A situation arises that is new, complex, and not recognized, it calls for non-programed decisions.

Consensus

Did others act the same way under similar situations? In other words, did others arrive late on the same day?

Consistency

Does this person always do this when performing this task? In other words, Joe arrived late for work before?

Distinctiveness

Does this person tend to act differently in other circumstances? In other words, is Joe responsible when it comes to personal appointments, not just work appointments?

What decision-making problems can prevent employees from translating their learning into accurate decisions?

Employees are less able to translate their learning into accurate decisions when they struggle with limited information, faulty perceptions,faulty attributions, and escalation of commitment.

What types of knowledge can employees gain as they learn and build expertise?

Employees gain both explicit and tacit knowledge as they build expertise.

What are the methods by which employees learn in organizations?

Employees learn new knowledge through reinforcement and observation of others. That learning also depends on whether the employees are learning-oriented or performance oriented.

Projection bias

One false assumption people tend to make when it comes to other people is the belief that others think, feel, and act the same way they do.

What two methods can employees use to make decisions?

Programmed decisions are decisions that become somewhat automatic because a person's knowledge allows him or her to recognize and identify a situation and the course of action that needs to be taken. Many task-related decisions made by experts are programmed decisions. Nonprogrammed decisions are made when a problem is new, complex, or not recognized. Ideally, such decisions are made by following the steps in the rational decision-making model.

What steps can organizations take to foster learning?

Through various forms of training, companies can give employees more knowledge and a wider array of experiences that they can use to make decisions.

Learning

a relatively permanent change in an employee's knowledge or skill that results from experience.

Climate for transfer

an environment that can support the use of new skills.

Programmed decisions

are decisions that become somewhat automatic because people's knowledge allows them to recognize and identify a situation and the course of action that needs to be taken.

Variable interval schedules

are designed to reinforce behavior at more random points in time. Example: supervisor walking around at different times each day

Communities of practice

are groups of employees who work together and learn from one another by collaboration over by collaborating over an extended period of time.

Fundamental attribution error

argues that people have a tendency to judge others' behaviors as due to internal factors.

Social learning Theory

argues that people in organizations have the ability to learn through the observation of others.

Intuition

can be described as emotionally charged judgments that arise through quick, nonconscious, and holistic associations.

Behavioral modeling

employees observe the actions of others, learn from what they observe, and then repeat the observed behavior.

Performance-prove orientation

focus on demonstrating their competence so that others think favorably of them.

Performance-avoid orientation

focus on demonstrating their competence so that others will not think poorly of them.

Knowledge transfer

from their older, experienced workers to their younger employees.

Continuous reinforcement

happens when a specific consequence follows each and every occurrence of a desired behavior.(simplest)

Crisis situation

is a change-whether sudden or evolving-that results in an urgent problem that must be addressed immediately.

Bounded rationality

is the notion that decision makers simply do not have the ability or resources to process all available information and alternatives to make an optimal decision.

Selective perception

is the tendency for people to see their environment only as it affects them and as it is consistent with their expectations.

Positive reinforcement

occurs when a positive outcome follows a desired behavior.(most common)

Escalation of commitment

refers to the decision to continue to follow a failing course of action.

Expertise

refers to the knowledge and skills that distinguish experts from novices and less experienced people.

Decision making

refers to the process of generating and choosing from a set of alternatives to solve a problem.

Fixed ratio schedules

reinforce behaviors after a certain number of them have been exhibited. (paid according to the number of items they produce)

Training

represents a systematic effort by organizations to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge and behavior.

Satisficing

results when decision makers select the first acceptable alternative consideration

Variable ratio schedules

reward people after a varying number of exhibited behaviors. (Sales people and commission pay)

Heuristics

simple, efficient rules of thumb that allow us to make decisions more easily.

Contingencies of Reinforcement

specific consequences typically used by organizations to modify employee behavior. - Positive Reinforcement - Negative Reinforcement - Punishment - Extinction

Explicit Knowledge

the kind of information you're likely to think about when you picture someone sitting down at a desk to learn. (easily communicated)

Availability bias

the tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is easier to recall.

Schedules of reinforcement (5)

timing of when contingencies are applied - Continuous reinforcement - Fixed interval schedule - Variable interval schedules - Fixed ratio schedules - Variable ratio schedules

Behavior modeling training

to ensure that employees have the ability to observe and learn from those in the company with significant amounts of tacit knowledge.