Chapter 8

knowledge transfer

is the transfer of knowledge from older, experienced workers to younger employees.

learning

reflects relatively permanent changes in an employee's knowledge or skill that result from experience. .

fixed-ratio schedule

reinforce behaviors after a certain number of them have been exhibited.

methods of learning

1.Reinforcement 2.Observation 3.Experience

learning

Learning does influence job performance. >>It is moderately correlated with job performance. Learning is only weakly related to organizational commitment. >>Having higher levels of job knowledge is associated with slight increases in emotional attachment to the firm.

contingencies used to decrease undesired behaviors

Punishment occurs when an unwanted outcome follows an unwanted behavior. --Suspension, firing Extinction occurs when there is the removal of a consequence following an unwanted behavior. --Stop laughing at off-color jokes (Positive reinforcement and extinction should be the most common forms of reinforcement used by managers to create learning among their employ)

Faulty Attributions

The fundamental attribution error argues that people have a tendency to judge others' behaviors as due to internal factors. The self-serving bias occurs when we attribute our own failures to external factors and our own successes to internal factors.

contingencies used to increase desired behaivors

Two contingencies used to increase desired behaviors: Positive reinforcement occurs when a positive outcome follows a desired behavior. --Most common type of reinforcement --Increased pay, promotion Negative reinforcement occurs when an unwanted outcome is removed following a desired behavior. --Perform a task to not get yelled at

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.

variable interval schedules

are designed to reinforce behavior at more random points in time

communities of practice

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

social learning theory

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

nonprogrammer decisions

decisions that are made when a situation arises that is new, complex and not recognized As employees move up the corporate ladder, a larger percentage of their decisions become less and less programmed

continuous reinforcement

is the simplest schedule of reinforcement and happens when a specific consequence follows each and every occurrence of a desired behavior

availability bias

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

behavior modeling training

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

performance-avoid orientation

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

performance-prove orientation

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

behavioral modeling

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

explicit knowledge

is the kind of information you are likely to think about when you picture someone sitting at a desk to learn relatively easily communicated

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. >>Transfer of training can be fostered if organizations create a climate for transfer —an environment that can support the use of new skills.

rational decision- making model

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

methods of decision making

programmed and non-programmed

escalation of commitiment

refers to the decision to continue to follow a failing course of action. >People have a tendency, when presented with a series of decisions, to escalate their commitment to previous decisions, even in the face of obvious failures. >>United Airlines baggage handling

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. The more knowledge and skills employees possess, the more likely they are to make accurate and sound decisions.

training

represents a systematic effort by organizations to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge and behavior. >>Organizations spent $134.39 billion on employee learning and development in 2007, or $1,103 per employee.

variable ratio schedules

reward people after a varying number of exhibited behaviors.

operant conditioning

says that we learn by observing the link between our voluntary behavior and the consequences that follow it.

heuristics

simple, efficient, rules of thumb that allow us to make decisions more easily. we often use when confronted with situations of uncertainty that require a decision on our part

schedules of reinforcement

specific patterns that determine when a behavior will be reinforced

learning orientation

where building competence is deemed more important than demonstrating competence. Enjoy working on new kinds of tasks, even if they fail during their early experiences. View failure in positive terms—as a means of increasing knowledge and skills in the long run.

Decision- making problems

1)Limited Information ---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. ---Satisficing results when decision makers select the first acceptable alternative considered. 2)Faulty Perceptions ---Selective perception is the tendency for people to see their environment only as it affects them and as it is consistent with their expectations.

the modeling process

1. attentional processes- learner focuses attention on the critical behaviors exhibited by model 2. Retention processes- learner must remember the behaviors of the model once the model is no longer present 3. production process- learner must have the appropriate skill set and be able to reproduce the behaivor 4. reinforcement- the learner must view the model receiving reinforcement for the behavior and then receive it themselves

attribution process

1.Consensus: Did others act the same way under similar situations? 2.Distinctiveness: Does this person tend to act differently in other circumstances? 3.Consistency: Does this person always do this when performing this task? 4.An internal attribution will occur if there is low consensus, low distinctiveness, and high consistency. 5.An external attribution will occur if there is high consensus, high distinctiveness, and low consistency

faulty perceptions

>>>Projection bias is the belief that others think, feel, and act the same way they do. >>>Social identity theory holds that people identify themselves by the groups to which they belong and perceive and judge others by their group memberships. >>>Stereotype occurs when people make assumptions about others on the basis of their membership in a social group.

intuition

can be described as emotionally charged judgments that arise through quick, nonconscious, and holistic associations Intuitive decision making is perhaps never more important than it is during a crisis. A crisis situation is a change—whether sudden or evolving—that results in an urgent problem that must be addressed immediately.

tacit knowledge

is what employees can typically learn only through experience up to 90% of the knowledge contained in organizations occurs in tacit form

Fixed-interval schedule

is where workers are rewarded after a certain amount of time, and the length of time between reinforcement periods stays the same