Influences on Employee Behavior

Influences on Employee Behavior Chapter 2 Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Session Objectives • Identify the major factors influencing behavior. • Define motivation. • Describe main approaches to understanding motivation. Werner & DeSimone (2006)

A Major Purpose of Human Resource Development • To change employee behavior through training and other incentives Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Model of Employee Behavior • Forces that influence behavior: • External to the employee: • External environment (economic conditions, laws and regulations, etc.) • Work environment (supervision, organization, coworkers, outcomes of performance) • Within the employee: • Motivation, attitudes, knowledge/skills/abilities (KSAs) Werner & DeSimone (2006)

The External Environment Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Factors in the External Environment • Economic conditions • Technological changes • Labor market conditions • Laws and regulations • Labor unions Source: Heneman, Schwab, Fossum & Dyer (1989) Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Factors in the Work Environment • Outcomes • Supervision and leadership • Organization • Coworkers Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Factor Issues Outcomes Types Supervision Leadership Organization Reward Structure Organizational Culture Coworkers Norms Group Dynamics Teamwork Control of Outcomes Influences on Employee Behavior Effect on Motivation Performance Expectations Job Design Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Outcomes Can Influence Employee Behavior • Personal outcomes • Organizational outcomes • 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. Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Supervisor Characteristics • Leadership • Performance expectations (Pygmalion effect) • Evaluation of efforts Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Organizational Influences • Reward structure • Organizational culture • Job design Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Coworker Influence • Norms • Group dynamics • Teamwork • Control over outcomes Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Motivation • Psychological processes that cause the arousal, direction, and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal-directed Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Motivation Characteristics • Pertains to voluntary behavior • Focuses on processes affecting behavior such as: • Energizing of effort • Direction of effort • Persistence of effort • An individual phenomenon Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Energizing Effort • The generation or mobilization of effort Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Direction of Effort • Applying effort to one behavior over another Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Persistence • Continuing (or ceasing) to perform a behavior Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Explanations of Work Motivation • Need-based • Cognitive-based • Noncognitive-based Werner & DeSimone (2006)

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-Based Theories Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Need Activation-Need Satisfaction Process Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Self-Actualization Needs Esteem Needs Belonging & Love Needs Safety Needs Survival Needs Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Cognitive Theories • Expectancy theory • Goal-setting theory • Social learning theory • Equity theory Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Expectancy Theory • Motivation is viewed as a conscious choice • People put their efforts into actions they can perform to achieve desired outcomes • Three key elements: • Expectancy – expect effort to result in success • Instrumentality – performance results in reward • Valence – value individual puts on outcome Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Expectancy Theory Werner & DeSimone (2006)

In Other Words… • 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 Werner & DeSimone (2006)

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 Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Social Learning Theory • Self-efficacy – judgment of what you think you can do with the skills you have • Major prediction of the theory is that expectations determine: • Whether a behavior will be performed • How much effort will be expended • How long you will perform the behavior Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Self-Efficacy and Effort Werner & DeSimone (2006)

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 Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Equity Theory Werner & DeSimone (2006)

A Noncognitive Theory • Reinforcement theory • e.g., behavior modification Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Complexity of Behavior Werner & DeSimone (2006)

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 Werner & DeSimone (2006)

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? Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Other Internal Factors That Influence Employee Behavior • Motivation • Attitudes • Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Wagner-Hollenbeck Model of Motivation and Performance By permission: Wagner III and Hollenbeck, 1995 Werner & DeSimone (2006)

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? Werner & DeSimone (2006)

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 Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Bloom Cognitive Psychomotor Affective HRD Knowledge Skills/Abilities Attitudes Bloom’s Taxonomy Werner & DeSimone (2006)

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 Werner & DeSimone (2006)

Influences on Employee Behavior