BU 288 Organizational Behaviour I Class 4 : Groups and Teamwork

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BU 288 - Organizational Behaviour I Class 4
Groups and Teamwork

• October 5, 2004

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Agenda

• Announcements
• Questions Re Text Chapters 1-4, 7
• Case Team Ontario
• Next Session

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Announcements

• First Mid-Term Exam
• Oct. 16, 9-11 am with room(s) TBA.
• 100 multiple choice questions
• Based on the text chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 7

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Proctoring of Mid-terms

• The decision to allow separate proctoring of
  mid-terms is at the discretion of the individual
  instructor.
• I am willing to deal with the added complexity on
  the following conditions
• There must be a legitimate reason and I have the
  sole opinion of what is legitimate. If separate
  proctoring can be avoided, then it must.
• Students are responsible to have their proctor
  contact me to make arrangements for receiving and
  returning the exam.
• Proctors are responsible for ensuring that exam
  is written as near to the exam time and date as
  possible.
• Proctors will ensure the exam is delivered by
  them in person to Sandra Castellanos on Monday,
  Oct. 18 in a sealed envelope, or mailed to me
  directly at my home address
• Exams lost in the mail or in transit are
  equivalent to a missed exam.

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Questions on Textbook Readings

• Chapter 1 Introduction to OB
• Chapter 2 Personality and Learning
• Chapter 3 Perception, Attribution, and Judgment
  of Others
• Chapter 4 Values, Attitudes and Work Behaviours
• Chapter 7 Groups and Teamwork

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Operant Learning Theory

• The subject learns to operate on the environment
  to achieve certain consequences.
• Operantly learned behaviour is controlled by the
  consequences that follow it.
• It is the connection between the behaviour and
  the consequence that is learned.

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Increasing the Probability of Behaviour

• One of the most important consequences that
  influences behaviour is reinforcement.
• Reinforcement is the process by which stimuli
  strengthen behaviours.
• A reinforcer is a stimulus that follows some
  behaviour and increases or maintains the
  probability of that behaviour.

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Positive Reinforcement

• The application or addition of a stimulus that
  increases or maintains the probability of some
  behaviour.
• The stimulus is the positive reinforcer.
• The reinforcer is dependent or contingent on the
  occurrence of some desired behaviour.

Rat learns to pull lever (desired behaviour) in
order to obtain a food pellet (stimulus, or
positive reinforcement)
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Negative Reinforcement

• The removal of a stimulus from a situation that,
  in turn, increases or maintains the probability
  of some behaviour.
• Negative reinforcement occurs when a response
  prevents some event or stimulus from occurring.
• The removed or prevented stimulus is a negative
  reinforcer.

Rat learns to pull lever (desired behaviour) in
order to remove the electric shock (stimulus, or
negative reinforcement)
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Organizational Errors Involving Reinforcement

• Rewards fail to serve as reinforcers when they
  are not made contingent on some specific desired
  behaviour.
• Overtime on the basis of seniority rather than
  performance or some other desired behaviour
• Organizations often fail to appreciate individual
  differences in preferences for reinforcers.
• Time off work for a workaholic

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Organizational Errors Involving Reinforcement
(continued)

• Managers often neglect important sources of
  reinforcement such as those administered by
  coworkers or intrinsic to the job.
• Bad behaviours reinforced by encouragement of
  co-workers
• An important source of reinforcement that
  managers often ignore is positive feedback that
  accompanies desired behaviour or good
  performance.
• Simple praise

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Reinforcement Strategies

• For fast acquisition of some response, continuous
  and immediate reinforcement should be used.
• Behaviour tends to be persistent when it is
  learned under conditions of partial and delayed
  reinforcement.
• Managers have to tailor reinforcement strategies
  to the needs of the situation.

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Summary of Reinforcement Strategies and their
Effects
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Reducing the Probability of Behaviour

• Some behaviours are detrimental to the operation
  of an organization and we want to stop them from
  occurring.
• There are two strategies that can reduce the
  probability of learned behaviour
• Extinction
• Punishment

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Extinction

• The gradual dissipation of behaviour following
  the termination of reinforcement.
• If the behaviour is not reinforced, it will
  gradually dissipate or be extinguished.
• Extinction works best when coupled with the
  reinforcement of some desired substitute
  behaviour.

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Punishment

• The application of an aversive stimulus following
  some behaviour designed to decrease the
  probability of that behaviour.
• A nasty stimulus is applied after some
  undesirable behaviour in order to decrease the
  probability of that behaviour.

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Summary of Learning Effects
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Beliefs, Values, Attitudes, and Behaviours

• Beliefs Values
• ? Attitudes
• ? Behaviours

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Cognitive Dissonance

• Tension created when thoughts and knowledge
  people have about their own beliefs, values, or
  behaviours are inconsistent or discordant.
• In dissonance theory, it is believed possible to
  change attitudes by changing behaviours first
  (teaching new behaviours)

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5 Stages of Team Formation
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
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B R E A K !
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Team Ontario
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Questions to Consider in Your Groups

• What goals should Coach Bowker have for Team
  Ontario at the Canada Winter Games? Do you agree
  with his statement that this is about building
  more than building hockey players?
• What are the challenges facing coach Bowker and
  the other coaches as they prepare Team Ontario to
  compete in the Canada Winter Games?
• What alternatives seem reasonable? Which would
  you recommend and how would you implement these?
• What values and personality characteristics seem
  to describe Coach Bowker and the other members of
  Team Ontario? Do you think these attributes will
  enable them to be successful in their careers
  after hockey?
• What are the attitudes and skills that can be
  learned in team sport which help prepare us for
  life and for a career? Are there attitudes
  learned in sport that may prove troublesome later
  in life?
• What lessons from managing a team in sport may be
  particularly useful in building and developing
  teams in business?
• What strategies have other successful coaches
  used.

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Next Class

• Readings Textbook, Chapter 11 Decision Making
• CASE Carter Racing