Reinforcement theory B. F. Skinner in his book Beyond Freedom and Dignity said that thinkers should make fundamental changes in human behavior, and they couldn't bring these changes only with the help of physics or biology. He believes that we only acquire the technology of behavior. Centuries ago people were seeing themselves as a person who could feel himself better any other creatures in the world. But in today‟s world he is not able to understand himself. Although science have emerged vastly; but we are not able to compare anything like a science of human behavior with any other science in the world. As behaviorist B.F. Skinner brought up the Reinforcement Theory. The Reinforcement Theory is one of the oldest theories of motivation which describe behavior and how we act. This theory can called as „behaviorism‟ or „operant conditioning‟ that is taught in the today‟s world of psychology. In this article we are looking at B. F. Skinner Reinforcement Theory of Motivation and we go through all details in this theory. This is a review paper based on the theorist Skinner. About the Reinforcement Theory : Reinforcement theory describes specifically how people learn behavior and learn how to act. Also different instructorswho attempt to bring motivation for the students should make sure that these teachers will not give reward to all students at the same time. They should say to the students who are not acting well in the course of learning and they are not leading a correct way in this process. Teachers basically should bring awareness to the students and teach them in what they are able to gain positive reinforcement. Reinforcement , “is a term in operant conditioning and Behavior analysis for process of increasing the rate or probability of a behavior in the form of response by delivery either immediately or shortly after performing the behavior”.Reinforcement theory of motivation highlights the state of mind of each person, that is; his emotion and feeling. Reinforcement theory concentrates generally on changes which occur in each person when he or she goes through in the course of some actions or acting some behavior. So, based on Skinner: “the external environment of the organization must be designed effectively and positively so as to motivate the employee”. Reinforcement theory of Motivation is a powerful way to control the process of action and behavior in each person. This theory doesn‟t look at the reason for people‟s behavior.
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Reinforcement theory
B. F. Skinner in his book Beyond Freedom and Dignity said that thinkers should make fundamental changes in human behavior, and they couldn't bring these changes only with the help of physics or biology. He believes that we only acquire the technology of behavior. Centuries ago people were seeing themselves as a person who could feel himself better any other creatures in the world. But in today‟s world he is not able to understand himself. Although science have emerged vastly; but we are not able to compare anything like a science of human behavior with any other science in the world. As behaviorist B.F. Skinner brought up the Reinforcement Theory. The Reinforcement Theory is one of the oldest theories of motivation which describe behavior and how we act. This theory can called as „behaviorism‟ or „operant conditioning‟ that is taught in the today‟s world of psychology. In this article we are looking at B. F. Skinner Reinforcement Theory of Motivation and we go through all details in this theory. This is a review paper based on the theorist Skinner. About the Reinforcement Theory :
Reinforcement theory describes specifically how people learn behavior and learn how to act. Also different instructorswho attempt to bring motivation for the students should make sure that these teachers will not give reward to all students at the same time. They should say to the students who are not acting well in the course of learning and they are not leading a correct way in this process. Teachers basically should bring awareness to the students and teach them in what they are able to gain positive reinforcement.
Reinforcement , “is a term in operant conditioning and Behavior analysis for process of increasing the rate or probability of a behavior in the form of response by delivery either immediately or shortly after performing the behavior”.Reinforcement theory of motivation highlights the state of mind of each person, that is; his emotion and feeling. Reinforcement theory concentrates generally on changes which occur in each person when he or she goes through in the course of some actions or acting some behavior. So, based on Skinner: “the external environment of the organization must be designed effectively and positively so as to motivate the employee”. Reinforcement theory of Motivation is a powerful way to control the process of action and behavior in each person. This theory doesn‟t look at the reason for people‟s behavior.
Is the short reinforcement theory of motivation looks at the state of mind of each person. Reinforcement theory of motivation concentrates on:An individual ActionReinforcement theory applied in different studies such as: training of animals, growing up the child, also to motivateemployees. This theory highlights some features which help the person to shape his own behavior and action. In short,reinforcement theory states that stimuli can contribute for shaping behaviors. Reinforcement theory includes four approaches, these approaches are:
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Extinction
Punishment
3. Analysis
Positive reinforcement:
Is a student works well, do so much hard work and do some enthusiasm in his studies the teachers will give a reward to encourage and motivate him . This also can apply to employee who is leading his work well. As an example, In theclass the student brings a good mark so he or she will be awarded by the teacher. In this way they can motivate other students and have some benefits for the whole class. So this positive reinforcement means that if someone gives a positive response to something or do some positive action he or she should be rewarded positively. As an example if the
teacher praise the students for entering the class on time this one will have a positive effect on all the students which aresitting in the class and witnessing this behavior. Also means to adding of repetitive stimulus to increase a certain behavior or response . Another example if the boss gives reward for the employee who is making progress and acting well in the workplace so if he is faced with better performance this reward will be increase more and more so this is a positive reinforcement for each employee in the workplace. There are different types of positive reinforcement . These are such as : ATTENTION : a teacher can show his or her attention by:
• A Smile
• Pat on back standing
• To sit near the student
• Consider positive Points for the student
• To spend some activities with the student
• To give student different choices
• Don‟t criticize the student
• To concentrate on their positive behavior
Negative reinforcement:
As I explained how a positive reinforcement can happen in the context of class at a workplace a negative reinforcement also can happen in contrast. Both positive and negative reinforcement is able to increase an accepted and positive behavior. For example when a student comes late in class and after that the instructor won't let him in the classroom , in this case it is a negative reinforcement for other students. Negative reinforcement sometimes, wrongly considered as apunishment. Punishment is: “ the application of aversive stimuli in order to reduce the chance of being a behaviorrepeated”. Negative reinforcement is: “ the removal of aversive stimuli in order to increase the probability of being a behavior repeated”.Negative reinforcement is able to have positive effects on the behavior of others, like for creating a classroom that is safe for all the learners.
Punishment reinforcement
Punishment happens when an individual brings some harm to the organization and he or she did something wrong so in this case the boss or the teachers can punish the student or the employee. As an example, when in a company an employee's cause some loss for the company the company can reduce his salary or reduce his wages. Because he has made a big mistake and after that no one can make it right. The word punishment is, “usually confined to contingencies intentionally arranged by other people, who arrange them because the results are reinforcing to them. A person resorts to punishment
when he criticizes, ridicules, Blames, or physically attacks another in order to suppress unwanted behavior”
(Skinner 1972).
In short, Punishment is: “ designed to remove awkward, dangerous, or otherwise unwanted behavior from a repertoire on the assumption that a person who has been punishes is less likely to behave in the same way again”. It means to apply awkward outcomes to show awkward behaviors. As an example for a student who is breaking the rules of the school punishment can apply to him.Negative reinforcement and punishment most of the times are confusing for the reader. In this way I have brought some differences which differentiate negative reinforcement from punishment . Basically these two concepts are confusing . The first difference between punishment and negative reinforcement is that: “Punishment reduces the probability of an undesired behavior”. And “Negative reinforcement increase the probability of a desired behavior”.The second one is that: “ Punishment involves administering a negative consequence when an undesired behavior occurs”. And “Negative reinforcement entails removing a negative consequence when a desired behavior occurs”.
Negative Punishment:
“Negative punishment involves removing a pleasant stimulus other than the one maintaining the behavior in order to decrease the frequency of the behavior.” (M. Sundel & S. Sundel, 2005). I want to bring an example regarding this negative punishment I can say it can an employee in the workplace who is talking about unrelated matters to the other employees in the workplace and distracting them from working properly. So in this context other employees will ask him politely which be aware of his behavior. So the manager tells him that because he is distracting others and he continues with his behavior his wages will be reduces. Next way of negative punishment is that the manager order to remove his place and his desk and take it to some place with no other employee in an isolated room. So this reducing his wages and moving his desk to another place are some examples which considers and negative punishment. (M. Sundel & S. Sundel,
2005). Based on D. Hockenbury and S. Hockenbury (2010), negative punishment can also be named as „punishment ofremoval‟.In negative punishment the person who tries to punish should consider some point:
Acting rapidly:
According to Robins, Odendal and Roodt, acting rapidly means: “The closer the disciplinary action is to the actual offense, the more likely it is that the employee will associate the punishment with the offense or unwanted behavior and not the dispenser of the punishment” (Robbins, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2009).
Being regular:
Based on Robbins the punishment should be consistent from the manager side of the employee and in each individual as well. For example in the context of classroom if each student is coming late for the class he or she should be punished each time which she is coming late for the class and this punishment should happen regularly until she quit this awkward behavior. N any case if the teacher cannot punish the student consistently, his rules won't have the same effect and impact and the student may wonder or question the way the teachers punish him . (Robbins et al., 2009).Based on Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer and Vohs (2001), “because bad interactions are more powerful emotionally than good interactions, it is important to balance the good and bad by more frequently using positive
reinforcement rather than punishment. A good ratio is five enjoyable interactions to one disagreeable interaction”(Baumeister et al., 2001). The teacher should punish in private and admire in public. Private punishments are much better than public punishments. In public punishments the student may be embarrassed and it can cause negative impacts on the student (Hellriegel & Slocum Jr., 2007).
Negative Punishments:
It is very important to one who want to punish a person. A punishment should be effective. So I have listed four dangers of punishment
Punishment activates feelings:The person who is in charge of punishing someone should be more excited and satisfied rather than acting aggressive. This means that although he or she may be excited but should be careful of acting aggressively in front of the person who is going to be punished. These pointers may act blindly and they may lose their control over their behavior and when they will realize that it is already lost. So a person shouldn‟t abuse his or her place as a Punisher. In this case they can rise so much of hatred and sense of humiliation for the person who is punished. Are different cases the persons who went through severe punishments cannot concentrate on the studies and they cannot learn anything because they always remember the pain which they have got from punishment.
To repeat punishing can be challenging:Since Punisher‟s mood keeps changing with different situations so to punish effectively is very hard. Inconsistency and repetition ins punishment cannot be effective anymore. All punishments for all the students or employees should be equal to punish someone in one way and the other in different way can bring a different outcome especially for those who are in the same workplace or in the same class.
Judging the degree of severity is difficult:
A person who is punished can have different ideas , thoughts and Perceptions from a person who is punishing him. As an
example when a student is punished by a teacher he or she can feel much more humiliated beyond what the teacher may actually feel. Some circumstances can bring a feeling for revenge from the Punisher or psychological crises for the person who is punished.
Punishment may bring concealment for the punished:
Specifically in a classroom when the teacher applies punishment repeatedly to the students. Students mostly withdraw, and remain quiet and they have not communicated with cuter because they don‟t want to be punished more unnecessary.
Based on Booth-Butterfield (1996), for an effective punishment, the punishment should be:
Immediate.
Intense.
Unavoidable.
Consistent
Extinction reinforcement
Extinction means, “ absence of reinforcements”. In short it means, “ lowering the probability of undesired behavior by removing the reward for that kind of behavior”. As an example in the workplace is an employer repeatedly doing positive actions toward raising the level of the company but from other hand he won't see any reward so he will lose his desire of doing his work. This one also goes to the context of the classroom and for the students. Similarly while the employee is not able to help the organization, and from other side cause some loss he will be considered as extinct.
Disscussion and Implication
Different types of reinforcement:
Social Reinforcement
Token Reinforcement
Tangible Reinforcement
Activity Reinforcers
Social Reinforcement:
Social reinforcement is always considered as an effective reinforcement for the students or employees. For example when a manager or a teacher smile to their clients or students this action has a very positive effect on them . When they have a positive impact on them by using some words like thank you very much or well done. These are example of social reinforcement. So when they admire and praise the action which has done they are communicating socially with each other and it has a very positive impact on them.
Token Reinforcement:
As we can understand from the name token reinforcement are those stars tokens and cards which are given to the students for their positive behavior. For example a token like a card can be given to a student who studied well in one special exam and got the highest point. This act also encourages other students Aho be more enthusiastic and study more effectively.
Tangible Reinforcement:
Tangibles which are considers small gifts which are handled to the person for his good behavior or his good action and attitude. Tangibles can be certificates which had written their name on it.ISSN 2278-7690
Activity Reinforcers:
Activity reinforcers are those activities which will be given to the person as a reward and gift, or example a ticket for a swimming pool can be given to a person who is working in an office for his positive behavior. For student this activity reinforcement can be played on the ground for the teacher or playing computer games. There are different types of activities like going for a short trip with all the students in the class. It depends on the class and the students that which activity suits them more. So this kind of activity is a positive activity which can bring enjoyment along itself (Wagner 2010).
Choosing a reinforcement:
As you saw there are different kinds of reinforcement which can be suitable for a group and useless for the other groups. So for choosing the best reinforcer for a class or a group of people as well as a person reinforcer should have different values and individualistic features. There are some points which can help a person who wants to choose the best reinforcer. These points are as follows:
Observing:
For observing the student one should make sure which kind of activities they like and which kind of reinforcer matching his behavior.
Asking:
For realizing their interest one can ask and bring for them different choices and make them choose
among these possible choices.
Monitoring:
After choosing the specific reinforcer now the teacher or the person who in charge should make sure
that this reinforcer is suitable for them or another reinforce should apply to them.
Evaluating:
Do a formal preference assessment.
Delivery of the reinforcement:
For making positive reinforcement, an effective intervention can apply based on guidelines bellow:
The reinforcement needs to be repeatedly delivered, based on a planned reinforcement program.
The reinforcement should deliver quickly to the students to keep it from loosing its effect. And if there is any need should use verbal reinforcement to the students to tell him or her when he or she need another reinforcement.
If reinforce improves the teacher shouldn‟t wait for a perfect student for that specific reinforce. Whenever the teacher sees the improvement he or she should encourage the students and don‟t wait for a perfect student and perfect behavior.
The teacher shouldn‟t use reinforcer when he or she is feeling sorry for the student. If a student can not show improvement you should give him another chance for trying next time.
As much as you can use social reinforcement match to your other reinforcement activities. And use verbal reinforcements . You should be able to thank someone easily and encouraging their abilities if also they are not
perfect enough.
There shouldn't be any ambiguity in your social reinforcements. Everything should be clear and understandable for the students (Wagner 2010).
Each reinforcement should be appropriate for the person‟s age. You cannot expect a school boy to change his behavior by giving him gifts. This one is not effective enough. So any small change can het an award and
admiration.
5.Organization of Ideas
Reinforcement Theory ‘s Strengths and Weaknesses:
As a conclusion we shall mention the strength and weaknesses of this theory:
Strengths or Positive Points:
Find how to motivate
As we know Theory of motivation concentrates on internal needs and Reinforcement Theory focuses on external conditions and situations. Thus, this is much more easier for motivating a worker in the workplace by external factors like giving promotions or increasing the wages (Operant Conditioning, 2006).
Involve employees
To conduct some tests or performance for the students or employees. So in this way they always should be ready for the test and they should work properly with the highest potential (Redmond, 2010).
Weaknesses or Negative Points:
Difficulty in identifying rewards or punishmentsISSN 2278-7690
All people are not the same like each other and they have different abilities. A reinforcement which is very effective on some people may not be effective on others and shows a reverse effect and act poorly.
Hard to apply to complicated forms of behavior
All behaviors are not the same in the same situations or different situations so it's very hard to apply a reinforcement to a situation. So using the same reinforcement in the same station for different people can not be effective.
Imposes on free will
It's unethical if one who gives gifts and reward for changing behavior . This goes also for those who
are trying to control a person or a group of people by imposing reward
Importance of Job DesignMany of us assume the most important motivator at work is pay. Yet, studies point to a different factor as the major influence over worker motivation—job design. How a job
is designed has a major impact on employee motivation, job satisfaction, commitment to an organization, absenteeism, and turnover.
The question of how to properly design jobs so that employees are more productive and more satisfied has received attention from managers and researchers since the beginning of the 20th century. We will review major approaches to job design starting from its early history.
Scientific management proposed a number of ideas that have been influential in job design in the following years. An important idea was to minimize waste by identifying the most efficient method to perform the job. Using time–motion studies, management could determine how much time each task would require and plan the tasks so that the job could be performed as efficiently as possible. Therefore, standardized job performance methods were an important element of scientific management techniques. Each job would be carefully planned in advance, and employees would be paid to perform the tasks in the way specified by management.
Furthermore, job specialization was one of the major advances of this approach. Job specializationentails breaking down jobs into their simplest components and assigning them to employees so that each person would perform a select number of tasks in a repetitive manner. There are a number of advantages to job specialization. Breaking tasks into simple components and making them repetitive reduces the skill requirements of the jobs and decreases the effort and cost of staffing. Training times for simple, repetitive jobs tend to be shorter as well. On the other hand, from a motivational perspective, these jobs are boring and repetitive and therefore associated with negative outcomes such as absenteeism.
Job rotation involves moving employees from job to job at regular intervals. When employees periodically move to different jobs, the monotonous aspects of job specialization can be relieved. For example, Maids International Inc., a company that provides cleaning services to households and businesses, utilizes job rotation so that maids cleaning the kitchen in one house would clean the bedroom in a different one. [5] Using this technique, among others, the company is able to reduce its turnover level. In a supermarket study, cashiers were rotated to work in different departments. As a result of the rotation, employees’ stress levels were reduced, as measured by their blood pressure. Moreover, they experienced less pain in their neck and shoulders. [6]
Job rotation has a number of advantages for organizations. It is an effective way for employees to acquire new skills and in turn for organizations to increase the overall skill level of their employees. [7] When workers move to different positions, they are cross-trained to perform different tasks, thereby increasing the flexibility of managers to assign employees to different parts of the organization when needed. In addition, job rotation is a way to transfer knowledge between departments. [8] Rotation may also have the benefit of reducing employee boredom, depending on the nature of the jobs the employee is performing at a given time. From the employee standpoint, rotation is a benefit, because they acquire new skills that keep them marketable in the long run.Is rotation used only at lower levels of an organization? Anecdotal evidence suggests that companies successfully rotate high-level employees to train managers and increase innovation in the company. For example, Nokia uses rotation at all levels, such as assigning lawyers to act as country managers or moving network engineers to handset design. This approach is thought to bring a fresh perspective to old problems. [9] Wipro Ltd., India’s information technology giant that employs about 80,000 workers, uses a 3-year plan to groom future leaders of the company by rotating them through different jobs. [10]
Job enlargement refers to expanding the tasks performed by employees to add more variety. By giving employees several different tasks to be performed, as opposed to limiting their
activities to a small number of tasks, organizations hope to reduce boredom and monotony as well as utilize human resources more effectively. Job enlargement may have similar benefits to job rotation, because it may also involve teaching employees multiple tasks. Research indicates that when jobs are enlarged, employees view themselves as being capable of performing a broader set of tasks. [11] There is some evidence that job enlargement is beneficial, because it is positively related to employee satisfaction and higher quality customer services, and it increases the chances of catching mistakes. [12] At the same time, the effects of job enlargement may depend on the type of enlargement. For example, job enlargement consisting of adding tasks that are very simple in nature had negative consequences on employee satisfaction with the job and resulted in fewer errors being caught. Alternatively, giving employees more tasks that require them to be knowledgeable in different areas seemed to have more positive effects. [13]
Job enrichment is a job redesign technique that allows workers more control over how they perform their own tasks. This approach allows employees to take on more responsibility. As an alternative to job specialization, companies using job enrichment may experience positive outcomes, such as reduced turnover, increased productivity, and reduced absences. [14] This may be because employees who have the authority and responsibility over their work can be more efficient, eliminate unnecessary tasks, take shortcuts, and increase their overall performance. At the same time, there is evidence that job enrichment may sometimes cause dissatisfaction among certain employees. [15] The reason may be that employees who are given additional autonomy and responsibility may expect greater levels of pay or other types of compensation, and if this expectation is not met they may feel frustrated. One more thing to remember is that job enrichment is not suitable for everyone. [16] Not all employees desire to have control over how they work, and if they do not have this desire, they may become frustrated with an enriched job.
Job Characteristics ModelThe job characteristics model is one of the most influential attempts to design jobs with increased motivational properties. [17]Proposed by Hackman and Oldham, the model describes five core job dimensions leading to three critical psychological states, resulting in work-related outcomes.Figure 6.3
The Job Characteristics Model has five core job dimensions.
Source: Adapted from Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 159–170.
Skill variety refers to the extent to which the job requires a person to utilize multiple high-level skills. A car wash employee whose job consists of directing customers into the automated car wash demonstrates low levels of skill variety, whereas a car wash employee who acts as a cashier, maintains carwash equipment, and manages the inventory of chemicals demonstrates high skill variety.Task identity refers to the degree to which a person is in charge of completing an identifiable piece of work from start to finish. A Web designer who designs parts of a Web site will have low task identity, because the work blends in with other Web designers’ work; in the end it will be hard for any one person to claim responsibility for the final output. The Web master who designs an entire Web site will have high task identity.Task significance refers to whether a person’s job substantially affects other people’s work, health, or well-being. A janitor who cleans the floors at an office building may find the job low in significance, thinking it is not a very important job. However, janitors cleaning the floors at a hospital may see their role as essential in helping patients get better. When they feel that their
tasks are significant, employees tend to feel that they are making an impact on their environment, and their feelings of self-worth are boosted.[18]
Autonomy is the degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform his or her tasks. As an example, an instructor who is required to follow a predetermined textbook, covering a given list of topics using a specified list of classroom activities, has low autonomy. On the other hand, an instructor who is free to choose the textbook, design the course content, and use any relevant materials when delivering lectures has higher levels of autonomy. Autonomy increases motivation at work, but it also has other benefits. Giving employees autonomy at work is a key to individual as well as company success, because autonomous employees are free to choose how to do their jobs and therefore can be more effective. They are also less likely to adopt a “this is not my job” approach to their work environment and instead be proactive (do what needs to be done without waiting to be told what to do) and creative. [19] The consequence of this resourcefulness can be higher company performance. For example, a Cornell University study shows that small businesses that gave employees autonomy grew four times more than those that did not. [20] Giving employees autonomy is also a great way to train them on the job. For example, Gucci’s CEO Robert Polet points to the level of autonomy he was given while working at Unilever PLC as a key to his development of leadership talents. [21] Autonomy can arise from workplace features, such as telecommuting, company structure, organizational climate, and leadership style. [22]
Feedback refers to the degree to which people learn how effective they are being at work. Feedback at work may come from other people, such as supervisors, peers, subordinates, and customers, or it may come from the job itself. A salesperson who gives presentations to potential clients but is not informed of the clients’ decisions, has low feedback at work. If this person receives notification that a sale was made based on the presentation, feedback will be high.The relationship between feedback and job performance is more controversial. In other words, the mere presence of feedback is not sufficient for employees to feel motivated to perform better. In fact, a review of this literature shows that in about one-third of the cases, feedback was detrimental to performance. [23] In addition to whether feedback is present, the sign of feedback (positive or negative), whether the person is ready to receive the feedback, and the manner in which feedback was given will all determine whether employees feel motivated or demotivated as a result of feedback
Critical psychological states[edit]
The five core job dimensions listed above result in three different psychological states.
Experienced meaningfulness of the work: The extent to which people believe that their job is meaningful, and that their work is valued and appreciated (comes from core dimensions 1-3).
Experienced responsibility for the outcomes of work: The extent to which people feel accountable for the results of their work, and for the outcomes they have produced (comes from core dimension 4).
Knowledge of the actual results of the work activity: The extent to which people know how well they are doing (comes from core dimension 5
EmpowermentOne of the contemporary approaches to motivating employees through job design is empowerment. The concept of empowerment extends the idea of autonomy. Empowerment may be defined as the removal of conditions that make a person powerless. [28] The idea behind empowerment is that employees have the ability to make decisions and perform their jobs effectively if management removes certain barriers. Thus, instead of dictating roles, companies should create an environment where employees thrive, feel motivated, and have discretion to make decisions about the content and context of their jobs. Employees who feel empowered believe that their work is meaningful. They tend to feel that they are capable of performing their jobs effectively, have the ability to influence how the company operates, and can
perform their jobs in any way they see fit, without close supervision and other interference. These liberties enable employees to feel powerful. [29] In cases of very high levels of empowerment, employees decide what tasks to perform and how to perform them, in a sense managing themselves.
Job rotation[edit]See also: Job rotation
Job rotation is a job design method which is able to enhance motivation, develop workers' outlook, increase productivity, improve the organization's performance on various levels by its multi-skilled workers, and provides new opportunities to improve the attitude, thought, capabilities and skills of workers.[5] Job rotation is also process by which employees laterally mobilize and serve their tasks in different organizational levels; when an individual experiences different posts and responsibilities in an organization, ability increases to evaluate his capabilities in the organization.[6]
Job enlargement[edit]See also: Job enlargement
Hulin and Blood (1968)[7] define Job enlargement as the process of allowing individual workers to determine their own pace (within limits), to serve as their own inspectors by giving them responsibility for quality control, to repair their own mistakes, to be responsible for their own machine set-up and repair, and to attain choice of method. Frederick Herzberg [8] referred to the addition of interrelated tasks as 'horizontal job loading'.
Job enrichment[edit]See also: Job enrichment
Job enrichment increases the employees’ autonomy over the planning and execution of their own work. Job enrichment has the same motivational advantages of job enlargement, however it has the added benefit of granting workers autonomy. Frederick Herzberg [9] viewed job enrichment as 'vertical job loading' because it also includes tasks formerly performed by someone at a higher level where planning and control are involved.
Under scientific management people would be directed by reason and the problems of industrial unrest would be appropriately (i.e., scientifically) addressed. This philosophy is oriented toward the maximum gains possible to employees. Managers would guarantee that their subordinates would have access to the maximum of economic gains by means of rationalized processes. Organizations were portrayed as rationalized sites, designed and managed according to a rule of rationality imported from the world of technique.[10]
Human Relations School[edit]See also: Human relations movement
The Human Relations School takes the view that businesses are social systems in which psychological and emotional factors have a significant influence on productivity. The common elements in human relations theory are the beliefs that
Performance can be improved by good human relations Managers should consult employees in matters that affect staff Leaders should be democratic rather than authoritarian
Employees are motivated by social and psychological rewards and are not just "economic animals"
The work group plays an important part in influencing performance[11]
Socio-technical systems[edit]See also: Sociotechnical systems
Socio-technical systems aims on jointly optimizing the operation of the social and technical system; the good or service would then be efficiently produced and psychological needs of the workers fulfilled. Embedded in Socio-technical Systems are motivational assumptions, such as intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.[12]
Work reform[edit]
Work reform states about the workplace relation and the changes made which are more suitable to management and employee to encourage increased workforce participation.
Motivational work design[edit]
The psychological literature on employee motivation contains considerable evidence that job design can influence satisfaction, motivation and job performance. It influences them primarily because it affects the relationship between the employee's expectancy that increased performance will lead to rewards and the preference of different rewards for the individual.[13]
Hackman and Oldman developed the theory that a workplace can be redesigned to greater improve their core job characteristics. Their overall concept consists of:
Making larger work units by combining smaller, more specialized tasks. Mandating worker(s) to be responsible via having direct contact with clients. Having employee evaluations done frequently in order to provide feedback for learning. Allowing workers to be responsible for their job by giving them authority and control.[1
The trait theory The trait model of leadership is based on the characteristics of many leaders - both successful and unsuccessful - and is used to predict leadership effectiveness. The resulting lists of traits are then compared to those of potential leaders to assess their likelihood of success or failure.
Scholars taking the trait approach attempted to identify physiological (appearance, height, and weight), demographic (age, education and socioeconomic background), personality, self-confidence, and aggressiveness), intellective (intelligence, decisiveness, judgment, and knowledge), task-related (achievement drive, initiative, and persistence), and social characteristics (sociability and cooperativeness) with leader emergence and leader effectiveness.
Successful leaders definitely have interests, abilities, and personality traits that are different from those of the less effective leaders. Through many researches conducted in the last three decades of the 20th century, a set of core traits of successful leaders have been identified. These traits are not responsible solely to identify whether a person will be a successful leader or not, but they are essentially seen as preconditions that endow people with leadership potential.
Among the core traits identified are:
Achievement drive: High level of effort, high levels of ambition, energy and initiative Leadership motivation: an intense desire to lead others to reach shared goals Honesty and integrity: trustworthy, reliable, and open Self-confidence: Belief in one’s self, ideas, and ability Cognitive ability: Capable of exercising good judgment, strong analytical abilities, and conceptually skilled Knowledge of business: Knowledge of industry and other technical matters Emotional Maturity: well adjusted, does not suffer from severe psychological disorders. Others: charisma, creativity and flexibility
It is naturally pleasing theory. It is valid as lot of research has validated the foundation and basis of the theory. It serves as a yardstick against which the leadership traits of an individual can be assessed. It gives a detailed knowledge and understanding of the leader element in the leadership process.
Limitations of The Trait Theory
There is bound to be some subjective judgment in determining who is regarded as a ‘good’ or ‘successful’ leader
The list of possible traits tends to be very long. More than 100 different traits of successful leaders in various leadership positions have been identified. These descriptions are simply generalities.
There is also a disagreement over which traits are the most important for an effective leader The model attempts to relate physical traits such as, height and weight, to effective leadership. Most of
these factors relate to situational factors. For example, a minimum weight and height might be necessary to perform the tasks efficiently in a military leadership position. In business organizations, these are not the requirements to be an effective leader.
The theory is very complex
Implications of Trait TheoryThe trait theory gives constructive information about leadership. It can be applied by people at all levels in all types of organizations. Managers can utilize the information from the theory to evaluate their position in the organization and to assess how their position can be made stronger in the organization. They can get an in-depth understanding of their identity and the way they will affect others in the organization. This theory makes the manager aware of their strengths and weaknesses and thus they get an understanding of how they can develop their leadership qualities.
ConclusionThe traits approach gives rise to questions: whether leaders are born or made; and whether leadership is an art or science. However, these are not mutually exclusive alternatives. Leadership may be something of an art; it still requires the application of special skills and techniques. Even if there are certain inborn qualities that make one a good leader, these natural talents need encouragement and development. A person is not born with self-confidence. Self-confidence is developed, honesty and integrity are a matter of personal choice, motivation to lead comes from within the individual, and the knowledge of business can be acquired. While cognitive ability has its origin partly in genes, it still needs to be developed. None of these ingredients are acquired overnight.
Equity theory is a theory that attempts to explain relational satisfaction in terms of perceptions of
fair/unfair distributions of resources within interpersonal relationships. Considered one of the justice
theories, equity theory was first developed in 1963 by J. Stacy Adams, a workplace andbehavioral
psychologist, who asserted that employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs that they
bring to a job and the outcomes that they receive from it against the perceived inputs and outcomes
of others (Adams, 1965). The belief is that people value fair treatment which causes them to be
motivated to keep the fairness maintained within the relationships of their co-workers and the
organization. The structure of equity in the workplace is based on the ratio of inputs to outcomes.
Inputs are the contributions made by the employee for the organization.