gr8 content
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Learning and Decision MakingCopyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning and
Decision Making
Chapter 8
Learning Defined
Permanent changes in an employee’s knowledge or skill that result from experience
Employees learn two types of knowledge:
Explicit - easy to communicate and teach
Tacit - more difficult to communicate; gained with experience
8-*
Is the problem recognized? Has it been dealt with before?
Programmed Decisions
Nonprogrammed Decisions
Limited information
Faulty perceptions
Faulty attributions
Confirming Pages
241C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
primarily the consequences of actions that drive behavior. This entire process of reinforcement is a continuous cycle, and the repetition of behaviors is strengthened to the degree that reinforce- ment continues to occur. There are four specific consequences typically used by organizations to modify employee behavior, known as the contingencies of reinforcement . 23 Figure 8-2 sum- marizes these contingencies. It’s important to separate them according to what they’re designed to do, namely, increase desired behaviors or decrease unwanted behaviors.
Two contingencies of reinforcement are used to increase desired behaviors. Positive reinforcement occurs when a positive outcome follows a desired behavior. It’s perhaps the most common type of reinforcement and the type we think of when an employee receives some type of “reward.” Increased pay, promotions, praise from a manager or coworkers, and public recogni- tion would all be considered positive reinforcement when given as a result of an employee exhib- iting desired behaviors. For positive reinforcement to be successful, employees need to see a direct link between their behaviors and desired outcomes (see Chapter 6 on Motivation for more discussion of such issues). If the consequences aren’t realized until long after the specific behav- iors, then the odds that employees will link the two are minimized. Negative reinforcement occurs when an unwanted outcome is removed following a desired behavior. Have you ever performed a task for the specific reason of not getting yelled at? If so, you learned to perform certain behaviors through the use of negative reinforcement. Perhaps there are some tasks your job requires that you don’t enjoy. If your manager removes these responsibilities specifically because you perform well at another aspect of your job, then this could also be seen as negative reinforcement. It’s important to remember that even though the word “negative” has a sour con- notation to it, it’s designed to increase desired behaviors.
The next two contingencies of reinforcement are designed to decrease undesired behaviors. Punishment occurs when an unwanted outcome follows an unwanted behavior. Punishment is exactly what it sounds like. In other words, employees are given something they don’t like as a result of performing behaviors that the organization doesn’t like. Sus- pending an employee for showing up to work late, assigning job tasks generally seen as demeaning for not following safety procedures, or even firing an employee for gross mis- conduct are all examples of punish- ment. Extinction occurs when there is the removal of a consequence fol- lowing an unwanted behavior. The use of extinction to reinforce behav- ior can be purposeful or accidental. Perhaps employees receive attention
Wanted outcome
Positive reinforcement, like public recognition, both encourages employees and helps ensure that desirable behaviors will be imitated and repeated.
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242 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
from coworkers when they act in ways that are somewhat childish at work. Finding a way to remove the attention would be a purposeful act of extinction. Similarly though, perhaps employ- ees work late every now and then to finish up job tasks when work gets busy, but their manager stops acknowledging that hard work. Desired behavior that’s not reinforced will diminish over time. In this way, a manager who does nothing to reinforce good behavior is actually decreasing the odds that it will be repeated!
In general, positive reinforcement and extinction should be the most common forms of rein- forcement used by managers to create learning among their employees. Positive reinforcement doesn’t have to be in the form of material rewards to be effective. There are many ways for man- agers to encourage wanted behaviors. Offering praise, providing feedback, public recognition, and small celebrations are all ways to encourage employees and increase the chances they will continue to exhibit desired behaviors. At the same time, extinction is an effective way to stop unwanted behaviors. Both of these contingencies deliver their intended results, but perhaps more importantly, they do so without creating feelings of animosity and conflict. Although punishment and negative reinforcement will work, they tend to bring other, detrimental consequences along with them.
Whereas the type of reinforcement used to modify behavior is important, research also shows that the timing of reinforcement is equally important. 24 Therefore, it’s important to examine the timing of when the contingencies are applied, referred to as schedules of reinforcement . Table 8-2 provides a summary of the five schedules of reinforcement. Continuous reinforce- ment is the simplest schedule and happens when a specific consequence follows each and every occurrence of a desired behavior. New learning is acquired most rapidly under a continuous schedule. 25 For most jobs, continuous reinforcement is impractical. As a manager, can you imag- ine providing positive reinforcement every time someone exhibits a desired behavior? It’s a good thing that research also shows that under many circumstances, continuous reinforcement might be considered the least long lasting, because as soon as the consequence stops, the desired behav- ior stops along with it. 26 Once a behavior has been acquired, some form of intermittent schedul- ing is more effective. 27
The other four schedules differ in terms of their variability and the basis of the consequences. Two schedules are interval based; that is, they distribute reinforcement based on the amount of time that passes. A fixed interval schedule is probably the single most common form of rein- forcement schedule. With this schedule, workers are rewarded after a certain amount of time, and the length of time between reinforcement periods stays the same. Every time employees get a paycheck after a predetermined period of time, they’re being reinforced on a fixed inter- val schedule. Variable interval schedules are designed to reinforce behavior at more random points in time. A supervisor walking around at different points of time every day is a good example of a variable interval schedule. If that supervisor walked around at the same exact
TABLE 8-2 Schedules of Reinforcement
REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULE
Continuous Every desired behavior High, but difficult to maintain Praise
Fixed Interval Fixed time periods Average Paycheck
Variable Interval Variable time periods Moderately high Supervisor walk-by
Fixed Ratio Fixed number of desired behaviors
High Piece-rate pay
Very high Commission pay
Confirming Pages
245C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
For behavioral modeling to occur successfully, a number of processes have to take place. These steps are shown in Figure 8-3 . First, the learner must focus attention on an appropriate model and accurately perceive the critical behavior the model exhibits. That model might be a supervisor, a coworker, or even a subordinate. Some organizations go out of their way to sup- ply role models for newcomers or inexperienced workers to watch and learn from. For instance, BASF, the German chemical giant, rewards and encourages older workers to model behavior and share their knowledge. In this way, not only does explicit knowledge get passed on but also tacit knowledge. BASF CFO Kurt Bock says, “For the engineers, transferring knowledge to their successors is easier said than done.” 32 In fact, because tacit knowledge is so difficult to communicate, modeling might be the single best way to acquire it. For that reason, modeling is a continual process that is used at all levels of many organizations. Ursula Burns’s ascent to CEO of Xerox was carefully controlled as she was allowed to closely observe and model former CEO Anne Mulcahy for a number of years before taking control. 33 Needless to say, choosing a good model is important, and not all models are good ones. There is a great deal of evidence that supports the notion that employees will learn to behave unethically when in the presence of oth- ers who model that same behavior. 34 Salomon Brothers, the New York–based investment bank, learned this lesson the hard way when employees began to model the unethical behaviors of their managers and leaders. 35
Second, the learner needs to remember exactly what the model’s behavior was and how they did it. This step is very difficult when watching experts perform their job, because so much of what they do remains unspoken and can occur at a rapid pace. Third, the learner must undertake production processes, or actually be able to reproduce what the model did. Not only must the learner have the requisite knowledge and physical skills to be able to perform the task; now he or she must translate what’s been observed into action. Do you remember the first time
FIGURE 8-3 The Modeling Process
Learner focuses
exhibited by the model
Learner must remember the behaviors of the model once the
model is no longer present
Retention Processes
able to reproduce the
receiving reinforcement for the behavior and
then receive it themselves
Source: Adapted from H.M. Weiss, “Learning Theory and Industrial and Organizational Psychology,” in Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, eds. M.D. Dunnette and L.M. Hough. (Consulting Psychologists Press: Palo Alto, CA, 1990), pp. 75–169.
Ursula Burns was provided an unusual opportunity to learn by observation and behavioral modeling before becoming CEO of Xerox. She essentially co-led with her predeces- sor for two years to gain insider experience before taking the helm.
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248 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Programmed Decisions Nonprogrammed Decisions (using rational decision-making model)
Experts have the ability to recognize patterns and situations that novices don't
Identify the problem
before?
outcome?
outcome?
Evaluate the alternatives against
Implement appropriate solution
FIGURE 8-4 Programmed and Nonprogrammed Decisions
To experts, programmed decisions sometimes comes across as intuition or a “gut feeling.” Intuition can be described as emotionally charged judgments that arise through quick, non- conscious, and holistic associations. 41 There is almost unanimous consent among researchers that intuition is largely a function of learning—tacit knowledge gained through reinforcement, observation, and experience allow a decision maker to decide more quickly and confidently. 42 Because of their tacit knowledge, experts sometimes cannot put into words why they know that a
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254 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
FAULTY ATTRIBUTIONS. Another category of decision-making problems centers on how we explain the actions and events that occur around us. Research on attributions suggests that when people witness a behavior or outcome, they make a judgment about whether it was internally or externally caused. For example, when a coworker of yours named Joe shows up late to work and misses an important group presentation, you’ll almost certainly make a judgment about why that happened. You might attribute Joe’s outcome to internal factors—for example, suggesting that he is lazy or has a poor work ethic. Or you might attribute Joe’s outcome to external factors—for example, suggesting that there was unusually bad traffic that day or that other factors prevented him from arriving on time.
The fundamental attribution error argues that people have a tendency to judge others’ behaviors as due to internal factors. 60 This error suggests that you would likely judge Joe as hav- ing low motivation, poor organizational skills, or some other negative internal attribute. What if you yourself had showed up late? It turns out that we’re less harsh when judging ourselves. The self-serving bias occurs when we attribute our own failures to external factors and our own suc- cesses to internal factors. Interestingly, evidence suggests that attributions across cultures don’t always work the same way; see our OB Internationally feature for more discussion of this issue.
One model of attribution processes suggests that when people have a level of familiarity with the person being judged, they’ll use a more detailed decision framework. This model is illus- trated in Figure 8-5 . 61 To return to our previous example, if we want to explore why Joe arrived late to work, we can ask three kinds of questions:
Consensus: Did others act the same way under similar situations? In other words, did others arrive late on the same day?
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?
Consistency: Does this person always do this when performing this task? In other words, has Joe arrived late for work before?
The way in which these questions are answered will determine if an internal or external attri- bution is made. An internal attribution, such as laziness or low motivation for Joe, will occur if
Behavior is observed
attitudes are to blame
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257C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
8.6 How does learning affect job performance and organi zational commitment?
Decision-Making Problems Limited Information Faulty Perceptions Faulty Attributions Escalation of Commitment
Reinforcement Observation Goal Orientation
Explicit Knowledge
Tacit Knowledge
FIGURE 8-6 Why Do Some Employees Learn to Make Decisions Better Than Others?
performance focuses on explicit knowledge, which is more practical to measure. It’s difficult to measure tacit knowledge because of its unspoken nature, but clearly such knowledge is relevant to task performance. Learning seems less relevant to citizenship behavior and counterproduc- tive behavior however, given that those behaviors are often less dependent on knowledge and expertise.
Figure 8-7 also reveals that learning is only weakly related to organizational commitment. 71
In general, having higher levels of job knowledge is associated with slight increases in emotional attachment to the firm. It’s true that companies that have a reputation as organizations that value learning tend to receive higher-quality applicants for jobs. 72 However, there’s an important dis- tinction between organizations that offer learning opportunities and employees who take advan- tage of those opportunities to actually gain knowledge. Moreover, it may be that employees with higher levels of expertise become more highly valued commodities on the job market, thereby reducing their levels of continuance commitment.
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258 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
APPLICATION: TRAINING
How can organizations improve learning in an effort to boost employee expertise and, ultimately, improve decision making? One approach is to rely on training , which represents a systematic effort by organizations to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge and behavior. Orga- nizations spent $125 billion on employee learning and development in 2009, or $1,081 per employee. 73 A full discussion of all the types of training companies offer is beyond the scope of this section, but suffice it to say that companies are using many different methods to help their employees acquire explicit and tacit knowledge. Technological changes are altering the way those methods are delivered, as instructor-led classroom training has declined while online self- study programs and other forms of e-learning have increased to 36.5 percent of learning hours. 74
In addition to traditional training experiences, companies are also heavily focused on knowledge transfer from their older, experienced workers to their younger employees. Some companies are using variations of 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. For example, Raytheon, the Waltham, Massachusetts–based defense and aerospace supplier, has created a train- ing program called “Leave-a-Legacy” that pairs employees holding vital knowledge with high- potential subordinates. Raytheon’s program is not one of those “have lunch once a month” mentor programs; it’s a relatively regimented program in which younger workers follow older workers around for extended periods of time, ensuring adequate opportunities for observation. Each pair of employees is also assigned a third-party coach that helps the knowledge transfer take place. 75 Such sharing of information between workers is not always easy, especially in competitive or political
Job Performance Learning
Represents a strong correlation (around .50 in magnitude).
Represents a moderate correlation (around .30 in magnitude).
Represents a weak correlation (around .10 in magnitude).
Learning has a moderate positive effect on Performance. Employees who gain more knowledge and skill tend to have higher levels of Task Performance. Not much is known about the impact of learning on Citizenship Behavior and Counterproductive Behavior.
Learning has a weak positive effect on Commitment. Employees who gain more knowledge and skill tend to have slightly higher levels of Affective Commitment. Not much is known about the impact of learning on Continuance Commitment or Normative Commitment.
FIGURE 8-7 Effects of Learning on Performance and Commitment
Sources: G.M. Alliger, S.I. Tannenbaum, W. Bennett Jr., H. Traver, and A. Shotland, “A Meta-Analysis of the Relations among Training Criteria,” Personnel Psychology 50 (1997), pp. 341–58; J.A. Colquitt, J.A. LePine, and R.A. Noe, “Toward an Integrative Theory of Training Motivation: A Meta-Analytic Path Analysis of 20 Years of Research,” Journal of Applied Psychology 85 (2000), pp. 678–707; and J.P. Meyer, D.J. Stanley, L. Herscovitch, and L. Topolnytsky, “Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences,” Journal of Vocational Behavior 61 (2002), pp. 20–52.
8.7 What steps can organi- zations take to foster learning?
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Learning and
Decision Making
Chapter 8
Learning Defined
Permanent changes in an employee’s knowledge or skill that result from experience
Employees learn two types of knowledge:
Explicit - easy to communicate and teach
Tacit - more difficult to communicate; gained with experience
8-*
Is the problem recognized? Has it been dealt with before?
Programmed Decisions
Nonprogrammed Decisions
Limited information
Faulty perceptions
Faulty attributions
Confirming Pages
241C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
primarily the consequences of actions that drive behavior. This entire process of reinforcement is a continuous cycle, and the repetition of behaviors is strengthened to the degree that reinforce- ment continues to occur. There are four specific consequences typically used by organizations to modify employee behavior, known as the contingencies of reinforcement . 23 Figure 8-2 sum- marizes these contingencies. It’s important to separate them according to what they’re designed to do, namely, increase desired behaviors or decrease unwanted behaviors.
Two contingencies of reinforcement are used to increase desired behaviors. Positive reinforcement occurs when a positive outcome follows a desired behavior. It’s perhaps the most common type of reinforcement and the type we think of when an employee receives some type of “reward.” Increased pay, promotions, praise from a manager or coworkers, and public recogni- tion would all be considered positive reinforcement when given as a result of an employee exhib- iting desired behaviors. For positive reinforcement to be successful, employees need to see a direct link between their behaviors and desired outcomes (see Chapter 6 on Motivation for more discussion of such issues). If the consequences aren’t realized until long after the specific behav- iors, then the odds that employees will link the two are minimized. Negative reinforcement occurs when an unwanted outcome is removed following a desired behavior. Have you ever performed a task for the specific reason of not getting yelled at? If so, you learned to perform certain behaviors through the use of negative reinforcement. Perhaps there are some tasks your job requires that you don’t enjoy. If your manager removes these responsibilities specifically because you perform well at another aspect of your job, then this could also be seen as negative reinforcement. It’s important to remember that even though the word “negative” has a sour con- notation to it, it’s designed to increase desired behaviors.
The next two contingencies of reinforcement are designed to decrease undesired behaviors. Punishment occurs when an unwanted outcome follows an unwanted behavior. Punishment is exactly what it sounds like. In other words, employees are given something they don’t like as a result of performing behaviors that the organization doesn’t like. Sus- pending an employee for showing up to work late, assigning job tasks generally seen as demeaning for not following safety procedures, or even firing an employee for gross mis- conduct are all examples of punish- ment. Extinction occurs when there is the removal of a consequence fol- lowing an unwanted behavior. The use of extinction to reinforce behav- ior can be purposeful or accidental. Perhaps employees receive attention
Wanted outcome
Positive reinforcement, like public recognition, both encourages employees and helps ensure that desirable behaviors will be imitated and repeated.
col2935x_ch08_236-267.indd 241col2935x_ch08_236-267.indd 241 04/11/11 6:22 PM04/11/11 6:22 PM
Confirming Pages
242 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
from coworkers when they act in ways that are somewhat childish at work. Finding a way to remove the attention would be a purposeful act of extinction. Similarly though, perhaps employ- ees work late every now and then to finish up job tasks when work gets busy, but their manager stops acknowledging that hard work. Desired behavior that’s not reinforced will diminish over time. In this way, a manager who does nothing to reinforce good behavior is actually decreasing the odds that it will be repeated!
In general, positive reinforcement and extinction should be the most common forms of rein- forcement used by managers to create learning among their employees. Positive reinforcement doesn’t have to be in the form of material rewards to be effective. There are many ways for man- agers to encourage wanted behaviors. Offering praise, providing feedback, public recognition, and small celebrations are all ways to encourage employees and increase the chances they will continue to exhibit desired behaviors. At the same time, extinction is an effective way to stop unwanted behaviors. Both of these contingencies deliver their intended results, but perhaps more importantly, they do so without creating feelings of animosity and conflict. Although punishment and negative reinforcement will work, they tend to bring other, detrimental consequences along with them.
Whereas the type of reinforcement used to modify behavior is important, research also shows that the timing of reinforcement is equally important. 24 Therefore, it’s important to examine the timing of when the contingencies are applied, referred to as schedules of reinforcement . Table 8-2 provides a summary of the five schedules of reinforcement. Continuous reinforce- ment is the simplest schedule and happens when a specific consequence follows each and every occurrence of a desired behavior. New learning is acquired most rapidly under a continuous schedule. 25 For most jobs, continuous reinforcement is impractical. As a manager, can you imag- ine providing positive reinforcement every time someone exhibits a desired behavior? It’s a good thing that research also shows that under many circumstances, continuous reinforcement might be considered the least long lasting, because as soon as the consequence stops, the desired behav- ior stops along with it. 26 Once a behavior has been acquired, some form of intermittent schedul- ing is more effective. 27
The other four schedules differ in terms of their variability and the basis of the consequences. Two schedules are interval based; that is, they distribute reinforcement based on the amount of time that passes. A fixed interval schedule is probably the single most common form of rein- forcement schedule. With this schedule, workers are rewarded after a certain amount of time, and the length of time between reinforcement periods stays the same. Every time employees get a paycheck after a predetermined period of time, they’re being reinforced on a fixed inter- val schedule. Variable interval schedules are designed to reinforce behavior at more random points in time. A supervisor walking around at different points of time every day is a good example of a variable interval schedule. If that supervisor walked around at the same exact
TABLE 8-2 Schedules of Reinforcement
REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULE
Continuous Every desired behavior High, but difficult to maintain Praise
Fixed Interval Fixed time periods Average Paycheck
Variable Interval Variable time periods Moderately high Supervisor walk-by
Fixed Ratio Fixed number of desired behaviors
High Piece-rate pay
Very high Commission pay
Confirming Pages
245C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
For behavioral modeling to occur successfully, a number of processes have to take place. These steps are shown in Figure 8-3 . First, the learner must focus attention on an appropriate model and accurately perceive the critical behavior the model exhibits. That model might be a supervisor, a coworker, or even a subordinate. Some organizations go out of their way to sup- ply role models for newcomers or inexperienced workers to watch and learn from. For instance, BASF, the German chemical giant, rewards and encourages older workers to model behavior and share their knowledge. In this way, not only does explicit knowledge get passed on but also tacit knowledge. BASF CFO Kurt Bock says, “For the engineers, transferring knowledge to their successors is easier said than done.” 32 In fact, because tacit knowledge is so difficult to communicate, modeling might be the single best way to acquire it. For that reason, modeling is a continual process that is used at all levels of many organizations. Ursula Burns’s ascent to CEO of Xerox was carefully controlled as she was allowed to closely observe and model former CEO Anne Mulcahy for a number of years before taking control. 33 Needless to say, choosing a good model is important, and not all models are good ones. There is a great deal of evidence that supports the notion that employees will learn to behave unethically when in the presence of oth- ers who model that same behavior. 34 Salomon Brothers, the New York–based investment bank, learned this lesson the hard way when employees began to model the unethical behaviors of their managers and leaders. 35
Second, the learner needs to remember exactly what the model’s behavior was and how they did it. This step is very difficult when watching experts perform their job, because so much of what they do remains unspoken and can occur at a rapid pace. Third, the learner must undertake production processes, or actually be able to reproduce what the model did. Not only must the learner have the requisite knowledge and physical skills to be able to perform the task; now he or she must translate what’s been observed into action. Do you remember the first time
FIGURE 8-3 The Modeling Process
Learner focuses
exhibited by the model
Learner must remember the behaviors of the model once the
model is no longer present
Retention Processes
able to reproduce the
receiving reinforcement for the behavior and
then receive it themselves
Source: Adapted from H.M. Weiss, “Learning Theory and Industrial and Organizational Psychology,” in Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, eds. M.D. Dunnette and L.M. Hough. (Consulting Psychologists Press: Palo Alto, CA, 1990), pp. 75–169.
Ursula Burns was provided an unusual opportunity to learn by observation and behavioral modeling before becoming CEO of Xerox. She essentially co-led with her predeces- sor for two years to gain insider experience before taking the helm.
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Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Programmed Decisions Nonprogrammed Decisions (using rational decision-making model)
Experts have the ability to recognize patterns and situations that novices don't
Identify the problem
before?
outcome?
outcome?
Evaluate the alternatives against
Implement appropriate solution
FIGURE 8-4 Programmed and Nonprogrammed Decisions
To experts, programmed decisions sometimes comes across as intuition or a “gut feeling.” Intuition can be described as emotionally charged judgments that arise through quick, non- conscious, and holistic associations. 41 There is almost unanimous consent among researchers that intuition is largely a function of learning—tacit knowledge gained through reinforcement, observation, and experience allow a decision maker to decide more quickly and confidently. 42 Because of their tacit knowledge, experts sometimes cannot put into words why they know that a
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254 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
FAULTY ATTRIBUTIONS. Another category of decision-making problems centers on how we explain the actions and events that occur around us. Research on attributions suggests that when people witness a behavior or outcome, they make a judgment about whether it was internally or externally caused. For example, when a coworker of yours named Joe shows up late to work and misses an important group presentation, you’ll almost certainly make a judgment about why that happened. You might attribute Joe’s outcome to internal factors—for example, suggesting that he is lazy or has a poor work ethic. Or you might attribute Joe’s outcome to external factors—for example, suggesting that there was unusually bad traffic that day or that other factors prevented him from arriving on time.
The fundamental attribution error argues that people have a tendency to judge others’ behaviors as due to internal factors. 60 This error suggests that you would likely judge Joe as hav- ing low motivation, poor organizational skills, or some other negative internal attribute. What if you yourself had showed up late? It turns out that we’re less harsh when judging ourselves. The self-serving bias occurs when we attribute our own failures to external factors and our own suc- cesses to internal factors. Interestingly, evidence suggests that attributions across cultures don’t always work the same way; see our OB Internationally feature for more discussion of this issue.
One model of attribution processes suggests that when people have a level of familiarity with the person being judged, they’ll use a more detailed decision framework. This model is illus- trated in Figure 8-5 . 61 To return to our previous example, if we want to explore why Joe arrived late to work, we can ask three kinds of questions:
Consensus: Did others act the same way under similar situations? In other words, did others arrive late on the same day?
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?
Consistency: Does this person always do this when performing this task? In other words, has Joe arrived late for work before?
The way in which these questions are answered will determine if an internal or external attri- bution is made. An internal attribution, such as laziness or low motivation for Joe, will occur if
Behavior is observed
attitudes are to blame
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257C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
8.6 How does learning affect job performance and organi zational commitment?
Decision-Making Problems Limited Information Faulty Perceptions Faulty Attributions Escalation of Commitment
Reinforcement Observation Goal Orientation
Explicit Knowledge
Tacit Knowledge
FIGURE 8-6 Why Do Some Employees Learn to Make Decisions Better Than Others?
performance focuses on explicit knowledge, which is more practical to measure. It’s difficult to measure tacit knowledge because of its unspoken nature, but clearly such knowledge is relevant to task performance. Learning seems less relevant to citizenship behavior and counterproduc- tive behavior however, given that those behaviors are often less dependent on knowledge and expertise.
Figure 8-7 also reveals that learning is only weakly related to organizational commitment. 71
In general, having higher levels of job knowledge is associated with slight increases in emotional attachment to the firm. It’s true that companies that have a reputation as organizations that value learning tend to receive higher-quality applicants for jobs. 72 However, there’s an important dis- tinction between organizations that offer learning opportunities and employees who take advan- tage of those opportunities to actually gain knowledge. Moreover, it may be that employees with higher levels of expertise become more highly valued commodities on the job market, thereby reducing their levels of continuance commitment.
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258 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making
APPLICATION: TRAINING
How can organizations improve learning in an effort to boost employee expertise and, ultimately, improve decision making? One approach is to rely on training , which represents a systematic effort by organizations to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge and behavior. Orga- nizations spent $125 billion on employee learning and development in 2009, or $1,081 per employee. 73 A full discussion of all the types of training companies offer is beyond the scope of this section, but suffice it to say that companies are using many different methods to help their employees acquire explicit and tacit knowledge. Technological changes are altering the way those methods are delivered, as instructor-led classroom training has declined while online self- study programs and other forms of e-learning have increased to 36.5 percent of learning hours. 74
In addition to traditional training experiences, companies are also heavily focused on knowledge transfer from their older, experienced workers to their younger employees. Some companies are using variations of 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. For example, Raytheon, the Waltham, Massachusetts–based defense and aerospace supplier, has created a train- ing program called “Leave-a-Legacy” that pairs employees holding vital knowledge with high- potential subordinates. Raytheon’s program is not one of those “have lunch once a month” mentor programs; it’s a relatively regimented program in which younger workers follow older workers around for extended periods of time, ensuring adequate opportunities for observation. Each pair of employees is also assigned a third-party coach that helps the knowledge transfer take place. 75 Such sharing of information between workers is not always easy, especially in competitive or political
Job Performance Learning
Represents a strong correlation (around .50 in magnitude).
Represents a moderate correlation (around .30 in magnitude).
Represents a weak correlation (around .10 in magnitude).
Learning has a moderate positive effect on Performance. Employees who gain more knowledge and skill tend to have higher levels of Task Performance. Not much is known about the impact of learning on Citizenship Behavior and Counterproductive Behavior.
Learning has a weak positive effect on Commitment. Employees who gain more knowledge and skill tend to have slightly higher levels of Affective Commitment. Not much is known about the impact of learning on Continuance Commitment or Normative Commitment.
FIGURE 8-7 Effects of Learning on Performance and Commitment
Sources: G.M. Alliger, S.I. Tannenbaum, W. Bennett Jr., H. Traver, and A. Shotland, “A Meta-Analysis of the Relations among Training Criteria,” Personnel Psychology 50 (1997), pp. 341–58; J.A. Colquitt, J.A. LePine, and R.A. Noe, “Toward an Integrative Theory of Training Motivation: A Meta-Analytic Path Analysis of 20 Years of Research,” Journal of Applied Psychology 85 (2000), pp. 678–707; and J.P. Meyer, D.J. Stanley, L. Herscovitch, and L. Topolnytsky, “Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences,” Journal of Vocational Behavior 61 (2002), pp. 20–52.
8.7 What steps can organi- zations take to foster learning?
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