Mgt 350 Chapter 8

Front 1

Learning

Back 1

A relatively permanent change in an employee's knowledge or skill that results from experience. See also Knowledge

Front 2

Decision making

Back 2

The process of generating and choosing from a set of alternatives to solve a problem.

Front 3

Expertise

Back 3

The knowledge and skills that distinguish experts from novices, 239

Front 4

Explicit knowledge

Back 4

Knowledge that is easily communicated and available to everyone, 239, 240

Front 5

Tacit knowledge

Back 5

Knowledge that employees can only learn through experience, 239–240, 257

Front 6

Contingencies of reinforcement

Back 6

Four specific consequences used by organizations to modify employee behavior, 241

Front 7

Positive reinforcement

Back 7

When a positive outcome follows a desired behavior, 241, 242

Front 8

Negative reinforcement

Back 8

An unwanted outcome is removed following a desired behavior, 241

Front 9

Punishment

Back 9

When an unwanted outcome follows an unwanted behavior, 241

Front 10

Extinction

Back 10

The removal of a positive outcome following an unwanted behavior, 241

Front 11

Schedules of reinforcement

Back 11

The timing of when contingencies are applied or removed, 242–243

Front 12

Continuous reinforcement

Back 12

A specific consequence follows each and every occurrence of a certain behavior, 242

Front 13

Fixed interval schedule

Back 13

Reinforcement occurs at fixed time periods, 242

Front 14

Variable interval schedule

Back 14

Reinforcement occurs at random periods of time, 242–243

Front 15

Fixed ratio schedule

Back 15

Reinforcement occurs following a fixed number of desired behaviors, 243

Front 16

Variable ratio schedule

Back 16

Behaviors are reinforced after a varying number of them have been exhibited, 243

Front 17

Social learning theory

Back 17

Theory that argues that people in organizations learn by observing others, 243

Front 18

Behavioral modeling

Back 18

When employees observe the actions of others, learn from what they observe, and then repeat the observed behavior, 243–245

Front 19

Learning orientation

Back 19

A predisposition or attitude according to which building competence is deemed more important by an employee than demonstrating competence, 246

Front 20

Performance-prove orientation

Back 20

A predisposition or attitude by which employees focus on demonstrating their competence so that others think favorably of them, 246

Front 21

Performance-avoid orientation

Back 21

A predisposition or attitude by which employees focus on demonstrating their competence so that others will not think poorly of them, 246

Front 22

Programmed decisions

Back 22

Decisions that are somewhat automatic because the decision maker's knowledge allows him or her to recognize the situation and the course of action to be taken, 246

Front 23

Intuition

Back 23

An emotional judgment based on quick, unconscious, gut feelings, 248–249

Front 24

Crisis situation

Back 24

A change—sudden or evolving—that results in an urgent problem that must be addressed immediately, 249

Front 25

Nonprogrammed decisions

Back 25

Decisions made by employees when a problem is new, complex, or not recognized, 248, 249

Front 26

Rational decision-making model

Back 26

A step-by-step approach to making decisions that is designed to maximize outcomes by examining all available alternatives, 249–250

Front 27

Bounded rationality

Back 27

The notion that people do not have the ability or resources to process all available information and alternatives when making a decision, 250

Front 28

Satisficing

Back 28

When a decision maker chooses the first acceptable alternative considered, 250

Front 29

Selective perception

Back 29

The tendency for people to see their environment only as it affects them and as it is consistent with their expectations, 252

Front 30

Projection bias

Back 30

The faulty perception by decision makers that others think, feel, and act the same way as they do, 252

Front 31

Social identity theory

Back 31

A theory that people identify themselves based on the various groups to which they belong and judge others based on the groups they associate with, 252

Front 32

Stereotypes

Back 32

Assumptions made about others based on their social group membership, 252

Front 33

Heuristics

Back 33

Simple and efficient rules of thumb that allow one to make decisions more easily, 252

Front 34

Availability bias

Back 34

The tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is easier to recall, 252

Front 35

Fundamental attribution error

Back 35

The tendency for people to judge others' behaviors as being due to internal factors such as ability, motivation, or attitudes, 254

Front 36

Self-serving bias

Back 36

When one attributes one's own failures to external factors and success to internal factors, 254

Front 37

Consensus

Back 37

Used by decision makers to attribute cause; whether other individuals behave the same way under similar circumstances, 254
Did others act the same way under similar situations? In other words, did others arrive late on the same day?

Front 38

Distinctiveness

Back 38

Used by decision makers to attribute cause; whether the person being judged acts in a similar fashion under different circumstances, 254
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?

Front 39

Consistency

Back 39

Used by decision makers to attribute cause; whether this individual has behaved this way before under similar circumstances, 254
Does this person always do this when performing this task? In other words, has Joe arrived late for work before?

Front 40

Escalation of commitment

Back 40

A common decision-making error in which the decision maker continues to follow a failing course of action, 255–256
They may feel an obligation to stick with their decision to avoid looking incompetent. They may also want to avoid admitting that they made a mistake.

Front 41

Training

Back 41

A systematic effort by organizations to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge and behavior.

Front 42

Knowledge transfer

Back 42

The exchange of knowledge between employees, 258–259

Front 43

Behavior modeling training

Back 43

A formalized method of training in which employees observe and learn from employees with significant amounts of tacit knowledge, 258

Front 44

Communities of practice

Back 44

Groups of employees who learn from one another through collaboration over an extended period of time, 259

Front 45

Transfer of training

Back 45

Occurs when employees retain and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required for their job after training ends, 259

Front 46

Climate for transfer

Back 46

An organizational environment that supports the use of new skills, 259

Front 47

characteristic of explicit and tacit knowledge

Back 47

Front 48

operant conditioning components

Back 48

Front 49

Contingencies of Reinforcement

Back 49

Front 50

Schedules of reinforcement

Back 50

Front 51

The Modeling Process

Back 51

Front 52

Rational decision making vs bounded rationality

Back 52

Front 53

Consensus, Distinctiveness, and Consistency

Back 53

Front 54

Effects of Learning on Performance and Commitment

Back 54

Front 55

Internal attribution
-individual factors such as ability, motivation, or attitudes are to blame

Back 55

Low consensus ( general agreement amongst people)
low Distinctiveness
High consistency

Front 56

External attribution
-environmental factores are to blame

Back 56

High consensus ( general agreement amongst people)
High Distinctiveness
Low consistency

Front 57

How does learning effect job performance?

Back 57

learning has a moderate positive effect on job permanence. employees who gain more knowledge and skills tent to have higher levels of task performance

Front 58

How does learning effect organization commitment?

Back 58

learning has a weak positive effect on commitment. employees who gain more knowledge and skills tend to have slightly higher level of affective commitment.