Learning and

Performance Management
 Learning in Organizations
 Learning is a change in behavior acquired
through experience.
 Learning may begin with the cognitive activity
of developing knowledge about a certain
things, which then leads to a change in
behavior.

 Learning helps guide and direct

motivated behavior
 Classical Conditioning
(demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov)
 Learning by association

Ex. Associate things with connections or

pairings. Listening to a certain song
makes a person feel sad, but it is not the
song that makes the person sad. The
song has been paired with the loss of a
loved one.
 Operant Conditioning
Burrhus Frederic Skinner

 Also known “ learning-reinforced man”

 A kind of learning in which behavior is
shaped by selective reinforcement
 Reinforcement is used to enhance desirable
behavior and punishment and extinction are
used to diminish undesirable behavior
 Reinforcement and punishment are directed
through the management of positive and
negative consequences
 Reinforcement and Punishment are administered
through the management of positive and negative
consequences of behavior
Positive Consequences
 Results of a person’s behavior that the person finds
attractive or pleasurable
Ex. Pay increase, bonus, promotion, praise from a
supervisor
Negative Consequences
 Results of a person’s behavior that the
person finds unattractive or aversive
Ex. Disciplinary action, undesirable transfer,
demotion, harsh criticism from a supervisor
Reinforcement
 Attempt to develop or strengthen desirable
by either giving positive consequences or
withholding negative consequences

Ex. Positive reinforcement: Bonuses paid at the

end of successful business years
Ex. Negative reinforcement: A manager who
reduces an employee’s pay (negative
consequence) if the employee comes to
work late (undesirable behavior)
 Punishment
 The attempt to eliminate or weaken undesirable
behavior.
Used in 2 ways

1. To punish a person is to apply a negative

consequence following an undesirable behavior

Ex. A student who is always absent (undesirable

behavior) will miss quizzes (undesirable behavior)
may likely to get failing grades (negative
consequence)

7. To punish a person is to withhold a positive

consequence following an undesirable behavior
 Extinction

 An attempt to weaken a behavior by attaching

no consequences (positive or negative) to it.
Ex. Not responding ( no consequence) to the
sarcasm (behavior) of a friend

 Most effective when used in combination

with the positive reinforcement of
desirable behaviors
Ex. To compliment the sarcastic friend for useful
comments (reinforcing desirable behavior)
while ignoring sarcastic comments
(extinguishing undesirable behavior)
 Social Learning Theory
Proposed by Albert Bandura

 Learning occurs through the observation of

other people and the modeling of their
behavior

Ex. Executives might teach their

subordinates a wide range of behaviors,
such as leader-follower interactions and
stress management, by exhibiting these
behaviors
 Goal Setting At Work

 The process of establishing desired results

that guide and direct behavior

 Goals help crystallize the sense of purpose

and mission that is essential to success at
work

 Important sources of motivation at work :

priorities, purpose and goals, that lead to
collective achievement even in difficult
times.
Five Commonly Accepted Characteristics of
Effective Goal

1. Specific
2. Challenging
3. Measurable
4. Time-bound
5. Prioritized
 Five Commonly Accepted Characteristics of
Effective Goal

1. Specific
2. Challenging
 Serve to signal or focus the person’s attention
on exactly what is to be accomplished and
encourage the person to highest performance

3. Measurable
 Quantitative goals useful for feedback and
qualitative goals that help improve relationship
with customers
 Five Commonly Accepted Characteristics of
Effective Goal

4. Time-bound
 To enhance measurability.

5. Priority
 For effective decision making about resource
allocation.
 Helps direct a person’s effort and behavior
 Increasing Work Motivation and
Task Performance

 Goals are often used to increase employee

effort and motivation, which in turn improve
task performance.
 Higher the goal, the better the performance

 People work harder to reach difficult goals.

 3 Important Aspects of Enhancing
Performance Motivation

1. Employee Participation
 Participation in the process of setting the
difficult goals.
 Employee participation in goal setting leads
to goal acceptance by employees. Goal
acceptance leads to goal commitment then
to goal accomplishment
 3 Important Aspects of Enhancing
Performance Motivation

2. Supervisory Commitment
 Reflection of the organization’s commitment
to goal setting.
 Organizational commitment is a requirement
for successful goal setting programs.
 3 Important Aspects of Enhancing
Performance Motivation

3. Performance feedback
 Providing employees of brief feedback on
progress toward goals
 Useful when goals are specific and specific
goals improve performance most when
interim feedback is given.