ASSIGNMENT 01 MGT 251 SECTION-04 COURSE TITLE: Organizational Behavior PREPARED FOR DR. Silvia Akter ASSISTANT PROFESSOR DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION EAST WEST UNIVERSITY PREPARED BY BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, EAT WEST UNIVERSITY Application of Classical and Operant Conditioning in Organizational Behavior Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience is called learning. Three theories have been offered to explain our learning processes. Classic conditioning and Operant conditioning are two of them. Classic conditioning is a type of conditioning in which an individual responds to some stimulus that wouldn’t usually produce such a response. This is a passive way of learning; employees don’t take it up voluntarily. The components for this conditioning are unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus and conditioned response. For example, a scenario where to make employees feel more positive and motivated about attending meetings; company introduces public applause and recognition during the meeting. This results in an increase in motivation for attending the meetings. Applause and recognition make employees feel proud and appreciated. This is an unconditioned stimulus. It causes the employee to react in a specific way. The reaction which takes place whenever an unconditioned stimulus occurs is called the unconditioned response. The meeting is an artificial stimulus, or what we call the conditioned stimulus. Although it was originally neutral, after the applause and recognition is paired with the meeting (unconditioned stimulus), employees eventually produced a response by attending meetings which is a conditioned stimulus. The last key concept is the conditioned response. This describes the behavior of employees when begin to associate meetings with positive feelings and are more motivated to take part. By associating workrelated activities with positive stimuli, organizations can foster enthusiasm and engagement. It can create a welcoming learning environment which makes employees feel more connected and motivated. Although manipulative use of classical conditioning can feel disingenuous to employees. On the contrary, operant conditioning argues that behavior is a function of its consequences. People learn to behave to get something they want or to avoid something they don't want. This is an active form of learning and it’s voluntary. Operant conditioning could be positive/negative reinforcement, punishment and extinction; these are the key components of operant conditioning. For example, encouraging positive behaviors and discouraging negative behavior such as introducing performance-based bonus and employees must work overtime if they miss the deadline. Moreover, punishments are there to discourage behaviors and extinction means permanently stopping something. By strategically applying operant conditioning, organizations can build a culture of accountability, motivation, and positive performance. By strategically applying operant conditioning, organizations can build a culture of accountability, motivation, and positive performance. Which eventually is beneficial for the organization. But there are drawbacks too, operant conditioning may create a reliance on external rewards rather than intrinsic motivation. Employees might only perform well when rewards are present. Without continuous reinforcement, learned behaviors may diminish over time; a phenomenon known as extinction in operant conditioning.
