UNIT-4 MC AND OB[KMBN101]

Motivation: Meaning & Definition

Motivation is an important factor which encourages persons to give their best performance and
help in reaching enterprise goals. A strong positive motivation will enable the increased output
of employees but a negative motivation will reduce their performance. A key element in
personnel management is motivation.

According to theintactone, “It is the core of management in which shows that every human being
gives him a sense of worth in face-to face groups which are most important to him….A
supervisor should strive to treat individuals with dignity and a recognition of their personal
worth.”

Definitions of Motivation

Motivation has been variously defined by scholars.

Some definitions are discussed as follows:

Berelson and Steiner

“A motive is an inner state that energizes, activates, or moves and directs or channels behaviour
goals.”

Lillis

“It is the stimulation of any emotion or desire operating upon one’s will and promoting or
driving it to action.”

The Encyclopedia of Management

“Motivation refers to degree of readiness of an organism to pursue some designated goal and
implies the determination of the nature and locus of the forces, including the degree of
readiness.”

Dubin

“Motivation is the complex of forces starting and keeping a person at work in an organization.”

Vance
“Motivation implies any emotion or desire which so conditions one’s will that the individual is
properly led into action.”

Vitiles

“Motivation represents an unsatisfied need which creates a state of tension or disequilibrium,

causing the individual to make in a goal-directed pattern towards restoring a state of equilibrium
by satisfying the need.”

Memoria

“A willingness to expend energy to achieve a goal or reward. It is a force that activates dormant
energies and sets in motion the action of the people. It is the function that kindles a burning
passion for action among the human beings of an organization.”

Nature of Motivation

Motivation is a psychological phenomena which generates within an individual. A person feels

the lack of certain needs, to satisfy which he feels working more. The need satisfying ego
motivates a person to do better than he normally does.

From definitions given earlier the following inferences can be derived:

1. Motivation is an inner feeling which energizes a person to work more.

2. The emotions or desires of a person prompt him for doing a particular work.
3. There are unsatisfied needs of a person which disturb his equilibrium.
4. A person moves to fulfill his unsatisfied needs by conditioning his energies.
5. There are dormant energies in a person which are activated by channelizing
them into actions.

Types of Motivation

When a manager wants to get more work from his subordinates then he will have to motivate
them for improving their performance. They will either be offered incentive for more work, or
may be in the space of rewards, better reports, recognition etc., or he may instill fear in them or
use force for getting desired work.

The following are the types of motivation:

1. Positive Motivation

Positive motivation or incentive motivation is based on reward. The workers are offered
incentives for achieving the desired goals. The incentives may be in the shape of more pay,
promotion, recognition of work, etc. The employees are offered the incentives and try to improve
their performance willingly.

According to Peter Drucker, the real and positive motivators are responsible for placement, high
standard of performance, information adequate for self- control and the participation of the
worker as a responsible citizen in the plant community. Positive motivation is achieved by the
co-operation of employees and they have a feeling of happiness.

2. Negative Motivation

Negative or fear motivation is based on force or fear. Fear causes employees to act in a certain
way. In case, they do not act accordingly then they may be punished with demotions or lay-offs.
The fear acts as a push mechanism. The employees do not willingly co-operate, rather they want
to avoid the punishment.

Though employees work up-to a level where punishment is avoided but this type of motivation
causes anger and frustration. This type of motivation generally becomes a cause of industrial
unrest. In spite of the drawbacks of negative motivation, this method is commonly used to
achieve desired results. There may be hardly any management which has not used negative
motivation at one or the other time.

Traditional Theory of Motivation: Maslow’s

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

It is probably safe to say that the most well-known theory of motivation is Maslow’s need
hierarchy theory Maslow’s theory is based on the human needs. Drawing chiefly on his clinical
experience, he classified all human needs into a hierarchical manner from the lower to the higher
order.

In essence, he believed that once a given level of need is satisfied, it no longer serves to motivate
man. Then, the next higher level of need has to be activated in order to motivate the man.
Maslow identified five levels in his need hierarchy as shown in figure.
 1. Physiological Needs

These needs are basic to human life and, hence, include food, clothing, shelter, air, water and
necessities of life. These needs relate to the survival and maintenance of human life. They exert
tremendous influence on human behaviour. These needs are to be met first at least partly before
higher level needs emerge. Once physiological needs are satisfied, they no longer motivate the
man.

2. Safety Needs

After satisfying the physiological needs, the next needs felt are called safety and security needs.
These needs find expression in such desires as economic security and protection from physical
dangers. Meeting these needs requires more money and, hence, the individual is prompted to
work more. Like physiological needs, these become inactive once they are satisfied.

3. Social Needs

Man is a social being. He is, therefore, interested in social interaction, companionship,

belongingness, etc. It is this socialising and belongingness why individuals prefer to work in
groups and especially older people go to work.

4. Esteem Needs

These needs refer to self-esteem and self-respect. They include such needs which indicate self-
confidence, achievement, competence, knowledge and independence. The fulfillment of esteem
needs leads to self-confidence, strength and capability of being useful in the organisation.
However, inability to fulfill these needs results in feeling like inferiority, weakness and
helplessness.

5. Self-Actualisation Needs
This level represents the culmination of all the lower, intermediate, and higher needs of human
beings. In other words, the final step under the need hierarchy model is the need for self-
actualization. This refers to fulfillment.

The term self-actualization was coined by Kurt Goldstein and means to become actualized in
what one is potentially good at. In effect, self- actualization is the person’s motivation to
transform perception of self into reality.

According to Maslow, the human needs follow a definite sequence of domination. The second
need does not arise until the first is reasonably satisfied, and the third need does not emerge until
the first two needs have been reasonably satisfied and it goes on. The other side of the need
hierarchy is that human needs are unlimited. However, Maslow’s need hierarchy-theory is not
without its detractors.

The main criticisms of the theory include the following:

(i)  The needs may or may not follow a definite hierarchical order. So to say, there may be
overlapping in need hierarchy. For example, even if safety need is not satisfied, the social need
may emerge.

(ii) The need priority model may not apply at all times in all places.

(iii) Researches show that man’s behaviour at any time is mostly guided by multiplicity of
behaviour. Hence, Maslow’s preposition that one need is satisfied at one time is also of doubtful
validity.

(iv) In case of some people, the level of motivation may be permanently lower. For example, a
person suffering from chronic unemployment may remain satisfied for the rest of his life if only
he/she can get enough food.

Notwithstanding, Maslow’s need hierarchy theory has received wide recognition, particularly
among practicing managers. This can be attributed to the theory’s intuitive logic and easy to
understand. One researcher came to the conclusion that theories that are intuitively strong die
hard’.

Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Theory

The psychologist Frederick Herzberg extended the work of Maslow and propsed a new
motivation theory popularly known as Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene (Two-Factor) Theory.
Herzberg conducted a widely reported motivational study on 200 accountants and engineers
employed by firms in and around Western Pennsylvania.

He asked these people to describe two important incidents at their jobs:

(i) When did you feel particularly good about your job, and

(ii) When did you feel exceptionally bad about your job? He used the critical incident method of
obtaining data.

The responses when analysed were found quite interesting and fairly consistent. The replies
respondents gave when they felt good about their jobs were significantly different from the
replies given when they felt bad. Reported good feelings were generally associated with job
satisfaction, whereas bad feeling with job dissatisfaction. Herzberg labelled the job satisfiers
motivators, and he called job dissatisfies hygiene or maintenance factors. Taken together, the
motivators and hygiene factors have become known as Herzberg’s two-factor theory of
motivation

Herzberg’s motivational and hygiene factors have been shown in the Fig.

According to Herzberg, the opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction. The underlying reason,
he says, is that removal of dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the
job satisfying. He believes in the existence of a dual continuum. The opposite of ‘satisfaction’ is
‘no satisfaction’ and the opposite of ‘dissatisfaction’ is ‘no dissatisatisfaction’.
According to Herzberg, today’s motivators are tomorrow’s hygiene because the latter stop
influencing the behaviour of persons when they get them. Accordingly, one’s hygiene may be the
motivator of another.

However, Herzberg’s model is labeled with the following criticism also:

1. People generally tend to take credit themselves when things go well. They
blame failure on the external environment.
2. The theory basically explains job satisfaction, not motivation.
3. Even job satisfaction is not measured on an overall basis. It is not unlikely that
a person may dislike part of his/ her job, still thinks the job acceptable.
4. This theory neglects situational variable to motivate an individual.

Because of its ubiquitous nature, salary commonly shows up as a motivator as well as hygine.

Regardless of criticism, Herzberg’s ‘two-factor motivation theory’ has been widely read and a
few managers seem untaminar with his recommendations. The main use of his recommendations
lies in planning and controlling of employees work.

McClelland’s Need Theory

Another well-known need-based theory of motivation, as opposed to hierarchy of needs of
satisfaction-dissatisfaction, is the theory developed by McClelland and his
associates’. McClelland developed his theory based on Henry Murray’s developed long list of
motives and manifest needs used in his early studies of personality. McClelland’s need-theory is
closely associated with learning theory, because he believed that needs are learned or acquired
by the kinds of events people experienced in their environment and culture.

He found that people who acquire a particular need behave differently from those who do not
have. His theory focuses on Murray’s three needs; achievement, power and affiliation. In the
literature, these three needs are abbreviated “n Ach”, “n Pow”, and “n Aff” respectively’.

They are defined as follows:

Need for Achievement

This is the drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standard, and to strive to succeed. In
other words, need for achievement is a behaviour directed toward competition with a standard of
excellence. McClelland found that people with a high need for achievement perform better than
those with a moderate or low need for achievement, and noted regional / national differences in
achievement motivation.
Through his research, McClelland identified the following three characteristics of high-need
achievers:

1. High-need achievers have a strong desire to assume personal responsibility for performing a
task for finding a solution to a problem.

2. High-need achievers tend to set moderately difficult goals and take calculated risks.

3. High-need achievers have a strong desire for performance feedback.

Need for Power

The need for power is concerned with making an impact on others, the desire to influence others,
the urge to change people, and the desire to make a difference in life. People with a high need for
power are people who like to be in control of people and events. This results in ultimate
satisfaction to man.

People who have a high need for power are characterized by:

1. A desire to influence and direct somebody else.

2. A desire to exercise control over others.

3. A concern for maintaining leader-follower relations.

Need for Affiliation

The need for affiliation is defined as a desire to establish and maintain friendly and warm
relations with other people’. The need for affiliation, in many ways, is similar to Maslow’s social
needs.

The people with high need for affiliation have these characteristics:

1. They have a strong desire for acceptance and approval from others.

2. They tend to conform to the wishes of those people whose friendship and companionship they
value.

3. They value the feelings of others.

Three Need Theories of Motivation

This Figure  is a summary chart of the three need theories of motivation just discussed. The chart shows
the parallel relationship between the needs in each of the theories. Maslow refers to higher- lower order
needs, whereas Herzberg refers to motivation and hygiene factors.

Contemporary Theories of Motivation: Self-

Determination Theory, Self-Efficacy Theory,
Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
Early motivation theories were based on the assumptions and sometime these theories were not
supported by strong evidence. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a good example of this approach.
Therefore, alternative theories of motivation have been put forward over time.

1. Self-determination Theory

Self-determination theory suggests that people are motivated to grow and change by three innate
and universal psychological needs.

This theory suggests that people are able to become self-determined when their needs for
competence, connection, and autonomy are fulfilled.

The concept of intrinsic motivation, or engaging in activities for the inherent rewards of the
behavior itself, plays an important role in self-determination theory.
Self-determination theory grew out of the work of psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan,
who first introduced their ideas in their 1985 book Self-Determination and Intrinsic Motivation
in Human Behavior. They developed a theory of motivation which suggested that people tend to
be driven by a need to grow and gain fulfillment.

Two key assumptions of the theory

(i) The need for growth drives behavior

The first assumption of self-determination theory is that people are actively directed toward
growth. Gaining mastery over challenges and taking in new experiences are essential for
developing a cohesive sense of self.

(ii) Autonomous motivation is important

While people are often motivated to act by external rewards such as money, prizes, and acclaim
(known as extrinsic motivation), self-determination theory focuses primarily on internal sources
of motivation such as a need to gain knowledge or independence (known as intrinsic motivation).

According to self-determination theory, people need to feel the following in order to achieve
psychological growth:

 Competence: People need to gain mastery of tasks and learn different skills.

When people feel that they have the skills needed for success, they are more
likely to take actions that will help them achieve their goals.
 Connection or Relatedness: People need to experience a sense of belonging
and attachment to other people.
 Autonomy: People need to feel in control of their own behaviors and goals.
This sense of being able to take direct action that will result in real change
plays a major part in helping people feel self-determined.

Imagine a person who fails to complete an important project at work. If this person is high in
self-determination, they will admit their fault, believe that they can do something to fix the
problem and take action to correct the mistake.

If that same person was low in self-determination, they might instead look for other things that
they can blame. They might make excuses, assign blame, or refuse to admit that their own role.
Most importantly, perhaps, is that this person won’t feel motivated to fix the mistake. Instead,
they might feel helpless to control the situation and believe that nothing that they do will have
any real effect.

2. Self-efficacy Theory
(i) Experience

Experience refers to your past experience of completing similar tasks. This is the most important
factor in self-efficacy.

If you performed a similar task well in the past, then you are more likely to be confident that you
can complete similar tasks well in the future.

(ii) Vicarious Experience

You can develop self-efficacy vicariously by watching other people perform a task.

If you watch someone similar to you perform a task and succeed at that task then your self-
efficacy will increase. Conversely, if you watch someone similar to you perform a task and fail
then this can have a negative effect on your self-efficacy.

(iii) Social Persuasion

You can increase your self-efficacy if others give you encouragement that you can perform a
task. Likewise, your self-efficacy will decrease if you receive discouraging or disparaging
remarks about your ability to perform a task.
(iv) Physiological Feedback

When confronted with a task you experience a sensation from your body. How you interpret
these signals will impact you self-efficacy.

For example, if you are due to perform a presentation to a large crowd of people you might
experience butterflies in your stomach.

3. Vroom’s expectancy Theory

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory was proposed by Victor. H. Vroom, who believed that people are
motivated to perform activities to achieve some goal to the extent they expect that certain actions
on their part would help them to achieve the goal.

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory is based on the assumption that an individual’s behavior results
from the choices made by him with respect to the alternative course of action, which is related to
the psychological events occurring simultaneously with the behavior. This means an individual
selects a certain behavior over the other behaviors with an expectation of getting results, the one
desired for.

Thus, Vroom’s Expectancy Theory has its roots in the cognitive concept, i.e. how an individual
processes the different elements of motivation. This theory is built around the concept of
valence, instrumentality, and Expectancy and, therefore, is often called as VIE theory.

The algebraic representation of Vroom’s Expectancy theory is:

Motivation (force) = ∑Valence x Expectancy

(i) Valence
It refers to the value that an individual places on a particular outcome or a strength of an
individual’s preference for the expected rewards of the outcome. To have a positive valence, one
should prefer attaining the outcome to not attaining it. For example, if an employee gets
motivated by promotions, then he might not value offers of increased incentives. The valence is
zero if an individual prefers not attaining outcomes to attaining it. In the above example, an
employee agrees with the increased incentives.

(ii) Instrumentality

Another major input into the valence is the instrumentality of first level outcome in obtaining the
second level outcome, i.e. a degree to which the first level leads to the second level outcome. For
example, suppose an employee desires promotion and he feel that superior performance is a key
factor to achieve the goal. Thus, his first level outcomes are superior, average and poor
performance and the second level outcome is the promotion.

Hence, the first level outcome of high performance acquires the positive valence so as to have
the expected relationship with the second level outcome of the promotion. Thus, an employee
will be motivated to perform efficiently with a desire to get promoted.

(iii) Expectancy

Expectancy, another factor that determines the motivation, refers to the probability that a
particular action will lead to the desired outcome. The expectancy is different from the
instrumentality in the sense; it relates efforts to the first level outcome, whereas the
instrumentality relates to first and second-level outcomes to each other. Thus, expectancy is the
probability that a particular action will lead to a particular first-level outcome.

Equity Theory
Equity theory is based in the idea that individuals are motivated by fairness, and if they identify
inequities in the input or output ratios of themselves and their referent group, they will seek to
adjust their input to reach their perceived equity. Adams suggested that the higher an individual’s
perception of equity, the more motivated they will be and vice versa: if someone perceives an
unfair environment, they will be de-motivated.

The easiest way to see the equity theory at work, and probably the most common way it does
impact employees, is when colleagues compare the work they do to someone else that gets paid
more than them. Equity theory is at play anytime employees say things like, ‘John gets paid a lot
more than me, but doesn’t do nearly as much work,’ or ‘I get paid a lot less than Jane, but this
place couldn’t operate without me!’ In each of those situations, someone is comparing their own
effort-to-compensation ratio to someone else’s and is losing motivation in the process.
This Theory show:

 Inputs: Inputs include all the rich and diverse elements that employees believe
they bring or contribute to the job – their education, experience, effort, loyalty,
commitment.
 Outcomes: Outcomes are rewards they perceive they get from their jobs and
employers outcomes include- direct pay and bonuses, fringe benefit, job
security, social rewards and psychological.
 Over rewarded: if employees fell over-rewarded equity theory predicts then
they will feel an imbalance in their relationship with their employee and seek to
restore that balance.
 Equity: if employees perceive equity then they will be motivated to continue to
contribute act about the same level.
 Unrewarded: unrewarded who feel they have been unrewarded and seek to
reduce their feeling in equity through the same types of strategies but same of
this specific action are now reverse.

This theory is based on the following two assumptions about human behavior:

Individuals make contributions (inputs) for which they expect certain outcomes (rewards). Inputs
include such things as the person’s past training and experience, special knowledge, personal
characteristics etc. Outcomes include pay, recognition, promotion, prestige, fringe benefits etc.

Individuals decide whether or not a particular exchange is satisfactory, by comparing their inputs
and outcomes to those of others, in the form of a ratio. Equity exists when an individual
concludes that his/her own outcome/input ratio is equal to that of other people.

The essential aspects of the equity theory may be shown by an equation;

There should be a balance of the outcomes/inputs relationship for one person in comparison with
that for another person. If the person thinks that the rewards are greater than what is considered,
he/she may work harder.

If the person perceives the rewards as equitable, he/she probably will continue at the same level
of output.
If the person feels that he/she is inequitably rewarded, he/she may be dissatisfied, reduce the
quantity or quality of output, or even leave the organization.

The three situations of equity theory are illustrated in the following figure:

Roles played by equity in motivation:-

1. Employees make comparisons between their job inputs and outcomes relative
to those of others.

 If we perceive our ratio to be equal to that of the relevant others with whom we
compare ourselves, a state of equity is said to exist. We perceive our situation
as fair.
 When we see the ratio as unequal, we experience equity tension.

2. Additionally, the referent that an employee selects adds to the complexity of

equity theory. There are four referent comparisons that an employee can use:

 Self-inside: An employee’s experiences in a different position inside his or her

current organization.
 Self-outside: An employee’s experiences in a situation or position outside his
or her current organization.
 Other-inside: Another individual or group of individuals inside the employee’s
organization.
 Other-outside: Another individual or group of individuals outside the
employee’s organization.

3. Which referent an employee chooses will be influenced by the information the

employee holds about referents, as well as by the attractiveness of the referent.
There are 4 moderating variables: gender, the length of tenure, level in the
organization, and the amount of education or professionalism. Men and women
prefer same-sex comparisons. This also suggests that if women are tolerant of
lower pay, it may be due to the comparative standard they use. Employees in
jobs that are not sex-segregated will make more cross-sex comparisons than
those in jobs that are either male- or female-dominated.
4. Employees with a short tenure in their current organizations tend to have little
information about others.
5. Employees with long tenure rely more heavily on coworkers for comparison.
6. Upper-level employees tend to be more cosmopolitan and have better
information about people in other organizations. Therefore, these types of
employees will make more other- outside comparisons.
7. When employees perceive an inequity, they can be predicted to make one of six
choices:

 Change their inputs.

 Change their outcomes.
 Distort perceptions of self.
 Distort perceptions of others.
 Choose a different referent.
 Leave the field.

8. The theory establishes the following propositions relating to inequitable pay:

 Given payment by time, over-rewarded employees will produce more than will
equitably pay employees.
 Given payment by the quantity of production, over-rewarded employees will
produce fewer, but higher quality, units that will equitably pay employees.
 Given payment by time, under-rewarded employees will produce less or poorer
quality of output.
 9. Given payment by the quantity of production, under-rewarded employees will
produce a large number of low-quality units in comparison with equitably paid
employees.
10.These propositions have generally been supported with a few minor
qualifications.

 Inequities created by over-payment do not seem to have a very significant

impact on behavior in most work situations.
 Not all people are equity-sensitive.

11.Employees also seem to look for equity in the distribution of other

organizational rewards.
12.Finally, recent research has been directed at expanding what is meant by equity
or fairness.

 Historically, equity theory focused on distributive justice or the perceived

fairness of the amount and allocation of rewards among individuals.
 Equity should also consider procedural justice, the perceived fairness of the
process used to determine the distribution of rewards.
 The evidence indicates that distributive justice has a greater influence on
employee satisfaction than procedural justice,
 Procedural justice tends to affect an employee’s organizational commitment,
trust in his or her boss, and intention to quit.
 By increasing the perception of procedural fairness, employees are likely to
view their bosses and the organization as positive even if they are dissatisfied
with pay, promotions, and other personal outcomes.

Reinforcement Theory
The Reinforcement Theory of Motivation was proposed by B.F. Skinner and his associates.
This theory posits that behavior is the function of its consequences, which means an individual
develops a behavior after performing certain actions.

The reinforcement theory of motivation is based on the “Law of Effect” concept, i.e. an
individual is likely to repeat those actions having the positive consequences, and will avoid those
behaviors that result in negative or unpleasant outcomes.

The behaviors that elicit consequences is called as operant behavior and reinforcement theory
work on the relationship between the operant behavior and the associated consequences and,
therefore, is often called as Operant Conditioning. Operant conditioning means, the change in the
behavior caused due to the reinforcement (Positive reward or punishment) given after the
response.
The reinforcement theory lay emphasis on the environmental factors that shape the behaviors and
thus, Skinner believed that environment external to the organization must be designed effectively
so as to increase the motivation among the employees.

Thus, the reinforcement theory of motivation mainly focuses on what happens when an
individual takes some action. It is observed, that people tend to repeat those activities which
gives them pleasure and avoid the activities with negative consequences.

Behavior that elicits consequences is called as the operant behavior and the reinforcement theory
works on the relationship between the operant behavior and the associated consequences. This
process is called the Operant Conditioning and the change in the behavior is caused due to the
reinforcement given after the response.

This theory of motivation totally focuses on what happens to an individual when he/she takes
some action. It is no way related to the internal state of an individual i.e., inner feelings and
drives of an individual is ignored.

Thus, the external environment of the organization should be designed positively and effectively
so as to motivate the employees. This theory is a strong tool for analyzing controlling mechanism
for individual’s behavior.

Following are the methods for controlling the behavior of the employees:
  Positive Reinforcement: Positive reinforcement explains that, when an
employee gives a positive and a required behavior, the response towards them
should be positive. This stimulates the occurrence of a behavior. Reward to an
employee who performs well reinforces his/her desire to perform better because
of positive results of doing so.
 Negative Reinforcement: Negative reinforcement takes place when certain
deterrent(s) or obstruction(s) is removed and the employee(s) responds to a
desired behavior after such removal. For instance, an employee who commutes
from a long distances wraps up a few projects faster than desired; but, when he
is told by the manager to take the projects home for a couple of days and
complete them, it stimulates him/her to work as expected. By removing the
negative stimuli, the desired behavior is reinforced.
 Punishment: Punishment refers to imposing negative consequences or
removing positive consequences with a view to preventing employee(s) from
repeating undesirable and uncalled for behaviors. It can, therefore, be both
positive and negative.
 Extinction: Extinction refers to extinguishing a learned behavior by
withholding a positive reinforcement or reward that has encouraged the
behavior.

To conclude, the reinforcement theory revolves round a basic idea that consequences influence
behavior. Consequence that brings rewards propels a particular behavior and consequences that
give punishment diminish the occurrences of a behavior. Last but not the least, the consequences
that give neither reward nor punishment put an end to a behavior. The theory helps the mangers
to choose the right method of motivation to motivate their employees basing upon the prevailing
situation.

Organisational Behaviour Modification (OB

MOD)
OB Mod in simple words can be defined as a technique for modifying the modifying or
behaviour of the organizational members so that they are engaged in desirable undesirable
behaviour and. replacing it with behaviour. It can be used for motivating the employees as well
as for enhancing organizational effectiveness.

According to Stephen P. Robbins

“OB Mod is a programme where managers identify performance related employee behaviours
and then implement an intervention strategy to strengthen desirable behaviour and weaken
undesirable behaviours.”
According to Schermerhorn, Hunt and Osborn:

“OB Mod is the systematic reinforcement of desirable work behaviour and the non reinforcement
or punishment of unwanted work behaviour. It includes four basic reinforcement strategies.
Positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment and extinction”

Steps in OB Modification

Fred Luthans and R. Kreitner developed and used OB Mod to represent a behavioural approach
to the management of human resources for performance improvement.

The steps given by them in applying the OB Mod are summarized in the following figure:

1. Identification

The first step in the OB Mod is identification of performance related behaviours. First of all the
behaviour should be identified as desirable or undesirable from the point of view of the
organisation. Then in the next stage, critical behaviours, that have significant impact on the
employees’ performance, should be given due attention. The critical behaviours can be identified
through discussions with the particular employee and his immediate superior as both are closely
intimated with the job behaviours.

Some of the critical behaviours which affect job performance are absenteeism or attendance,
tardiness or promptness, complaints or constructive criticism, listening to or not listening to the
instructions, etc. If such behaviours are modified, good results could be expected. Due attention
should be given to the critical behaviour because they get repeated again and again.

2. Measurement
After the critical behaviours of the employees have been identified, the next step for the manager
is to measure the frequency of the critical behaviour over time. The measurement can be done by
observation and by extraction of information from records. If the frequency is within the
acceptable limit, it will require no action, but if it exceeds the acceptable limit,

it will need immediate attention. The measurement of behaviour will also help the managers in
determining the success in changing the employees’ behaviour.

3. Analysis

At the next step, the managers will have to do a functional analysis of the behaviour that requires
modification. This analysis will determine what circumstances lead to a particular type of
behaviour, what are the consequences of such behaviour etc. Contingent consequences of
behaviour should be identified because these consequences have impact on subsequent
behaviour. Moreover, some contingent consequences appear to be affecting the critical behaviour
on the surface only, the functional analysis should try to find out the competing contingencies for
every behaviour also.

4. Intervention

Once the critical behaviours have been identified and the circumstances which cause such
behaviours have been determined, the next step will be to develop an effective intervention
strategy. There are several strategies that can be used at this stage. These include positive or
negative reinforcement, extinction or punishment.

The use of a particular strategy will depend upon the type of situation faced. After developing
and implementing a particular strategy, the frequency of resulting behaviour is measured. If a
behaviour change has occurred in the right direction, the manager will select a reinforcement
schedule that will maintain the desired behaviour.

5. Evaluation

The last stage in OB Mod is the evaluation whether the intervention strategies are working
properly or not. The basic purpose of OB Mod is to bring change in undesirable behaviours so as
to improve performance. Evaluation will reveal whether the undesirable behaviours have been
substituted by desirable behaviour or not. If there has been a change in behaviour, whether it is
permanent or just temporary.

Further, the evaluation will also show whether there is improvement in the performance or not. If
there is a positive change, it suggests that the interventions are successful. However, if the
change is not significant, it may call for adoption of alternate and more appropriate strategies.
Utilities of OB Modification

OB Mod has been applied successfully in many organizations, service as well as manufacturing,
to improve organizational effectiveness and understand human behaviour in organizations. It is
an important technique of human resource management.

The major strengths and utilities of OB Mod are as follows:

1. Can be Put to Testing

OB Mod concentrates on a person’s external behaviour and this allows a manager to realistically
observe and deal with outward manifestations of behaviour. Since it deals with observed
behaviour it can be put to testing.

2. Development of Employees

OB Mod presents a set of tools by which people can learn new behaviours and skills and thereby
replacing undesirable behaviours. Positive reinforcement could be used to encourage desirable
behaviour by the employees. Social learning theory can be of great use in the effective
implementation of any training programme for the employees. Thus, OB Mod is a great
technique of developing the employees.

3. Control and Regulation of the Employees’ Behaviour

OB Mod provides various tools to the managers for effectively controlling and influencing the
behaviour of employees in the organisation. Most behaviour in the organisation are learned,
controlled and changed by the consequences. The managers can use operant conditioning to
control and regulate the behaviour of subordinates by manipulating the reward system.

The behavioural consequences that are rewarding increase the probability of desired behaviour
whereas aversive consequences decrease the probability of desired response.

4. Easy to Understand and Use

The understanding of OB Mod techniques is comparatively easy. Managers can use these
without many problems. OB Mod has received great attention from several organisations in the
recent years. It is widely applied in large organisations in the areas of human resource
management, executive development, motivation, introduction of change and organisational
development.

Perception Meaning and Process

Perception is an intellectual process of transforming sensory stimuli to meaningful information.
It is the process of interpreting something that we see or hear in our mind and use it later to judge
and give a verdict on a situation, person, group etc.

It can be divided into six types:

 Of sound: The ability to receive sound by identifying vibrations.

 Of speech: The competence of interpreting and understanding the sounds of
language heard.
 Touch: Identifying objects through patterns of its surface by touching it.
 Taste: The ability to receive flavor of substances by tasting it through sensory
organs known as taste buds.
 Other senses: They approve perception through body, like balance,
acceleration, pain, time, sensation felt in throat and lungs etc.
 Of the social world: It permits people to understand other individuals and
groups of their social world. Example − Priya goes to a restaurant and likes
their customer service, so she will perceive that it is a good place to hang out
and will recommend it to her friends, who may or may not like it. Priya’s
perception about the restaurant is good.

Perception  Process

Perception process are the different stages of perception we go through. The different stages are:

 Receiving
 Selecting
 Organizing
 Interpreting

1. Receiving

Receiving is the first and most important stage in the process of perception. It is the initial stage
in which a person collects all information and receives the information through the sense organs.

2. Selecting

Selecting is the second stage in the process. Here a person doesn’t receive the data randomly but
selectively. A person selects some information out of all in accordance with his interest or needs.
The selection of data is dominated by various external and internal factors.
  External factors: The factors that influence the perception of an individual
externally are intensity, size, contrast, movement, repetition, familiarity, and
novelty.
 Internal factors: The factors that influence the perception of an individual
internally are psychological requirements, learning, background, experience,
self-acceptance, and interest.

3. Organizing

Keeping things in order or say in a synchronized way is organizing. In order to make sense of the
data received, it is important to organize them.

We can organize the data by:

 Grouping them on the basis of their similarity, proximity, closure, continuity.

 Establishing a figure ground is the basic process in perception. Here by figure
we mean what is kept as main focus and by ground we mean background
stimuli, which are not given attention.
 Perceptual constancy that is the tendency to stabilize perception so that
contextual changes don’t affect them.

4. Interpreting

Finally, we have the process of interpreting which means forming an idea about a particular
object depending upon the need or interest. Interpretation means that the information we have
sensed and organized, is finally given a meaning by turning it into something that can be
categorized. It includes stereotyping, halo effect etc.

Importance of Perception in OB

We need to understand what the role of perception in an organization is. It is very important in
establishing different role of perceptions like:

 Understanding the tasks to be performed.

 Understanding associated importance of tasks allotted.
 Understanding preferred behavior to complete respective tasks.
 Clarifying role perceptions.

For example, every member in a group has to be clear regarding the role allotted to them.
Programmer writes the code, tester checks it, etc.
Principles and Errors of Perception
Principles of Perception

William James American psychologist has said if we understand the world as it appears to us, it
will be a big booming- buzzing confusion. Hence, we do not see the things as they appear, but
we see them as we want, i.e. more meaningfully.

In perceptual process we select a particular stimulus with our attention and interpret it. In the
same way whenever it is necessary many discrete stimuli in our visual field are organised into a
form and perceived more meaningfully than they appear.

This phenomenon was well explained by Gestalt psychologists. They believed that the brain
creates a coherent perceptual experience by perceiving a stimulus as a whole than perceiving
discrete entities. This is more meaningfully stated in the gestalt principle as ‘the whole is better
than sum total of its parts’. This is explained under many sub-principles of perception.

Figure-ground Relationship

According to this principle any figure can be perceived more meaningfully in a background and
that figure cannot be separated from that background. For example, letters written with a white
chalk piece are perceived clearly in the background of a blackboard.

In the Figure, two faces can be seen in the background of a white colour. So also the white
background can be perceived as a vessel in the background of two faces.

GROUPING OF STIMULI IN PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION

As said above, according to gestalt principle, the objects can be perceived meaningfully when
they are grouped together. There are some principles which are followed by us in order to make
our perception more meaningful.

They are as follows:

(i) Proximity

Proximity means nearness. The objects which are nearer to each other can be perceived
meaningfully by grouping them. For example, the word ‘Man’, here though the letters are
discrete, when grouped together gives some meaning. The stars in the Figure which are nearer to
each other are perceived together as groups/single figure.
(ii) Similarity

Stimuli need not be nearer to each other for perception. If there is similarity in these objects, they
are grouped together and perceived, even if they are away. For example, in this Figure grouping
will be done according to similarity, i.e. all circles, squares and triangles are grouped separately.

(iii) Continuity

Any stimulus which extends in the same direction or shape will be perceived as a whole Figure
A and B. For example, (A) in this figure though the curved line is broken, it is perceived as a
continuous line, so also straight line is not seen with semicircles but as a continuous line (B) the
dots are perceived as existing in the same line of direction continuously.

(iv) Closure
When a stimulus is presented with gaps, the human tendency is to perceive that figure as
complete one by filling the gaps psychologically. For example, in the Figure, the gaps are filled
psychologically and perceived as letters M and A, circle and a rectangle.

(v) Symmetry

Objects which are having symmetrical shape are perceived as groups. For example, the brackets
of different shapes shown in the Figure perceived meaningfully, because they are grouped
together and perceived as brackets.

ERRORS OF PERCEPTION

1. Stereo Typing

“Making positive or negative generalizations about a group or category of people, usually based
on inaccurate assumptions and beliefs and applying these generalizations to an individual
member of the group.” For e.g. Girls are very talkative, Rich are cruel to poor.

2. Halo Effect

Drawing general impression of individual on the basis of a single characteristic. I.e. if someone
is good at one dimension, he/she is perceived to be good at other dimensions as well.
 3. Recency Effect

When the most RECENT information influences our judgment, even though we have a whole of
other information on the Person.

4. The Similar-to-Me Effect

We tend to favor/like or give favorable judgment to those who are similar to us. Example two
candidates came along for interview, one from Delhi and the other from Bihar. As interviewer is
from Delhi, he tends select to the candidate from Delhi, better evaluation.

5. Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of
internal factors when making judgments about the behavior of others.

6. Self-Serving Bias

The tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal factors while putting the
blame for failures on external factors.

7. Self-fulfilling prophecy

People’s preconceived expectations and beliefs determine their behavior, thus, serving to make
their expectations come true Example when a teacher, labeled a kid as stupid (because he has
illegible handwriting). Soon the kid believed on teacher and behave like one.

8. Perceptual defense

People tend to defend the way they perceive things. Once established, a person’s way of viewing
the world may become highly resistant to change. Sometimes, perceptual defense may have
negative consequences. This perceptual error can result in manager’s inability to perceive the
need to be creative in solving problems. As a result, the individual simply proceeds as in the past
even in the face of evidence that business as usual is not accomplishing anything worthwhile

Managerial & Behavioural Applications of

Perception
Managerial applications of perception

1. Employment Interview
A major input into who is hired and who is rejected in any organization is the employment
interview. Evidence indicated that interviewers often make inaccurate perceptual judgements.
Interviews generally draw early impressions that become very quickly entrenched. If negative
information is exposed early in the interview, it tends to be more heavily weighted than if that
same information comes out later. As a result, information elicited early in the interview carries
greater weight than does information elicited later. A “good applicant” is probably characterized
more by the absence of unfavourable characteristics than by the presence of favourable
characteristics.

The employment interview is an important input into the hiring decision and a manager must
recognize that perceptual factors influence who is hired. Therefore, eventually the quality of an
organization’s labour force depends on the perception of the interviewers.

2. Performance Evaluation

An employee’s performance appraisal very much depends on the perceptual process. The
performance appraisal represents an assessment of an employee’s work. While this can be
objective, many jobs are evaluated in subjective terms. Subjective measures are, by definition,
judgemental.

The evaluator forms a general impression of an employee’s work. What the evaluator perceives
to be “good” or “bad” employee characteristics will, significantly influences the appraisal
outcome. An employee’s future is closely tied to his or her appraisal -promotions, pay raises and
continuation of employment are among the most obvious outcomes.

3. Performance Expectations

A manager’s expectations of an individual affect both the manager’s behaviour towards the
individual and the individual’s response. An impressive amount of evidence demonstrates that
people will attempt to validate their perceptions of reality, even when these perceptions are
faulty. This is particularly relevant when we consider performance expectations on the job.

The term self-fulfilling prophecy or Pygmalion effect have evolved to characterize the fact that
people’s expectations determine their behaviour. Managers can harness the power of the
Pygmalion effect to improve productivity in the organization. It appears that high expectations of
individuals come true. Managers can extend these high expectations of individuals to an entire
group. When a manager expects positive things from a group, the group delivers. Similarly, if a
manager expects people to perform minimally, they will tend to behave so as to meet these low
expectations. Thus, the expectations become reality.

4. Employee Loyalty
Another important judgement that managers make about employees is whether they are loyal to
the organization. Few organizations appreciate employees, especially those in the managerial
ranks openly disparaging the firm.

BEHAVIOURAL APPLICATIONS OF PERCEPTION

Individual does not always perceive the events freely from the environment. She/He selects the
stimuli from the environment which can satisfy her/his needs, desires and expectations because
of the dominance of needs in individual. Individual selects the stimuli on the basis of certain
guidelines which are termed as principles of perceptual selection. Here, each principle is not
significant alone in making perception. Basic principles of perceptual selection are discussed
below:

1. Principle of Intensity

According to intensity principle of perceptual selection, the more intense the external stimulus,
the more likely it is to be perceived. Loud sound, dark color, strong smell, bold and italic letters
etc. are perceived more easily and quickly in comparison to the soft sound, light color, soft smell.
This principle is used frequently in advertisement like bright color in packaging, loud sound in
television commercials. Supervisors sought loudly to get attention.

2. Principle of size

The size principle of perceptual selection states that the larger size of stimulus, the more likely it
is to be perceived. This means that the stimulus with larger size is easily perceived than the
stimulus having small size. Normally, supervisors and managers with large body size can
command more strictly to their subordinates because of positive perception of subordinates
towards them. Large billboards are used in advertisement to draw the attention of perceivers. Full
page advertisement gets more attention of readers. In the given figure, bigger circle is likely to be
perceived quickly which draws the attention of viewer.

3. Principle of contrast

Contrast stands for dissimilarity or uniqueness against all other stimulus or objects standing out.
This principle states that the stimulus which is different or unique in comparison to the nearby
and common objects, that will be perceived easily and quickly. For example, person wearing
different color dress in a group can perceive the attention. Employees with different sound or
vision are perceived quickly. Likewise the word DANGER written with red letter on while
background draws quick attention. Cricketers wear different color sun glasses to get attention. In
the adjacent figure, though all the circles have equal size, but central circle is easily perceived
than other because of its contrast color.

4. Principle of Novelty and Familiarity

Novelty is newness and familiarity is commonness or known to the perceiver. This principle
states that perceiver perceive easily and quickly to novel (new) or familiar stimulus depending
upon circumstances. For instance, new person in locality draws more attention while familiar
face can easily be recognized. New design of vehicle or machine or dress can be perceived fast.

5. Principle of repetition

Repetition or frequency plays vital role to select the perception. Highly repeated stimulus gets
more attention than none repeating or single one. For example, producers or suppliers repeat
advertising materials to their prospect customers to get attention. Supervisors and managers give
directions again and again to their subordinates so that they can remember. Refreshment training
are given to employee to refresh the knowledge or skill of employees.

6. Principle of Motion

This principle states that the moving objects draw more attention than the stationary objects. For
instance, advertisement of a car or motorcycle uses the running (moving) state to attract
perceivers. Likewise, trainers, teachers and supervisors keep on moving while instructing or
observing their trainees, students and subordinates so that perceiver gets more attention in
moving.

7. Principle of learning motivation and personality

This principle states that individual perceive the stimulus which compatible to their learning,
motivation and personality. Learning creates certain expectancy so that individual perceive in
certain manner. Motivation itself helps to draw attention towards stimulus and the personality
affects the way of perceiving the stimulus.