Organizational Behavior – Learning and Decision Making

What is learning in organizational behavior?

a relatively permanent change In knowledge or skill that results from experience

what are the two types of knowledge

explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge

what is explicit knowledge

knowledge that is easy to communicate write down and share

what is tacit knowledge

gained through experience difficult to verbalize or teach

what is positive reinforcement

increasing desired behavior by providing a reward when the behavior occurs

what is negative reinforcement

increasing desired behavior by removing an unpleasant consequence when the behavior occurs 

what is punishment 

decreasing undesired behavior by introducing an unpleasant outcome 

what is extinction in learning theory

decreasing undesired behavior by removing a previously reinforced reward

what dose learning theory propose

people learn by observation of others and the outcomes of those behaviors 

behavioral modeling

learning through the observation of others and then imitating their behavior

what are the 3 types of goal orientations

learning orientation, performance prove orientation and performance avoid orientation 

why is leaning orientation 

focus on developing competence and mastering new skills 

what is performance prove orientation

focus on demonstrating competence to other

performance avoid orientation

focus on avoiding failure and negative judgments form others

what is the rational decision making model

a step by step model assuming perfect information and rational choices to reach optimal decision 

what are key assumptions of the rational decision making models 

we know the precise problem 

we have a list of all alternatives

we know the outcomes of each alternative 

what the problem with the rational decision making model 

it assumes perfect information and rationality which really exist in reality 

what is bounded rationality or satisfying

making decisions that are good enough due to limited information or time 

what is selective perception

seeing only what we want or expect to see 

what is escalation of commitment 

continuing a falling source of action due to prior investments of time or money

what is anchoring bias

relying too heavily on initial information when making decisions 

what is framing bias

being influenced by how information is presented rather than the content itself 

what is recency bias

giving undue weight to the most recent information

what does attribution theory explain

how people determine the causes of their own and others behavior internal and external factors 

why is Learning important in organizations

it drives performance improvement adaptability and long term success