Reinforcement Theory as in Decisional Process Theories - Essay Example

REINFORCEMENT THEORY AS IN DECISIONAL PROCESS THEORIES By s Introduction Reinforcement theory is strongly rooted on the behaviorism. It tries to explain behavior without considering unobservable needs or thought inside people. The theory is mostly applied on behavior of staffs that a manager or a trainer can control by controlling consequences that follows the employee’s behavior. Unfortunately, managers or trainers in their decision-making role have misunderstood reinforcement theory because decision makers need to have in-depth information in order to have a rational and comprehensive decision but not just behavior information. Therefore, the goal of this essay is to enlighten the managers or trainers on the correct use of reinforcement theory on several decisional process theories that they can use reinforce their employees in occasion such as motivation. Reinforcement theory refers to a behavioral construction by controlling the consequences of behavior and is achieved through manipulation. A manager or trainer can be able to influence the behavior of employees in an organization by changing the consequence of their behavior. Reinforcement can be meant to correct, motivate, punish or extinct employee’s behavior an action known as behavior modification. For example, while correcting a behavior of an employee by removing unpleasant behavior in employee’s negative reinforcement is applied. Motivation is done to increase the frequency of pleasant behavior by following pleasurable consequence such as promotion to next higher grade. This is positive reinforcement. Moreover, extinction reinforcement is suitable to decrease the frequency of unpleasant behavior of employees by removing the consequence. Lastly, punishment by introducing instant consequence on the unpleasant behavior done by employees is advisable to decrease the frequency of such behaviors (Stephen 83).A manager has a very great influence to the behavior of the employees and by recognizing an individual’s physical and intellectual capacity for every employee to perform various mental and physical tasks in a specific job. For example, placing employees in accordance to their specialization during the division of labor. This will help to boost attitude of employees towards work hence providing the best for the organization. Moreover, manger should uphold personality of every worker in the organization is respecting their values and beliefs as it will help to achieve the goals of an organization (Bartlett 7-8). Reinforcement theory should portray how the organization and employees correlate to provide a healthy working environment. For example, the organization expect the following from the employees: effectively and efficiently execution of task allocated to each worker, adherence of policies, procedures, rules and regulation of the organization by each employee, provide productive work, be loyal, maintain organization image to the public, agree the value and objectives of the organization and be willing to use time and energy for the achievement of the organization. Organization should reciprocate the following to the employee: provide status and prestige, response on each employee’s work, recognition and motivation for work well done, friendly fellow employees and fair supervisors and managers and provide authority and genuine responsibility in participation in the organization decision making (Ghoshal 286). Actual reinforcement between owners/manager with our employees can be strengthened when we carry out interviews with the staffs so that we can get the perception of the staffs towards how we manage our business may it be large or small in scale. Such responses that we get form the staff s will help as to realize our strengths and work on our weaknesses as managers to provide a smooth and friendly working environment for everyone in the organization. This is because it is the responsibility of the owner/manager of a business is to create the context for productivity. It will depend on the behavior of members of the organization that in our case is a hotel. The formal interview will assist my hotel to provide the opportunity for work and conditions to accomplish the work. The staffs during the interview will be able to explain what they expect from the business, whether what is currently offered by the hotel is of benefit or not. I will also know what the staffs feel they can offer to the hotel to attract more customers as we provide them with most delicious meals compared to other rival hotels. The results will be used to make amendments where applicable to suit the staffs request for favorable working conditions. From the interview, the staffs requested for motivation by learning new skills that will help them boost their cooking skills. Therefore, as a manager the right decision would be taking employee, to a training institution where they can further their learn education. The Herzberg’s theories assist the managers or supervisors to consider a variety of ways to motivate the employees. When a manager gets such attitude from the staffs, it is his or her responsibility to reinforce the staff by providing back up to meet their focuses, which include: 1). Desire for achievement by doing something better than they had done it before. 2). Need of taking the responsibility for other people. 3). Desire to strengthen and maintain relationship among themselves and the management. Such requirements from the interview with the staff of the hotel teaches managers at a trainee level that becoming a manager does not mean that they had trained everything worthy a manager to his or her juniors. A good manager is one that allows democracy while undertaking important management issues relating to the benefit of the business. Therefore, if the hotel has to do well, a manager has to intensively incorporate every staff in the hotel by considering their suggestions for the better of the hotel for the customer to feel completely satisfied with the services offered. As a result, the hotel will be able to maintain a good relationship with the society. Therefore, the community and hotel will be able to reinforce each other to achieve developments in the society. Likewise, as a trainee manager, one realizes that employees need to be motivated not only by increasing their salaries every month for their extra commitment to the success of the hotel but also motivate them with promotion from a lower responsive grade to a higher grade. This will help to raise their morale and commitments since promotion means that more is expected from them. Moreover, as trainee manager we learn that we should support employees by sponsoring them to further their education in order to gain more knowledge, skills and experience in their professional. As a result, the hotel will be able to attract more customers due to good hospitality offered to them by professional employees. This will create a favorable relationship of the community and the hotel that will harmonize their working for the development of the society. From the essay a conclusion can be drawn about the misunderstanding behind reinforcement theory that in Human Resource a potential manager and a trainee manager should not only use the behavioral method to determine the consequence of employee in an organization as stated by the reinforcement theory but also consider unobservable needs or thought inside people before undertaking any kind of motivation to the employee(s). Moreover, motivation should be accorded in a fair way in a moral way. Decision making theories should be practiced such that there is democracy where every employee in the organization has the right to take part in decision making by considering their suggestions. When it comes to the issue of motivating employees, motivation should not only include salary increments but also promoting worthy employees to more higher grade and more responsible task. They can also be sponsored to further their education for their professional in order to gain more knowledge, skills and experience to perform their work more diligently and in a professional way. Laxly, managers should know that becoming a leader is accompanied with responsibility and expectations from the society and as a manager; they should be role models to other managers at trainee level, to the employees and to the whole society. Reference list B. Goshal, 1999. Fundamental New approach to Management. Johnersberg: Random house. Ghoshal, 1997. Reinforcement;Providing Environment for Personal and Professional Growth (p. 286). Johnersberg: Random Time. Gibson 2010, The Making of Twenty-First-Century HR; Performance improvement Quarterly (p. 23). Chicago. Jon.M. Werner. 2006. Human Resource Development.Chicago. Cengage. Stephen Ray Flora. 2012. Power of Reinforcement. Harvard. Longhorn publishers. Read More