Motivation in organization, in the eyes of B.F. Skinner - Essay Example

In operant conditioning, Skinner shows that punishment dealt in any form severely affects an organism in a very negative manner and therefore must not be practiced. Applying this concept to education, Skinner believes that punishing a student, especially very young ones can bring about adverse effects in their behaviour in the future. If applied to Organisational behaviour, a leader or organizer within the group must keep in mind that the administration of punishment may or may not have negative repercussions to the members of the group if it is not done properly.

Although punishment is allotted in school and in the workplace, Skinner believes that this does not promote the mental well-being of students and workers. He also believes that there is no such thing as "motivation", stating that this is just a by-product of punishment and that individuals learn and function more efficiently if they are let to discover things by themselves assuming that they are provided with all the materials they need. This work relates Skinners psychological concepts to organisational behaviour, how his concepts affect the group as a whole and the members within the group.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born on March 20 1904 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. He went to Hamilton College taking up a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature circa 1926. He tried to pursue a career in writing fiction after he graduated from college. He chose to settle in Greenwich Village, but was later frustrated with his works, thinking that he can never make it right because he feels that he lacks the experience and passion to write. He the chance upon the philosophical works of Bertland Russel which also discusses the behaviourist theories of psychologist John B.

Watson who would later on inspire B.F. Skinner to study psychology. Skinner was so inspired with Watson and his work that he began to express much interest in the behaviour of people around him. His interest in psychology was also reflected in his fictional work, but he eventually decided to stop writing and study Psychology at Harvard. He received his doctorate degree in psychology at Harvard, working afterwards as a university researcher until 1936. He then went on to teach psychology at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis and in the University of Indiana, but found himself back at Harvard in 1948 as a professor of psychology.

He was a rather decorated educator having received awards like the Medal of Science in 1968, presented to him by no less than President Lyndon B. Johnson. Himself. Three years past and he was awarded with the Gold Medal of the American Psychological Foundation and was given the Humanist of the Year Award of the American Humanist Association in 1972. Eight days before his death in 1990, he became the first recipient of the Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology by the American Psychological Association (Wikipedi, 2006a; Wikipedia, 2006b).

Being the author that he is, B.F. Skinner has published numerous books about psychology and fiction. Among these are: Walden Two in 1948, Science and Human Behaviour in 1953, Verbal Behaviour in 1957 and both Freedom and Dignity and About Behaviourism in 1971 (Tsicali, 2003).B, F. Skinner's