NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

School of Management

HRM 301 Organizational Behavior

Dr. N. Rotter

Session 7: Learning processes in the organization, Part I

Classical and operant conditioning

George & Jones: Chap. 5

Objectives:

After today's session, you should be able to:

1. Explain the concept of learning and its role, formally and informally, in organizations

2. Describe the process of classical conditioning and its limitations

3. Describe the process of operant conditioning and negative and positive reinforcement

4. Explain how various qualities of reinforcement influence learning

5. Describe and give examples of reinforcement schedules

6. Describe the process of shaping

I. Learning in the organization

A. Learning defined

B. Learning and performance

C. What get learned in organizations

II. Varieties of Learning

A. Anticipatory learning or classical conditioning

1. Review of the model

a. acquisition

b. extinction

2. Some basic phenomena

a. generalization

b. discrimination

c. higher order conditioning

3. Limitations

B. Learning based on consequences or operant conditioning

1. Review of the model: antecedents-behavior-consequences

2. Phenomena

a. increasing desired outcomes

b. positive and negative reinforcement

c. qualities of reinforcement

d. reinforcement schedules

e. shaping