Processes and Strategies Involved in Management of Behaviour in Organization

The processes and strategies involved in Management of Behaviour in organization.

ADITYA R        DM16102

ADITHYA V        DM16154

RASHMICA R        DM16134

SINDOORA S        DM16146

SRUTHI R        DM16150

INTRODUCTION:

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines behaviour as the manner of conducting one self. Another definition is “anything that an organism does involving action and response to stimulus”. From a psychological perspective, the second definition gives us a clearer idea of the term. A wide range of behaviours are exhibited by humans and these are heavily influenced by attitudes, cultures, emotions, ethics, values etc.

Behaviour is generally classified in the form of common and uncommon, some of which may be acceptable whereas the others may be unacceptable. Human behaviour is studied under various specializations namely psychiatry, sociology, anthropology, psychology. Social norms determine whether or not behaviour is deemed acceptable.

A person’s behaviour is largely shaped by the environment. A child growing up in a congenial environment with positive reinforcements will exude the same positivity at home or the work place as a grown up. On the other hand, a child growing up in a disturbed environment might grow up to be a person with emotional and mental problems, in extreme cases a psychopath. One’s environment also shapes their perspective to life.

Genetics is also a determining factor when it comes to shaping behaviour. Everybody’s genome sequence is different. This can shape a person’s personality and sometimes give them mental disorders. One’s behaviour is generally a reflection of one’s attitude. Likes and dislikes are a major factor that determines a person’s attitude. Attitudes are instrumental in sculpting our personalities and the way we are perceived.

Applied Behaviour Analysis:

The process of changing a person’s behaviour either by decreasing or increasing the frequency of certain behaviours or through positive and negative reinforcements is called behaviour modification. A more analytical approach to the same is known as ABA (applied behaviour analysis).

Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) has its roots in the philosophy of modern behaviourism. Pioneered by Skinner, who laid the foundation in the early 1900s, it is the practical application of behavioural laws, laws of reinforcement, formulated by Skinner to solve behaviour problems. ABA is the process of systematically applying interventions based upon the principles of behaviour theory to improve socially significant behaviours, including reading, academics, social skills, communication, and adaptive living skills, to a meaningful degree, and to demonstrate that the interventions employed are responsible for the improvement in behaviour.

ABA can be used to increase good behaviour through reinforcements and can decrease maladaptive ones with the usage of punishments. Problems in behaviour are measured and suitable treatment techniques are used to alter them. The principles of learning such as operant conditioning and respondent conditioning form the basis of ABA. Behavioural problems like ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), autism etc. can be treated with ABA. In addition to this, successful intervention techniques have been developed for alcoholism, drug addiction and smoking.

ABA has the following characteristics:

• Applied: ABA focuses on areas that are of social significance. Behaviour scientists not only take into consideration long-term behaviour change, but also look at how behaviour changes affect the individual and the people around.
• Behavioural: The behaviour must be objectively measured and must change.
• Analytic: The behaviour scientist must demonstrate control over the behaviour with

Intervention: while maintaining ethical standards.

• Systematic: ABA interventions and procedures must be very detailed so that other researchers are able to replicate the application with the same results.
• Generalizable: The results of an ABA-based intervention must last over time, across settings, and spread to other behaviours not directly addressed.
• Data-based: ABA uses direct and frequent measurements to enable analysts to detect their success or failures so that appropriate changes can be made.

Antecedent-Behaviour-Consequence (ABC) Chart:

The ABC chart is an observational tool which is used to collect information about the events that occur in a person’s environment. ’A’ refers to the antecedent which is the event or activity that triggers a problematic behaviour. ‘B’ refers to the behaviour observed in the subject and ‘C’ refers to the consequence. For instance, when a person enters a dark room, there is no light and he can’t see anything. His response to the situation is to turn on the light switch. Consequently, the room gets illuminated.

[pic 1]

Common antecedents that trigger problematic behaviour include harsh or critical feedback, isolation from society, attention deficiency etc. An ABC chart is used to observe and record the behaviour of a subject over many sessions. This data helps the behaviour analysts create a hypothesis statement of the identified behavioural problem. Once the problematic behaviour has been identified, the antecedents can be modified to get a desirable outcome, thus successfully changing the behaviour.

Role of Individual in an Organisation:

What happens in every organization is that, people are split into various working groups in order to improve productivity. But productivity is not always improved by this. What one needs to focus on is the ways and means that can be utilized so as to improve one’s participation. Some efforts put in by the employee can be quantified, whereas others cannot. One example of an attribute that can be quantified is: Time.

Other contributions by the employee to the company are his effort- the amount of hard work he puts in, the extent to which he is willing to go the extra mile. Then comes creativity, commitment, and loyalty which are one of the key factors. In being loyal to the company, the employee is motivated to work harder and put in better quality efforts.

As an acknowledgment of the various contributions made by the employee, the organization gives a remuneration fitting the nature of work of the employee. Adequate training is provided wherever required, which will help the individual nurture their skills and be a better asset to the company. Other forms of acknowledgment come in the form of an assurance of security, benefits/perks, opportunities, and respect in the organization.

As we can understand, this now works in synergy and is a symbiotic relationship where one depends on the other. In case there is a troublesome employee in the organization who doesn’t perform as expected, then we can adopt some methods to get him to refocus on the goals, and make him align his goals with that of the organization itself.