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HUMAN BEHAVIOR - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Motivation is one of the human characteristics that requires great attention from managers.
        Although motivation is very complex, a starting point to understand the motivation of human behavior in organizations is to know the needs of the employees.
      - The impulses or motives arise from the needs (physiological, social, economic, psychological, spiritual) but at the same time it is the product of the cultural environment in which the individual lives, of their experiences, knowledge, expectations.
        
        Motivation is explained in terms of desire (active forces or impulses, desire for power, status) and rejection (social rejection, isolation) Motivation impels behavior to achieve certain goals, objectives, rewards related to its needs and also represents an investment and energy expenditure to satisfy them.
      - Motivation is not the same in all people since it is determined by culture, family, values, previous experiences, expectations, etc.
        The needs of each individual are not the same. Despite these individual differences regarding motivation, some general premises or principles can be considered that help to understand human behavior at work:
        • Human behavior is caused: There are internal factors such as heredity, learning, experiences; as well as external determining factors such as socioeconomic reality that influence human behavior.
        • Human behavior is motivated: All human behavior is oriented towards some goal. Human behavior is not accidental or random.
        • Human behavior is goal-oriented: All human behavior is motivated by some impulse, desire, reward or need (Chiavenato, 1999, p.69)
        
        Motivational Cycle (based on Chiavenato, 1999, pp. 70-71)
        This cycle starts when there is a need. Needs act as a continuous, dynamic force that drives behavior.
        Faced with the need, a state of dissatisfaction or imbalance occurs that generates a state of tension.
        The individual then looks for a way to get rid of tension or discomfort with concrete actions that can lead to the satisfaction of needs and therefore the tension generated is discharged. By satisfying the needs, the previous state of equilibrium is recovered. Once a need is satisfied, it is not a source of motivation since it is the need that generates tension and the state of imbalance.
        
        According to Stoner and Wankel, organizations consist of 3 variables or characteristics that affect human motivation:
        • Individual Characteristics: The interests, attitudes, expectations, attributions, needs that people bring with them to work; affect their behavior. Within this factor or variables that influence motivation, there are theories that highlight the role of characteristics or human nature to understand Motivation. We can mention here the theories of Maslow, McClelland, Stacy Adams, McGregor, etc.
        • Characteristics of the work and characteristics of the task: This variable that influences motivation within the organizational system; refers to one's own characteristics and those related to the job or position in particular. This factor is quite "controlled" by administrators and managers in a decisive way. Among the theorists who contribute to the management of the characteristics of work to manage motivation, are: Herzberg with his theory of two factors: Motivation and Hygiene, job enrichment, etc.
        • Characteristics of the work situation: It refers to the actions, policies and culture of the organization, and the immediate work environment. Within this variable or factor, behavior modification techniques whose main protagonist is Skinner (1989, p 481-482) are useful.
        
        The needs can be classified as:
        • Primary Needs: Like food, water, sleep, air.
        • Secondary Needs: Such as the needs of self-esteem, affiliation, affection, recognition (Davis and Newstrom, 1993, p. 120)
        
        In summary, the study of human motivations is complex and difficult and it must be taken into account that the needs:
        • They are strongly conditioned by experience
        • They vary in type and intensity between people
        • They change in anyone at any time
        • They operate in groups and not in isolation
        • Often hidden or not consciously recognized
        • They are ambiguous feelings and not just specific physical needs
        • They significantly influence our behavior (Davis and Newstrom, 1993, p.121)
- - - - Meeting these needs leads to feelings of self-confidence, worth, strength, prestige, power, ability, and usefulness.
        Their frustration can lead to feelings of inferiority, weakness, dependency, and helplessness, which in turn can lead to discouragement or compensatory activities.
        
        In summary, Maslow's contributions to the understanding of human motivation can be summarized in the following statements:
        • A satisfied need does not motivate any behavior; only unmet needs. Employees are more enthusiastic about what they seek than what they already own.
        • At first the behavior revolves around the satisfaction of physiological needs.
        • From a certain age, the individual begins a long learning of new patterns of needs. Physiological and safety needs are the primary needs of the individual, and are related to their personal preservation.
        • Self-esteem needs are complementary to social needs, while self-fulfillment needs complement self-esteem. The highest levels of needs only arise when the individual relatively satisfies the lowest levels of needs.
        • The higher needs do not arise as the lower ones are being satisfied, since they predominate, according to the hierarchy.
        • Primary needs require a rapid motivational cycle, while secondary needs require a much longer one.
        
        Despite the usefulness of the hierarchy of needs proposed by Maslow, it is necessary to point out some limitations of this theory:
        • It is difficult to verify and study, scientifically. It has not been fully verified.
        • Research does not support the presence of the five levels of needs as unique, nor has the progression of five levels of needs from the lowest to the highest been established.
- - - - • Alternative Consequences: The behavior is fostered primarily through positive reinforcement. Reinforcing or reinforcer is any act, thing, word, object; that makes a behavior tend to repeat itself. Positive reinforcement is based especially on rewards or favorable consequences for the person (money, praise, recognition).
        • Negative Reinforcement: These are unfavorable consequences, especially referring to the elimination of some reward.
        • Punishment: It is a consequence of performing unwanted behavior in order to eliminate said behavior. But it must be taken into account that punishment has limitations when trying to modify human behavior since it discourages a behavior but does not directly encourage other appropriate behavior, it can also generate insecurity, confusion and resentment in the punished person.
        • Extinction: It is a way to eliminate unwanted behaviors by eliminating any consequence that encourages the behavior (both positive and negative consequences can encourage a certain behavior).
        • Learning by Shaping: It comes from shaping, doing little by little. When you want to establish a complex behavior for the individual, each small achievement that gets closer and closer to the desired final behavior is positively reinforced.
        • Reinforcement Programs: It is an organized and complete way that tries to change or modify a behavior in another person (implies implementing, eliminating or accentuating some behavior). It begins with the creation of a “baseline” that is to establish the frequency with which it occurs. the behavior to modify.
        
        General rules for the effective use of behavior modification by administrators:
        • What is reinforcing or rewarding for one person is not for another. Do not reward all people equally, these must be managed based on performance.
        • In some situations, only material rewards can be counterproductive.
        • Watch carefully and identify consequences or reinforcers that promote undesirable behavior. Specify the behavior that you want to modify. Establish an initial line of conduct (frequency), implement a program aimed at modifying behavior, and evaluate results.
        • Staff must be clear about what to do to achieve the reward.
        • Not responding or paying attention is also helpful in eliminating unimportant and annoying behaviors.
        • Staff should know what they are doing wrong and should be told how to do it right.
        • Do not punish, in any way, in front of others.
        • Be fair: They must give the rewards they deserve; do not give excessive or insufficient rewards as this loses the value of the reward.
        
        The main benefit of behavior modification is to stimulate managers to analyze the behavior of subordinates, to observe and identify.
      - On the other hand, behavior modification has been criticized in various aspects such as its philosophy, methods and feasibility. Some of these criticisms or limitations are:
        • Manipulates individuals
        • It is not congruent with humanistic orientations
        • Gives too much power to managers.
        • Insults people's intelligence
        • Has limited application in complex positions.
        • Ignores people's skills and good judgment in addition to their previous experiences, values, expectations, feelings.