Human Resource Management Free Persuasive

This question is more centred on how we may better understand the organisational behaviour and organisational developments techniques and theories in the organisation and moreover how to implement them for the betterment of the overall organisational goal.In addition to that the human resources department have come into senses through the employment of the intermittent schedules into play.So how has the human resource implemented this scheme into the organisation?.Someone can ask that due to curiousity but this question will be answered as the essay will be revealed in detail below.

In a bid to improve the whole organisational goal,policies,mission and even the strategies of the organisation the human resources managers have put into play the intermittent schedules of reinforcement which enables employees to be drived towards the achievements of the organisation goal through the implementation of the intermittent schedules of reinforcement.

Reinforcement is an extremely important principle of conditioning mainly used by top managers to move or drive their subordinates in the work place thus a process of shaping behaviour by controlling its consequences.Because according to Boxal et al (2007)he views human resource as the management of work and people towards a desired end. This reinforcement theory is sometimes called the operant conditioning as its main focus is on the operant behaviour and its associated consequences. According to Copper et al (2007) intermittent schedules of reinforcement are used when maintaining previously learned behaviour. Anderson also argues that behaviour at the work place is either shaped with the positive and negative reinforcers.

The positive mainly on the rewarding bases of the employee for a good job well done and the universe follows that the negative reinforces involves the removal of something undesirable in order to alter behaviour. But we can not introduce the reinforcement theory leaving aside the important behaviourist B.F.Skinner who derived the reinforcement theory which seem to be one of the still standing oldest theory of motivation as a way to explain behaviour and why we do what we do.The theory also known as the behaviourism or operant conditioning which is still commonly taught in psychology nowadays.The theory states that “an individual behaviour is a function of its consequences” (Management Study guide 2013)

Furthermore what is called the reinforcement scheduling is the essential time the rewards, punishment and timing of these outcomes but difference seem to exist between timing and frequents of the reinforcers.This reinforces mainly used to explain work place process such as payment system, absenteeism and motivation to mention but a few. Moreover Fester and Skinner argues that there are mainly two types of intermittent schedules of reinforcement, firstly those that occurs at fixed number of desired response and those schedules that appear regularly or irregularly which are called variables. Through the ideals of the two schedules the four intermittent reinforcement schedules are then formed. This shall all be explained in details below.

Fixed interval schedules it follows that a constant amount of time could pass before a reinforce is provided. In other words behaviour pattern almost stops after a reward until the next interval.(Smith,2010)Heffner also offers an example of employee performance review for a raise every year and not in between.(Heffner,2001)Thus is really true in the human resources management as there treat employees like humans not assets their try by all means to satisfy their workers through a payment system of every month or per week depending on the organisation’s financial stamina. This is also good as money is there to meet all our basic needs of people according to Maslow (1943) hierarchy of needs “a theory of human motivation”. There by in short here is been used as a driver to drive the workforce for the enabling of the organisational goal. For example in most of the farms in the peripheral area like Chimanimani area a farm called Charter almost all the workforce are given their money after a certain period of time but especially on the second day of each month.

However on the other side of the coin this fixed interval schedules are to some extent weak as there tend to demotivated people especially when the organisation has failed to pay the employees at the intended time. Variable interval schedules those are one of the schedules that the human resource management can apply the intermittent schedules for it is considered vital to the organisation,this is only achieved through the application of the intermittent schedules like the variable interval schedule this defines a schedule where a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed. Once the behaviour have been reinforce by the human resources managers a new interval have to put in place either long or shorter this depends on the main focuses of the organisational objectives and the implementation of those objectives with the human resources managers there specify the sum total of the interval time with the average( Huitt and Hummel 1997).

This is best explained in the corporate random drug screening will be conducted every three months or so, however because the screening will happen sooner or later after or before 4 months with the average interval time of equalling around 3 months, causing of this issue the scalloping effect of this schedule is therefore solved(Huitt and Hummel,1997)Although it produces a slow,but a steady rate of response, but examples are draw from human resources managers giving their subordinates a kind of special recognition of a job well done thus through the giving always of certificates like the best employee of the year this is done to effectively boost the employee work morale and he also gain a sense of belonging according to the Maslow hierarchy if needs. Moreover it is characterised by resistance of extinction, and very minimal pause after reinforcement is given. This theory have got an interlink with the human resource management approach to the organisation that is called management by walking around thus the MBWA approach to the organisation that enables managers to effectively walk around to see whether the workforce is working accordingly, this is done frequently.

The fixed ratio schedules of reinforcement theory means that reinforcement should be delivered after a constant or fixed number of correct responses for example a fixed ratio of 2 means that reinforcement should be done after every 2 correct responses. It is sometimes abbreviated as FR with the number of the correct response stated after it. It sometimes produces a high reinforce rate especially at the closure if it .This mostly done by human resource managers that employees piece jobs thus after a certain amount of time or piece of job you will get paid for that. In Zimbabwe this is realistic especially Zesa there can employee anyone to read meter boxes of a certain area after the reading you are in a better position to be paid accordingly to the agreed amount of money hence this increase their speed of the worker to effectively work hard at a maximum speed.

However these schedules tend to be costly as the workers are likely to make valuable mistake that will tannish the whole image of the organisation. Like there can harass clients because there know that his jobs is going to end after the collection of the meter reading. Hence there is a probability of organisation repeat to be tarnished through the employment of uneducated hooligans into the piece job system as there tend to rub the good image of the organisation hence it is good for the human resource to take these into consideration when implementing the fixed ratio schedule into play.

The variable ratio schedules to his occur mainly when a responses is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses. This schedule creates a high steady rate if responding. A clear example can be derived from the gambling or lottery game. Slot machines: Players have no way that how many times there have to play until they win the game thus the reason why slots machines are so effective and why players are so reluctant to quit playing the game the human resource feels good when dealing with such a strategy tactic because there is always the possibility that the next game there we win the game and even take for the example of the call bonuses. One expectation is that which was given by Yulk, Wexley ,and Seymour(1972) which examine the effectiveness of pay incentives under the variable and continues reinforcement schedules, it was taken under condition which were more similar to an organisational environment. In a stimulated job situation subjects worked for an hour/day for a period of two weeks, subjects were paid $1.50/hr for the first week.

At the beginning of the second week subjects were randomly assigned for the three incentives conditions,25c incentive with a continuous reinforcement schedule,25c incentive with a 50% variable ratio schedule and a 50c incentive followed by a 50% variable schedule. It was therefore found that employees were motivated when using the variable ratio schedule than the continuous schedule. It sounds as if human resources managers could implement this schedule the employee get motivated to work hard because each successful behaviour will increase the probability of the reinforcement for example salesman at a car sale. The more the cars he sales the more the more money he gets from commission. Hence here employee will be motivated to work for himself and also this increases profit and productivity of the workforce towards the same object of organisational goal.

Fixed interval schedules this mean that reinforcement becomes available after a specific period of time have elapsed Smith (2010), moreover the schedule can also be shortened as FI followed by the amount of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes available like FI2 meaning that FI2 means that reinforcement must be available after every 2 minutes .Heffer (2001) offers an clear example of an employee performance review for a raise in every year and not in between. However there seem to be scalloping effect between the intervals that is been caused by the reinforcement is delivered after a specific time have passed.(Huitt and Hummel,1997) This type of reinforcement usually used well by the human resource managers when learning a new behaviour in the organisations or punishment.

This is also is stated by the Michigan matching model of human resource that says appraisal ,selection, development and our main thrust Reward what makes the human resource management function towards the overall organisational goal. Hence this is agreed when using the intermittent schedules that monetary rewards are essential to motivate workers for the betterment of organisational goal. However to the other extend the human resources may tend to fail to meet the rewards especially when there are some economic constrain like inflation that hinders the payment of workers hence the workers will become demotivated or go to strike and make demonstration that makes or tannish the overall reputation of the company.

In addition to that the installing of the reinforcement schedules such as variable interval schedules this enables employee to work effectively towards the achievement of an organisational goal, because only that the employees does not have a clear knowledge of when the performance review is going to come hence he is always on his toes to ensure that the company goal have been meet at the intended time(Remond,2010)This is mainly done to the McGregor theory “x” and “Y”,which says that the x-workers are those workers born with the natural dislikes of work and on the contrary the y-workers are those that are born with the likings of work rather their feel work as playing hence the application of the theory is applicable especially when we are dealing with the x-workers this enable them to work harder towards the achievement of the organisational goal.

The theory of reinforcement is easily applied to the organisation by the human resource managers as the theory deals with learned behaviours therefore we can be able to say it is not cumbersome to apply those reinforcements schedules into the organisations. Upon joining a company workers workers often deals with certain stimuli, responses, and their consequences. Because the behaviour are rewarded or punished it can be easy to encourage or change workers’ responds by manipulating the stimulus (Operant Conditioning, 2006)

The reinforcement theory provides with it clues to motivations unlike the Need
Theory to motivation which places more emphases on the internal need rather than the external needs that the reinforcement is more focused on. Thus within the workplace the organisation, workplace organisational management theorist look to the so called environment in a bid to explain and control people’s behaviour. That because of this people tend to be more motivated than through groups through the external factors such as pay raise, promotion to mention but a few. (Operant conditioning 2006).

Hence in a nutshell the human resource managers re taking the intermittent schedules into play towards the organisational objectives.

REFERENCES
Addiction Invention(2013)Both Positive and Negative Reinforcement can create behaviour changes.(retrieved on February 1st ,2013 from http://www.adiction intervention .com/current-events/addiction-news/both-positive-and –negative –reinforcement-can-create-behaviour-changes.

“Conversation with B.F Skinner” Organisational Dynamics 1.3(1973).Business Source Premier.EBSCO.Web.27 May 2010.
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operant(instrumental)conditioning.Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta State University.Retrived from, http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/behysys/operant.htm

Management Study Guide (2013) Reinforcement Theory of Motivation.Retrieved on February 2nd,2013 from http://managementstudyguide.com/reinforcement-theory -motivation.htm
Michael Armstrong 10th (ed)A handbookof human resource management pracices.Kogan pages. London and Philadelphia.
Heffner ,C.(2001). Learning theory and behaviour Psychology:Reinforcement Schedules.Psychology 101.The Virtual Psychology Classroom:AllPsych Online.Retrieved January 26,2010,from http://allpsych.com/psychology 10/reinforcement.html.