Management and Organizational Studies 2181A/B Study Guide - Final Guide: Tacit Knowledge, Explicit Knowledge, Reinforcement
14 Dec 2017
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MOS 2181
Chapter 9
Learning and Decision Making
●Definition
○Learning
■A relatively permanent change in an employee’s knowledge or skill that
results from experience
○Decision Making
■The process of generating and choosing from a set of alternatives to solve
a problem
○The more knowledge and skills employees possess, the more likely they are to
make accurate and sound decisions
○Less experienced employees will lack the knowledge base needed to make the
right decisions when stepping into new roles
○It takes most employees anywhere from three months to a year to perform at a
satisfactory level
○High levels of expertise takes significantly longer
○Expertise
■The knowledge and skills that distinguish experts from novices
○The differences between experts and novices are almost always a function of
learning, contrary to the more popular view that intelligence or other innate
differences make the difference
○Changes in behaviours can be used to show that learners are gaining knowledge
○True learning only occurs when changes in behaviour become relatively
permanent and are repeated over time
●Types of Knowledge
○Explicit Knowledge
■Knowledge that is easily communicated and available to everyone
■Usually winds up being a relatively minor portion of what you need to
know
○Tacit Knowledge
■Knowledge that employees can only learn through experience
■It is not easily communicated but could very well be the most important
aspect of what we learn in organizations
■What separates experts from common people
■It is been argued that up to 90 percent of the knowledge contained in
organizations occurs in tacit form
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■Others have used terms such as intuition, skills, insight, beliefs, mental
models, and practical intelligence
●Methods of Learning
○It is hard to build a high level of tacit knowledge without some level of explicit
knowledge to build from
○From an organization’s perspective, the tacit knowledge its employees accumulate
may be the single most important strategic asset a company possesses
○Reinforcement
■Originally known as Operant Conditioning
●People learn by observing the link between our voluntary
behaviour and the consequences that follow it
●People have a tendency to repeat behaviours that result in
consequences that they like and to reduce behaviours that result in
consequences that they do not like
■Components and Process
●Antecedent
○Condition that precedes behaviour
○In organizations are typically goals, rules, instructions
●Behaviour
○Action performed by employee
●Consequence
○Result that occurs after behaviour
○Primary driver of behaviour
■The entire process is a continuous cycle, and the repetition of behaviours
is strengthened to the degree that reinforcement continues to occur
■Contingencies of Reinforcement
●Four specific consequences used by organizations to modify
employee behaviour
●Positive Reinforcement
○A reinforcement contingency in which a positive outcome
follows a desired behaviour
○Employees need to see a direct link between their
behaviours and desired outcomes
○If the consequences are not realized until long after the
specific behaviours, the odds that employees will link the
two are minimized
●Negative Reinforcement
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○A reinforcement contingency in which an unwanted
outcome is removed following a desired behaviour
●Punishment
○An unwanted outcome that follows an unwanted behaviour
●Extinction
○The removal of a positive outcome following an unwanted
behaviour
○Desired behaviour that is not reinforced will diminish over
time
●Application
○In general, positive reinforcement and extinction should be
the most common forms of reinforcement used by
managers to create learning among their employees
■Both deliver their intended results without creating
feelings of animosity and conflict
■Positive reinforcement, like public
recognition,encourages employees and helps ensure
that desirable behaviours will be imitated and
repeated
○Punishment and negative reinforcement will work, but they
tend to bring other detrimental consequences along with
them
■Schedules of Reinforcement
●The timing of when contingencies are applied or removed
●Continuous Reinforcement
○A schedule of reinforcement in which a specific
consequence follows each and every occurrence of a certain
behaviour
○New learning is acquired most rapidly
○Impractical due to difficulty to maintain
○The least long lasting, because as soon as the consequence
stops, the desired behaviour stops along with it
○Once a behaviour has been acquired, some form of
intermittent scheduling is more effective
●Fixed-Interval Schedule
○A schedule whereby reinforcement occurs at fixed time
periods
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Document Summary
A relatively permanent change in an employee"s knowledge or skill that results from experience. The process of generating and choosing from a set of alternatives to solve a problem. The more knowledge and skills employees possess, the more likely they are to make accurate and sound decisions. Less experienced employees will lack the knowledge base needed to make the right decisions when stepping into new roles. It takes most employees anywhere from three months to a year to perform at a satisfactory level. High levels of expertise takes significantly longer. The knowledge and skills that distinguish experts from novices. The differences between experts and novices are almost always a function of learning, contrary to the more popular view that intelligence or other innate differences make the difference. Changes in behaviours can be used to show that learners are gaining knowledge. True learning only occurs when changes in behaviour become relatively permanent and are repeated over time.
