Learning Through Observation

 Social learning theory argues that people in

organizations have the ability to learn through
the observation of others.
 Behavioral modeling happens when employees
observe the actions of others, learn from what
they observe, and then repeat the observed
behavior.
The Modeling Process
 Goal Orientation
 Learning orientation - where building competence is
deemed more important than demonstrating
competence.
 Enjoy working on new kinds of tasks, even if they fail
during their early experiences.
 View failure in positive terms—as a means of
increasing knowledge and skills in the long run.
 Performance-prove orientation focus on
demonstrating their competence so that others think
favorably of them.
 Performance-avoid orientation focus on
demonstrating competence so that others will not
think poorly of them.
 Improve Learning – Knowledge Transfer
 Knowledge transfer is defined as the process of storing and
sharing employees’ knowledge and best practices.
 Implementing a knowledge transfer plan will prevent
knowledge loss when tenured employees leave.
 It will also help to establish a central source of company
information, where all employees — whether new,
experienced, or on-site can access up-to-date company
knowledge.
 Will minimize the time employees spend searching through
emails, files, and messages to find the information.
 Organizations will not have a difficult time training new
employees and providing an uninterrupted level of service to
customers.
Decision Making
 Decision Making

❑ Decision making is the process of making choices

by identifying a decision, gathering information,
and assessing alternative resolutions.

❑ Using a step-by-step decision-making process can

help you make more deliberate, thoughtful
decisions by organizing relevant information and
defining alternatives.
 Methods of Decision Making
▪ Programmed decisions are decisions that become
somewhat automatic because a person’s knowledge
allows him or her to recognize and identify a
situation and the course of action that needs to be
taken.
– Intuition can be described as emotionally charged
judgments that arise through quick, nonconscious, and
holistic associations.
– Intuitive decision making is perhaps never more
important than it is during a crisis.
• A crisis situation is a change—whether sudden or evolving—
that results in an urgent problem that must be addressed
immediately.
 Methods of Decision Making
▪ When a situation arises that is new, complex
and not recognized, it calls for a
nonprogrammed decision on the part of the
employee.
 As employees move up the corporate ladder, a larger
percentage of their decisions become less and less
programmed.
▪ Rational decision-making model offers a step-
by-step approach to making decisions that
maximize outcomes by examining all available
alternatives.
Programmed and Nonprogrammed Decisions
Decision Making