Organisational Behaviour Page |1

UNIT-II NOTE-16
rd
B. Com. 3 Year/ VI Semester Date: 17/05/2021
UTILITIES OF OB MODIFICATION
UTILITIES OF OB MODIFICATION:
OB Mod has been applied successfully in many organisations, service as
well as manufacturing, to improve organisational effectiveness and
understand human behaviour in organisations. It is an important technique
of human resource management.
The major strengths and utilities of OB Mod are as follows:
1. Can be put to Testing:
OB Mod concentrates on a person’s external behaviour and this allows a
manager to realistically observe and deal with outward manifestations of
behaviour. Since it deals with observed behaviour it can be put to testing.

2. Development of Employees:
OB Mod presents a set of tools by which people can learn new behaviours
and skills and thereby replacing undesirable behaviours. Positive
reinforcement could be used to encourage desirable behaviour by the
employees. Social learning theory can be of great use in the effective
implementation of any training programme for the employees. Thus, OB
Mod is a great technique of developing the employees.

3. Control and Regulation of the Employees’ Behaviour:

OB Mod provides various tools to the managers for effectively controlling
and influencing the behaviour of employees in the organisation. Most
behaviour in the organisation are learned, controlled and changed by the
consequences. The managers can use operant conditioning to control and
regulate the behaviour of subordinates by manipulating the reward system.
The behavioural consequences that are rewarding increase the probability of
desired behaviour whereas aversive consequences decrease the probability
of desired response.

4. Easy to Understand and Use:

The understanding of OB Mod techniques is comparatively easy. Managers
can use these without many problems. OB Mod has received great attention
from several organisations in the recent years. It is widely applied in large
organisations in the areas of human resource management, executive
development, motivation, introduction of change and organisational
development.
1. Every Manager uses OB Mod: Any manager who exerts influence over
subordinates is already using rewards and punishments. It is hoped that by
studying the principles of OB Mod, managers can gain a better
understanding of how their behaviour (applying rewards and punishment) is
affecting the behaviour of employees.

2. Action Speak Louder than Words: People respond to the events that
actually affect them, not to what they are told. A manager who tells
employees one thing but whose behavior reflects something different will
find that employees react to the behaviour and not the words.
B. Com. 3rd Year/ VI Semester, Dept. of commerce, JNRM, Port Blair-744104
Organisational Behaviour Page |2

3. Doing Nothing has Reinforcing Consequences: Employees who are

behaving properly may cease to exhibit desirable behaviours in order to get
their manager’s attention. Managers must constantly keep in mind that
desirable behaviour must be positively reinforced to maximize the chances
that it will be continually exhibited.

4. Reinforces are Individual in Nature: There can be important individual

differences in reinforcements, although some reinforcers such as pay may be
common to most people, it may be a much stronger reinforcer for some
people than for others.

5. Reinforcers must be Oriented toward Specific Behaviours: OB Mod

techniques can only be effective if applied to a specific, observable act of
behaviour. To use OB Mod effectively, the employee must know specifically
which behaviour the manager finds desirable and which are undesirable.
Not knowing would only result in a very frustrated employee and a
disappointed manager.

6. Reinforcements must be “Real”: Application of positive reinforcements

cannot be treated as a gimmick to get employees to do things they would not
normally do.

7. Reinforcements must be Fair: If people do not see the rewards as being

commensurate with the required behaviour, then the reinforcement system
will be ineffective.

8. Reinforcements must be relatively Quick: To be successful,

reinforcement plans mustprovide relatively quick rewards to the employee
that can be specifically identified with productive behaviour. For example,
an incentive system that rewards employees weekly is superior to one that
pays off once every six months.

9. Employees must be given Feedback on their Performance: It is

difficult for employees to change their behaviour if they do not know what
they are doing wrong. Many managers find the feedback process to be an
uncomfortable one and therefore avoid it. Unfortunately, this can cause
additional problems as the managers becomes increasingly frustrated with
the lack of performance and the employees become frustrated trying to
figure out what it is the manager wants.

B. Com. 3rd Year/ VI Semester, Dept. of commerce, JNRM, Port Blair-744104