1 st Answer

we're looking at 10 of the most common leadership and management errors,

and highlighting what you can do to avoid them. If you can learn about these
here, rather than through experience, you'll save yourself a lot of trouble!

1. Not Providing Feedback

Sarah is a talented sales representative, but she has a habit of answering the
phone in an unprofessional manner. Her boss is aware of this, but he's waiting
for her performance review to tell her where she's going wrong. Unfortunately,
until she's been alerted to the problem, she'll continue putting off potential
customers.
According to 1,400 executives polled by The Ken Blanchard Companies, failing
to provide feedback is the most common mistake that leaders make. When you
don't provide prompt feedback to your people, you're depriving them of the
opportunity to improve their performance.
To avoid this mistake, learn how to provide regular feedback to your team.
(You can use our Skillbook Giving Feedback to gain an in-depth understanding
of feedback, and to learn how to provide it effectively.)

2. Not Making Time for Your Team

When you're a manager or leader, it's easy to get so wrapped up in your own
workload that you don't make yourself available to your team.
Yes, you have projects that you need to deliver. But your people must come
first – without you being available when they need you, your people won't know
what to do, and they won't have the support and guidance that they need to
meet their objectives.
Avoid this mistake by blocking out time in your schedule specifically for your
people, and by learning how to listen actively to your team. Develop your
emotional intelligence so that you can be more aware of your team and their
needs, and have a regular time when "your door is always open," so that your
people know when they can get your help. You can also use Management By
Walking Around, which is an effective way to stay in touch with your team.
Once you're in a leadership or management role, your team should always
come first - this is, at heart, what good leadership is all about!

3. Being Too "Hands-Off"

One of your team has just completed an important project. The problem is that
he misunderstood the project's specification, and you didn't stay in touch with
him as he was working on it. Now, he's completed the project in the wrong
way, and you're faced with explaining this to an angry client.
Many leaders want to avoid micromanagement. But going to the opposite
extreme (with a hand-offs management style) isn't a good idea either – you
need to get the balance right.
Our article, Laissez Faire versus Micromanagement will help you find the right
balance for your own situation.
4. Being Too Friendly

Most of us want to be seen as friendly and approachable to people in our team.

After all, people are happier working for a manager that they get on with.
However, you'll sometimes have to make tough decisions regarding people in
your team, and some people will be tempted to take advantage of your
relationship if you're too friendly with them.
This doesn't mean that you can't socialize with your people. But, you do need
to get the balance right between being a friend and being the boss.
Learn how to avoid this mistake with our article, Now You're the Boss. Also,
make sure that you set clear boundaries, so that team members aren't tempted
to take advantage of you.

5. Failing to Define Goals

When your people don't have clear goals, they muddle through their day. They
can't be productive if they have no idea what they're working for, or what their
work means. They also can't prioritize their workload effectively, meaning that
projects and tasks get completed in the wrong order.
Avoid this mistake by learning how to set SMART goals for your team. Use a
Team Charter to specify where your team is going, and detail the resources it
can draw upon. Also, use principles from Management by Objectives to align
your team's goals to the mission of the organization.

6. Misunderstanding Motivation

Do you know what truly motivates your team? Here's a hint: chances are, it's
not just money!
Many leaders make the mistake of assuming that their team is only working for
monetary reward. However, it's unlikely that this will be the only thing that
motivates them.
For example, people seeking a greater work/life balance might be motivated by
telecommuting days or flexible working. Others will be motivated by factors
such as achievement, extra responsibility, praise, or a sense of camaraderie.
To find out what truly drives your people, read our articles on McClelland's
Human Motivation Theory and Theory X and Theory Y. Then, take our test
"How Good Are Your Motivation Skills?" to learn how to be a great motivator of
people.

7. Hurrying Recruitment

When your team has a large workload, it's important to have enough people
"on board" to cope with it. But filling a vacant role too quickly can be a
disastrous mistake.
Hurrying recruitment can lead to recruiting the wrong people for your team:
people who are uncooperative, ineffective or unproductive. They might also
require additional training, and slow down others on your team. With the wrong
person, you'll have wasted valuable time and resources if things don't work out
and they leave. What's worse, other team members will be stressed and
frustrated by having to "carry" the under-performer.
You can avoid this mistake by learning how to recruit effectively, and by being
particularly picky about the people you bring into your team.

8. Not "Walking the Walk"

If you make personal telephone calls during work time, or speak negatively
about your CEO, can you expect people on your team not to do this too?
Probably not!
As a leader, you need to be a role model for your team. This means that if they
need to stay late, you should also stay late to help them. Or, if your
organization has a rule that no one eats at their desk, then set the example
and head to the break room every day for lunch. The same goes for your
attitude – if you're negative some of the time, you can't expect your people not
to be negative.
2nd Answer

Reinforcement theory is a psychological principle suggesting that behaviors

are shaped by their consequences, and that individual behaviors can be
changed through reinforcement, punishment and extinction.
Behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner was instrumental in developing modern
ideas about reinforcement theory. According to Skinner, a person's internal
needs and drives are not important areas of concern because their current
behaviors follow the law of effect and are based on the consequences of
former behaviors. This means that behaviors can be altered or manipulated
over time.
How can managers use reinforcement theory to motivate employees?
The reinforcement theory of motivation aims to motivate staff through
reinforcement, punishment and extinction. Reinforcement theory in the
workplace can be positive or negative as long as it reinforces the
desired employee experience and behaviour. Managers using reinforcement
theory to motivate staff should explain to employees which behaviors will result
in positive feedback.
Aside from the agent and the environment, a reinforcement learning model has
four essential components: a policy, a reward, a value function, and an
environment model.
A policy determines how an agent behaves at a specific point in time. In broad
terms, it is a mapping between environmental conditions to actions, to the
activities that the agent conducts in the environment. The policy might be as
basic as a function or as sophisticated as function calculations. The policy is at
the heart of everything the agent discovers.
A reward defines the goal of an RL issue. At each time step, the agent’s
behaviors result in a reward. The ultimate purpose of the agent is to optimize
the overall reward earned. As a consequence, the reward differentiates
between positive and bad action outcomes for the agent. In a natural system,
we may attribute rewards and punishments as delightful and unpleasant
experiences.
A state’s value is the total accumulated quantity of prizes that the agent may
anticipate receiving in the future if it begins in that condition. Values represent
the long-term attractiveness of a collection of states based on the expected
future states and the benefits produced by those states. Even though a state
produces a modest immediate reward, it might still be valuable since it is
frequently followed by additional states that produce bigger benefits.
The environment model is another significant component of several
reinforcement learning systems. This is a mechanism that mimics
environmental behaviour and enables predictions about how the environment
will respond. This model will let the agent forecast the next reward if an action
is taken, enabling the agent to rely on developing action on future
environmental responses.
The model defined by Skinner goes further, outlining four methods of
conditioning:
Positive reinforcement: a desirable stimulus is introduced to encourage certain
behaviour.
Positive punishment: an undesirable stimulus is introduced to discourage the
behaviour.
Negative reinforcement: an undesirable stimulus is removed to encourage the
behaviour.
Negative punishment (also called extinction): a desirable stimulus is removed
to discourage the behaviour.
Each of these four methods of conditioning can be implemented to teach, train,
and manage behaviour.

Positive Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement vs. Positive Punishment
Although both methods include the word “positive,” we know that this does not
mean they are “good.”
As noted above, positive reinforcement refers to introducing a desirable
stimulus (i.e., a reward) to encourage the behaviour that is desired. An
example of this is giving a child a treat when he or she is polite to a stranger.
On the other hand, positive punishment involves introducing
an undesirable stimulus (i.e., a punishment) to discourage a specific
behaviour. An example of positive punishment is spanking a child when he or
she is rude to a stranger.
Positive Reinforcement vs. Negative Reinforcement
Similarly, positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement have the same
goal—to encourage a certain behaviour—but they use different methods.
Positive reinforcement adds a desirable stimulus to the situation, while
negative reinforcement removes an undesirable stimulus, both in the service of
reinforcing the behaviour that was displayed.
A parent allowing their child to borrow the family car when they get good
grades is positive reinforcement, and a parent removing the child’s curfew
when he or she gets good grades is negative reinforcement.
Is Positive Reinforcement More Effective?
These four types of conditioning are all valid and effective ways to teach or
train; however, their effectiveness will vary based on the context. For some
situations, negative punishment may be much more effective than positive
punishment, or positive reinforcement may be the best choice.
Conclusion: So, in the above case, reward element is used and a positive
reinforcement is used. The rewards used are tangible as well as intangible in
nature. Tangible reward is the gift voucher (non-monetary) and intangible is the
appreciation email.
3 rd Answer

3a.

Maslow's theory presents his hierarchy of needs in a pyramid shape, with basic
needs at the bottom of the pyramid and more high-level, intangible needs at
the top. A person can only move on to addressing the higher-level needs when
their basic needs are adequately fulfilled.
1. Physiological needs: The first of the id-driven lower needs on Maslow's
hierarchy are physiological needs. These most basic human survival needs
include food and water, sufficient rest, clothing and shelter, overall health, and
reproduction. Maslow states that these basic physiological needs must be
addressed before humans move on to the next level of fulfilment.
2. Safety needs: Next among the lower-level needs is safety. Safety needs
include protection from violence and theft, emotional stability and well-being,
health security, and financial security.
3. Love and belonging needs: The social needs on the third level of Maslow’s
hierarchy relate to human interaction and are the last of the so-called lower
needs. Among these needs are friendships and family bonds—both with
biological family (parents, siblings, children) and chosen family (spouses and
partners). Physical and emotional intimacy ranging from sexual relationships to
intimate emotional bonds are important to achieving a feeling of elevated
kinship. Additionally, membership in social groups contributes to meeting this
need, from belonging to a team of co-workers to forging an identity in a union,
club, or group of hobbyists.
4. Esteem needs: The higher needs, beginning with esteem, are ego-driven
needs. The primary elements of esteem are self-respect (the belief that you
are valuable and deserving of dignity) and self-esteem (confidence in your
potential for personal growth and accomplishments). Maslow specifically notes
that self-esteem can be broken into two types: esteem which is based on
respect and acknowledgment from others, and esteem which is based on your
own self-assessment. Self-confidence and independence stem from this latter
type of self-esteem.

5. Self-actualization needs: Self-actualization describes the fulfilment of your

full potential as a person. Sometimes called self-fulfilment needs, self-
actualization needs occupy the highest spot-on Maslow's pyramid. Self-
actualization needs include education, skill development—the refining of
talents in areas such as music, athletics, design, cooking, and gardening—
caring for others, and broader goals like learning a new language, traveling to
new places, and winning awards.
Conclusion: So, it can be concluded that Renita is looking to fulfil her needs
of self-actualization.

3b.
Self-actualization is the final stage in the linear growth of an individual. Maslow
believed that in order to achieve this state of personal fulfilment, the person must first
satisfy the preceding needs (i.e. physiological, safety, love/belonging, and esteem, in
that order). He contested that self-actualized individuals possess a number of
characteristics that enable them to, first, satisfy the four initial categories of needs
and, second, to contend with the dissonant relationship between free will (i.e. the
supposed capacity to act based solely on our personal drives) and determinism (i.e.
the effect of societal pressure and an internal consideration of how we will appear to
others and the effects our actions will have on them). Below is a list of the
characteristics possessed by self-actualized individuals as outlined by Maslow
(1954):
Acceptance and realism: Self-actualization reflects the individual's acceptance
of who he/she is, what he/she is capable of, and his/her realistic and accurate
perception of the world around him or her (including the people within it and
how they relate to the individual). When we have an inaccurate view of
ourselves or the outside world, there is a dissonant, unsettling and deleterious
disparity between our internal self and the external world. Self-actualization is
achieved by those who have the most accurate view of themselves and the
world around them.
Problem-centering: Self-actualized individuals are not purely focused on
internal gain; they appreciate the benefits of solving problems that affect
others so as to improve the external world. The desire to assist others is borne
out of an internal sense of right and wrong, which is grounded in empathy.
Spontaneity: The self-actualized individual thinks and acts spontaneously, as a
result of having an accurate self- and world-view. In spite of this spontaneity,
these individuals tend to act and think within the accepted social norms and
according to the expectations of others. These individuals are also usually
open in their interactions with others, yet unconventional in their interaction
styles, speech, and other aspects of behaviour.

Autonomy and Solitude: While the self-actualized among us conform to

societal norms and are often people-centred in their problem-solving, they
often display the need for personal freedom and privacy. These private times
are spent testing their potential, both mentally (i.e., thinking about their
problems) and physically (i.e., acting out to identify strengths and
weaknesses).
Peak Experiences: These are experiences that display three core
characteristics: significance, fulfilment, and spirituality. These intense
psychophysiological experiences include joy, wonder, awe, and ecstasy, and in
self-actualized people they are thought to be more common. These peak
experiences are thought to produce invigorating feelings such as inspiration,
physical and mental vitality, and a renewed sense of perspective.
Conclusion: So, it can be concluded that Renita has the above
characteristics, and so, teaching is the correct profession for her.