1. Discuss the factors that can affect whether training transfers back to the job. Which factor, or two, do you feel is/are the most important to ensure transfer? Support your choices.

2. Describe the purpose and advantages of conducting a needs assessment. How does your organization determine training needs?

3. Do you agree with the statement, "for learning to take place, the most important variable to consider is whether the individual learner has sufficient ability to learn what is being taught?" Explain.

Influences on Employee Behavior OPENING CASE Imagine that you worked for an energy company with roughly 400 employees. Recent changes in the energy industry have brought about an overall downturn in prices and revenue. This has led to several rounds of layoffs, impacting individuals at various levels. An obvious challenge in the midst of such change is to maintain the morale and build the skills for those employees who remain (i.e., the layoff survivors). For example, an employee's supervisor is let go, and now the employee has become a supervisor. An important issue is how workplace learning will be impacted by such downsizing. i nwore toivsded savo Questions: What do you think is likely to happen to workplace learning after the latest round of downsizing? What can this organization do to support the employees who remain after the down- sizing? What would you do if you became a supervisor because your supervisor had been laid off? SOURCE: Miller, S. M., Kim, J. H., & Lim, D. H. (2020). "Everybody needs everyone": A case study of workplace learning after a downsize. European Journal of Training and Development. DOI: 10.1108/EJTD-02-2019-0013 INTRODUCTION of eseso ontoa mi oldieeng ed gsm fi Have you ever wondered: why a coworker behaves the way he or she does? . why people so often live up (or down) to the expectations that others have for them? why managers seem to develop relationships of different quality with different subordinates? why some work teams develop more trust and cohesiveness than others? how motivation influences employee behavior? whether there are some general frameworks or models that can help in under- standing the various influences on employee behavior? The overarching goal of human resource development (HRD) interventions is to assist employees and organizations in attaining their goals. While this might seem relatively straightforward and uncontroversial, the working out of a multiple stake- holder approach is not easy, and it is not without controversy.' HRD professionals can help employees meet their personal goals by providing programs and interventions that promote individual development, for example, career development activities,34 Part 1 . Foundations of Human Resource Development mentoring, and formal training and educational opportunities. Concerning organiza tional goals, the ultimate objective of most, if not all, HRD programs is to improve orga. nizational performance, and this is true in for-profit, not-for-profit, and governmental entities. HRD efforts are not the only contributors to organizational performance FIGURE 2.1 Model of Employee however, they are increasingly recognized as a critical component of organizational success. Further, a major focus of most HRD interventions is an effort to change employee behavior. That is, the hope is that providing employees with the skills behaviors, or competencies they need to perform successfully should lead to the Economic greatest accomplishment of both employee and organizational goals. Thus, the field Conditions of HRD and talent development has always had a strong focus on employee behavior. However, to change any behavior, we must first understand the important factors that cause employees to behave the way they do. Armed with this knowledge, we can Supervision more accurately diagnose performance problems, understand what makes effective . Leadership performance possible, and design HRD programs to foster the behavior we want. . Performance Identifying the causes of employee behavior is no easy task. The factors contrib Expectations uting to any behavior are numerous, complex, and difficult to ascertain. Yet, how- ever difficult this may be, a thorough understanding of employee behavior and its causes is critical for any HRD program to be effective. The purpose of this chapter Organization . Reward is to introduce readers to the major factors influencing employee behavior and their Structures implications for HRD. Individuals with backgrounds in organizational behavior or Culture applied psychology will find that this chapter provides an important review and an . Job Design opportunity to relate these topics to issues within HRD. nis , elumexs 101 ,fanovivwe loyal sitt ,.s.) Coworkers . Norms MODEL OF EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR . Group anwob Dynamic The model of employee behavior shown in Figure 2.1 presents some key factors Teamw Contro affecting employee behavior and their corresponding relationships. It includes two Outco main categories: (1) external forces-that is, those found in the external environ- ment (outside the organization), as well as in the work environment (inside the organization), including leadership, aspects of the organization itself, coworkers, and the outcomes of performance (such as praise); and (2) internal forces-that s, those within the employee, including motivation, attitudes, and KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities). This model assumes that external and internal forces interact behaviors or or combine to produce a given behavior, and that employee behavior has a direct relationship to the personal and organizational outcomes that are obtained. Although the aggregat efforts to in it may be possible in some cases to trace the cause of a behavior to one or two dom- this second inant forces, the overall patterns of behavior can best be explained by the combina- Similar tion of many factors. size such This model is not intended to cover all possible causes for employee behavior, seek to p but instead focuses on topics that are most critical to designing and delivering HRD enforceab programs. Additional concepts will be presented in later chapters. The remainder of in this ch this chapter focuses on the elements contained within the model. ees enga As Dani prescrib Major Categories of Employee Behavior joloveb empor show amoe adivi lighting factors If HRD efforts are primarily intended to change employee behavior, then it is useful rohavliora word to first ask what types of behavior they are intended to change. Recent research pres- ents individual performance as multidimensional. Although many different aspects of individual performance have been identified, one vital distinction exists between EXT those behaviors central to performing one's job (often called task performance), and Fa other behaviors less central, yet still valuable for the effective functioning of a team, department, or organization as a whole. Many training efforts focus on the first Infl group of behaviors, namely those relating to performing the critical tasks associated infl with a given job. But the second category of behaviors is also important. Behaviors gen in this category have been given different labels (such as organizational citizenship iouChapter 2 . Influences on Employee Behavior 35 FIGURE 2.1 Model of Employee Behavior. Factors in the External Environment Economic Technological Labor Conditions Labor Market Laws and Changes Conditions Regulations Unions Supervision . Leadership . Performance Expectations Organization Employee Behavior . Reward . Motivation . Task Outcomes Structures . Attitudes Performance . Personal . Culture . Knowledge, Organizational . Organizational . Job Design Skill, Ability Citizenship Behaviors Coworkers . Norms scoleme no we . Group Dynamics . Teamwork . Control over Outcomes behaviors or contextual performance)." A central aspect of such behaviors is that in the aggregate, they contribute to organizational effectiveness." For example, HRD efforts to inculcate a culture of innovation and initiative-taking would focus more on this second category of behaviors. Similarly, team-building efforts that promote cooperation and teamwork empha size such citizenship behaviors. Alternately, coaching or mentoring efforts often seek to promote behaviors that, while helpful to the organization as a whole, are not enforceable requirements of a given job." The motivational issues discussed later in this chapter are particularly critical in determining the extent to which employ- ees engage in behaviors that are above and beyond their formal job requirements. As Daniel Katz wrote: "An organization [that] depends solely upon its blueprints of prescribed behavior is a very fragile social system." This discussion begins by high- lighting these two critical aspects of individual employee behavior. Next, the major factors that influence such behavior are described. EXTERNAL INFLUENCES ON EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR Factors in the External Environment Influences from outside the organization, that is, the external environment, clearly influence employee behavior. Factors from the external environment include the general state of the economy (e.g., the rate of inflation, level of unemployment); var- ious governmental laws, regulations, and regulatory agencies; the activities of otherPart 1 . Foundations of Human Resource Development 36 organizations or competitors, plus the many global and technological issues mentioned in Chapter 1. The model in Figure 2.1 depicts these as general forces that influence the organization and all parts within it.' Even organizations with strong internal work environments and high levels of employee behaviors can be negatively impacted by external factors, such as a downturn in the economy or a sudden technological change. Negative external forces often lead organizations to reduce their workforce. For example, downsizing refers to voluntary actions on the part of organizations to reduce the overall size of their workforce, generally to reduce costs. Despite the widespread nature of downsizing, there is not strong evidence concerning its long-term effective- ness." One study found that companies that downsized more than three percent in a given year found "no significant, consistent evidence that employment downsizing led to improved financial performance, as measured by return on assets or industry- adjusted return on assets" (p. 40)." A negative relationship between downsizing and firm performance was found in a sample of Spanish companies. " Similarly, a survey found that downsized organizations reported lower organizational performance, lower quality products or services, and lower employee satisfaction compared to organiza- tions that had not downsized. " Other studies found that it took several years for down- sized companies to return to financial health, and that it took downsized organizations three years to catch up to the financial performance of non-downsized competitors.14 For organizations to ensure their future success, they must maintain their investment in their workforce, even when they are restructuring or downsizing. This includes training the survivors of downsizing on how to carry out their responsibili ties after downsizing has occurred, but it can also include decisions to retrain rather than lay off employees." It should be clear from this brief discussion that downsizing has important implications for HRD, and conversely, that HRD efforts can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of organizational downsizing. 16 Warner Burke argued that HRD professionals should play a more active role in challenging or redi- recting corporate downsizing efforts." This is an area where it can be challenging to meet the goals of various stakeholders in an organization, presenting ethical dilem- mas to organizational leaders, HRD professionals, as well as to the employees who remain or "survive" a major downsizing. 18 Factors in the Work Environment In addition to factors in the external environment, there are also important factors within the organization that influence employee behavior. Four sets of forces within the work environment are emphasized: outcomes, supervisors, characteristics of the organization itself, and coworkers. Table 2.1 presents a list of these forces and some of the issues stemming from each. TABLE 2.1 Influences on Employee Behavior from the Work Environment. side biollia Factor Outcomes Issues Types Supervision Effect on motivation Leadership Organization Performance expectations and anolost Reward Structure Organizational Culture Coworkers Job Design Control of outcomes Norms Group dynamics Teamwork/Trust/CohesivenessofOutcomes Chapter 2 . Influences on Employee Behavior 37 Outcomes occur as a result of a given employee behavior. Outcomes can be personal or organizational in nature. Personal outcomes are those that have value to the indi- vidual, such as pay, recognition, and emotions. Organizational outcomes are things valued by an organization, such as teamwork, productivity, and product quality. These outcomes are what an organization would ultimately hope to achieve by the collect tive efforts of all organizational members. The word value in this context should not imply that outcomes are always positive or desirable. Behavior can also result in outcomes that employees fear or dislike. Embarrassment, disciplinary actions, trans- fers, loss of pay or privileges, and ostracism are all possible unpleasant outcomes of employee behavior. Consider for a moment why outcomes and outcome perceptions are so import- ant to HRD. If employees do not believe that attending a training program will lead to valued outcomes, they may choose not to attend the program, or may devote little effort to learning and using the skills being taught. If an employee perceives that organizational training will require increased individual effort, with no greater per- sonal outcomes than what other employees receive, the training may be seen as unfair. As a result, the employee may resist participating in the program. It is often the outcomes of performance (such as embarrassment or a poor evaluation) that serve as attention getters, convincing an employee that training or development is needed. For example, if a nurse who treats patients rudely never experiences any unpleasant outcomes as a result (such as complaints to the super- visor or disciplinary actions), it is unlikely that the nurse will perceive any need to change this behavior. Thus, it is important that managers remain aware of the out- comes of their subordinates' performance, as well as how their subordinates view these outcomes. This can be useful in detecting needs for workplace learning, moti- vating employees to participate in training, and ensuring that what employees learn is applied to their jobs. Supervision and Leadership An immediate supervisor plays an important role in the employee's work life, dele- gating tasks and responsibilities, setting expectations, evaluating performance, and providing (or failing to provide) feedback, rewards, and discipline. Even with the shift toward greater use of teams, including more self-directed work teams, supervi- sors continue to play a critical role in the success of most organizations." Although the influences supervisors have on subordinates are numerous and sometimes com- plex, two factors deserve comment: self-fulfilling prophecy and leadership. Research on self-fulfilling prophecy, or the Pygmalion effect, shows how the expec- tations a supervisor establishes can influence a subordinate's behavior. First demon- strated in classroom settings, self-fulfilling prophecy states that expectations of performance can become reality because people strive to behave consistently with their perceptions of reality." If supervisors (or trainers) expect good performance, their behavior may aid and encourage their subordinates (or trainees) to raise their own self-expectations, increase their efforts, and ultimately perform well. The oppo- site can happen if supervisors or trainers expect poor performance.2 Dov Eden and his colleagues demonstrate in a variety of work settings that raising managers' performance expectations leads to higher levels of performance in their employ- ees." The implications for supervisors and HRD professionals who conduct training programs are clear: they must be aware of their own expectations and what they communicate to others, while taking advantage of the benefits resulting from high but realistic expectations. This effect has also been demonstrated in team mem- ber expectations for new members." In addition, supervisory expectations play a key role in the coaching process (see Chapter 10). The practice of identifying a sub- set of employees as "high potential" is popular in some current talent management programs." Concerns have been raised that "high potential" expectations may be