Organizational Behavior

The attribution theory is a process by which individuals attempt to explain the why of behavior as based on people's attributions of causes to events that happen to them. Attribution theory views the process by which individuals interpret events around them being caused by (attributed to) a relatively stable portion of their environment.

In relation to the corporate scandals of several CEO' s illegal behavior the majority of the population will associate their behavior as being the norm in their business. According to the attribution process there must be an initial event that ignites the future perception of behavior. In respect to the corporate scandals the initial event would be the scandal itself followed by an analysis of why the event happened, in this case it would be greed of the CEO's and other high-ranking officials within a company. Next the process calls for reinforcement of that analysis, in this case it could be seen as more than one CEO from several companies all followed their greed, which lead to their scandals to be made public. Because of the initial scandal coupled with the fact it was not an isolated case would lead to the perception that this practice is widespread between CEO's of major companies, which completes the attribution process of perception.

The attribution process can be important in understanding the behavior of others. The behavior of others can be examined on the basis of its distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus. The question can be posed to these CEO's if their moral center is so far off that they behave this way outside of work and other situations, this speaks to the distinctiveness of their behavior. If they are consistent with their behavior they will act accordingly at different times, meaning if they are stealing from their clients and lying about the financial success at work they might also be lying or cheating on their taxes while at home. In terms of outside opinion of CEO's the consensus built around of their behavior might be the most damaging aspect of the theory. If the public believes that all high level corporate beings are incapable of being honest then the business itself will suffer. Upholding a good standing in your community is vital to keeping yourself and your business going, but if you cannot keep up that standard than the fate of yourself and your company is in jeopardy.

2.)

The Dean of the school is well aware of the challenges he faces for motivating his teachers to not only teach more classes but to improve on their performance in the class room. The Dean must be careful implementing his new plan because he does not want to infringe too much on the teachers other responsibilities of researching and consulting for government, and administration. The Dean plans on developing a program to increase the teaching loads and teaching effectiveness using the VIE expectancy theory. VIE theory assumes that behavior results from conscious choices among alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. The Key elements to this theory are Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence.

Vroom suggests that an employee's beliefs about Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence interact psychologically to create a motivational force that such that the employee acts in a ways that bring pleasure and avoid pain. This force can be 'calculated' via the following formula: Motivation = Valance x Expectancy (Instrumentality). This formula can be used to indicate and predict such things as job satisfaction, one's occupational choice, the likelihood of staying in a job, and the effort one might expend at work. The dean must use proper motivational techniques to help alleviate some of the concerns the professors may have regarding the new change in policies at his school.

Expectancy refers to the strength of a person's belief about whether or not a particular job performance is attainable. To ensure that his professors believe that they are capable of the more stringent workload he should reassure them that their jobs are not at stake and that he is only asking for their cooperation for the mutual good of the school, students, and themselves.

Instrumentality refers to the probability belief linking one outcome (a high level of performance, for example) to another outcome (a reward). The deans new program has to encourage high performance would lead to a high reward. He may be able to motivate his employees by saying that the better their students perform the more esteem the University will receive and with the additional recognition coming from student performance may lead to better funded research opportunities. Valence refers to the emotional orientations people hold with respect to outcomes (rewards). The teachers may want more research opportunities or maybe more recognition for their work. If their student's performance speaks to their teaching ability it should land them the opportunities and respect they may desire. For example, if one student goes on to win the Nobel Prize and he credits his teacher at Duke for his work then that only heightens the reputation of the school and the teacher, there are multiple benefits for teachers who go the extra mile for their students.

3.)

"Applied," means practice, rather than research or philosophy. "Behavior analysis" may be read as "learning theory", that is, understanding what leads to (or doesn't