Reinforcement and Reinforcement and PersistencePersistence

MSM 671 DLMSM 671 DL

Strategic Leadership/Liderazgo estratégicoStrategic Leadership/Liderazgo estratégico

Week 7 Week 7

Topic 7.4Topic 7.4

Copyright © Regis University, 2012

Objectives

• Familiarize you with the concepts of

– Continuous Reinforcement;

– Intermittent Reinforcement; and

– Persistence.

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PersistencePersistence

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• The strategic leader wants to positively reinforce the desired behaviors of followers.

• By positively reinforcing desired behaviors, the strategic leader can help followers persist in exerting discretionary effort.

• People exhibit discretionary effort when they do, not only what is expected because they have to, but when they do more than is expected because they want to.

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Reinforcement that Helps Followers Give Discretionary Effort

Reinforcement that Helps Followers Give Discretionary Effort

• Key in organizations’ future success:– ensuring that most people in the organization

are exhibiting discretionary effort.

• There are two kinds of reinforcement schedules that strategic leaders can use:

– Continuous reinforcement and

– Intermittent reinforcement

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How Frequently Should Behavior be Reinforced?

• The most powerful reinforcers (consequences) are those that are positive, immediate, and certain.

• How frequently reinforcement is given is also important.

• Reinforcement can be given on a continuous basis.

• Reinforcement can be given on an intermittent basis.

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How Frequently Should Behavior be Reinforced?

• When reinforcement is given continuously, people come to expect it because it occurs almost every time they demonstrate the desired behaviors.

• Because the reinforcement becomes routine, continuous reinforcement loses its effectiveness over time.

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How Frequently Should Behavior be Reinforced?

• When reinforcement is given intermittently, people do not know when to expect it.

• Because they don’t know when to expect it, they continue demonstrating the desired behaviors in the hopes that they’ll receive reinforcement.

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Reinforcement f for r Persistence

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Reinforcement:Immediate and Intermittent

• How can reinforcement be both immediate and intermittent?• The reinforcement follows the behavior

immediately, but not every time the behavior occurs.

• The reinforcement follows the behavior immediately or almost immediately, but the behavior is reinforced sometimes and, other times it is not.

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References

Daniels, A.C. & Daniels, J.E. (2007). Measure of a leader. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Congratulations!Congratulations!

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