Task Behavior

Examples of Task Behavior in the following topics:

• Leadership and Followers: Hersey and Blanchard

  • For Hersey and Blanchard, leadership style is determined by the mix of task behavior and relationship behavior that the leader shows.
  • Task behavior concerns the actions required of followers and how they should be conducted.
  • This is primarily task behavior.
  • S2 leading is still primarily task behavior, but now it includes some relationship behavior.
  • Participating leadership shifts the balance toward relationship behavior and away from task behavior.

• Implementation

  • Some of their tasks at this stage include:
  • Monitor behavior- During the implementation of cooperative learning, the instructor should circulate throughout the classroom, visiting each group.
  • Intervene if needed- While circulating, if the instructor notices any group conflict or off-task behavior, she should intervene.
  • Having these listed on a handout for each group could prevent group discord and off-task behavior.
  • It is likely, especially at the beginning of implementation, that her class will still have difficulty focusing on the task and getting along with one another.

• Shaping

  • The method requires that the subject perform behaviors that at first merely resemble the target behavior; through reinforcement, these behaviors are gradually changed, or shaped, to encourage the performance of the target behavior itself.
  • It is a very useful tool for training animals, such as dogs, to perform difficult tasks.
  • Then, the trainer rewards a behavior that is one step closer, or one successive approximation nearer, to the target behavior.
  • As the subject moves through each behavior trial, rewards for old, less approximate behaviors are discontinued in order to encourage progress toward the desired behavior.
  • In this way, shaping uses operant-conditioning principles to train a subject by rewarding proper behavior and discouraging improper behavior.

• What is Organizational Behavior?

  • Organizational behavior is the field of study that investigates how organizational structures affect behavior within organizations.
  • Organizational behavior studies the impact individuals, groups, and structures have on human behavior within organizations.
  • Understanding not only how to delegate tasks and organize resources but also how to analyze behavior and motivate productivity is critical for success in management.
  • Organizational behavior also deals heavily in culture.
  • Understanding and defining these work cultures and the behavioral implications they embed organizationally is also a central topic in organizational behavior.

• Observation Survey

  • Below, each task is explained in detail and a short summary is given describing Eric's behaviors on the task.
  • Eric was able to write three words on this task.
  • During the running record, the observer notes the accuracy with which the book is read, as well as any behaviors that are presented, such as finger pointing, directionality, one-to-one matching, and fluency.
  • Jones now has a good idea about Eric's emerging literacy behaviors.
  • During this week, teachers learn the purpose of each task, what things to observe during the task, and how to correctly score each task.

• Stages of Changing Unhealthy Behaviors

  • The transtheoretical model of behavior change, based on five stages of change, assesses a person's readiness to stop an old, unhealthy behavior and act on a new, healthy behavior.
  • The transtheoretical model of behavior change assesses an individual's readiness to act on a new healthier behavior, and provides strategies to guide the individual through each stage of the behavior-change process.
  • At the precontemplation stage, an individual may or may not be aware of a problematic behavior, and generally has no desire to change their behavior.
  • People in this stage learn more about healthy behavior: they are encouraged to think about the benefits of changing their behavior and to feel emotions about the effects of their negative behavior on others.
  • Coming to this decision is no easy task; despite the stress caused by their problem behavior, many people simply are not ready to initiate change.

• How Attitude Influences Behavior

  • Attitudes can positively or negatively affect a person's behavior.
  • Attitude and behavior interact differently based upon the attitude in question.
  • When an organization appeals to people's logic and explains why it is assigning tasks or pursuing a strategy, it can generate a more positive disposition towards that task or strategy (and vice versa, if the employee does not recognize why a task is logical).
  • Attitudes can be infectious and can influence the behavior of those around them.
  • One key to altering an individual's behavior is consistency.

• Common Causes of Team Conflict

  • Team conflict is caused by factors related to individual behavior as well as disagreements about the team's work.
  • Different behavioral styles or preferences: Individuals may clash over their respective work habits, attention to detail, communication practices, or tone of expression.
  • While these can affect coordination of interdependent tasks, they can especially inhibit direct collaboration.
  • Competition over resources: Members may fight over the limited resources available to accomplish the team's tasks.
  • Behavioral differences and personality clashes can cause conflict even among friends.

• Arousal Theory of Motivation

  • This behavior is called electrical self-stimulation.
  • Researchers Robert Yerkes and John Dodson discovered that the optimal arousal level depends on the complexity and difficulty of the task to be performed.
  • This relationship is known as Yerkes-Dodson law, which holds that a simple task is performed best when arousal levels are relatively high and complex tasks are best performed when arousal levels are lower.
  • The concept of optimal arousal in relation to performance on a task is depicted here.
  • For easy tasks, a higher level of arousal generally increases performance; for harder tasks, a lower level of arousal is better.

• Four Theories of Leadership

  • These findings also show that individuals emerge as leaders across a variety of situations and tasks.
  • He identified three relevant aspects of the situation: the quality of the leader's relationships with others, how well structured their tasks were, and the leader's amount of formal authority.
  • Behavioral theory also incorporates B.F.
  • Skinner's theory of behavior modification, which takes into account the effect of reward and punishment on changing behavior.
  • The father of behavioral theory showed the connection between behaviors and reward and punishment.