Using concepts from reinforcement theory, explain why Elena might be motivated to lie to customers
According to reinforcement theory, Elena is motivated to lie to customers since she is compelled by the senior supervisor’s words which make her focus on money rather than the convenience of customers. Elena is focused on being a manager, and hence operating on the dimension that whenever one wants to attain the highest level of management he/she should act like one by taking the best of deals one could get irrespective of the circumstances (Robbins and Judge 668). This is a clear response to the operant conditioning theory. Elena knew the right procedure to take and was under pressure from inside of her to speak the truth but was silenced by the outside force on achieving her goal of being a manager. Elena is so much influenced by the behavior of her supervisor and at the same time conditioned by the working environment in the manner that her hard work is a result of pressure from many customers.
With reinforcement theory in mind, do you think that Elena will confess to the legal representative?
Elena will be compelled to ignore her feelings and thoughts to remain safe. This is since her motivation process on the outside drives her towards selfish ambition on attainment. Receiving rewards in form of more money strengthened her lies, hence she found herself repeating the same to customers ignoring the kind of jeopardy she was causing customers as well as the company. She valued the outside adornment of being seen to be making lots of cash on behalf of the company hence not possible she confess the truth.
Who or why not?
Elena will find it difficult to confess the truth to the legal representative since her main focus is to acquire self-fame hence will more so respond positively to the environment rather than her consciousness. She is more prone to respond to Bandura’s self-efficacy theory.
How did the rental office climate influence Elena’s behavior?
Elena was exposed to so many people and at the same time lots of management activities which could sometimes make her put more than fifty hours per week. This contributed towards her hardworking nature as well as personality; her services were great and always receive appreciation from customers. Interaction between her and the supervisor made her believe that she could make a good manager. This made her also improve on punctuality. Her honest principles were ruined by seducing sentiments from her supervisor who ultimately introduced her to dishonest business deals.
What factors contribute to the current climate?
The current climate is a result of operating under dishonest principles, greed for money at the expense of customers’ lives. There is no implementation of work ethics by the management prompting the junior staff to indulge in some unethical business procedures. There is so much concern on responding to behaviors which are environmentally caused rather than thoughts (Robbins and Judge 668).
What step could you take to improve the ethics at the office?
First of all, there should be a set of clear objectives on achievement processes that are in line with specific performance. This would make every employee aware of the Company’s ultimate goal. Appropriate structures should be put in place to develop result-oriented systems within the Company. Each employee should operate on high moral standards depending on the assigned obligations. Employees should treat people with respect and dignity which portray one of the main characteristics of a leader. This ensures the creation of mutual relationships within the working environment (O’ Mara and Richter).
Relating to behavior attribution, do you blame Elena for her behavior or do you attribute her behavior to external factors?
Elena’s behaviors are attributed to external factors since, after several months of working, she found herself overwhelmed by instances of over-booking owing to dishonesty (Robbins and Judge 668). This made her at some point to lie to customers even without pressure from the supervisor. In the first instances (Robbins and Judge 667) she found her mind raced with worries after forceful lying hence was not part of her behavior to lie.
How do concepts from attribution theory fit in?
Attribution theory could be incorporated within this study in such a way to explain Elena’s behavior modification in the sense of being strongly motivated by the pleasant outcome of being able to feel good about her management capabilities based on lies. Elena’s current self-perception of eagerly desiring to attain to management level motivated by her supervisor’s words strongly influenced the way she interpreted success based on her efforts. This dictated her repetition of the same behaviors irrespective of whether she felt inwardly condemned or not. According to the assumption on attribution theory, she interpreted her environment as the focus of maintaining a positive self-image.
Works Cited
O’ Mara, Julie, and Allan, Richter. Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks. New York: Jennifer Berger, 2006. Print.
Robbins, Stephen, and Timothy, Judge. Organizational Behavior. (14th Edition). Pearson: Sandiego, 2011, pp 667-669. Print.