Management Theory: Behavior, Attitudes, and Decision Making
This paper examines four foundational concepts in management theory. It analyzes how managers can shape employee behavior through behavior-consequence relationships, explaining how positive and negative reinforcement patterns influence workplace conduct. It then explores the three components of an attitude—cognitive, affective, and behavioral—as defined by Secord and Backman, with particular attention to how each component resists or responds to change. The paper also connects Simon's concept of bounded rationality to effective decision-making, and concludes with an overview of quality circles as a participatory management technique that improves productivity, reduces costs, and boosts employee morale.
- Shaping Employee Behavior Through Behavior-Consequence Relationships: How positive and negative reinforcement shape workplace conduct
- The Three Components of an Attitude: Cognitive, affective, and behavioral elements of attitudes
- Bounded Rationality and Decision Making: Simon's bounded rationality applied to managerial decisions
- Quality Circles as a Management Technique: Employee groups solving workplace problems collaboratively
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Clearly organizes multiple management theory concepts into discrete, focused sections, making the content easy to follow and compare.
- Uses concrete, relatable examples (such as a tree stump or an employee working too quickly) to illustrate abstract theoretical concepts like bounded rationality and reinforcement.
- Draws on foundational academic sources—Simon, Secord and Backman—while grounding claims in recognizable workplace scenarios.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied theoretical synthesis: it takes classic management and social psychology frameworks and maps them directly onto workplace situations. Rather than describing theories in isolation, the student consistently shows how each concept operates in a practical managerial context, which is a core skill in business and organizational studies writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized as a series of short-answer responses to management theory questions. Each section introduces a concept, defines it using a cited source, and then elaborates with examples or implications. The behavior-consequence section is the most developed, covering three distinct reinforcement patterns and their managerial consequences. The quality circles section rounds out the paper by shifting from individual behavior to group problem-solving. The structure is Q&A-style, appropriate for a coursework or exam-prep format at the undergraduate level.
Shaping Employee Behavior Through Behavior-Consequence Relationships
In behavior-consequence relationships that influence work behavior, behaviors that have positive payoffs are repeated. Behaviors may be verbal or physical, and if the consequences are successful and give the person what they want, they will repeat the behavior. This is a positive-positive action: positive behavior reaps positive rewards.
Behavior that avoids a negative experience is also repeated. This is a negative-negative-positive action: negative behavior that is avoided reaps positive rewards. Criticism from a manager about what one does is negative, so to avoid it, the employee does the job as the manager wants it done. Doing a project that is discarded after a great deal of hard work will cause the employee to approach the project differently the next time. Likewise, appearing uninformed is undesirable, so one tries to know the answers to questions that are likely to be asked in the future.
Behaviors that lead immediately to negative experiences are usually not repeated. This is a positive-negative or a negative-negative pattern: behavior that reaps negative consequences. When one does something wrong, one is disciplined for acting incorrectly. When a mistake is made in public, others take notice, and the person acting incorrectly feels embarrassed and resolves not to repeat the behavior. However, if an employee is simply given additional work because they complete assignments very quickly, they may no longer work at that pace.
These behavior-consequence relationships also work to reinforce bad behavior on the part of the manager. When employees allow a manager to yell or threaten them, and then complete their work more quickly or thoroughly in response, they are reinforcing those negative actions. As a result, the manager is likely to repeat the same behavior next time (Pounds, 2006).
References
Gale Group, Inc. (2006). Encyclopedia of Small Business. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
Pounds, J. (2006, August 15). The behavior-consequence relationship. Management Issues. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
Secord, P. F., & Backman, C. W. (1964). Social psychology. McGraw-Hill.
Simon, H. A. (1957). Models of man. Wiley.
Already a member? Log in
Unlock the rest of this paper
135,000+ research papers · AI writing tools · Plagiarism & AI detection
7-Day Pass
Does not renew
Get 7-Day PassMonthly
Renews at $12.99/month until canceled
Start MonthlyAnnual
Renews at $99/year until canceled
Start Annual- Unlimited AI writing tools
- Plagiarism and AI text detection tool
Plan details
Unlimited AI writing tools are for individual, non-automated use and are subject to our Terms of Service and abuse-prevention measures.
TextChecker scans: 3 during the 7-Day Pass, or 5 per month with Monthly and Annual.
Prices exclude applicable tax.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.