LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR (520) Case Study

LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR (520) - Case Study Example 171). In order to foster good relationship with the customers, it is imperative that the employees know how the customers form perceptions, what factors play a role in affecting their perceptions about the salespersons or the company’s products for the better and worse, and what behaviors in the salespersons are appreciated by the customers. Since statistics are available that reflect that the employees who have had good terms with the customers have outperformed their coworkers in terms of sales, understanding the process of formation of perceptions and development of attributed by the customers becomes very important for Joe’s employees. Suitability of Leaning Theories Several learning theories are suitable for Joe to apply in this situation that include but are not limited to operant conditioning learning theory and social learning theory. While there are certain theories that apply more in the case under consideration as compared to others, none can be completely re futed as most learning theories apply at least to some extent. ... Employees come in the company and try their fortune by executing their individualistic behaviors; for some, it works whereas for others, it does not. Employees are only able to find out the impact of their behaviors on their ability to make sales after they have executed their behaviors as part of the company’s workforce. Likewise, since the employees are provided with the opportunity to earn certain commission on the list price, they are motivated to make more sales to make more commission which makes it obvious that the reward is tied to the performance, thus justifying the suitability of the operant conditioning theory for Joe in this case. On the other hand, the social learning theory is also suitable for application in this case because many behaviors are learnt by the employees in the workplace. For example, employees can witness that their coworkers who have fostered good relations with the customers are able to make more sales as compared to other employees who do not manage to develop as good relations with the customers. Having observed this, employees feel intrinsically motivated to take steps to develop good relations and association with the customers. However, certain end up achieving this successfully whereas others fail to develop good relations with the customers, and the social learning theory provides rationale for this difference. According to social learning theory, while people may observe what behaviors lead to success in a particular setting, it is not imperative that this learning brings a change in their behavior. Although the employees know the importance of fostering good relationships with the employees, yet they fail to enhance their sales because this learning did not cause them to