9 Mar 09 @ 12:18 pm
Employees’ Intentions Guide their Behavior
At CRA, we ask leaders: “What do you want your employees to know, believe, do, and feel?” We stress that the ultimate goal is the “do” part – getting employees to act how you want them to act. In the communication literature, there are two theoretical approaches – the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) – that predict voluntary behavior. In the first installment of this two-part series I will discuss Ajzen and Fishbein’s TRA and how it can predict employee behavior.
The best predictor of behavior is intention. The TRA suggests that an individual’s intention to perform or not perform is a result of two factors: attitudes toward the behavior and normative pressure. So how can you influence intention and get employees to live your strategy? You have to control:
Attitudes toward the behavior: An employee’s attitude toward a behavior is based on his / her beliefs concerning the outcomes that follow action. In order to motivate employees to action, they must believe that living the organization’s strategy will be beneficial to them. You must ensure that:
- Positive consequences follow performance and negative consequences follow nonperformance.
- Employees believe that positive consequences are valuable and negative consequences are undesirable.
Normative pressure: Intention and subsequent action are also influenced by employees’ perceptions of whether key stakeholders support the behavior. Leaders, peers, and mentors can influence whether an individual’s actions align with the organizational goals. You must ensure that:
- Leaders support the strategy, and their own decisions and actions reinforce the expectations they place on employees.
- Employees participate in groups with other employees.
Stay tuned for the follow-up post in which I describe the theory of planned behavior, which builds off of the TRA.
posted in category(s): Theory Points
