Operant conditioning sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. A good example of Operant conditioning is: employees finishing projects to receive praise or promotions (Cherry, 2013).
Observational learning occurs when one observes another’s behaviors, which enables one to reenact those behaviors. In the workplace observational learning is used in a few ways. For example: whenever a manager started to train an employee they used instructional videos, so that the new employees could observe the job functions they were to undertake. Next, normally the manager would take the new employees into the actual work area that they would occupy and allow them to observe someone performing the job task. After that, the manager would pair a new employee with an employee that performed their job title well enough to train another employee. This allowed the new employee to observe the other employee, which enabled the new employee to learn though observing the other employees behaviors (Whitaker, 2012).
The social learning theory, a system of learning most commonly associated with behaviorist Albert Bandura, is most commonly applied in educational settings. You can also apply this theory, which argues that people learn from each other through observation and socialization. A good example is: to model behavior for employees. The first step in teaching a behavior in the social learning theory is modeling that behavior. Instead of simply telling employees what they want them to do, leaders should physically model the behavior, acting out the process they hope those under them will follow. By seeing the behavior modeled, employees can develop a more defined understanding of what the