CHAPTER ONE

1.0     INTRODUCTION

This research topic can not be understood without a concise and explicit definition of Behavioural modifications in organizational settings like Dangote Cement Company, Gboko Benue State as case study.

          BEHAVIOURAL MODIFICATION DEFINED AND EXPLAINED.

                   Behaviour modification entails increasing prospect of positive behaviour and reducing likelihood of inappropriate behaviour. Modification is a programme of planned change and improved performance. Since individual employee has highly developed faculty, their capacity to learn is unlimited. However, the extent to which management can get desired behaviour from their employees depends on how well they can modify or shape their behaviour. This is closely followed by what is referred to as “reinforcement principles”.

                   Reinforcement principle is an external explanation of behaviour. It is anything that increases the strength of response and tends to induce repetitions of behaviour that preceded the reinforcement. Thus, reinforcement is environmental influence that follows a response and has the capacity to shape behaviour. We shape behaviour by systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves individual to the desired state.

          Lewin has it that, it is a programme of planned change and improve performance developed, which involves the management of three-phase processes, which include;

                    Unfreezing-reducing those forces which maintain behaviour in its present form, recognition of the need for change and improvement to occur.

                   Movement: Development of new attitudes or behaviour and the implementation of the change.

                   Refreezing: Stabilizing change at new level and reinforcement through supporting mechanisms, for example policies, structure or norms.

                   French etal list eight specific components of a planned change effort related to the above process which has: initial problem identification, obtaining data, problem diagnosis, action planning, implication, followed-up and stabilization, assessment of consequences and learning from the process.

                   The identification could be explained to mean that, an employees or individuals attitude is based on the belief that behaviour is generally predictable.

1.1     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

          The statement of the problem serves to elaborate deeply upon the information implied in the title of the study. It is an interrogative statement which asks about the assured or proposed relationship between two or more variables. It is a statement that help clarifies, outlines, limits and bring into being a distinct image of the problem to be investigated. Statement therefore shows emphasis placed to arriving at relevant results in this fact finding mission.

                   This topic is chosen with the intension of finding out what reinforcement technique should be adopted or administered to staff in an organization that will enhance increase in performances with particular reference to Dangote Cement Plc Gboko Benue State. The research work will furthermore examine or study workers attitude to work in the process of discharging their duties or carrying out their responsibilities.

                   In every organization, managers or administrators get desired behaviour from employees by modifying or shaping their attitudes towards appraising the overall performance of the business or the entire organizational goals.   

                   Therefore, during the course of this research work, the researcher envisaged a lot of problems to mention but a few. Some of the problems are as follows:

a.     Lack of availability of materials or data (i.e information) for the researcher to carryout the necessary research work.

b.     Poor attitude of respondents towards ensuring the answering of questions.

c.      Financial constraint was another problem in the course of the research work.

d.     There was no time for the research, as combined examination with the research work.

e.      Transportation (i.e mobility), it was very expensive for the researcher to go round the respondents for submission and collection of information to ease the research work.

1.2     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The knowledge to be obtained from this research work will provide an adequate constructive frame work and parameters to be used in shaping or modifying behaviours towards achieving organizational goals and objectives

i.                   The objectives shall be to answer the questions raised in the problems of the study.

ii.                 To be able to determine which of these modification techniques is commendable in encouraging higher productivity.

iii.              It will help the researcher to acquire some knowledge from the outcome of the research work.

iv.              More so, the work will enable the researcher and the readers to make use of the recommendations proffered in resolving the problems that might arise in the relation to the researched topic.

v.                 The research work will further more examine worker attitude to work in discharging their responsibilities.

vi.              Most importantly, the objective of the research work is in fulfillment of the award of a Higher National Diploma to the researcher in question.

1.3     RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Hypotheses are a statement showing the relationship between two or more variables. They guide and put the researcher on the main course of the study. The word “HYPOTHESES” is a set of assumption which are accepted or rejected provisionally as basis of investigation. A hypotheses is usually formulated by the researcher in the form of a statement whose truth or otherwise is to be tested.

TYPES OF HYPOTHESES

There are two types hypotheses:

-         NULL HYPOTHESES

-         ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESES

THE NULL HYPOTHESES: Symbolically (Ho) is the one in which it is presumed that there is no difference between a parameter and a statistics.

THE ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESES: Symbolically (Ha) is the one which ensures that a difference exists between a population parameter and a statistic. Thus, the alternative hypothesis describes what we expect to see where chance or sampling error does not occur.

1.3.1 STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS

For the purpose of this research work, the following hypotheses are stated;

Ho: That there is no need for certain reinforcement techniques to be adopted before there would be increase in productivity.

H1: That there should be certain reinforcement techniques to be adopted to increase productivity.

Ho: That learning techniques is not necessary to increase performance.

H1: That there is need for learning techniques to be encouraged among employees to increase performance.

Ho: That motivation is not necessary to enhance increase productivity.

          H1: That motivation is a necessary incentive to increase productivity.

1.4     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

          The significance of this research work cannot be over-emphasized as it is intend to serve as a reference materials in conducting further research work.

           It will provide a framework for which management and administrators will know the kind of reinforcement principles to adopt while dealing with their staff.

          More so, what constitute behaviour modifications will be highlighted and make known to both those in management positions subordinates in the office.

          The management staff or administrator can be made to understand that staff are not encourage to put in their very best when they are threaten with level of punishment like demotion and stagnate promotion.

Another significance can be that, workers are shaped or modified towards achieving a purposeful organizational objectives rather than adopting individual behaviour which might be towards personal interest.  

1.5     SCOPE OF THE STUDY

          The scope of the study specifies the areas to be covered on the course of study, in terms of the geographical area, the problem to be tackled, the population and the techniques in carrying out a research work.

          This will help the researcher to focus his attention on most important and more specific objectives in order to minimize the waste of valuable time and efforts on irrelevant things. The study shall therefore be confined to Dangote Cement Plc Gboko Benue State, and to sample size of 50 staff of the said organization/company. Again, the data to be used in this study will cover a period of 5 years from 2007-2012, in order to have an in depth analysis if the problem under study.

1.6     LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

                    There were some factors that militated against the researchers elaborate areas of courage in terms of the area of case study. The factors that constitute an impediment during the process of the research work and to limiting the study to Dangote Cement Company Gboko are:

vThere were few available related research materials at the disposal of the researcher and more especially the research topic has not yet been researched on.

vLack of financial assistance by the government or corporate bodies in project writing constitute an impediment to elaborate research work.

vRespondents prejudice and reluctance to respond to questions, invariably influenced the validity of research findings.

vTime is another constraint because the researcher was writing of semester examinations with the research.

1.7     DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

1.       RESEARCH: According to Kerlinger (1973) sees research as the plan structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions and to control variables.

2.       HYPOTHESIS: A statement of assumption that is yet to be proved or corrected.

3.       PRODUCTIVITY: Everth and Ebert (1985), sees productivity as  a ratio of output to input. It can be expressed in a total factor basis.

4.       BEHAVIOUR: The Oxford Advance Learners Dictionary, simply defined behaviour as the way a person, an animal, a chemical etc. behaves or function in particular situation.

5.       MODIFICATION: Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defined modification as the act or process of changing something in order to improve it or make it more unique or acceptable.

6.       QUESTIONNAIRE: is a device use for data collection and it employs prepared forms which are filled in by the respondents. Also the language of a questionnaire are simple and straight forward, so as to avoid ambiguity and necessary exploitation of the respondent from answering questions.

7.       REINFORCEMENT: to make a feeling, response stronger.

8.       TOOLS: is an instrument or a device use for doing something. It may also be used for changing shape of things etc.

9.       MOTIVATION: advanced learners dictionary defined motivation as an enthusiasm for doing something, or the need or reason for doing something.

10.     LIMITATION: the act of controlling and especially reducing something.

11.     ORGANIZATION: the way in which something is done or arranged.

12.     UNFREEZING: unfriendliness

13.     PROBLEM: a situation, a person or thing that needs attention and needs to be dealt with or solved.

14.     MOVEMENT: a   group of people with a particular set of aims.

15.     ALTERNATIVE: an alternative plan or method is one that you can use if you don’t want to use another one. 

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