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Reinforcement theory describes four interventions to modify employee
behavior. Two of these are methods of increasing the frequency of desired behaviors
while the remaining two are methods of reducing the frequency of undesired
behaviors.

Positive reinforcement is a method of increasing the desired
behavior. [22] Positive reinforcement involves making sure that behavior is met with
positive consequences. Praising an employee for treating a customer respectfully is
an example of positive reinforcement. If the praise immediately follows the positive
behavior, the employee will see a link between behavior and positive consequences
and will be motivated to repeat similar behaviors.
Negative reinforcement is also used to increase the desired behavior. Negative
reinforcement involves removal of unpleasant outcomes once desired behavior is
demonstrated. Nagging an employee to complete a report is an example of negative
reinforcement. The negative stimulus in the environment will remain present until
positive behavior is demonstrated. The problem with negative reinforcement may be
that the negative stimulus may lead to unexpected behaviors and may fail to stimulate
the desired behavior. For example, the person may start avoiding the manager to
avoid being nagged.
Extinction occurs when a behavior ceases as a result of receiving no
reinforcement. For example, suppose an employee has an annoying habit of
forwarding e-mail jokes to everyone in the department, cluttering up people’s in-
boxes and distracting them from their work. Commenting about the jokes, whether in
favorable or unfavorable terms, may be encouraging the person to keep forwarding
them. Completely ignoring the jokes may reduce their frequency.
Punishment is another method of reducing the frequency of undesirable
behaviors. Punishment involves presenting negative consequences following
unwanted behaviors. Giving an employee a warning for consistently being late to
work is an example of punishment.
Reinforcement Schedules
In addition to types of reinforcements, the timing or schedule on which
reinforcement is delivered has a bearing on behavior. [23] Reinforcement is presented
on acontinuous schedule if reinforcers follow all instances of positive behavior. An
example of a continuous schedule would be giving an employee a sales commission
every time he makes a sale. Fixed ratio schedules involve providing rewards
every nth time the right behavior is demonstrated, for example, giving the employee a
bonus for every 10th sale he makes. Fixed interval schedules involve providing a
reward after a specified period of time, such as giving a sales bonus once a month
regardless of how many sales have been made. Variable ratio involves a random
pattern, such as giving a sales bonus every time the manager is in a good mood.
A systematic way in which reinforcement theory principles are applied is
called Organizational Behavior Modification (or OB Mod). [24] This is a systematic
application of reinforcement theory to modify employee behaviors. The model
consists of five stages. The process starts with identifying the behavior that will be
modified. Let’s assume that we are interested in reducing absenteeism among
employees. In step 2, we need to measure the baseline level of absenteeism. In step 3,

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