Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) Network
The Organizational Behavior Management
(OBM) Network exists to support the growth and vitality of Organizational Behavior
Management. This site contains articles and information on the science of applying
behavior analysis to business to improve organizational performance and safety.

science
of applying behavior analysis to business to improve organizational performance
and safety.
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Some of our featured free articles:
A
Systems Critique of Gilbert’s PIP’s
In Human Competence: Engineering Worthy Performance, Gilbert describes a seven
step ‘performance audit’. Accomplishments and requirements are identified
and then exemplar and typical performances are determined. An index of Potential
for Improvement Performance (PIP) is computed and then the value or ‘stakes’
of the improvement potential is assessed. Gilbert summarizes this process by
stating, “Remember, our only reason for measuring is to discover our opportunities
for performance engineering.”
O
Efeito do Observador
Na primeira edição de Values-based Safety Process, o autor Terry
Mcsween escreveu
"ninguém conduziu até agora uma pesquisa definitiva sobre
os efeitos de empregados conduzindo observações nos seus próprios
locais de trabalho" (p. 24). Nós achamos essa afirmação
interessante e merecedora de uma investigação mais detalhada.
Ao discutir esta questão com outros pesquisadores e praticantes da área,
decidimos que existia interesse geral suficiente para que pesquisas adicionais
sobre o processo de observação fossem realizadas. Muitos praticantes
que foram questionados achavam que era evidente que empregados que conduziam
observações a respeito da segurança de seus colegas trabalhavam
de maneira mais segura como resultado de tais observações. No
entanto, essa afirmação não havia sido cientificamente
comprovada. Feedback e processos de observação são componentes
críticos do gerenciamento de segurança comportamental (behavior-based
safety, BBS), mas, curiosamente, existem vários estudos sobre os efeitos
de feedback, enquanto estudos sobre os efeito da observação são
quase inexistentes. Estes fatores fizeram nossa tarefa mais interessante e mais
desafiadora. Então com essas consideração, começamos
nossa busca para determinar se empregados que conduzem observações
de segurança de fato trabalham de forma mais segura como resultado dessas
observações. Nós nomeamos esse efeito hipotético
de "efeito do observador".
The
Sacred and the Secular in OBM
The purpose of this article is to comment briefly on some observations and trends
we have noted within the OBM movement as a way to offer a preview of a paper
we will present at the upcoming ABA conference in May. Various aspects of the
project we will present are at least loosely related to the observations and
trends we identify herein. From our perspective, one clear trend is that OBM
appears to be undergoing a period of “secularism” wherein some of
its more “sacred” interventions are being questioned. Numbered among
these “sacred” traditions are the regular use by OBM practitioners
of feedback (Alvero, Bucklin, & Austin, 2001; Balcazar, Hopkins, & Suarez,
1986; Kluger & DiNisi, 1996), goal setting (Fellner & Sulzer-Azaroff,
1984), and social reinforcement (O’Hara, Johnson, & Beehr, 1985).
Of these, feedback arguably is the most foundational in that it typically has
served as the first treatment upon which other OBM interventions are superimposed
(following a components-analysis-like method).
Costly
Thy Habit as Thy Purse Can Buy, But Not Expressed in Fancy; Rich, Not Gaudy:
Total Quality Management in Applied Psychology: A Review of Mary Walton’s
The Deming Management Method
Managed care is a term used for the diverse cost-containment strategies and
financial arrangements presently prevailing over this country’s transforming
health care system (Benedict & Phelps, 1998). The quickest to rise in the
managed health care system are fully captivated healthcare maintenance organizations
(HMOs). Gone are the days of fee-for-service and unbridled spending with all
the trimmings. Psychologists and practitioners alike are now being held accountable
for delivering services in cost-effective ways to prepaid subscribers (Miller
& Farber, 1996). Despite opposing opinions (Blanck & DeLeon, 1996),
managed care has arrived, and along with it a set of contingencies placing a
premium on proficiency. We are reminded at once that survival in human services
rests on lowering costs and improving our practices, while maintaining satisfaction
from individual consumers and businesses (Hayes & Heiby, 1996). The professional
practices of psychologists must evolve in keeping with the times. We have to
if we are ever to mount this exigency we are now facing. To thwart falling into
the trough of melancholy or despair, psychologists in applied settings should
consider adopting management strategies already proven effective by businesses
other than human services. One such method with an excellent track record (Deming,
1982, 1986) is that of total quality management (TQM) theory, employing the
methods of statistical process control (SPC). Rising to the forefront of this
system is an American mathematical physicist by the name of W. Edwards Deming.
Deming is responsible for rectifying struggling Japanese industries post-World
War II, making Japan an economic superpower with a reputation for producing
goods of superior quality (Sanders & Sanders, 1994). Since then, he has
influenced American industries facing similar difficulties as well, such as
the Ford Motor Company, and Xerox (Gabor, 1990).
On
Attempting to Reconcile Performance Management and Systems Analysis
Organizational behavior management, as a specific movement within the behavioral
tradition, has been with us for several decades. This is not a particularly
long career for a discipline. Nonetheless, it seems to me that our descriptions
of the things and events of our domain are not particularly precise. An especially
salient example of imprecision is apparent in our neglecting to differentiate
effectively among the major sub-divisions of our field, namely, performance
management and systems analysis. We have tended, instead, to collect these two
enterprises into one broad class of events – organizational behavior management
-- as though the differences between them were of no consequence. The differences
between them far outweigh their commonalties, though, and one consequence of
failing to articulate them may be that our understanding of our subject matter
is not accumulating as rapidly as might have been possible were we to have invested
in greater precision.
OS
EFEITOS DA FREQÜÊNCIA DE FEEDBACK NO TRABALHO
O feedback, sozinho ou combinado com outros procedimentos, é uma das
intervenções mais usadas para melhorar os desempenhos em organizações.
Em uma revisão dos estudos publicados no Journal of Organizational Behavior
Management entre 1977 e 1986, a primeira década de publicação
do JOBM, Balcazazr, Shupert, Daniels, Mawhinney e Hopkins (1989) relataram que
aproximadamente 65% dos artigos usaram feedback como variável independente
ou como um componente da variável independente. Uma revisão mais
recente (Nolan, Jjarema e Austin, 1999) que analisou a segunda década
de publicação do JOBM relatou que esta porcentagem foi de 71%.
No entanto, Feedback não é sempre eficaz. Em seu agora clássico
artigo, Balcazar, Hopkins e Suarez (1985-86) revisaram estudos que foram publicados
em quatro importantes periódicos durante 10 anos e categorizaram as intervenções
de feedback de acordo com várias dimensões que estariam relacionadas
à sua eficácia. Eles então determinaram a porcentagem de
estudos em cada categoria que resultou em efeitos consistentes, mistos, desconhecidos
ou sem efeitos. Baseados nesta análise, Balcazar e outros afirmaram que
o feedback não aumentou o desempenho tão consistentemente ou tão
uniformemente quanto muitos acreditam (e.g. Prue e fairbank, 1981; Kopelman,
1982). Por exemplo, eles relataram que quando feedback foi usado sozinho, ele
produziu melhoras consistentes em apenas 28% dos estudos. Eles também
relataram que o feedback foi combinado com outros procedimentos na maioria dos
artigos que eles revisaram (63%), e produziu os efeitos mais consistentes quando
foi combinado com conseqüências comportamentais.
Getting
a Job with an Undergraduate Degree
Although a great number of people would like to pursue a master’s or doctorate
degree in behavior analysis, the reality is that admission spots are limited,
and many applicants will be forced to find jobs upon receiving undergraduate
degrees. Having recently completed the job search process myself, I’d
like to share some of the things I've learned in hopes of making your job search
as painless as possible. Since the job search process is complicated and contains
many variables, carefully planning on the front-end is essential for success.
What
Behavior Analysis Offers Managers
In our view, behavior analysis provides managers with tools they need to be
more effective, beginning with teaching them to develop more effective personal
relationships. Managers and supervisors who understand and apply the primary
behavioral concepts of reinforcement will be well-liked by their employees and
have high performing teams. The concepts of behavior analysis are deceptively
simple, but their application does not come easily. Further, simply knowing
and understanding the concepts is not sufficient. The key is in their application.
Effective managers are those who create an environment in which employees want
to perform well. Mediocre managers, on the other hand, create a workplace where
employees either feel they “have to” perform well or else they care
only about meeting the minimal work requirements to keep their jobs.
Reinforcer
Identification in Organizational Behavior Management
The identification of reinforcers can be an important step in the development
of effective performance management plans. Currently, there is a lack of research
in the Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) literature on systematic methods
for identifying reinforcers among employees. Thus, we have begun a line of research
aimed at investigating various methods of identifying reinforcers in organizations.
The study described below is one of the projects in this line of research. Thus
far, the main method by which preference for stimuli has been identified in
OBM is the reinforcer survey (Daniels, 2004), in which an employee rates the
extent to which they would like to receive an item on a 5-point likert scale.
Although it is widely assumed that the reinforcer survey is an adequate method
of identifying potential reinforcers, no research has examined the accuracy
of reinforcer surveys among employees. However, in “clinical” areas
of applied behavior analysis, recent research on reinforcer surveys has suggested
that they are not a very accurate method of identifying preference for items
and activities in some populations. For example, Northup, George, Jones, Broussard,
and Vollmer (1996) compared three methods of stimulus preference assessment
(SPA) (i.e., survey, verbal choice, and pictorial choice) in typically developing
children and found that the accuracy of the survey method was poor. In a replication,
Northup (2000) found that the overall accuracy of the survey method was only
57%. In a later study, Wilder, Ellsworth, White, and Schock (2003) compared
a survey with verbal and pictorial stimulus choice procedures in adults of average
intelligence and found that the accuracy of the survey method was only 56%.
The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of a survey for identifying
reinforcers among employees and to compare the utility of the survey method
to a verbal forced choice method of assessing preference for stimuli.
Should
We Be Measuring Effect Size in Applied Behavior Analysis?
One of the most persistent debates in applied behavior analysis is the extent
to which descriptive and inferential statistics can be useful analytic tools.
Effect–size (ES) measurements, however, have received little attention
from behavior analysts. Effect–size (Cohen's d) for between–groups
research designs is the difference between two groups (experimental and control)
in the metric of standard units (Rosenthal, Rosnow & Rubin, 2000). (Al-though
there are other measures of ES than Cohen's d, ES and Cohen's d will be treated
as synonymous in this article). Effect–size estimations (and statistical
power analyses) are enjoying increased attention in statistical circles. In
fact, there is a discernible shift away from traditional hypothesis testing
among mainstream psychologists as such analyses cannot ever be demonstrations
of ES or provide information on probabilities of effect replications. Effect–size
demonstrations for applied data can therefore provide a common ground for behavior
analysis practitioners and mainstream practitioners, and can lead to a more
widespread appeal of our work.
Driving
Performance Through Knowledge Management
Studies have concluded that less than 20% of corporate knowledge is captured.
Furthermore, less than 20% of that which is captured is reused—or leveraged,
in new situations. Most traditional knowledge management systems (KMSs) only
focus on the first challenge—capturing knowledge in a corporate repository
of information. What about ensuring that the captured knowledge also gets leveraged
(that is, re-used)? There is no impact on productivity and efficiency without
addressing both the capturing and the leveraging of information and corporate
knowledge. If an organization’s KMS is largely a repository of documented
information and was not designed to accomplish leveraging of information, it
will result in a system full of extraneous information that is optionally used—a
quagmire of “stuff”. Although this kind of KMS is common, it delivers
little value to the organization.
Orientando
o Desempenho através da Gestão de Conhecimento
Estudos têm concluído que menos de 20% do conhecimento corporativo
é apreendido. Além disso, menos de 20% do que é apreendido
é reutilizado – ou potencializado(1), em novas situações.
A maioria dos tradicionais sistemas de gestão de conhecimento (SGCs,
ou KMSs do inglês Knowledge Management Systems) se atém apenas
ao primeiro desafio – capturar o conhecimento em um repositório
corporativo de informação. E quanto a assegurar que o conhecimento
capturado também seja potencializado (ou seja, reutilizado)? Não
há impacto em produtividade e eficiência sem que se dedique tanto
a apreender como a potencializar a informação e o conhecimento
corporativo. Se o SGC de uma organização é principalmente
um repositório de informações documentadas e não
foi projetado para que se consiga potencializar a informação,
resultará em um sistema cheio de informações irrelevantes
que é usado facultativamente – um pântano de “bugigangas”.
Apesar deste tipo de SGC ser comum, agrega pouco valor à organização.
Doing
More with Less
In recent times, the working world is about “and” rather than “either/or.”
It’s a world in which a leader’s top three-to-five priorities really
number more like six-to-eight. It’s a world in which employees see their
co-workers lose jobs and then pick up their responsibilities because the work
still needs to be done. It’s a world in which the office follows us home
on weekends and on vacations by e-mail, cell phone, pager, and BlackBerry™.
Consider these statistics:
Since 2002, American industries have seen an increase in revenue approaching
15%. However, new jobs haven’t been created; in fact, 2.8 million jobs
have been lost since 2000.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average middle-income married
couple with children is now working 660 hours more per year than 25 years ago—the
equivalent of more than 16 extra weeks of full-time work.
Americans hand back to employers more than $21 billion in unused vacation hours,
according to a recent survey by Expedia.com.
What does all of this mean? It means that people are doing more with less. And
they are feeling it. According to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey, one-third
of workers say they are dissatisfied with their work-life balance. Sixty-eight
percent of workers report feeling burnout at work.
Feedback
and Incentives Improves Performance
Proof Operators at Union National Bank, Little Rock, Arkansas
The improvement of item processing rate for twelve bank proof operators was
the purpose of the plan. A baseline-processing rate of 950 items per hour was
computed from historical data. The national average rate for NCR machines was
1300. Initially, we implemented a feedback system in which the operators could
compute their rate (net of errors) at the end of each day and compare to a goal
of 1300. The average rate rose to 1300 in three weeks. However, over the next
several months the rate declined to 1050. At this point I implemented an incentive
plan in which operators could earn up to 3% of their base pay for improvements
in rate. The plan paid a percentage based upon the percentage of a goal of 1650
items per hour. Within a two-month period, the rate rose above goal and then
settled in to an average performance right below goal. This plan remained in
effect for two years and sustained performance at just below goal level.
Giving
money back for quality saves a food distrubution company $10,000 in one quarter
Incentives have been shown to be more effective than hourly pay in influencing
employee performance because they provide monetary reinforcement contingent
on the worker’s performance (Abernathy, Duffy, & O’Brien, 1982;
Gaetani, Hoxeng, & Austin, 1985) often in weekly paychecks. Although individual
incentives may be considered small, they are available each and every time a
unit is produced. Therefore, this type of performance management system is a
popular technique among employees as well as management (Redmon & Agnew,
1991).
Behavior
Based Safety: Linbeck Case Study
Despite the unique challenges of the construction industry, Linbeck Construction
Corporation in Houston, Texas has achieved a 50% reduction in their incident
rate with a Behavioral Safety Process.Construction projects, no matter how large,
are, by their nature, time limited. The nature of the work and the composition
of the workforce also change continuously over the course of the project. From
clearing a green-field site to final installation of security systems and internal
fittings, the people involved can vary from one superintendent coordinating
the work of dozens of subcontractors and their scores of employees to a series
of general contractor employees such as ironworkers, laborers, and carpenters.
Other barriers cited by many in the industry were the education and literacy
levels of employees as well as their level of commitment to the company. Construction
workers typically move from contractor to contractor as the level of work varies.
Many people were concerned that the short-term nature of employment would mean
that employees would not be motivated to participate in a Behavioral Safety
process.
Gossip
and Rumor in Organizations
A Brief Overview
In organizational systems, the dominant patterns of organizational members’
behaviors are perhaps the most challenging components to analyze since they
are somewhat informal and are strengthened and transmitted at the individual
level. Gossip and rumor are examples of informal practices and communication
methods that can either work for or against an organization. Our paper entitled
“Organizational Implications of Gossip and Rumor” (in press) draws
upon a number of perspectives: anthropological, sociological, social psychological
and behavior analytic. These distinctions are followed by an elaboration on
the role of rumor and gossip in ambiguous circumstances since environmental
ambiguity seems to be one of the primary factors that participate in the development
and maintenance of gossip and rumor. From a behavior analytic standpoint, rumor
and gossip can be defined as learned interactions with organizational stimuli
(e.g., rules, policies, mission statements, vision, other organizational members,
etc.) that are shared among members of a given organization. Gossip and rumor
tend to occur most frequently when rules, information, and/or policies are unclear,
inaccurate or incomplete. In other words, gossip and rumor-type practices increase
in ambiguous organizational environments where information regarding work related
matters lacks clear description, and key words, phrases, or strategic concepts
are ill defined which can leave low-level manager and employees too much room
for misunderstanding. In these types of circumstances, employees are likely
to engage in problem-solving behaviors such as gossip and rumor to explain the
unexplained.
Using
Feedback Effectively
Feedback is information performers receive about the quantity or quality of
their behavior. (Alvero, Bucklin & Austin, 2001). It is commonly used to
alter the performance of a group or individual and is essential in many organizations.
However, delivering feedback alone will not necessarily affect performance to
the desired extent. Several components should be combined to ensure the effectiveness
of feedback. Before delivering feedback, you should decide what should be changed
in the organization. Does an entire group need to improve, or just some individuals
within a group? Group feedback may be yield more consistent results than feedback
delivered to individuals. Individual feedback may also be considerably more
expensive to deliver (Prue & Fairbank, 1981). Look at the performance of
the group or individual and decide what behaviors you are most interested in
altering. You can either measure permanent products or observe behaviors as
they occur. The information you deliver to the group or individual will be based
on what you decide. After deciding to whom feedback will be delivered, you need
to determine what it will include. The most effective feedback will compare
the performance to either a standard of how it should have been done, or how
it was done in the past by that group or individual. Information of performance
compared to a standard could be an exemplar or a goal that was set previously.
If it is based on previous performance, it could be compared to prior performance
when feedback was delivered or data were collected.
Implementation
Tip from Dixon, Hayes, & Stack's Changing Conceptions of Employee Compensation
The effects of contingent reinforcement on a variety of work behaviors have
been well known in the organizational behavior management (OBM) literature for
some time (e.g., Hopkins, 1987; Mawhinney, 1975). While most applications of
monetary incentive-based programs have focused on the individual, this trend
is gradually expanding to include group-based pay for performance programs as
promising results of this type of system are reported (Honeywell-Johnson &
Dickinson, 1999; Kovac, 1986). By using group-based contingencies, individual
employees often become more aware of how their own performance affects the group
and organization collectively. As a result, individuals are better able to determine
the impact of their performance on an organizations’ financial status.
A concurrent awareness among individual employees and their performance, as
well as the organization’s success has not always been accomplished with
individual employee-based compensation systems.
Was ist
OBM?
OBM steht für „Organizational Behavior Management“ und lässt
sich am ehesten übersetzen als „Verhaltensmanagement in Organisationen.“
OBM ist eine Form der Angewandten Verhaltensanalyse (Applied Behavior Analysis),
die wiederum ein Teil der Verhaltensanalyse (Behavior Analysis) ist. Verhaltensanalyse
ist eine Wissenschaft, die sich mit dem Verhalten von Menschen befasst, mit
dem was Menschen sagen und tun. Die Verhaltensanalyse versucht dieses Verhalten
zu verstehen, zu beschreiben, zu erklären, und vorauszusagen. Die Angewandte
Verhaltensanalyse beschäftigt sich damit, wie man das Verhalten von Menschen
und Tieren ändern kann. Die Mitglieder des OBM-Network sind Verhaltensanalytiker,
die zugleich Mitglieder in der Association for Behavior Analysis sind. OBM hat
Ähnlichkeiten mit der „Arbeits-, Betriebs- und Organisationspsychologie
(ABO)“, unterscheidet sich aber auch von dieser. ABO-Psychologen sind
in erster Linie Psychologen, d.h., sie vermuten den Grund für ein bestimmtes
Verhalten (z.B. eines Mitarbeiters) in der Person und sie versuchen in erster
Linie auf diese Person einzuwirken bzw. auf angenommene innere Eigenschaften
dieser Person (z.B. ihre „Leistungsbereitschaft“ oder ihr „Sicherheitsbewusstsein“).
Ein großer Bereich innerhalb der ABO-Psychologie aber ist die Personalauswahl,
z.B. mittels Testverfahren oder Assessment Centern. Dabei wird kein Verhalten
verändert, sondern es werden lediglich Menschen auf bestimmte Arbeitsplätze
zugewiesen bzw. für diese Arbeitsplätze ausgewählt.
A
Discussion of Safety Training for Caregivers of People with Spinal Cord Impairment
According to an initial survey conducted at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital,
an alarming number of wheelchair-bound patients with spinal cord impairment
(SCI) require readmission to the hospital after discharge from acute care (Nelson
et al. 2003). The authors examined patients who experienced fall-related fractures
and found that 80% of patients who fell required inpatient stays of an average
of 66 days. One of the leading activities resulting in falls was unsafe lifts
done by families. Re-admittance to the hospital may burden patients and caregivers
in areas of cost, time, and effort, and a number of other dimensions. Furthermore,
hospital systems are already overtaxed in their physical therapy departments.
It seems clear that re-admittance due to avoidable accidents strains patients,
families, and hospital resources. Fortunately, there are a number of Organizational
Behavior Management (OBM) techniques that can address patient safety in the
home and ultimately decrease readmittance. These techniques include peer feedback,
task analyses of safe lifts and transfers, and in-home caregiver training. Of
the 24 patients examined in the Nelson et al. (2003) study, most fall-related
fractures in SCI patients were the result of home inaccessibility or inadequate
support at home. Almost half of the fractures occurred during patient transfer,
during which the families assisted the person in moving from point A to point
B. For example, a transfer would be needed to move the patient from a wheelchair
to a car, bed, toilet, or shower seat, or from the floor to the wheelchair following
a fall. Performing a transfer requires the caregiver to support the weight of
the patient. If performed unsafely, transfers can easily result in re-injury
to the patient and injury to the caregiver. The studies discussed below indicate
that use of OBM techniques has indications for improving family training. Alavosius
and Sulzer-Azaroff (1985) examined patient lifting techniques exhibited by nursing
staff in a hospital setting. A safe lift is a vital component of accomplishing
a safe transfer. The authors effectively trained nursing staff to perform safe
lifts with patients using a task analysis, or step-by-step guide, for performing
lifts. While safe lifts and transfers performed by nurses increase patient safety
in the hospital and reduce on-the-job injury for nurses, the hospital staff
that are responsible for training patient families in safety are the physical
therapists. Despite this, our literature search did not reveal any research
on family training packages designated to improve the safety of either the SCI
patient or the family after hospital discharge.
The
Behavioral Sales Model and Six Sigma Approach to Sales
I currently work at a large auto finance corporation that uses Six Sigma (SS)
in every department within the bank. Here, SS is seen as a panacea for all problems
and many other companies have taken a ride on the bandwagon. However, after
I enrolled in an organizational behavior management course, I came to conclude
that SS may not be the cure that it is purported to be. SS may affect improvements
in customer satisfaction regarding processes that have minimal human interaction
(e.g., ATM’s, automated software programs, automated credit transactions,
etc.). Unfortunately, SS does not effectively deal with processes requiring
intense human interaction (e.g., transaction turnaround times, approvals, customer
service, sales, etc.). In contrast, the Behavioral Sales Model (BSM) effectively
handles with these shortcomings (Martinko, Casey, & Fadil, 2001).
Pay
for Performance in Human Service Settings
The field of human services encompasses many areas of human needs. Many agencies
are government funded and are responsible for providing care and assistance
to people in the community. Some clients require assistance with physical, psychiatric,
or developmental disabilities. Others have housing or health issues. Some other
areas of human service also include education and child welfare. Although there
have been budgetary cuts, the field of human services will only continue to
grow as the needs of many different client populations must be met. Although
human service agencies are an integral part of society, I have observed that
many are plagued with organizational problems such as high turnover rate, which
may affect how the agencies function. From my experience as a counselor working
in a residential services program for the psychiatrically disabled, possible
factors associated with the high turnover rate are vague job structure, high
stress, and low salary. These factors may contribute to ongoing problems with
staff performance such as absenteeism, tardiness, incomplete paperwork, and
insufficient client interaction. Employees receive training until competency
has been met. The staff is taught how to properly interact with clients in order
to assist them and determine which goals should be met for both clients and
staff. Employees also receive feedback from clients and management. Yet, consequences
to maintain proper work behavior are still lacking. In order to maintain staff
performance, differential and effective positive consequences need to be implemented
(Arco, 1993).
Multifaceted
Training Programs in Human Service Settings: There is Still Hope
Personnel in human services settings often lack the professional and clinical
training needed to provide effective treatment to persons with developmental
disabilities. While many perceive the main goal of human services settings to
be the management of the consumers’ behavior, an equally important mission
is to establish and maintain the proficiency of the staff. Many current training
packages lack both in-depth skills training and proficiency maintenance. However,
programs which are well-developed and all-encompassing tend to show more success
in terms of maintaining staff proficiency (Reid & Parsons, 2004). Though
rare, such programs do exist, and an example of one will be discussed. Successful
training programs in human service settings have been shown to use a multifaceted
approach, one which addresses both methods used to acquire skills as well as
methods used to maintain those skills (Parsons, Schepis & Reid, 1987; Dyer,
Schwartz & Luce, 1984). Most common training programs only include performance
modeling, practice and feedback, and verbal and written instructions. While
these components are essential to the training of proficient staff, the issue
of maintaining proficiency is not addressed. It is for this reason that adequate
training packages should encompass a multifaceted approach, aimed both at training
and maintaining the skills necessary to provide effective treatment.
Performance
Management: Do the Means Justify the Ends?
In the migration from the laboratory to applied settings, behavior analysts
tended to retain the experimenter-subject or therapist-client service delivery
model. When this proved impractical in organizational settings, the model was
retained by attempting to train managers as ‘therapists.’ This model
has often failed to deliver significant and sustainable organizational improvements
due to the inability of managers to implement effective performance improvement
initiatives. It is recommended that a new role, the Performance System Technologist,
replace the manager training model. The PST would be responsible for pinpointing
performance improvement opportunities and assisting managers in the design,
implementation, and evaluation of performance improvement initiatives. It is
further suggested that PST training be expanded to include techniques from the
disciplines of business and industrial engineering.
OBM
in Educational and Human Service Settings
In the year 2000, a team of behavior analysts affiliated with The Eunice Kennedy
Shriver Center of the University of Massachusetts Medical School was awarded
federal funds from the U. S. Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement
of Postsecondary Education, under a program entitled “Learning Anytime,
Anywhere Partnership (LAAP).” As a way of addressing the major need for
personnel skilled in applied behavior analysis in the autism education field,
we undertook to design, develop, and field-test a four-course undergraduate
level internet-based series entitled Behavioral Intervention in Autism (BIA).
An early step involved using a Delphi process to identify what knowledge and
skills key leaders in the field agreed our students would need to master. Among
the 40 plus topics that were endorsed, Working with staff was one considered
important, and we agreed. Consequently, we included material on Organizational
Behavior Management (OBM) within the curriculum and applied those principles
in conducting the program as well. Now, after field-testing our instructional
modules, we are revamping this material to include an expanded version of the
major points. Below I discuss the general need for managerial and supervisory
personnel in early intervention, public education, and human service organizations,
to be skilled not only in ABA but also in OBM; also some ways managers and supervisors
of autism educational programs’ can use OBM methods to address their programmatic
needs. The ways we ourselves used OBM in the design and implementation of our
curriculum are described for illustrative purposes.
Reducing
Vehicle Accidents at a Residential Agency
Ensuring the safety of children when driving is always a top priority. The Massachusetts
Department of Traffic Public Safety (2004) reported that there were a total
of 4,178 vehicle accidents in Massachusetts in 2003, and that 434 of those resulted
in fatalities. The Massachusetts Public Safety Department also reported that
motor vehicle accidents were the leading cause of unintentional deaths of children
under 15. Agencies that transport children on a regular basis have a vested
interest in developing training procedures designed to decrease the likelihood
of vehicle accidents. Behavior analytic techniques have much to offer in the
area of reducing on-site work injuries, and in increasing driver safety (Alvero
& Austin, 2004; Huybers, Van Houten, & Malenfant, 2004). For example,
Ludwig and Geller (2001) used behavioral interventions to increase the safety
belt use of pizza delivery drivers. The present study evaluates an antecedent
intervention strategy on motor vehicle (van) accidents at a residential treatment
facility. An obstacle course training was developed to deliver in-vivo instruction
and feedback on specific driving skills commonly associated with accidents.
Skills were identified through a review of past van accidents, and the driver
errors that caused them. Although these accidents had not resulted in any serious
injuries, damage to vehicles had occurred that required repair and it was considered
desirable to decrease the likelihood of future serious injury.
JOBM Takes the Bronze!
According to data accessed on the
Thomson ISI JCR database in January 2005 and displayed in Table 1, the Journal
of Organizational Behavior Management’s Impact Factor in 2003
is 1.793, placing it as the journal with the third highest impact in “Applied
Psychology” (as defined in the JCR)
behind the Journal of Applied
Psychology and Human Resource Management, respectively, and
ahead of such stalwart I/O Psychology journals as Journal of Vocational
Behavior, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Organizational
Behavior & Human Decision Processes. Further, JOBM’s
impact factor is linearly accelerated (r = .91) over the recent
5-year period. JOBM’s climb in this ranking also was noticed
by NYU business professor William Starbuck (2005) who cited JOBM as
a ‘Rising Star’ journal on his website report of journal citation
trends. JOBM is a high quality,
high impact journal publishing research that makes a difference in the field
of applied psychology. Its ranking of third in impact compares favorably
to (or often is better than) other journals in the area that reputational
surveys often identify as being “top journals” publishing high
quality research (e.g., Zickar & Highhouse, 2001). Given both JOBM’s
rapid rise over the past five years and the fact that reputational rankings
are slow to change (Christenson & Sigelman, 1985), it should be expected
that while the journal’s appearance in such subjective lists may emerge
in time, the data show clearly that JOBM ranks among the best journals
in applied psychology.
Increasing
Pre-Designated Drivers:
An Extension of a Prompt and Incentive Package
The purpose of this study was to increase
the frequency of Pre-Designated Drivers using a cost-effective, non-intrusive
prompt and incentive program as a replication and extension of prior research
by Brigham, et al. In their 1995 study, the authors used visual prompts of framed
posters and placards advertising contingent incentives (free non-alcoholic beverages)
for being a Designated Driver. Their results showed a significant and effective
increase in self-reported Designated Drivers. Using a similar setting and population,
a local restaurant/bar that caters primarily to patrons aged 25-50 years old,
this study used positive placard prompts at the location where patrons order,
positive reinforcement of free drinks contingent on a Pre-Designated Driver,
as well as verbal prompts by the waitstaff.
有关于行为基础安全的简介
工业组织者认识到工人安全是一个工业核心要素,工人们通过降低工伤的发生率可以逐步改善他们的安全记录。 为了降低工伤发生率,采矿安全与健康管理协会 ( MSHA ) 与国际 沙砾协会 (NSSGA) 在 2000 至 2002 年形成了规范的工伤分析联盟。 该联盟在报道的 12147 例工伤事例中,通过以下分类:扶养、身体恢复及后期功能改建;操作材料;以及工伤发生方式等。目的在于通过对过去工伤事例的回顾,进一步发现改进的潜能、制定改进的方案和强调消除工伤事件发生的重要性。对我来讲,这样做提出了工作重心非常明确的工业模式。以下你将看到,对于现有工伤资源的分析是对未来降低工伤率的非常重要的步骤,这使人们能够意识到还有哪些领域是能够继续改进的。
An
Analysis of Organizational Behavioral Interventions in Terms of the
Three-contingency Model of Performance Management
The three-contingency model of performance
management applies to people who have language skills (see Malott, 1993; 1998).
The model suggests that (1) people often fail to act in their best interest
because of ineffective natural contingencies, as much as because of effective
competing contingencies, (2) effective performance-management contingencies
often involve behavior-contingent outcomes too delayed to reinforce or punish
that behavior, and (3) the underlying behavioral processes involve inferred
direct-acting reinforcement or punishment contingencies. This article reports
the application of the three-contingency model to an analysis of OBM studies
published in The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA), volumes
21 through 30. These studies involved performance-management (PM) contingencies
with outcomes that were too delayed to reinforce or punish the managed
behavior.
Consulting
in OBM: Thoughts on Successful Practices
Successful consulting firms
(or individuals) know the marketplace needs and can quickly show how their
offerings match those needs. These firms typically go to market with a signature
product or service that can be distinguished from competitors and define how
their specific capabilities (e.g., Six Sigma, Emotional Intelligence, Executive
Coaching, etc.) match major market needs (e.g., customer service in the telecom
industry, quality improvement, employee engagement). Less effective firms typically
promote a general capability (e.g., assessment, coaching, change management),
which has to be fitted to the needs of companies. For example, the hot topic
nowadays is talent management including recruiting, development of high potentials,
career acceleration, succession planning, retention and other areas related
to getting and keeping top talent in a tight market. Anyone who talks about
this topic intelligently has a good chance of getting an audience, often by
telephone. However, differentiating your capability requires more than the
generic “talent management,” and should identify sub-areas within
talent management (e.g., recruiting) or special techniques for talent management
(e.g., behavioral interviewing and selection) that create a value equation
for your services. We feel that consultants who use one set of general scientific
principles to address many problems are at particular risk of failing to connect
with client problems.
OBM: A View From
the Field
The world of work has never
before needed Behavior Analysis more than it needs it now.Regardless
of what seat in the company you occupy, the challenges are very real and very
deep. Issues of—
—all of these require shifts in behavior, and in the contingencies that operate around behavior.
Lottery Bonus Contingencies Can Improve Performance in Human Service Organizations
Human service organizations often
find themselves in a situation where opportunities to generate additional
funding are limited, but the need to provide monetary compensation and
incentives is high. One solution to this problem is to deliver performance
feedback (Reid, Parsons, & Green, 2000) by using very simple principles
of behavior analysis. Performance feedback is cost-effective and can potentially
be easily maintained without extensive effort from the supervisor (Reid,
Rotholz, Parsons, Morris, Braswell, Green, & Schell, 2003). We looked
at the performance of supervisors in residential environments that served
individuals with developmental disabilities.
Dress for Success Measurement
Does the way a person dress affect
their job performance? At General Motors, Bic, PepsiCo, and American
Express, among others, a more casual dress code has been adopted (Lilly,
2003). Other firms, such as Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, J.P. Morgan, and
Goldman Sachs have instituted full-time casual dress policies (News.Com,
2003). These companies believe that coming to work dressed comfortably
will improve creativity, increase morale, enhance communication, and improve
productivity. Other companies believe that casual dress in the workplace
leads to an increase in tardiness and absenteeism (Motivational Manager,
2002). The Men’s Apparel Alliance conducted a survey, reporting
that casual attire has lead to relaxed attitudes and behaviors, which has
hurt productivity (Men’s Apparel Alliance, 2003).
OBM - the Next Generation
Articles in previous editions of the OBM Network Newsletter describe best
practices, key learnings, and recommendations for successful practice in
OBM. Other articles provide recommendations for obtaining careers
in OBM, from personal experience, and insights from practitioners. The
authors of this article found many of the sources recommending careers
to be aligned with what they found were their skill deficits, when they
embarked on the journey to become practitioners post graduate studies. The
authors will share with you 1) their learning from interviews conducted
with CLG members on the successful practices and 2) a call to action, based
on the interviews and their experiences, to what OBM professionals (both
practitioners and researchers) should begin to think through when considering
the future of OBM.
Prompting Plus Choice of Target Behavior Increase
Compliance with Behavioral Self-Monitoring
Behavioral self–monitoring (SM) procedures, involving individuals repeatedly
observing, evaluating, and recording aspects of their own behavior, are widely
used for assessment and intervention purposes (Korotitisch & Nelson-Gray,
1999). Recently SM has been included in occupational safety interventions
(e.g., Hickman & Geller, 2003a; 2003b; Krause, 1997; Olson & Austin,
2001; McCann & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1996). Large companies, such as
the United Parcel Service, are now implementing safety SM interventions with
isolated workers (J. Ginter, personal communication, October 2005), and Industrial
and Organizational psychologists are also increasingly using SM methods,
such as diaries and computer-based ecological momentary sampling procedures,
to study organizational phenomena. However, compliance with SM procedures
can be highly variable, and there is evidence that greater compliance rates
correlate with better results (Cash & Hrabosky 2003).
How to Predict Who'll Be An Effective Manager?
Consider Using a Validated In-basket
Imagine: You’ve got a vacancy. It’s for a supervisory position
that deals directly with the heart of your mission. The person who fills
it needs to effectively motivate teams, build morale and ensure the productivity
of each and every individual. You’ve got to make a choice among candidates.
Some have previous experience; others come highly recommended. But you’ve
never seen any of them leading this particular group to do this particular
task. You essentially have to take a leap. How can you predict the future? “Everybody
is looking for a crystal ball to predict what a person will actually be
like on the job” (White, 2006, B3). That’s a dilemma, whether
it is selecting a manager for a call center or a community center. How
do you choose the best leader for the job? Or at the very least, how do
you avoid some of the most common pitfalls? Two traps are, according to
the CEO of Development Dimensions International (Byham, 2002): “believing
in the accuracy of an internal nomination system” and “being
fooled by someone's excellent experience record or lack thereof”
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The Organizational Behavior Management Network was lasted updated: February 7th, 2007
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