An Introduction to Behavioral Systems Analysis for OBMers and non-OBMers Alike
Heather M. McGee Western Michigan University

Two years ago, I began teaching a graduate level course in behavioral systems analysis (BSA). I was warned ahead of time that the area of behavioral systems analysis was not always well understood by students.  My conversations with current and former students who had taken BSA revealed a general theme in how they felt about it: “I don’t get it!”  I spoke with colleagues who explained that the class was taken by both organizational behavior management (OBM) and non-OBM behavior analysis students (in fact, the majority of students registered for the class were non-OBM, mostly working in the area of developmental disabilities).  Even those students who were “OBMers” often had a very limited to nonexistent background in understanding organizational performance. Their exposure to organizational performance improvement had typically consisted of individual or small group performance on about 1-3 key performances.  I quickly realized that developing and teaching this class was not going to be as easy as I thought.

After teaching it for the first time and receiving students’ feedback, it became clear that any class on BSA, and particularly those involving non-OBM students, must begin with an explanation of (a) how the various subfields, including OBM and developmental disabilities (DD) fit into the larger field of ABA; (b) the relationship between BSA, PM, and OBM; (c) how BSA and PM are similar and how they differ from one another; (d) why BSA is important in understanding and improving organizational performance; and (e) how the ability to utilize this approach is value-adding for OBMers and non-OBMers alike. It is these topics that I will address in this paper.

My first obstacle was not explaining what behavioral systems analysis is or why it is important, but to explain what OBM is in general.  I’ve found that a tree highlighting how everything fits together has been helpful for students (see Figure 1).  OBM is a subfield of applied behavior analysis, which is a subfield of behavior analysis.  The field of applied behavior analysis is concerned with the prediction and control of behaviors that are considered to be socially important (Bailey & Burch, 2002).  Therefore, each individual subfield of applied behavior analysis strives to improve socially important behaviors relevant to the context of that subfield. In this way, the various subfields of applied behavior analysis are more similar than dissimilar.  We all strive toward the same goal: Improving performance by altering environmental variables that impact socially important behaviors.

Figure 1. Behavior analysis tree.
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From a direct service provision perspective, we could say that individuals working within the area of developmental disabilities are concerned with improving those value-adding behaviors of the developmentally disabled individual (or decreasing value-detracting behaviors), and to alter the behaviors of individuals around that person that will support those pinpointed behaviors.  In the area of OBM, we are concerned with improving the value-adding behaviors of individuals within the work environment (employees who directly impact the product or service being produced), and in altering the behaviors of those individuals that will support those pinpointed behaviors (supervisors, managers, etc.).

Figure 2 demonstrates the relationship between service provider and service receiver for both the area of DD and OBM. In both situations, the behavior analyst provides behavioral services (assessment, training, consequence alteration, etc.) to the primary and support consumers.  The primary difference between the two is that while the developmental disabilities service provider works directly with the ultimate customer, the OBM service provider works with individuals who, themselves, are providing products and/or services to an ultimate customer.  It is the organizational product or service that is the primary concern and, therefore, the job of the OBM service provider is to ensure that any changes in behavior or the environment have either a direct or indirect impact on the organizational product/service.

Figure 2. Service provision models for DD and OBM.
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This same view could be applied to those individuals who work in the area of DD, but do not work directly with the client. It is the responsibility of these individuals to ensure that any changes in the behavior of the direct service provider or to the organizational environment have either a direct or indirect impact on the organizational product/service.  Figure 3 illustrates this perspective of performance.  However, being able to comprehensively analyze and improve organizational performance in this manner requires a background in both areas of OBM (PM and BSA), which is often lacking in the training of individuals working in the area of DD (and other subfields of applied behavior analysis).

Figure 3. Combined OBM/DD service provision model.
Click figure to see more detail

Sometimes performance analysis and improvement initiatives involve identifying and manipulating the antecedents and consequences directly associated with the targeted behaviors.  This aspect of OBM is referred to as performance management.  Performance management interventions may involve setting goals, providing feedback and reinforcement, employing the use of job aids, etc. (Daniels & Daniels, 2004).  Other times, analyses and subsequent change initiatives involve more remote levels of the organization.  This aspect of OBM is referred to as behavioral systems analysis (BSA).  Behavioral systems analysis interventions, like performance management interventions, may involve performer level changes.  Additionally, BSA interventions are likely to involve process changes, resource allocation changes, strategy development and alignment, etc. (Malott, 2003).  It is the inclusion of changes in variables that are less directly tied to a specific behavior or task, but which may ultimately impact how well that behavior or task is performed that sets BSA apart from PM.

It is worth stressing that BSA does not ignore the performer’s behavior or the performer level variables that affect that behavior.  Rather, BSA is concerned with the variables at each level of the organization that impact individual and organizational performance.  Rummler and Brache (1995) stated, “If you pit a good performer against a bad system, the system will win almost every time” (p.13).  Imagine a scenario where paperwork, necessary for funding purposes, is not being filed in a timely fashion.  You may approach this problem from a PM perspective by setting goals and providing feedback.  However, a process analysis may reveal that the paperwork is currently changing hands on four different occasions, going from inbox to outbox and creating delays during the paperwork process before it reaches its final destination.  Your process level analysis may reveal that, in fact, the paperwork need only be filled out by one person and reviewed and filed by another.  When we fail to analyze organizational variables that affect performance, we not only miss opportunities for improvement, but also create systems that become “out of control” through unchecked change, growth, or drift.

The typical first year graduate student in a behavioral department (whether studying DD or OBM) will likely have established a repertoire in the basic principles of behavior.  OBM students will likely have had some additional exposure to the area of performance management and, perhaps, been involved in conducting relatively basic PM interventions.  It is less likely that this student would have any pre-exposure to the area of behavioral systems analysis, and highly unlikely that he/she would have experiential learning in this area.  The non-OBM student is unlikely to have had any exposure to either area.

The inclusion of a course in behavioral systems analysis, with an introduction to the topic similar to that presented in this paper, would benefit any behavior analyst with responsibilities in the area of supervision and the provision of excellent products/services.  It provides the student with the skills necessary to view an organization as a system, to understand how he/she fits into that system, and provides the tools with which the individual can analyze and improve organizational performance.

References
Bailey, J. S., & Burch, M. R. (2002). Research methods in applied behavior analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Daniels, A. C., & Daniels, J. E. (2004). Performance management: Changing behavior that drives organizational effectiveness (4th ed.). Atlanta, GA: Performance Management Publications.

Malott, M. E. (2003). Paradox of organizational change: Engineering organizations with behavioral systems analysis. Reno, NV: Context Press.

Rummler, G. A., & Brache, A. P. (1995). Improving performance: How to manage the white space on the organization chart (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.