Employee Engagement and Organizational Behavior Management

No abstract available for this article.     

Integrating Person Factors into the OBM Framework

Abstract

A common perspective is that behavior-based and person-based approaches to behavior change represent opposite poles of an intervention continuum. However, an integration of these approaches might not only be possible but necessary to develop optimal behavior-change interventions. A better understanding of person factors may help define the most appropriate intervention for a particular situation. Focusing on person factors such as employee perceptions and personality states will be accepted to the extent we can explain these factors in behavioral terms and demonstrate objective benefits with their application. This article attempts to integrate certain person factors into a behavioral framework for the purpose of both increasing behavioral intervention effectiveness as well as broadening the scope of OBM research.     

Should Organizational Behavior Management Expand Its Content?

Abstract

The American Psychological Association (APA) has defined the years 2000 to 2010 as the “Decade of Behavior,” and has been promoting this designation in convention materials, newsletters, media briefs, and professional publications. But APA seems to be avoiding the leading discipline in analyzing and changing behaviors in industrial settings-organizational behavior management (OBM). Furthermore, with only a few exceptions, OBM does not receive the attention it deserves in university psychology departments, including graduate programs in industrial/organizational (I/O) Psychology. This paper entertains reasons for the low and decreasing academic attention to OBM, and offers some possible solutions. It is proposed that OBM is generally discussed in overly simplistic terms; and unlike I/O Psychology, OBM does not draw on the wealth of relevant concepts and principles in other areas, especially cognitive and social psychology. Specific examples are given for expanding the typical boundaries of the OBM curriculum in order to improve organization-based interventions and realize greater opportunities to demonstrate the unique qualities of a behavior analysis approach to real-world problem solving.     

A Simple Punishment Procedure for Controlling Employee Absenteeism

The present study examined the effectiveness of a punishment procedure for controlling staff absenteeism in a facility for mentally retarded persons. Subjects were required to report sick leave absences and related information directly to their supervisor. The supervisor then provided subjects with information concerning the effects of the absence on facility operations. Results indicated a reduction in sick leave absenteeism following the implementation of the punishment procedure. Results also showed that vacation leave absenteeism increased systematically with reductions in sick leave absenteeism. Results were discussed in terms of employee-controlled (sick leave) vs. employer-controlled (vacation leave) absenteeism, and the ease and economy of the punishment procedure.     

Organizational Behavior Management and Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Abstract

Six scholars in applied psychology wrote thoughtful and provocative reactions to a paper written by the author that presented a case for broadening the content and language of organizational behavior management (OBM) in order to enhance appreciation for OBM in organizational settings and among university faculty and students in mainstream psychology programs. This paper summarizes the follow-up commentaries and adds justification for key points made in the target article. Five topics are addressed: (1) critical distinctions between OBM and industrial/organizational psychology, (2) disadvantages of using negative over positive reinforcement to motivate behavior change, (3) the need to after OBM language in order to increase interest and application, (4) the use of unobservable person state vs. personality traits to explain behavior, and (5) the challenge of improving the education and training of students in OBM programs.     

Relating Behavior Analysis to the Organizational Culture Concept and Perspective

No abstract available for this article.     

Occupational Safety:

After a feedback condition, assigned (foreman-selected) and participative (worker-selected) goal-setting were examined to determine how they might augment the safety performance of 150 workers in 17 rooms of a paper mill. A statistical comparison of performance under assigned goal-setting, with that under baseline conditions of feedback-alone demonstrated a significant increase in the percentage of nonhazardous conditions but not of safe practices. Goal-setting by workers did not produce significant increases for either practices or conditions, and rates of injuries remained at the same reduced level as during feedback-alone. A visual analysis of a graphic plot of repeated performance measures suggested that trends established during feedback alone could account, in part, for the improvements. Possibly ceiling effects and the stated opinions of workers about various attributes of goal-setting may have been related to the outcomes.     

Suggestive Selling by Waitstaff in Family-Style Restaurants

Two studies were carried out in family-style restaurants to increase suggestive selling by waitstaff and to assess some of the natural contingencies that may influence suggestive selling. In the first study a combination of goal setting, feedback, and positive reinforcement was presented to waitstaff for suggestive selling of cocktails, appetizers, and desserts. Increases were not uniform across the three categories with desserts showing the greatest increase. The second study was designed to assess some of the possible controlling variables for selling by observing when waitstaff typically suggested cocktails, appetizers, and desserts in over 50 restaurants. Suggestions were more probable after dinner than after lunch and waitstaff were more likely to suggest dessert when the restaurant was not crowded than when it was full and busy. Suggestive selling appears to differ across individual waitstaff and may be differentially reinforced during non-peak times during the day.     

Motivating Operations in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management: Review and Discussion of Relevant Articles

Every article published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management from 1982 through 2012 that contained the term motivating operation (or a related term) was examined. Seventy-six articles used a relevant term. Authors used the term in attempts to categorize and explain the behavioral effects of many aspects of interventions (e.g., rules, feedback, goal-setting), everyday occurrences in organizations (e.g., nicotine deprivation, top management support), and characteristics of behaving individuals (e.g., optimism, personality state), which on the one hand suggests that the motivating operation concept has been of value in organizational behavior management research as published in the journal. On the other hand, none of the articles demonstrated the successful use of a motivating operation as the term was initially defined, which suggests that the MO concept has been substantially expanded or widely misused by authors of the evaluated articles.     

Functional Assessment and Intervention for Organizational Behavior Change: Improving the Timeliness of Staff Meetings at a Human Services Organization

We implemented functional behavioral assessment (FBA) at a human services organization to reduce the tardiness of scheduled staff meetings. Following baseline, FBA focused on antecedent and consequence conditions that affected staff arriving on time to scheduled meetings. These data were subsequently presented at a staff meeting in which staff planned an intervention to improve the timeliness of meetings. The intervention, composed of premeeting reminders, positive reinforcement for arriving on time, and meeting termination criteria (to facilitate meeting-to-meeting transitions), was implemented in a multiple baseline design across 3 types of meetings. As a result of the intervention, the number of minutes late that meetings started decreased. We discuss FBA within organizational behavior management that targets performance improvement objectives.