Organizational Behavior Management

ABSTRACT

Organizational behavior management (OBM) is an effective strategy for managing staff in developmental disabilities. Most studies in OBM involve individual or small groups of direct-service staff and their performance with clients in a variety of applied settings. By contrast, few studies focus on the use of OBM with professional staff. This papeT reviews investigations conducted with professional staff, reveals gaps that exist in the current research, and discusses future directions that need further study. The paper concludes with case illustrations of system-wide OBM applications that produced performance improvements by professional staff and meaningful gains for clients.     

The Historical Roots of Organizational Behavior Management in the Private Sector

Abstract

Applications of behavior analysis in the private sector became visible in the late 1960s and early 1970s. By the 1980s, the field of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) was a well established discipline. This article chronicles the people, events and publications that contributed to the formation of the field, beginning with the precursors in the 1950s and ending in the early 1980s. The contributions of individuals who have been honored by the OBM Network are detailed and emphasized. Although some historical accounts attribute the development of OBM to influences from traditional management fields, the present account, through documentation of the formative events, argues that the field developed in relative isolation from such influences, emanating primarily from Skinner's development of programmed instruction and the advent of behavioral applications in other settings. While application of psychology to the work place predated behavioral involvement, the primary force for the development and growth of OBM came from within the field of behavior analysis.     

A Review of Procedural Acceptability in Organizational Behavior Management

ABSTRACT

Despite the documented benefits Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) applications can have on service provision for people with developmental disabilities, OBM is not widely practiced in service systems. One variable that may impact the utilization of OBM is how acceptable the associated procedures are to staff. The research on procedural acceptability in OBM is summarized in terms of two primary methods for determining consumer satisfaction with management procedures-rating scales and discrete choices. Results of acceptability assessments utilizing ratings scales have repeatedly indicated high degrees of staff acceptance for virtually all OBM procedures. However, when staff have been asked to choose among management procedures, clear and consistent differences in acceptability have been apparent. Suggested directions for future research focus on improving acceptability assessment methodology, developing guidelines for implementing effective OBM procedures in a manner that is most acceptable to staff, and involving supervisory and professional staff in acceptability evaluations.     

Notes from an Introspective Behaviorist

Abstract

Based on the three-contingency model of performance management, I make the following argument: (1) Often, we fail to behave as we should because the natural contingencies supporting appropriate behavior are ineffective; the natural contingencies involve outcomes for each individual response that are either too small, though of cumulative significance, or outcomes that are too improbable. The delay of the outcome is essentially irrelevant. The psychodynamic model of the cognitive motivational theorists provides a poor explanation for why we fail to behave as we should. (2) The performance-management contingencies in organizational behavior management (OBM) must usually involve deadline-induced aversive control, even when they are based on powerful reinforcers. Furthermore, such performance management succeeds only to the extent that the person's behavioral history, “Jewish mother,” has inculcated an appropriate value system. Wiegand and Geller's critique of the necessity of the use of aversive control fails to take into account the necessity of deadlines and the difference between instrumental and hedonic reinforcers; furthermore, it greatly over values the power of intrinsic reinforcement contingencies in OBM.     

OBM and Quality Improvement Systems

ABSTRACT

A review of the empirical OBM literature on quality improvement systems in organizations serving persons with developmental disabilities (DD) suggests the current literature offers a small but growing number of studies of large-scale, long-term, applications of behavioral supervision to improve targeted areas of staff performance. One conclusion offered is that it may be possible to expand the scope of OBM interventions in DD organizations by integrating OBM into the development of total quality management (TQM) approaches to quality improvement. To illustrate how such an integration might be accomplished, the current paper discusses OBM research in four areas that are important in implementing TQM (organizational systems analysis, team effectiveness, measuring consumer responses, and data analysis). Recommendations for practice and future research in OBM within DD organizations are discussed.     

A Behavioral Training Program for Managers in City Government

A management training program based on Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) principles was conducted for 32 first-level and upper-level managers in city government. Managers then conducted 19 different behavior change projects with their employees. Each project is described in terms of the number of subjects, dependent and independent variables, length, research design, reliability measures, and results. The overall program was evaluated in terms of behavior change, traineelmanager satisfaction with the training, and effectiveness. Twenty-nine change ratios were calculated by comparing the intervention performance mean with the baseline mean, and in all cases, the change ratio showed that productivity improved. In fourteen case's, productivity at least doubled. The results indicate that employee performance in a governmental organization can be enhanced significantly by use of OBM principles.     

Using a Consultant Workshop Model to Improve Performance Management in Chinese Autism Agencies: A Preliminary Study

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the outcomes of using a consultant workshop model to help implement performance management (PM) methods in selected Chinese autism agencies. A need for improvement of educational services in Chinese autism agencies was identified. However, the theory and methods of organizational behavior management (OBM) in general and PM in particular are still foreign in the Chinese autism community. The primary research question of the current study was whether first-line teacher performance in Chinese autism agencies could be improved by the use of a consultant workshop model to train management staff to implement a PM system. Four autism agencies in different Chinese provinces participated in this study. Results demonstrated that after the implementation of the PM system through a consultant workshop model in the participating agencies, the performance of first-line teachers in these agencies improved in several important areas. The intervention appeared modestly effective. Implications of the outcome data and future directions for practitioners and researchers are discussed.     

The Impact of Skinner's Verbal Behavior on Organizational Behavior Management

In the book Verbal Behavior, Skinner provided a comprehensive, behavioral account of language. While the impact of Skinner's analysis on empirical research has been examined broadly, this review of the literature focused on studies relevant to organizational behavior management (OBM). Both empirical and nonempirical journal articles in OBM were analyzed, along with several influential books in the field. The results of this review indicate that the conceptual framework provided in Verbal Behavior has had virtually no impact on empirical research in OBM and very limited impact on conceptual work. Potential reasons for this lack of influence are discussed, and further research on verbal behavior in organizations is encouraged.     

IMPROVING THE DELIVERY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The utility of organizational behavior management (OBM) for improving the delivery of special education and related services in public school districts was investigated in three experimental studies. Each study employed a multiple baseline design to judge the efficacy of an OBM intervention on service delivery problems common to most public school organizations. The problems and OBM interventions were: (1) expanding the range of functioning of school psychologists through performance feedback; (2) training special service teams to develop valuable individual education programs (IEPs) with a behavioral, in-service training program; and (3) ensuring the implementation of a special education resource room program by means of program consultation. All interventions were implemented by public school program managers and staff. In each study, the particular intervention resulted in improvement in service delivery performance. Results of the studies are discussed within the context of the recently enacted legislation for the education of handicapped children and in terms of generality to mental health, business, and industrial settings.     

On Making Mountains Out of Molehills

Abstract

Seven thoughtful and provocative commentaries were activated by one or both of two articles I authored or coauthored. One article (Geller, 2002) presented a case for broadening the content of organizational behavior management (OBM), while the other (Wiegand & Geller, 2004) discussed linkages between positive reinforcement, positive psychology, and achievement motivation. This rejoinder explains apparent misperceptions of the earlier papers, and adds to the case for expanding the language and scope of OBM, including a consideration of hypothetical constructs influenced reciprocally by environmental conditions and contingencies. A rationale for success seeking over failure avoiding is given with reference to Skinner's theorizing about freedom and dignity.     

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.     

OBM Today and Tomorrow

Abstract

In this article I present the speech I gave when accepting the OBM Network's award for outstanding achievement. In that speech I characterized the field as I understood it in 1992 and directions I thought it should take in the future, including the role that JOBM should play in that future. The acceptance speech is followed by my extensive commentary and opinion concerning developments in the field of OBM up to the year 2000 and the paths along which I think it should develop and paths I think it should avoid in the future.     

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.     

Using Concurrent Verbal Reports to Examine Data Analyst Verbal Behavior

Abstract

Evidence concerning effects of graphed data on the verbal behavior of data analysts was reviewed and revealed the fact that no verbal protocol analyses of this behavior appears in the OBM literature. A task analysis of data analysts' verbal behavior was conducted, verbal responses of two expert and two novice data analysts were collected as they viewed time-series data one data point at a time from three data sets, and these data were subjected to protocol analyses. Results were the following: (1) experienced data analysts made considerably more frequent references to data points in addition to the most recently presented data point for all three data sets than did novices, (2) experienced data analysts took more time to complete the task than did novice analysts, and (3) experienced data analysts were somewhat more accurate at identifying onset (location in time) of interventions. These results were discussed in terms of their implications for future research concerning analysis and development of visual inspection skills among data analysts. It was concluded that there exists a need to develop data sets or tasks that more reliably discriminate among expert and novice performances if verbal protocol methodology is to be fully exploited by OBM researchers.     

Cumulatively Large Benefits of Incrementally Small Intervention Effects

Abstract

Metacontingencies are relations among practices within an organizational culture and their molar environmental consequences for the culture. They can be summarized by the ratio of all revenues from operations (or budgets received) to all expenses paid for operations. Rates of attendance/absenteeism have consequences in terms of effects on a culture's ratio of revenues received (budgets funded) to expense payments that appear as profits (losses) or budget surpluses (deficits) over some time interval. For a host of reasons OBM researchers place a premium on identifying and adopting practices that result in large immediate effects on behavior and performance in the short run. However, some practices created by OBM interventions can have small short-term effects and appreciably larger cumulative effects on revenue to expense and budget to budget expenditure ratios in the longer run. The importance of estimating cumulative benefits and/or costs of OBM interventions when intervention effects are small is demonstrated in this article using data from an operant based intervention that produced an immediate small increase in attendance.     

3 Critical Management Studies

Abstract

Critical management studies (CMS) offers a range of alternatives to mainstream management theory with a view to radically transforming management practice. The common core is deep skepticism regarding the moral defensibility and the social and ecological sustainability of prevailing conceptions and forms of management and organization. CMS's motivating concern is neither the personal failures of individual managers nor the poor management of specific firms, but the social injustice and environmental destructiveness of the broader social and economic systems that these managers and firms serve and reproduce. This chapter reviews CMS's progress, main themes, theoretical and epistemological premises, and main projects; we also identify some problems and make some proposals. Our aim is to provide an accessible overview of a growing movement in management studies.     

On Reinventing OBM

Abstract

This article comments on an argument in favor of a change in OBM's content and focus to include certain empirical findings and theoretical constructs derived from fields like Cognitive and Social Psychology. Specifically, the argument suggests that personal beliefs such as optimism, self-efficacy, and response-efficacy are influential determinants of behavior that give rise to achievement motivation and a success-seeking typology. By incorporating such constructs into OBM, it is suggested that the field will better align itself with related disciplines sharing the goal of promoting personal success, thereby enhancing its performance-improvement toolkit and fostering greater recognition and acceptance for itself within mainstream Psychology. After summarizing key aspects of this argument, this paper identifies certain of its associated challenges and then presents some specific strategies by which the OBM community can chart a future course for the field.