Organizational Behavior Management
Encyclopedia
Organizational behavior management (OBM) is an important aspect of management studies the subject which is studied in first year of management studies is known as organizational behaviour (OB). OBM is the result of applying the psychological principles of applied behavior analysis
and the experimental analysis of behavior
to organization
s to promote worker safety and other benefits. The areas of application may include: systems analysis
, management, training, and performance improvement
.
The field of OBM consists of the development and evaluation of performance improvement procedures which are based on the principles of behavior discovered through the science of behavior analysis. These procedures are considered to be within the scope of OBM when they focus on improving individual or group performance within an organizational setting, whether that organization be a business, industrial setting, or human service setting, and whether that organization was established for profit or not.
The goal of the field of OBM is to establish a technology of broad-scale performance improvement and organizational change so that employees will be more productive and happy, and so that organizations and institutions will be more effective and efficient in achieving their goals. OBM interventions have been varied and include working with therapists on increasing billable hours to fortune five hundred companies increasing productivity to issues of effective pay systems.
Some of the technology that the field of OBM uses are behavioral systems analysis
and performance management
. Some have considered this melding to be a theoretical problem for OBM. Another related field is behavior-based safety
. Due to the nature of the field being involved in business and using the principles of behavior analysis, it is related to psychology
, behavioral engineering
and industrial engineering
.
, however this application was before OBM emerged as a field. Although OBM is related to I/O psychology, because it is a behavioral field the historical precursors of I/O psychology are only chronological precursors and not causal precursors. The first university to offer a graduate program in OBM and systems analysis was Western Michigan University
. The first teacher to teach the course was Dr. Dick Malott.
. The name of the field originates from this journal publication. The field of OBM publishes a quarterly journal. This journal was ranked the third most influential of its kind in a 2003 study.
Upon a review of the articles by Nolan et al. (1999), It showed that:
, originally inspired by Taylor. The principle difference between scientific management and OBM might be on the conceptual underpinnings: OBM is based on B.F. Skinner's science of human behavior.
Applied Behavior Analysis
Applied behavior analysis is a science that involves using modern behavioral learning theory to modify behaviors. Behavior analysts reject the use of hypothetical constructs and focus on the observable relationship of behavior to the environment...
and the experimental analysis of behavior
Experimental analysis of behavior
The experimental analysis of behavior is the name given to the school of psychology founded by B.F. Skinner, and based on his philosophy of radical behaviorism. A central principle was the inductive, data-driven examination of functional relations, as opposed to the kinds of hypothetico-deductive...
to organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
s to promote worker safety and other benefits. The areas of application may include: systems analysis
Systems analysis
Systems analysis is the study of sets of interacting entities, including computer systems analysis. This field is closely related to requirements analysis or operations research...
, management, training, and performance improvement
Performance improvement
Performance improvement is the concept of measuring the output of a particular process or procedure, then modifying the process or procedure to increase the output, increase efficiency, or increase the effectiveness of the process or procedure...
.
The field of OBM consists of the development and evaluation of performance improvement procedures which are based on the principles of behavior discovered through the science of behavior analysis. These procedures are considered to be within the scope of OBM when they focus on improving individual or group performance within an organizational setting, whether that organization be a business, industrial setting, or human service setting, and whether that organization was established for profit or not.
The goal of the field of OBM is to establish a technology of broad-scale performance improvement and organizational change so that employees will be more productive and happy, and so that organizations and institutions will be more effective and efficient in achieving their goals. OBM interventions have been varied and include working with therapists on increasing billable hours to fortune five hundred companies increasing productivity to issues of effective pay systems.
Some of the technology that the field of OBM uses are behavioral systems analysis
Behavioral systems analysis
Behavioral systems analysis, BSA, or Performance Systems Analysis applies behavior analysis and systems analysis to human performance in organizations. BSA is directly related to Performance Management and Organizational Behavior Management.-What is BSA?:...
and performance management
Performance management
Performance management includes activities that ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organization, a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product or service, as well as many...
. Some have considered this melding to be a theoretical problem for OBM. Another related field is behavior-based safety
Behavior-based safety
Behavior-based safety is the "application of science of behavior change to real world problems". BBS "focuses on what people do, analyzes why they do it, and then applies a research-supported intervention strategy to improve what people do"...
. Due to the nature of the field being involved in business and using the principles of behavior analysis, it is related to psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, behavioral engineering
Behavioral engineering
Behavioral engineering is intended to identify issues associated with the interface of technology and the human operators in a system and to generate recommended design practices that consider the strengths and limitations of the human operators....
and industrial engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
.
History of OBM
The history of this field is under some debate. Dr. Alyce Dickinson published an article in 2000 detailing the history of the field. The article states that the field emerged from within the field of behavior analysis. The first organized application of behavioral principles in business and industry was programmed instructionProgrammed instruction
Programmed instruction is the name of the technology invented by the behaviorist B.F. Skinner to improve teaching. It is based on his theory of verbal behavior as a means to accelerate and increase conventional educational learning.-Programmed instruction:...
, however this application was before OBM emerged as a field. Although OBM is related to I/O psychology, because it is a behavioral field the historical precursors of I/O psychology are only chronological precursors and not causal precursors. The first university to offer a graduate program in OBM and systems analysis was Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
. The first teacher to teach the course was Dr. Dick Malott.
Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (JOBM)
The first journal was published in 1977. The first editor was Aubrey DanielsAubrey Daniels
Aubrey C. Daniels, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist by training, but is frequently referred to as “the father of performance management”, as he was one of the first to make extensive use of the science of behavior analysis in business. His rich history is proof of his dedication and devotion to...
. The name of the field originates from this journal publication. The field of OBM publishes a quarterly journal. This journal was ranked the third most influential of its kind in a 2003 study.
Upon a review of the articles by Nolan et al. (1999), It showed that:
- The top three topics are productivity and quality, customer satisfaction, and training and development.
- 95% of the articles published were experimental and 5% were correlation.
- 80% of the articles published were done in the field and 20% were done in the laboratory.
- The research question was 57% theoretical and 45% applied.
- The research method used most is a within subjects design. Industrial and organizational psychologyIndustrial and organizational psychologyIndustrial and organizational psychology is the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations. Industrial and organizational psychologists contribute to an organization's success by improving the performance and well-being of its people...
has yet to view small number within subject designs as legitimate experimental designs.
Scientific management
OBM might be seen as one of the distant branchs of scientific managementScientific management
Scientific management, also called Taylorism, was a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows. Its main objective was improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineering of processes and to management...
, originally inspired by Taylor. The principle difference between scientific management and OBM might be on the conceptual underpinnings: OBM is based on B.F. Skinner's science of human behavior.
External links
- Organizational Behavior Management section of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies
- Conceptual Behavior Analysis in OBM by Richard W. Malott
- OBM references
- No More Thankless Jobs: Behavior Techniques in Business, November 5, 1975 by Ron McCrea
- Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (JOBM)
- http://www.obmnetwork.com/
- http://www.abainternational.org/
- http://aubreydaniels.com/
- http://www.performanceblueprints.com/
- http://www.behavioralsafetynow.com/
- http://www.calaba.org/
- http://www.siop.org/