Scribd
Upload
149 views2 pages

About Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) : Theoretical and Conceptual Background

Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) applies principles of behavior analysis to improve performance in workplace settings. It draws from industrial-organizational psychology but focuses on directly modifying environmental factors that affect employee performance. OBM was influenced by the works of Watson and Skinner and aims to predict and control behavior. The field's main journal, the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, began in 1977 and there are now graduate programs in OBM. Common areas of OBM application include performance management using techniques like goal setting and feedback, behavioral systems analysis of how individuals contribute to organizational functioning, and behavior-based safety to reduce injuries through analyzing work environments.

Uploaded by

rogeriogr2012
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
149 views2 pages

About Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) : Theoretical and Conceptual Background

Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) applies principles of behavior analysis to improve performance in workplace settings. It draws from industrial-organizational psychology but focuses on directly modifying environmental factors that affect employee performance. OBM was influenced by the works of Watson and Skinner and aims to predict and control behavior. The field's main journal, the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, began in 1977 and there are now graduate programs in OBM. Common areas of OBM application include performance management using techniques like goal setting and feedback, behavioral systems analysis of how individuals contribute to organizational functioning, and behavior-based safety to reduce injuries through analyzing work environments.

Uploaded by

rogeriogr2012
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

About Organizational Behavior Management (OBM)

Theoretical and Conceptual Background

Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) is a sub-discipline of ABA, which is the application of the science of
behavior. ABA emphasizes the use of operant and respondent procedures to produce behavior change.
Behavior Analysis as a science has very explicit goals. Prediction and control of behavior, with an emphasis on
control, are the objectives of behavior analysis (Hayes & Brownstein, 1986). OBM has commonalities with the
field of Industrial– Organizational Psychology, all relating to the behavior of people in the workplace. There are
many differences between the two fields as well. Industrial– Organizational Psychology is based on theory and
has a focus on topics such as personnel selection and placement. OBM is guided by a single theory of human
behavior and has historically emphasized identification and modification of the environmental variables that
affect directly observable or verifiable employee performance (Bucklin, Alvero, Dickinson, Austin, & Jackson,
2000).

The History of OBM

The works of Watson and Skinner have heavily influenced the field of OBM. Skinner’s applications of behavioral
principles to instructional design served as a starting point for the use of the science of behavior in the
workplace. Even before OBM was viewed as a field, Fredrick Taylor advocated for the use of the scientific
method to improve employee and organizational performance. The Journal of Organizational Behavior
Management ( JOBM) began publication in 1977 and is the main outlet for the field today. By 1977 over 40 articles
on OBM had been published in other journals and at least one OBM consulting firm had been established. Aubrey
Daniels was the first editor ofJOBM The journal
. is published by Haworth Press and is in its 32nd volume. It has
recently been ranked as having the third highest impact factor among applied psychology journals according to
the Journal Citation Reports published by Thompson/ISI Publishers (Hantula, 2005). There are a number of
graduate programs in OBM that have been established at various universities. Graduates of these programs
work in the private sector as external consultant, as internal consultants for organizations, or as program
managers in the health and human services industry. Graduates also work in academia.

Areas of OBM Application

Performance Management
The management of individual employee or a group of employees through the application of behavioral principles
is called Performance Management (PM). The PM process usually involves the analysis of antecedents and
consequences supporting the behaviors of individuals or groups within the organization and manipulating these
variables to either decrease unproductive or increase productive performance (Austin, 2000; Daniels & Daniels,
2004; Diener et al., 2009). Common interventions used in PM include goal setting, feedback, job aids, token
systems, lottery systems, etc. (Diener et al., 2009).

Behavioral Systems Analysis


The Behavioral Systems Analysis (BSA) method involves outlining how the components of the system interact,
including how each individual contributes to the overall functioning of the system (McGee, 2007). The value of
BSA is that it allows us to analyze the organization outside the basic three-term contingency of antecedents,
behaviors, and consequences to identify variables that can significantly impact individual and organizational
performance. By analyzing the entire organization as a system, one can identify areas of improvement that will
produce the largest positive impact on the organization and focus on planning and managing the variables that
support desired performance (Diener et al., 2009).
Behavior-Based Safety
Behavior-based safety focuses on the analysis and alteration of work environments to reduce injuries and
promote safe behavior among leaders and employees. This family of evidence-based interventions, which have
traditionally focused on safety communication, feedback,and reinforcement processes, can be applied to
compliment and enhance traditional safety controls. The first priority in safety is always to eliminate occupational
hazards from the work environment (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/engcontrols/). The next priorities are
substitution and engineering controls. Behavioral processes would be best categorized as administrative controls
that can be used to promote the safety priority and protective behaviors at all levels of an organization.

You might also like