The intent of this study was to examine the effectiveness of behavioral self-management for mid-level managers in a variety of organizational settings. Behavioral self-management combines some of the current techniques found in behavioral psychology and management research. The present approach uses behavioral self-control and certain aspects of time management in a four-term contingency analysis (SOBC) to systematically control work-related problems that result in less than optimal performance. Eight individuals who occupied middle-management positions participated in the study. The behavioral self-management approach was used to successfully manage a total of about 20 out of 23 target behaviors associated with on-the-job performance. Each manager selected, modified, and evaluated each of their chosen problem events. Seven participants worked on three target behaviors each and one participant worked on two. Results were highly favorable, indicating that the approach can be successfully used by middle-managers in various settings to increase the effectiveness of their own performance. It was concluded that the possibility of success with several types of work-related problems is high, provided the manager is committed to following the program and that the problems have been adequately identified. An exit interview revealed that seven of the eight managers were convinced of the program's effectiveness and usefulness in managing the target behaviors. Ratings of each manager's graphed results were made by nine individuals who were knowledgeable in the techniques of behavior analysis. Their ratings, which were very similar to the exit interview results, suggest a medium to considerable amount of behavior change on almost all target behaviors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:pacific.edu/oai:scholarlycommons.pacific.edu:uop_etds-3052 |
| Date | 01 January 1981 |
| Creators | Griggs, Richard E. |
| Publisher | Scholarly Commons |
| Source Sets | University of the Pacific |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations |
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