Behavior management of employee performance is becoming more prevalent; however, few systems have been implemented in service-industry settings. This experiment compared two behavior management systems for improving one critical service, providing adequate care to laboratory animals. One utilized goal setting + performance feedback and the other, self-recording + goal setting + feedback. It was hypothesized that both systems would increase performance, but the latter would be the more effective of the two because prompts indicating those tasks that were to be performed could not be ignored. / Laboratory Animal Resources (LAR) in the Florida State University was the site of the experiment and the technicians who performed the animal-care services were the subjects. Behavioral criteria for task completion and a system that accurately measured performance of tasks were developed. Following a baseline period, goal setting + feedback was implemented in one animal-housing unit and goal setting + feedback + self-recording was implemented in the other in a multiple-baseline design. / Throughout the study, the experimenter assessed percent completion of daily scheduled tasks. On a weekly basis, LAR management inspected the units, assessed task completion and assigned performance rating based on the findings. Feedback to the technicians about management's findings was delivered weekly. / Baseline results showed that approximately 39 percent of tasks in one unit and 55 percent in the other were performed as scheduled and no areas received "satisfactory" ratings. The intervention in each unit increased daily task completion to about 80 percent and approximately 50 percent of the areas in both units received "satisfactory" ratings each week. / These results indicated that either behavior management system significantly increased employee performance; however, the similarity of results indicated that self-recording did not enhance performance above goal setting + feedback alone. Peak performance was obtained by employees who self-recorded faster than by those who did not, thus, self-recording may assist in the acquisition of behavior; however, performance was maintained after self-recording was no longer required. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-04, Section: B, page: 1289. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74817 |
| Contributors | GOKEY, DANIEL S., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 108 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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