“Beyond the Skinner Box”: Expanding Behavior Systems Analyses

Abstract

W. B. Abernathy’s “Beyond the Skinner Box: The Design and Management of Organization-Wide Performance Systems” is a welcome example of sustained, systemic behavior management across many organizations and provides a rare description of the logic and logistics involved in designing large-scale initiatives. A common observation about behavior analysis is that researchers take a methodology (i.e., single-subject, molecular analyses) that is absolutely right for identifying and articulating basic processes and tend to dogmatically adhere it in their approach to applied problems. We applaud Abernathy’s recognition that the aims of the basic researcher are distinct from those of the practitioner and that applying the principles derived from laboratory research does not entail preserving all of those methods.

KEYWORDS:

• behavior systems analysis
• business results
• compensation
• interlocked contingencies