Other applications of the OBMod approach

Apart from safety and quality, behaviour modificaticm has been applied in many other areas of organizational behaviour. For example, OBMod has been successfully used in dealing with absenteeism and lateness. Often it is assumed that absenteeism is a symptom of dissatisfaction with some 

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One approach is to find a means to reinforce the desired behaviour, preferably on a variable ratio schedule. One such example was reported from a factory in Liverpool (see Chapter 3). The introduction of a prize draw, based upon tokens collected for attendance, led to the reduction of absenteeism levels to almost zero. Other schemes have used cash bonuses for those attending on days chosen at random during the month. Both of these types of schemes use variable ratio reinforcement - one by means of a draw, the other by the random choice of the day on which attendance is rewarded. (It is worth noting that both also required attendance at the required starting time, thus also reinforcing punctuality.) 

Such examples demonstrate one of the conditions under which reinforcement of this sort works best, that is, the expenditure of a little additional investment on the part of the individual with the potential for a large payoff. Football pools and national lotteries make use of this principle, and it also underlies the use of the prize draws widely used as a marketing technique. Managers sometimes raise (quite legitimate) objections to such schemes on the basis that they involve paying workers extra to do what they are already paid to do (i.e. come to work), but sticking to your principles may have a cost - in this case continued high levels of absenteeism while these well-proven behavioural techniques could solve the problem. 

It is also possible to use punishment as a way of influencing attendance. It should be remembered, however, that to be effective punishment should 

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