Applications of ABA
There are many areas in business and industry that employ ABA and the previously mentioned techniques in order to increase productivity and success. Some of these areas include:
customer service, distribution and transportation, engineering,
information management, manufacturing,
research and development, safety,
sales, and vendor performance, staff training, higher
education, sustainable practices, and systems-wide analysis.
information management, manufacturing,
research and development, safety,
sales, and vendor performance, staff training, higher
education, sustainable practices, and systems-wide analysis.
However, ABA has been used to generate techniques for a wide variety of applications in vastly different settings. Refer to the Other Areas page for a brief overview of some of the other areas that utilize ABA to promote desired behaviors and outcomes.
A few areas are discussed below that briefly describe some of the techniques and procedures of the science of ABA that are commonly found in business and industry:
A few areas are discussed below that briefly describe some of the techniques and procedures of the science of ABA that are commonly found in business and industry:
Staff Training
Some common practices in staff training include:
Training Seminars
Group Discussions and Lectures
Computer-Based Training
Shadowing (A designated expert models a proper behavior and performance for observer)
Training Manuals
Checklists
Group Discussions and Lectures
Computer-Based Training
Shadowing (A designated expert models a proper behavior and performance for observer)
Training Manuals
Checklists
Many times however, staff training may be insufficient in teaching a particular target performance because either certain behaviors are not taught, accurate performance is not maintained, or contingencies are broken down between the behavior and the consequences. Therefore, some suggestions for improving the efficacy of staff training are:
1) Arrange the environment so that the employees can be successful
2) Have materials necessary to complete the job readily available
3) Specify and orient the employee to essential areas that they will need to access
4) Assess employee’s performance and knowledge of protocol prior to ending the training period
The following are two examples that show the differences between poor staff training and good staff training:
1) Arrange the environment so that the employees can be successful
2) Have materials necessary to complete the job readily available
3) Specify and orient the employee to essential areas that they will need to access
4) Assess employee’s performance and knowledge of protocol prior to ending the training period
The following are two examples that show the differences between poor staff training and good staff training:
Poor Example
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Good Example
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Some behavior change strategies that are often utilized in staff training are:
•Shape correct behavior using positive reinforcement by beginning with small steps and gradually increase approximations towards a final goal
•Model proper responses and have exemplars of performance be the designated models
•Most-to-Least prompting which is a reduction of verbal and gestural guidance as an employee begins to perform the correct behavior. Delivering praise for accuracy as prompting is reduced
•Break down tasks into observable steps and provide behavioral definitions of each step
•Provide corrective and visual feedback, as well as positive reinforcement for sustained
or improved behaviors.
•Shape correct behavior using positive reinforcement by beginning with small steps and gradually increase approximations towards a final goal
•Model proper responses and have exemplars of performance be the designated models
•Most-to-Least prompting which is a reduction of verbal and gestural guidance as an employee begins to perform the correct behavior. Delivering praise for accuracy as prompting is reduced
•Break down tasks into observable steps and provide behavioral definitions of each step
•Provide corrective and visual feedback, as well as positive reinforcement for sustained
or improved behaviors.
Safety
Some common practices of promoting safety in the work environment include:
Safety Manuals
Safety-Based Training (Online or In-Class)
Certifications
Shadowing
Risk-Exposure Prevention
Safety-Based Training (Online or In-Class)
Certifications
Shadowing
Risk-Exposure Prevention
Safety is of utmost importance and therefore all training and maintenance of safe practices should be explictly defined and followed by every company member. Insufficient training can result in employee injury, major financial obligations, high turn-over rates, and poor reputations. Therefore, some suggestions on improving safety are to first identify behaviors associated with injury, clearly define the behaviors needed to avoid injuries, measure the behaviors through direct observation and recording, and apply behavior change strategies (Cunningham & Austin, 2007). The following are two examples of safety training and how it should and should not be implemented:
Poor Example
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Good Example
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Some common behavior change strategies to improve safety include:
•Goal-Setting and Task Clarification
•Reduce Environmental Hazards
•Performance Feedback (visual, verbal, corrective, and/or constructive)
•Positive Reinforcement Contingencies (such as an incentive for meeting goals that can be established via collaboration with the employees and specifically defined for a particular performance)
•Goal-Setting and Task Clarification
•Reduce Environmental Hazards
•Performance Feedback (visual, verbal, corrective, and/or constructive)
•Positive Reinforcement Contingencies (such as an incentive for meeting goals that can be established via collaboration with the employees and specifically defined for a particular performance)
Customer Service
Customers keep a business alive and some common practices on teaching employees to provide customer service include:
Verbal Description
Corrective Feedback
Modeling/Role-Playing (i.e conducting mock phone conversations or customer encounters, etc.)
Questionnaires (such as employees give answers to hypothetical scenarios in the form of questionnaires or surveys)
Corrective Feedback
Modeling/Role-Playing (i.e conducting mock phone conversations or customer encounters, etc.)
Questionnaires (such as employees give answers to hypothetical scenarios in the form of questionnaires or surveys)
Due to the various behaviors and settings that are involved in providing customer service, a major suggestion to improve the training of customer service is to define the expected attitudes employees should portray in terms of specific behaviors. For example, define "friendliness" as smiling, saying hello, asking, "how may I help you?", and answering all questions. It is important to outline what duties are expected and necessary in order to perform the job. Also, explicitly define the contingencies that are available to the employee for desirable and undesirable behavior.
Poor Example
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Good Example
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Some current behavior change strategies for promoting quality customer service include:
•Conduct a Task Analysis (break down duties into discriminable steps that must be chronologically followed in order to reach a goal and have that list available for future reference)
•Set Goals and Clarify Tasks (if goals are not met, collaborate with employees to generate ideas for improvement and determine where deficiencies exist so that they can be addressed)
•Provide Feedback (graphically display customer service scores and provide positive reinforcement for meeting monthly/weekly goals)
•Conduct a Task Analysis (break down duties into discriminable steps that must be chronologically followed in order to reach a goal and have that list available for future reference)
•Set Goals and Clarify Tasks (if goals are not met, collaborate with employees to generate ideas for improvement and determine where deficiencies exist so that they can be addressed)
•Provide Feedback (graphically display customer service scores and provide positive reinforcement for meeting monthly/weekly goals)