PS 430 PUG Steps of Aubrey Danies Problem Solving Model Discussion
Watch the Unit 4 Lecture. (transcripts)
Read the following scenario
Scenario:
Evaluating Interventions
Very Good Company, an organization that produces widgets, has recently had a decline in the number produced per day and has also experienced an overall increase in staff turnover. You have completed the pinpointing and measurement steps of the problem-solving process and it is now time to design an intervention and select a research design to evaluate the intervention. For your discussion, you utilize the problem-solving model to determine the next steps. You select a research question for your intervention and a research design to evaluate the effect of your intervention and prepare to review your plan with Very Good Company at your next meeting. For your discussion response you should cover the following:
Identify the 5 steps of Aubrey Daniel’s problem-solving model in your own words. Include a discussion of the importance of each step.
Compare and contrast the AB, ABA, and Multiple Baseline designs. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Select an intervention to implement at Very Good Company, with the consideration that most interventions in Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) involve feedback and reinforcement. Choose a research question for your selected intervention.
Select a research design to evaluate your research question. Describe why this is the best research design for determining the effects of the intervention. Include a discussion of other considerations within the organization related to the implementation of this research design and intervention.
Review two of your classmates’ posts
Reading and Resources
In your textbook read:
Chapter 12: “Performance Feedback”
Chapter 13: “A Model for Problem Solving”
Read the follow article in the Purdue Global Library:
Kim, J. (2010). Within-subjects design. Sage Publications, Inc. In Salkind, N. J. (2010). Encyclopedia
of research design (pp. 1638–1644). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Lane, J. D., & Gast, D. L. (2014). Visual analysis in single case experimental design studies: Brief
review and guidelines. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 24(3/4), 445–463.
TEXTBOOKS
Daniels, A. Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement.
Dezira Dewhurst
Daniels five steps model for problem solving are pinpoint, measure, feedback, reinforce, and evaluate. The first step is to collect base line data by pinpointing and measuring before an intervention is introduced. By taking baseline data we can compare results and ensure our intervention is working. An intervention refers to the introduction of feedback and reinforcement. If the system is not working, then the reinforcement needs to be reevaluated. If you see behavior change but it is not the result you desired, then you would need to reexamine your pinpoint (Daniels, 2016).
An AB model takes baseline data then adds an intervention. Data will allow you to see if your intervention is improving and provide you with necessary evidence. With an AB design you cannot rule out any other environmental influences changing the behavior (Daniels, 2016).
An ABA model takes baseline data adds, and intervention then removes the intervention. This design can show that when the intervention is removed, behavior returns to its original state. This type of data requires more time and can be unethical in some circumstances, such as safety. In business, individuals would not want to remove an intervention that is effective to prove that it is the intervention that changed the behavior (Daniels, 2016).
A multiple baseline design is when multiple AB designs are implemented at various times. It is more time consuming but is the most powerful at determining the cause and effect relationship (Daniels, 2016).
Very Good Company Intervention
Problem: Employees are engaging in negative and demeaning communication with other coworkers and producing an unprofessional and unpleasant work environment.
Result: Employees will demonstrate professional behavior by coming to the leaders of the organization and ask for assistance in solving workplace discrepancies and communicate with coworkers in a positive way.
Target Behavior: Employees will communicate with coworkers in a positive way and seek help from the leaders of the company that can produce desired results for the problems they are experiencing.
Intervention: A lottery system will be implemented, and employees will be provided with a ticket when they are caught engaging in the target behavior. Once a month, several tickets will be pulled, and the winning tickets will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of gift cards and cash prizes.
Research Question: Can implementing a lottery system increase productive communication and positivity within the work environment.
Since a Multiple Baseline Design is can ensure that your intervention is working overtime and is noninvasive, I would use it. I would not want to use an ABA design since negative talk is so disruptive to the work environment.
Sandra Hamilton
The five steps to Aubrey Daniel’s problem-solving model are pinpoint, measure, feedback, reinforce, and evaluate. Step one involves pinpointing results and identifying the behavior to achieve them. Step two measures and gathers the baseline data that will be used to assess intervention (Daniels, 2016). Steps three and four are the application of intervention while supplying feedback to employees and reinforcement, increasing future occurrence of the targeted behaviors to achieve pinpoint results. The final step is to measure and compare the data collected after the application of intervention to baseline data to determine if the results were achieved. According to Daniels (2016), all steps must be completed for results, and if you do not see results reexamine each element to determine if the correct behaviors were targeted, is the consequence a strong reinforcer, but only change one component at a time.
Research designs most used to evaluate intervention are AB, ABA, Multiple Baseline Designs. A is used to denote baseline data, and B is selected for intervention. The AB Design required the collection of baselines(A) and then compared to intervention (B) to determine if the intervention was trending in the proper direction (Daniels, 2016). While this design is practical, it does not rule out confounding variables. Like the AB design, the ABA collects information before and after intervention but adds a return to the baseline phase by removing the intervention. The return to baseline gives the design some experimental control. The problem with this design is if the intervention is working, management may not want to stop the intervention to prove effectiveness. Multiple Baseline is the implementation of two or more AB designs at different times (Daniels, 2016). This design is nonintrusive and can be implemented with little or no disturbance in the workflow.
Will the application of department feedback and positive reinforcement increase the rate of production by the employees of Very Good Company? Feedback will consist of visual line graphs that supply immediate feedback daily of production rates for each department, as well as private feedback from department managers to individuals. The variables targeted for each group will be variables specific to that group an under their control (Daniels, 2016). The positive reinforcement includes self-satisfaction in seeing a rate increase as well as support from department team members.
An ABA design will be used to collect data before the implementation of a visual graph and individual feedback to collect baseline data. Then feedback will be provided daily over ten days. Next, the intervention will be removed for return to the baseline to determine if the intervention was valid and not under the control of other environmental variables. If the intervention was not sufficient, the reinforcers should be evaluated, as well as was the feedback provided immediately and easy to read and understand. A problem that might arises is management may not want to cease the intervention if the rate of production has increased.