Beyond the Teaching Machine: The Neglected Area of Operant Conditioning in the Theory and Practice of Management.

This paper maintains that the work of B. F. Skinner has not been recognized in the administrative and management literature to the extent that it deserves The work of Skinner is highly consistent with that of many widely accepted students of management, except that Skinner's work deals specifically with scheduling reinforcements, does not require acceptance of the metaphysics of many of the "humanistic" psychologists, and is based on considerable empirical evidence. The power of positive reinforcement, the unanticipated consequences of punishment, and the value of partial reinforcement are stressed. Finally, the operant view is applied to some managerial problems. It seems clear that the conditioning approach can meaningfully integrate much of the behavioral science literature and serve organizations in the areas of personnel development, job design, compensation and alternative rewards, and organizational design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]