Skinner, Skinner, Skinner…
Back to Basics Reform, or OBE, Skinnerian International Curriculum, 1985.
Predictions made in this book – ‘Back to Basics Reform or OBE Skinnerian International Curriculum’ – published in 1985, 1993, and 2004, have come true. The book – which spells out clearly how OBE, Goals 2000, No Child Left Behind, and School-to-Work would be implemented – was boycotted by major conservative organizations. Read it and ask yourself ‘Why?’ The book has sold 50,000 copies to grassroots organizations.
Here’s a good quote regarding “measurable” out of mouths of those involved in implementing Skinnerian computerized global workforce training:
(From the DDD book, pages 268, 269)
The Washington Post published ’Tying Professional Pay To Productivity’ By Elizabeth Spayd in its January 28, 1990 issue in which Ms. Spayd covered the use of behavior modification in the workplace in order to increase productivity. Some excerpts follow:
“One CEO I know says to employees, ‘If you tell me I can’t measure what you’re doing, I’m not sure I need you here,’” recalls Michael Emig, a compensation consultant with Wyatt Co. in Washington. “The fact is, any work that people are paid to do can be measured. The trick is to go in with an open mind.”…
To help ensure that productivity goals are met, the paychecks of top managers now reflect their ability to meet department goals, a compensation plan that eventually will spread throughout the hospital. According to Arthur Andersen & Co., which consulted Pekin Memorial on its plan, the keystone to implementing productivity bonuses is putting everything in measurable terms, considering such factors as accuracy, speed, cost, quality—even creativity….
Once the job has been quantified, the next step is to examine the processes by which work is done, dividing them into those that add value and those that don’t. Those that don’t should be eliminated.
Studies show white-collar workers on average spend 75 percent of their time doing non-value-added tasks, Skwarek said. But defining the waste and eliminating it are two different things. And for productivity to increase, proper employment of the compensation lever is critical.
A bank teller might be rewarded for the number of customers processed in a week, but penalized for every customer who complains about service. In jobs where it’s difficult to measure the output of a single worker [emphasis in original], compensation might be linked to a group’s ability to meet certain goals, an increasingly common approach.
Whatever the approach, Wyatt’s Emig encourages companies to think big—meaning bonuses as high as 25 percent of salary.
“The basic idea is borrowed from B.F. Skinner, who taught us that behavior which is positively reinforced will be repeated,” says Emig. “But it doesn’t work if people don’t consider the money worth striving for.”
[Ed. Note: Is it politically incorrect to ask how the United States became the most productive nation in the world without using the above-outlined ridiculous Total Quality Management system based on Skinner’s operant conditioning?]
P.S. Skinner also said “the computer is my box”.