Home > Attention Student: Fill this sheet out and turn it in during class!
John Austin
Selecting
a Pinpoint
Pinpoints are:
Poor communication.
This is not a good pinpoint because it would be difficult to measure
and for two independent observers to agree. A better pinpoint
would be: Servers write orders on tickets accurately and give
them to the kitchen within 2 minutes of the table ordering.
Employees are in a bad mood.
This is difficult to measure and is not reliable. It also not
a behavior or a result and therefore is not observable. A better
pinpoint might be: Employees smile and say,
“Welcome to our store, would you like a cart?” as customers enter
the store.
There should be food available
on site. This is not a pinpoint but rather a solution to something
such as employees taking long breaks to go get food. The pinpoint
should be: Employees return from breaks on time
and the cause and solution are determined after analysis.
Employees steal money from
the cash registers and give improper change. This is also
not a pinpoint but rather what the employer assumes is the cause of
the problem. The real pinpoint is: Amount of money in
employees’ cash registers matches register slip at the end of the
night.
Suggesting appetizers to
guests. The important thing to the employer is increasing
appetizer sales, not suggesting the appetizers. In order to increase
the sales, one intervention could be to get the servers to suggest appetizers.
However, if servers suggested appetizers and sales did not increase,
there would be no benefit from the behavior. In this situation,
it is the result that is most important so the pinpoint should be:
Increasing appetizer sales. A project would significantly strengthened,
however, by measuring BOTH suggestions (behavior) and actual sales (results).
Instructions for the Business Interview Assignment
Goals:
Instructions
for the Measures and Planning Assignment
Instructions
for the Diagnostic Sheet Assignment
Attention Student: Fill this sheet out and turn it in with your completed assignment!
Performance Management
Business Interview (Student Form)
(Psy 444) - Dr. John Austin - WMU
Student Information:
Student Name:_______________________
Student Code Number:
______
Business Information:
# of employees?_________
Address: ______________________
____________________
___________
Phone Number:________________
Manager’s Name:________________________
Manager’s span of control (how many people do they manage?) ____
Type of business:
Service Manufacturing Sales Other:_________
Manager’s statement and signature:
The student ________________ conducted a business interview when
(write student name here)
he/she visited me on __________.
(write date)
Signed:_________________________
(manager’s signature here)
***Attention Student: Please attach this page to your 1 to 2 page summary of the business interview when you turn it in during class.
Pinpoint(s) selected:_________________________________________________
Attention Student: Fill out
the top and give this and the rating sheet with an Austin-addressed
stamped envelope to the manager at the end of the interview!
Performance Management
Business Interview
(Manager Rating Form)
(Psy 444) - Dr. John Austin - WMU
Student Information:
Student Name:_______________________
Business Information:
Business Name:_________________________________________________
Address:_____________________________________________________
Phone Number:________________
Manager’s Name:________________________
Dear Manager,
Thank you for your participation
in this student interview. In participating, you are supporting
the local university community and assisting us in giving students valuable
experience in performance management!
To assist us in evaluating
and improving student performance on these encounters, please fill out
the brief questionnaire below and mail it in the enclosed envelope.
If you have questions or comments about this interview or about the performance management consulting services and seminars we offer through the Western Michigan University Industrial and Organizational Psychology Program, please feel free to contact me:
Dr. John Austin
Department of Psychology
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
E-mail: john.austin@wmich.edu
Office Phone: (269)387-4495
Thanks again for your
support and participation.
John Austin, Ph.D.
Please rate the student’s
performance during the interview on the following dimensions:
Strongly Strongly Agree Disagree
1) The student’s dress
was business-like 1 2 3 4 5
2) The student’s behavior
was professional 1 2 3 4 5
3) While talking to me, the student
maintained
normal eye contact 1 2 3 4 5
4) The student asked me about management
issues
in my business 1 2 3 4 5
5) About how long did
the interview take? About __________minutes.
6) My overall evaluation of the student’s performance:
Exemplary Very Poor
1 2 3 4 5
7) I would like to be contacted in the future about opportunities to have a free performance management or training project conducted by a student:
YES NO
Please include any additional
comments you may have in the space below:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Performance Management
Business Interview
Student Task Analysis
(Psy 444) -
Dr. John Austin - WMU
Step 1:
Locate a business in which you can
visit (if you don't have a car, make it somewhere you can walk to).
It really can be any business, but SHOULD NOT be a business where you
work or where your friend is a manager. The point of this exercise
is to practice your social skills in developing rapport with a manager
you DO NOT know. Finding a large business would be most interesting
for you, but any size will do.
Step 2:
Call that business and ask to speak
with the manager. If there is likely to be more than manager,
decide BEFORE you call which manager to speak with (sales, kitchen,
project, marketing, safety, etc.).
When the manager answers, introduce yourself and explain the interview, asking if s/he may 30 minutes in the next week or two that s/he can spare.
Example:
“Hi, my name is John Austin and I am a student at Western Michigan
University. I am calling because I am taking a course on performance
management and a requirement is to interview a manager about their business.
Would you have a little time to meet with me in the next week or so?
The interview will take no longer than 30 minutes, and you don't have
to prepare anything.”
If the manager says “No” (and some will), thank them for their time and ask them to have a nice day. If they say “Yes”, then you ask what time is usually best for them, and schedule the meeting. WORK AROUND THE MANAGER’S SCHEDULE. Do not make them work around yours. Remember the manager is doing you a BIG favor! End the phone call by repeating the time and day and thanking the manager.
Example:
“GREAT. Then I will see you on Tuesday, the 11th at 9am. Thanks
so much for your help! Have a great day.”
Step 3
Do not miss the interview.
Even if you must crawl on your hands and knees, make the interview.
If they must wheel you there on a stretcher, so be it. Honestly,
in the case of dire emergency be sure and call as soon as you know you
must cancel. ***Dire means you will not live through the interview if
you go.
Step 4 - Getting ready
It is recommended that you get and
read over some information about the business before the meeting so
that you can have some idea what they do and where their performance
problems may lie.
Make sure you dress in a business-like fashion.
Men: no jeans, no sneakers. A button down or polo type shirt is usually fine. A sport coat is optional, and you may feel it to be too dressy in many cases – it really depends on the place you are going. As a rule, you don’t want them to be better dressed than you. It is not recommended to wear cologne.
Women:
no denim or jeans, no sneakers. Same option as men with the coat
or jacket. It is not recommended to wear perfume.
Be sure to take:
-2 pens
-a clipboard or notebook
-paper
-your student sheet to have the manager sign AND the rating form along with a stamped envelope addressed to me (my address is above on the rating form).
-put
this stuff in a briefcase or nice bag if you have one - if not carry
it in your hands.
Step 5 - During the Interview
Be professional at all times!
The point of such a meeting is to establish rapport, which is an interactive
relationship where both you and the manager are comfortable around each
other feel that your interactions are pleasant and even enjoyable.
When you arrive, introduce yourself
and look the person in the eye, shaking their hand. Sometimes
a hand shake is not appropriate -- you have to make the judgment call.
When the meeting starts, you can
begin with small talk if you feel comfortable doing that or if you feel
uncomfortable getting right down to business. However, keep the
small talk to about 2 minutes or less. Examples of small talk
might be noticing a plaque on the wall or photos to which you can relate
(i.e., you have kids too; you were also a sigma chi; etc.). Don’t
fake this...if there’s nothing there, just move on.
When you do get down to business, you need to have a good idea of what sorts of questions you plan to ask. You could have them written down beforehand (preparation always helps!). Some sample questions that you may use include:
-How long have you been a manager at....
-Do you have a degree? In what?
-How many employees do you manage?
-What
sorts of things do they do?
After getting the background info, you should go on to ask performance-related questions such as:
-What sorts of challenges do you face in managing the employees here?
(this
is the key question - if you can say this so they understand what you
are looking for you may get a gold mine.)
-Do some employees do better than others? Why do you think this is? What are some of the reasons?
-What are some of the things you do to motivate your employees?
With each question, try and follow
up the answer. Depending on what they say, you may be able to
have a 20 minute conversation based on just one question.
By the end of the meeting, the goal
is (aside from getting to know the manager) to have at least one behavior
or accomplishment in need of improvement pinpointed. The pinpoint
should meet the criteria described in the “Checklist for Evaluating
Pinpoints”.
IF YOU WANT TO DO A PROJECT (NOT REQUIRED - optional):
You
should end the meeting by asking if you might be able to measure the
behavior that you just pinpointed. Assure the manager that it
will not take time from their schedule - that you will do all of the
work, and they will get a better idea of how big of a problem it is.
Managers always want to collect data, but usually don’t have the time:
emphasize that this is free data collection. IT IS NOT
REQUIRED FOR PSY 444 THAT YOU DO A PROJECT. Projects are optional in
this case, but it’s a great idea to do one during this class, because
you’ll get information and support throughout the semester regarding
your project - we go through the steps of how to do a PM project as
the semester progresses.
If the manager agrees, you should
set a time for you to start - in essence schedule your next meeting.
If you can get the data through some other means than taking the manager’s
time, then do so. For instance, if you need to come in and observe
a behavior just ask the manager when it would be least disruptive.
However, if you need to go through some records, you need to figure
out who would have to help you and make sure they will be there when
you come for your next visit.
You don’t have to figure this stuff
out on the spot—you can tell the manager you will come up with a proposal
and call him/her with it on next (name a day and a time).
You should tell the manager about
the Society for Performance Management at Western. This is a student
group that has as its mission to create and maintain strategic alliances
with the local business community. The group is advised by Dr.
Austin, and employs the PM faculty at Western to conduct training and
consultation for management issues such as improving productivity, quality,
and safety in a variety of industries. The group works to train
students to make similar improvements in actual businesses.
At this point, if you want
to do a project and the manager agreed to let you collect some data,
you must go home and complete the measurement worksheet and develop
a measurement system. If the manager did not agree, you can complete
the measurement and planning sheet when it is due, using the pinpoint
you just discussed, to develop a hypothetical measurement system.
Measures & Planning Worksheet
(Psy 444) - Dr.
John Austin - WMU
I. Referred problem (the first
thing they said was the problem:________________
II. Pinpoint: _____________________
This is how
you “behavioralized” the problem listed above.
III. Is it a:
Behavior or Result?
IV. If behavior, are there any permanent products which will tell you when the behavior occurs? YES NO
This is to help you decide to observe behavior or count products.
It
is usually preferable (easier and more reliable) to count products.
If you observe, use Bailey’s guidelines for developing interval data
recording sheets (in readings, Bailey Ch 5)
V. If results, is there a currently established method of measurement? That is, how will you know if the results are achieved?
____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It
should not be collected less frequent than 1x per week!
This
should probably not be the same time each day, and should be randomized
as best you can given your schedule.
Performance Diagnostic Checklist (PDC)
Dr. John Austin - WMU
Antecedents and Information
Yes No
O O Is there a written job description telling exactly what is expected of the employee?
O O Has the employee received adequate instruction about what to do? (not training - explicit instructions like “I want you to do this, this, and this before we leave today…”)
O O Are employees aware of the mission of the department/organization? Can they tell you what it is?
O O Are there job or task aids in the employees’ immediate environment? Visible while completing the task in question? Reminders to prompt the task at the correct time?
O O Is the supervisor present during task completion?
O O Are there frequently updated, challenging, and attainable goals set that employees are comfortable with/feel are fair?
Equipment and Processes
Yes No
O O Is task completion dependent upon unreliable equipment?
O O Is the equipment & environment optimally arranged in a physical sense?
O O Are larger processes suffering from certain incomplete tasks along the way (process disconnects)?
O O Are these processes arranged in a logical manner, without unnecessary repetition?
O O Are there any other obstacles that are keeping the employee from completing the task?
PDC (cont’d)
Knowledge and Skills
Yes No
O O Can the employee tell you he/she is supposed to be doing and how to do it?
O O Can the employee physically demonstrate completion of the task?
O O Does the employee have the capacity to complete the job?
Consequences
Yes No
O O Are there consequences delivered contingent on the task?
-frequency?__________________________________
-immediacy?__________________________________
-consistency/probability?________________________
-positive or negative?
-Are there premack reinforcers? (see worksheet on How to Find Premack Reinforcers)
O O Do employees see the effects of performance? (How? Natural / arranged)
O O Do supervisors deliver feedback? (How? Written / verbal; direct / indirect)
O O Is there performance monitoring?
(Self / supervisor direct / supervisor indirect)
O O Is there a response effort associated with performing?
O O Are there other behaviors competing with the desired performance?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
PDC (cont’d)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
-Who will deliver the intervention or announce the change?
AB ABA Multiple BL Changing Criterion
Multi-element design
-Keep in mind - reversal designs can not be used when knowledge or dangerous behaviors are involved.
-If there are more than one department or individual, and their treatments can be kept separate, you can use a multiple baseline design.
-Otherwise, you are probably going to use AB, Multi-element, changing criterion (multi-element & changing criterion are most powerful)
V. Using Microsoft Excel, graph an example of what your data SHOULD look like given the design you just chose, if the project were a great success. If you have them, use your baseline data and make up intervention data. If not, make up both baseline and intervention data. DO NOT SUBMIT A HAND-DRAWN GRAPH.
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