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| Applications in OBM |
| Sunday, May 24, 2009 |
| 10:30 AM–11:50 AM |
| North 221 AB |
| Area: OBM/CSE; Domain: Applied Behavior Analysis |
| Chair: Michael C. Clayton (Youngstown State University) |
| Discussant: Thomas C. Mawhinney (University of Detroit Mercy) |
| CE Instructor: Suchowierska Monika, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: This symposium presents three applied studies using OBM procedures to 1) increase the cleanliness of supermarket restrooms using task clarification, checklists, consequences 2) increase the cleanliness of university restrooms using prompts and feedback and 3) increase upselling of selected menu items in a casual dining restaurant using feedback, prompts, and reinforcement. |
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| The use of prompts and feedback to increase up-selling in a casual dining restaurant |
| CECELIA R. MADERITZ (Youngstown State University), Michael C. Clayton (Youngstown State University) |
| Abstract: Profit margins in the service industry are thin and anything that can increase sales, even slightly, is beneficial to the organization. Up-selling is one way to increase profits by prompting a customer to buy a little more product or service or to upgrade a final purchase. The present study sought to evaluate the effects of feedback, prompts, and positive reinforcement on the performance of restaurant servers tasked with up-selling several menu items in a casual dining restaurant. A combination multiple baseline and reversal design was used to evaluate intervention effects. Results are discussed in terms of the relative effectiveness of the different independent variables on each of the identified menu items. |
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| Effects of Task Clarification, Checklists, and Performance Contingent Consequences on Supermarket Restroom Cleanliness |
| JENNIFER H. REINOVSKY (Furman University), Jeanine Plowman Stratton (Furman University) |
| Abstract: Neglecting performance-related issues pertaining to restroom cleanliness can represent a large profit loss, especially for industries held to higher cleanliness standards by customers, like the foodservice industry. This performance improvement project was concerned with supermarket restroom cleanliness. Participants were service clerks (n = 6) responsible for supermarket restroom maintenance and cleaning. The dependent variable for this study was the percentage of restroom cleanliness. Cleaning tasks were behaviorally defined and presented in a checklist consisting of 139 tasks weighted according to importance. These items were broken into two task groupings: large surface area tasks and smaller surface area tasks. The intervention included task clarification, task checklist (antecedent prompting), and performance contingent consequences. After large surface area task clarification and checklist prompt posting, total restroom cleanliness improved 16%. Restroom cleanliness increased an additional 7% after task clarification and prompt posting for the smaller surface area tasks. Total restroom cleanliness improved 30% upon introduction of performance contingent consequences. Interobserver agreement data were collected for 25% of the total sessions and averaged 92% agreement. |
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| The use of a prompts and feedback to increase the cleanliness of restrooms on a college campus |
| MICHAEL C. CLAYTON (Youngstown State University) |
| Abstract: The current study used two kinds of prompts as well as feedback to increase the cleanliness of men’s restrooms on a college campus. The first intervention used a sign prompting closer proximity to the urinal and the second intervention presented a target combined with feedback. A multiple baseline across settings design was used to evaluate the effect of the interventions. Both types of prompts were effective in increasing restroom cleanliness and a follow-up probe showed that the effects were sustained for some time thereafter. |
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