Organizational Behaviour Management

To change behaviour within an organization, we first need to understand it. Only then can we effectively improve leadership, motivation and culture, creating a more productive workplace with happy staff and managers. That may seem obvious, but organizational behaviour remains a much-misunderstood topic. A field muddied by esoteric social scientific theories based upon non-replicable research.

WHO SHOULD JOIN?
Students and professionals in the field of social, exact or technical sciences who want to know more about changing organizational behaviour through positive reinforcement. If you have doubts about your eligibility for the course, please let us know. Our courses are multi-disciplinary and therefore open to students and professionals with a wide variety of backgrounds.

COURSE CONTENT
The one proven technique in the domain of Organizational Behaviour – backed by more than 60,000 replicable experiments – is Organizational Behaviour Management (OBM), a sound practical application of the behaviour analysis approach pioneered a century ago by Ivan Pavlov. VU Amsterdam is the first European institution to offer a degree in OBM, and this is the first course in Europe to teach it in a summer school setting.

You learn the principles and techniques of applied behaviour analysis (ABA): using systematic interventions derived from learning theory to improve socially significant behaviours, then demonstrating that those interventions are indeed responsible for the improvement. Amongst topics covered are the ABC model (antecedent-behaviour-consequence), the four behavioural consequences and a protocol for shaping new behaviours. You also learn to use the OBM Optimizer, a practical tool for enhancing organizational performance, including such factors as quantity, quality, safety and attendance.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course you will: 

• Understand the importance of organizational behaviour for excellent results.
• Understand how OBM and ABA can help change organizational behaviour
• Be familiar with the ABC model and ABC analysis.
• Understand the major concepts in OBM/ABA and how they can help improve performance.
• Be able to apply the OBM protocol to a real-life behaviour and use the OBM Optimizer computer program.

EXCURSION
Visit to the employer of a recent executive graduate in OBM at VU Amsterdam.

GUEST LECTURERS
Trainer/coaches who have graduated in OBM at VU Amsterdam, talking about their experiences applying what they have learned in the real world.

COURSE READING
Daniels, A. C. (latest edition), Bringing out the Best in People. New York: McGraw-Hill.