PARTICIPATORY MANAGEMENT:MAINTAININGSTAFFPERFORMANCE INA UNIVERSITY HOUSINGCOOPERATIVE

Toapply behavior analysis tonormal adults innoninstitutional settings, wemayhavetoencourage their participation inthedesign andimplementation ofbehavioral technology. This study evaluates atechnology bywhich themembers ofastudent housing cooperative manage their ownstaff with aminimumofsupervision byoneoftheprogram designers. Thisstaff management system consisted ofprompts, self-reports, spotchecks, andcontingent rent reductions. Sixresident staff members performed substantially moreoftheir assigned tasks whenthis system wasused. Inaddition, the management system wasacceptable tothemembers, wasaffordable, andmaintained high levels of staff performance during a5-year follow-up. Participation bythemembersinthedesign and implementation ofthis system appears tohavebeenuseful inhelping thebehavior analysts to develop anunusually durable management system. DESCRIPTORS:staff management, cooperation, maintenance, countercontrol, adults, token economy