A Case Study in the Programming and Maintenance of Institutional Change

Abstract

While behavior change projects and component analyses have been critical to the development of behavioral technology, behaviorists working in human service institutions have not focused enough attention on the "packaging" and systematic application of a technology for institutional change. In the present study, a package of organizational behavior management procedures was systematically introduced in a human service setting. The goal of intervention was to promote and maintain institutional change sufficient to support the wide scale implementation and maintenance of state-of-the-art behavioral procedures for program management and service delivery. The specific procedures utilized in the study included the following: (1) planning; (2) establishing functional organizational structure; (3) recruiting, orienting, and training management and direct service personnel; (4) contracting for staff performance; (5) scheduling, supervising, and evaluating personnel; (6) obtaining and managing financial resources; (7) evaluating program operation; (8) ensuring legal safety; and (9) disseminating results. Sixteen dependent variables, chosen to illustrate the quantity and quality of institutional change, were measured for the three years prior to, and five years following, intervention. Data from these measures indicated that intervention resulted in a positive change in virtually every aspect of program operation and that change resulting from the study was durable over time. Within the limitations imposed by case study design, these results were interpreted to suggest that institutional change is possible and that the technology required to effect such change is currently available.

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