Behavioral systems analysis (BSA), or performance systems analysis, applies

behavior analysis Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual' ...

and

systems analysis Systems analysis is "the process of studying a procedure or business to identify its goal and purposes and create systems and procedures that will efficiently achieve them". Another view sees system analysis as a problem-solving technique that b ...

to human performance in organizations. BSA is directly related to

performance management Performance management (PM) is the process of ensuring that a set of activities and outputs meets an organization's goals in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of a whole organization, a ...

and

organizational behavior management Organizational behavior management (OBM) is a subdiscipline of applied behavior analysis (ABA), which is the application of behavior analytic principles and contingency management techniques to change behavior in organizational settings. Through ...

Description

Behavioral systems analysis is an approach to organizational design and management. It is based on the premise that organizations are

complex systems A complex system is a system composed of many components which may interact with each other. Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication s ...

. As such, changes in one aspect of performance in an organization necessarily affects performance in another parts of an organization. A primary goal of BSA is to create a balanced applications in which areas of poor performance are improved, areas of high performance are maintained, and employee performance outcomes are directed towards organizational goals. This is done through the careful use of behavioral and systems theories, and the application of research based principles of behavior, such as

reinforcement In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...

punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular acti ...

, stimulus control, discrimination and

generalization A generalization is a form of abstraction whereby common properties of specific instances are formulated as general concepts or claims. Generalizations posit the existence of a domain or set of elements, as well as one or more common characteri ...

.{{cite journal, title=A Behavioral Systems Analysis of Behavior Analysis as a Scientific System, journal=Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, doi=10.1080/01608060903092169, year=2009, volume=29, issue=3–4, pages=315–332, author1=Hayes, Linda J., author2=Dubuque, Erick M., author3=Fryling, Mitch J., author4=Pritchard, Joshua K., s2cid=144933443

History

It began in the late 50s through the 60s by combining behavior analysis and general systems theory to better understand human and organizational performance.

Process

Analyze, Specify, Design, Intervene, Evaluate, Recycle or ASDIER.

Tools

Here is a list of some the tools and the last name of the author next to them: * Behavioral Systems Engineering Model – M. Malott-2003 * Total Performance System – Brethower-1982 * Super System/Relationship Map – Rummler-1995 * Is/Should Process Maps/Task Analysis – Rummler, M. Malott * ABC (PIC/NIC) Analysis – Daniels * Behavior Engineering Model/6boxes/Performance Diagnostic Checklist – Gilbert, Binder, Austin-2000 * Human Performance System – Rummler * Performance Planned and Managed System/Interlocking Contingencies at Various Management Levels/Cultural Change Model – Rummler, M. Malott, R. Malott

Additional information

Here are some studies that employed BSA: * Huberman & O'Brien (1999) * Sulzer-Azaroff, Loafman, Merante & Hlavacek (1990) * Sulzer-Azaroff, Pollack & Fleming (1992) * Williams & Cummings (2001) * Williams, Di Vittorio, & Hausherr (2002)

References

Organizational behavior Organizational performance management