1. How did Cliff take advantage of principles of operant conditioning to modify his staff’s behavior?
Cliff’s took advantage of the principles of operant conditioning to modify his staff’s behavior in a few different rewarding and positive ways. Cliff noticed when he accepted the position of manager, that there was a high turnover rate in the company and employees were “unproductive and insufficient.” Many past employees quit because the prior manager was very negative, and often criticized when work was not done properly. Cliff decided to not criticize or punish his employees unless it was absolutely necessary. Some approaches of operant conditioning Cliff took were complimenting employees often for their hard work. He set goals for them to reach, for example every Friday afternoon he would buy lunch for all staff members that met their goals everyday that week. Cliff also incorporated spot checks on what staff members were accomplishing, and if they were working hard and meeting goals he would reward them with things like, acquiring a few more extra minutes for lunch.
2. Why did Cliff’s predecessor’s strategy of punishing undesirable behavior not work very well? Even if punishment and reinforcement strategies were equally effective at controlling behavior, why would reinforcement remain preferable?
The previous managers strategy of punishing undesirable behavior did not work well because the staff felt demoralized and some even quit. When the staff is being constantly criticized for every move they make it makes for a stressful environment. As an individual, when you are constantly put down when trying your best it is a difficult act to be productive and motivated. Reinforcement strategies are preferable over punishment strategies because it creates a healthy work environment. Rather than a stressful environment that demoralizes staff members. Reinforcement