Customer Reviews

Performance Management: Improving Quality and Productivity Through Positive Reinforcement

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've used this book as a textbook for 11 years, and it is the only book I have ever had students tell me they gave to their bosses to read. It is a great intro to PM, and introduces the reader to behavioral principles that can help you understand and improve performance in any organization. The chapter on ABC Analysis is worth the price of the book on its own. Readers will also quickly realize why positive reinforcement is the motivational tool of choice for encouraging the behaviors that will lead to key results.

I have used this book to teach PM to Managers, Supervisors and hourly since 1993...I recommend it to anyone who wishes to make improvements in performance. This book makes improvements painless and it encourages all who participate.
This book has helped turn around more than one company SUCCESSFULLY!!!

I have read, been through training on, and now applied for several years in the workplace the principles taught in this book and I can tell you first hand that it is not just relevant, but highly effective in real-world usage.

I have applied these techniques in formalized plans for individuals and groups of employees ranging from engineers to salaried management, to hourly front-line employees, all with great success.

This book is the foundation of my approach to Lean in the workplace, and I teach the basics of the ABC's to my leads, front-line supervisors, and point-people in helping them deal generally with people and their behavior, and I can tell you the success I have seen attributable to these principles is real and lasting.

It has shaped my own personal mangement style, and helped drive high levels of morale in my personally-managed work teams and in my family. I purchased a related book, "The Power of Positive Parenting" and my wife and I have used it to help us get our kids through their teens.

I have been able to pinpoint and correct specific detrimental behaviors as well as shape the culture of work groups. I have seen improvements in all facets of business from safey to productivity and quality of the work. I have taken employees who were in the process of being "worked out" off their positions and helped them turn into high-level performers (and this with both engineers and manager/supervisor level employees, not just hourly). In short, I have taken it seriously, worked to apply it and change my style, and I have seen it work.

I did rate this as a 4 since the clinical text-book style of this book can make it hard to do much with it if you have not had the accompnaying classroom training, but I still highly recommend it. If you can, get into one of the classes at the Aubrey Daniels institute in Atlanta, GA. It is well worth it. If not, read it, take the time to work through your own case-studies, following it step-by-step, and stick with it until it is just the way you work with people. The results can be amazing.

In all fairness, it is hard at first to seem sincere, since you are trying to apply a system to managing people, so it can come across as wooden and formulaic until you really get the concepts. But the key is involving people in the process...almost letting them know up front you are trying something new and would appreciate their support. They will see the value soon enough, and then it becomes ingrained and you are off and running.

It may not be a case-study in the latest brain-science, or whatever, but it works, and for a business book, that is all that matters.

I think it makes more sense to see if it works in real-life, rather than just listen to an academic review of the subject matter, since this is meant to be a real-world text, not just fodder for a graduate level class for people whose only goal is to teach graduate level classes.

Daniels provides the most important explanation of performance management out there. As Director of HR for a mid-sized service-based organization, I can attest to the theories in Performance Management as being nothing but clearer, easier to apply, and more effective (simply superior) to those contained in the other seven or so books I've read on the same subject. The information presented in Performance Management will motivate your employees to set higher goals and achieve superior results; better yet, they will actually enjoy doing it. This book is truly essential for any manager or supervisor in search of improving their employees' performance, and, in turn, organizational success.

With reservations I slowly embraced Dr. Daniels work over 20 years ago while working for Eastman Kodak. I was completely won over to the R+ lifestyle after seeing hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings coming from workers that months earlier could not give a dam about quality. Along with ideas and training from visionaries like Edwards Deming, working with R+ is a great way to create quality products. Kodak has fallen on hard times because it did not stay current with technology. Unfortunately for many, Kodak has lost it's way. When everyone in a organization is on the same page, the work environment in any shop will turn into a very rewarding place. Thank you Dr. Daniels.

Basic human behavior - we do what we are rewarded or reinforced for. This is the textbook for how to apply this scientifically in the workplace. Our company has been using these principles and been an ADI partner for over twenty years, and it is part of what makes this company special. Daniels hits a home-run in explaining the science of positive reinforcement. One can apply these principles at home, school, work, or in any environment where you have an interest in bringing about the proper behaviors. Great examples and lots of detailed information on how you can implement in your workplace. Highly recommended to managers of all levels within virtually any organization.

This book has helped me work with my team member instead of using a whip. If you are looking for ways to motivate the people in your company this is a must read. There are parts that kind went over my head. It is a little technical in parts.

An update on a behavorial analysis classic. Good foundation to learn concepts behind Performance Managemnt implementation. Well written and easy to read.

This is the best explanation of the underlying principles available. It is clearly written, accurate and comprehensive, as well as easy to read.

I got this book just a few days after ordering and I was very pleased. The book looked brand new and was purchased for a great price. Great product, very happy!