Archive for September, 2007

Let’s face it- organizations are made up of…people. Therefore, if you want to achieve any type of performance improvement (including the reduction of human error), you must consider “the BHC Dynamic”.

What is it?

The BHC Dynamic is a combination of the three “schools” (or “models”) of human behavior: Behavioral, Humanistic, and Cognitive. Let’s consider each of these, and then bring them together (just as things actually work in the ‘real’ world).

Behavioral (think Pavlov and his dog)
The Behavioral model suggests that human behavior is driven (and even controlled) by factors external to the person. For example, in Pavlov’s famous experiments, his dog salivated in response to external stimuli (first by exposure to meat, and ultimately by simply ringing a bell).

This model is the classic ‘carrot and stick’ philosophy.

Some of the more well known influencers of this model are Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, and John Watson. Systems/processes built on this model that are commercially available today include Thomas Krause’s “Behavioral Science Technology” and Aubrey Daniel’s “Bringing out the Best in People.”

Humanistic (think Abraham Maslow)
In the Humanistic model, behaviors are primarily driven by factors internal to the person. Such factors include principles, values, beliefs, emotions, etc.

Abraham Maslow did a great job detailing these internal motivations in his book, “Motivation and Personality,” wherein he delineated his “hierarchy of needs”.

Some of the more popular Humanistic commercial products with which you might be familiar include Norman Vincent Peale’s “Power of Positive Thinking,” Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” and M. Scott Peck’s “The Road Less Traveled.”

Cognitive (think “Emotional Intelligence”)
In this model, the idea is that you must “know thyself” (as Plato put it) in order to modify your behavior. In other words, in order for you to change the way you do things (such as work more safely, more error-free, etc.), you must understand yourself, what you are experiencing, and why such experiences are affecting you in such a manner. Sound complicated?

The Cognitive model has been shaped by such thinkers as Plato himself, Albert Ellis, and Aaron Beck. The best-known commercially-available work in this area is “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goldman.

So…what’s the deal?

In reality, whenever you have a group of people working together for a common purpose (sound like the definition of an “organization”?), all three of the models of human behavior come into play. This is the BHC Dynamic.

Causes of Human Error (according to each of the models)…

At the risk of being a bit oversimplified, human error within each of the behavioral models would be caused by:

Behavioral- a lack of reinforcement of desired behaviors

Humanistic- behaviors outside of beliefs/values, or beliefs/values not congruent with those of the system/organization

Cognitive- lack of understanding/awareness of self or of the conditions at hand

Key Point: For any improvement effort to be truly effective (meaning that it produces positive results that are sustainable and keep getting better over time), it must address the BHC Dynamic (in other words…all three human behavior models).

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This entry is part of a piece that I have just written that moves from this point into Team Dynamics, and then to an Integrated Approach into how to take advantage of these human characteristics when working to minimize error. I’ll be covering these other pieces over the next couple of days. Meanwhile, if you’d simply like to download the whole piece, use the following link: Leading the World in Error Elimination