Effects of Group Response‐cost Procedures on Cash Shortages in a Small Business

Abstract

The effect of a group response-cost procedure (accompanied by verbal and written instruction) designed to decrease cash shortages in a small business was evaluated with a reversal design. When cash shortages were subtracted from the six employees' salaries on days in which the shortage exceeded 1% of total daily sales, the magnitude of daily shortages sharply decreased. This response-cost contingency was used only three times throughout the study, with a maximum cost of $8.70 per subject over the 41-day period. The efficacy of the procedures may be due to either increased precision in change calculations, a decreased frequency of stealing from the cash register, increased shortchanging of customers, and/or increased incidents of register under-ringing. Ethical questions relative to the utilization of group punishment procedures are raised, and it was concluded that the procedures used were more humane than commonly used alternatives.

An Idiographic Approach to Organizational Behavior Research: The Use of Single Case Experimental Designs and Direct Measures

“…The controlling influence of the intervention on three dependent variables offers convincing evidence that the independent variable did indeed cause the change in the dependent variables. A few other organizational behavior studies also have demonstrated the applicability of reversals (Gupton & Le Bow, 1971;Kreitner & Golab, 1978;Luthans & Bond, 1977;Luthans & Davis, 1979;Luthans & Maris, 1979;Marholin & Gray, 1976) and multiple baseline designs (Kreitner, Reif, & Morris, 1977;Lamal & Benfield, 1978;Luthans & Davis, 1979;Van Ness & Luthans, 1979). In other words, although considerably more studies need to be done in the future, already there is some evidence that idiographic research of interactive organizational behavior in real settings can be done effectively by single case experimenal designs.…”

Applied Behavior Analysis: Understanding and Changing Behavior in the Community—A Representative Review

“…A related crime reduction study found that alarms installed in cash drawers activated by the removal of bait money produced an increase in apprehensions but did not reduce robbery incidents (Schnelle et al, 1979). Earlier on, when a response-cost procedure was used (deducting shortages 240 P. D. Luyben from the salaries of a group of employees of a small business), cash shortages declined (Marholin II & Gray, 1976).…”

EFFECTS OF RESPONSE COST ON THE BEHAVIOR OF A MILLION PERSONS: CHARGING FOR DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE IN CINCINNATI1

“…An interesting example of the use of response-cost procedures in a small-business setting was provided by Marholin and Gray (1976). These authors found that when cash shortages were subtracted from employees' salaries, the size of the shortage was sharply reduced.…”