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BUSINESS NEWS CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH NAMED RESILIENT VIRGINIA COMMUNITY OF THE YEAR The Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association has named the city of Virginia Beach the Resilient Virginia Community of the Year for its Sea Level Wise planning project. Dewberry , a privately held professional services firm, provided project management and primary technical support work on the planning project. The firm began by assessing the vulnerability and flood risk exposure of city assets and critical infrastructure for existing and potential sea level rise scenarios. Using this impact assessment, the firm developed planning, policy, and engineered flood risk reduction
measures to mitigate short- and long-term risks. “It is very rewarding to see this critical product for the city’s future honored by this award. This outcome reflects a great partnership, as well as everyone’s passion and commitment over a five-year journey to overcome the challenges of a very complex project,” says Dewberry Senior Coastal Scientist Brian Batten, Ph.D., CFM. The firm was acknowledged for using ArcGIS Story Maps for its presentation and making information on the project and flooding effects easily accessible by Virginia Beach citizens. The data will be continually assessed, and effects of this project will be seen for years
to come as the city makes decisions on where best to prioritize funds to mitigate floods. Dewberry is a leading, market-facing firm with a proven history of providing professional services to a wide variety of public- and private-sector clients. Recognized for combining unsurpassed commitment to client service with deep subject matter expertise, Dewberry is dedicated to solving clients’ most complex challenges and transforming their communities. Established in 1956, Dewberry is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, with more than 50 locations and more than 2,000 professionals nationwide.
MITCHELL SHOPE, from page 11
practices, but if these five guidelines are followed, it can be effective in mitigating unwanted behaviors. PUTTING IT TO USE. The first step toward motivating individuals is to set the behavioral patterns that you desire to change then determine a reinforcement schedule to effectively motivate those behaviors. Always analyze both current and desired patterns first before trying to determine how to motivate as it is impossible to motivate for something that you do not know yourself. This is both the most important and overlooked step of effective motivation. Always motivate for the intended behavior. While good intentions may lead a manager to praise an employee for taking on additional workload above their capacity, this subconsciously sets the expectation that this behavior is desired, and others will perceive that behavior as beneficial to their career. Through examining what the actual desired behavior is instead of the highly visible behavior, a reinforcement schedule can better endorse and motivate employees to your preferred outcomes. Say, for instance, that better employee efficiency is desired. First, determine what efficiency means to the target role, and then quantify it including expectations like target net service revenue, expended time or cost expectations, or quality expectations. Recognize individuals meeting the indicated constraints within the targeted time frames to actually reinforce the behavior you desire. Do not submit to the managerial pitfall of rewarding for A while hoping for B. By examining target behaviors as well as accountability and motivational expectations, clear and direct reinforcement schedules can be used to effectively influence the efforts and actions of your team. Motivating yourself as well as your employees is critical to maintaining high performance and personal fulfillment. Leveraging reinforcement theory to recognize the truly desired behaviors from your employees will not only boost individual performance but also connect the action to the reward and bolster your firm’s morale and cultural identity. MITCHELL SHOPE is a senior project engineer with JQ Engineering in Dallas, Texas. He holds a master of engineering degree from MIT in structural engineering and an MBA from the University of Texas. Contact him at mshope@jqeng.com.
While this reinforcement theory sounds simple, it is very easy to unintentionally recognize the wrong behaviors, particularly if they are more measurable or visible than what you are actually trying to emphasize. For example, a manager vocally praises an employee for working over the weekend to meet a deadline, all too common in the AEC industry. While the manager’s intentions were simply to show appreciation for the hard work and dedication shown by the employee, the lasting effect is recognition of an undesired behavior (working excessively long hours). This mismatch of desired behavior (efficient work) versus emphasized behavior (working overtime) can be seen in other settings such as the recognition and emphasis placed on grades instead of actual learning or the importance placed on speed and project count versus quality. To effectively motivate and steer behavioral patterns successfully, there must be a direct and intentional link between the consequence and the targeted behavior. THE ROLE OF PUNISHMENT IN REINFORCEMENT THEORY. Punishment, on the other hand, can also be used as an effective motivational practice to limit undesired behaviors, but it comes with risks. The following criteria must be met for punishment to be productive. 1) Corrective action must be immediate or continuous. The transgressor must be able to clearly establish the link between the punishment and the undesired behavior. 2) It must be consistent. Not only does this mean that a reliable punishment schedule must be set for your team, but other groups within the firm must all abide by the same standards. 3)The repercussions must fit the transgression. No suspension without pay for someone who forgot to refill the coffee pot. 4) It must be continually monitored. If people discover that the system is inconsistent or has loopholes, the effectiveness plummets. 5)The transgression and punishment must include an alternative behavior path. Clearly answer the question, “What would you have done differently next time?” Punishment can be risky to implement in motivational
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THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 18, 2021, ISSUE 1375
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