IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF OVERTIME COSTS THROUGH DECENTRALIZED CONTROLS - MANAGING AN ORGANIZATIONAL METACONTINGENCY

The use of overtime in an organization is costly, in both human and mo netary terms. It is associated with increased sick leave and reduced p roductivity. Overtime usage is supported by behavioral contingencies a nd becomes an important component of a potentially destructive cultura l practice. As such, it can be seen as a survival-related metacontinge ncy, the presence of which may impact an organization's viability. Thi s study chronicles numerous organizational attempts, in two settings, to reduce the cost of overtime while maintaining or improving staffing but leaves socially valid issues, i.e., the quality of services rende red, unanswered. One approach was a change from centralized micro-mana gement to a more macro decentralized management authority and responsi bility for managers of sub-units within the organization. The cumulati ve result of organizational changes was a shift of overtime usage from comparatively expensive full-time to relatively nominal part-time sta ffing costs. Gains realized tended to be ephemeral prompting an analys is of the functional nature of rules and rule-governed behavior in rel ation to both proximate and ultimate contingencies of organizational s urvival.