The management theory of Thomas Gilbert debuted in 1978. Gilbert's management theory sprung from the teachings of B.F. Skinner, under whom Gilbert studied when he was at Harvard. Human performance technology, engineering high human performance, is now considered a basic component of business management. Although based on behaviorism, Gilbert did say that to develop worthy human performance you should study a master performer at work and see how it is done.

Gilbert business management ideas concern changing the behavior of organizations and/or employees. Human performance management theories are especially important in the area of human resources.

1. The essence of Thomas Gilbert's theory for engineering worthy performance is that workers need to have the right information, the right resources and the right incentives.

2. It is important that incentives don't reward bad behavior (as an example, an incentive that makes a worker take short cuts on the task).

3. If all the conditions are in place for the worker to perform well and doesn't, it becomes a matter of considering the worker's motivation. By observing the worker's behavior, new conditions are to be put in place to get the worker to perform well.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn more employee performance with Gilbert's management theory

Whether you are wondering how to enhance productivity or need to know more about human performance based on the Thomas Gilbert model, there are lots of places to go for information.

I recommend: Superperformance.com is a human resources website with hundreds of articles and videos for trainers, HR professionals and management personnel that use Thomas Gilbert's theories. The International Society of Performance Improvement is another portal into human performance engineering, basing much of its content on Thomas Gilbert's contributions.

Factor in the costs of Gilbert business management

Reviewing and evaluating employee performance can be costly and time-consuming. There are several human resources software that use Gilbert's performance model as part of their mode for evaluating performance.

I recommend: Success Factors provides HR software for employee evaluations that will save you time and money, while applying the Gilbert theory of management. You can increase productivity in your HR department with Halogen eAppraisal software; it not only handles evaluations but it is also useful as a means for "talent management," another Gilbert management performance concept.

Consult with professionals using Thomas Gilbert's model of human performance

Performance and human resource consultants can be a great asset in evaluating and making the changes necessary to improve employee performance and business productivity.

I recommend: The Performance Technology Group takes one of the first principles of Gilbert's theory to heart: training is not the answer to all performance-related issues. Wilson HR Consulting is an outsourcing company that handles different HR concerns, including performance evaluations based on Gilbert management theories.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Thomas Gilbert's model for engineering human performance can be found in his book 'Human Competence: Engineering Worthy Performance,' third edition.