Too often what we think we're rewarding, and what we are, are not same. Too often we've set up reward systems that create work problems we face. And too often, behaviors that exasperate us are ones we're unknowingly reinforcing.

Say a local pizza company decides to reward drivers for on-time delivery. Sounds good, but in actuality, they'd be rewarding speeding and reckless driving. Here's an example from Management Review, "A freight company that based its reward system on number of packages shipped thought productivity was way up until an internal audit revealed that only 45% of containers were shipped full."

How about Texas school system making recent news? It thought it was rewarding teachers for raising test scores. But, it was rewarding numbers over methods. So, one school held back 75% of ninth graders so lower achieving students would not participate in tenth grade tests, and school's staff was rewarded for achieving their goal.

If you want to be winning at working and stop Workplace 911 behaviors from affecting your results, do two things: first, model behavior you expect from others. Respect comes from giving respect and trust from giving trust. Second, look beyond desired outcomes to behaviors that lead to them. Reward that behavior, since whatever gets rewarded gets done. When you find and reward right behaviors, you'll get right results.

(c) 2005 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.

You can take more classes each semester. Even taking one additional class each semester can take a year off time you will spend in school. You will have to make time for an additional class each semester, but you'll finish faster. When you plan your classes, schedule a mixture of subjects you find easy with more difficult courses. This way, you won't end up with all subjects you find difficult at end of your program.

Some online universities don't require students take general education classes. Your program will focus entirely on your field of study. Often, this structure results in a shorter time spent earning degree. If you plan to transfer your credits to another university, check before enrolling in program to make sure credits are transferable.

Saturday Scholars Programs are offered at many large universities. Students entering this program should hold an Associates degree before applying to program. You travel to university on Saturdays, usually from eight in morning until five in evening. These programs allow you to finish your degree in two years of Saturdays.

Self paced programs are offered through some online colleges. These classes can be started at any time and finished at your own pace. You can work through material more quickly than is possible in typical college semester. Quite a few of these programs set a minimum time you must take course. Usually they require a six week minimum time frame for completion.