According to research on improving job performance through operant conditioning, Marcus should reward specific, achievable behaviors, not vaguely defined merit.
Explanation:
Operant conditioning is a by behavior shaping method by rewarding and reinforcing the behavior with material rewards. here Marcus owns a landscaping company which attracts the employment opportunities for the college students.
In order to improve the productivity under the theory of operant conditioning, must reward the specific and productive behavior if the employees. This would motivate the employees to work more just to achieve the rewards.