Cause and effect in reverse

I guess this kind of follows on from this post.

So I've taught my dog to sit and give me her paw, in exchange for a treat. Now, whenever I have any food in my hand, she sits herself down smack dab in front of me, and raises her paw.

I was wondering if all the tick box training that seems to be rife at the moment isn't generating the same sort of thing. We 'reward' a certain behaviour, so staff members mindlessly repeat that behaviour regardless of whether it's called for or not.

Something to think about