This study examined a segment of the homeless population who participated in a jobs training program. The research investigated the effect of socioeconomic status, self-esteem, and locus of control on the clients in getting and keeping jobs. The training was a comprehensive 36-day treatment dealing with three major areas: (a) how to get a job, (b) how to keep a job, and (c) how to develop life-coping skills. A quasi-experimental research design was used for testing by t-tests, two-by-two repeated-measured anova, chi-square tests, and regression analysis. The findings showed that high socioeconomic status clients demonstrated higher self-esteem and internal locus of control than low socioeconomic status clients at the start of the treatment. The treatment had a significant effect on both groups with an increase in self-esteem and internal locus of control and a decrease in both external locus of control dimensions of powerful others and chance. The treatment had a greater effect on the low socioeconomic status clients than on the high socioeconomic status clients on increases in self-esteem and locus of control—internal. Both groups were successful in finding jobs, with 79% for high socioeconomic status clients and 74% for low socioeconomic status clients having jobs at the end …

During the past twenty years, extensive research has been conducted concerning the judgmental processes of labor arbitrators. Previous research, sometimes referred to as policy capturing, attempted to identify the criteria or standards used by arbitrators to support their decisions. Much of the research was qualitative. Due to the categorical nature of the dependent variables, log-linear models such as logit regression have been used to examine decisional relationships in more recent studies. The decision cues used by arbitrators in 249 published alcohol- and drug-related arbitration cases were examined. The justifications for arbitrators' decisions were fitted into Carroll Daugherty's "seven tests" of just cause. The dominant cues were proof of misconduct, the appropriateness of the penalty, and the business necessity of management's action. Foreknowledge of the rule by the grievant and the consequences of a violation, equal treatment of the grievant, and an appropriate investigation by management were also important decision cues. In general, grievants in alcohol and drug arbitration cases fared as well as grievants in any other disciplinary arbitrations. However, when the cases were analyzed based on the legal status of the drug, illicit drug users were at a considerable disadvantage.

This study examines the problem of operationally defining "hostile environment" sexual harassment, ruled a type of disparate treatment actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by the United States Supreme Court on June 19, 1986. Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defines a hostile environment as an "intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment," there is no consensus as to what is "offensive" behavior. An extensive review of the literature yielded various attempts to define and ascertain the magnitude of sexual harassment, but the fact that the actual percentages varied indicates that this is a difficult issue to measure. As perception by the victim is the key, this study surveyed 125 working women from all over the United States to determine their perceptions of behaviors that constitute sexual harassment. Discriminant analysis was then used to correctly classify 95% of the women according to their perceptions of having experienced sexual harassment. Using tests for proportions, three hypotheses were found significant. Women who have been sexually harassed are more likely to view sexual harassment as a major problem. Older men are more likely to have their behavior perceived as sexual harassment. In addition, women who have experienced acts such as staring, …

The purpose of the research was to test Walker's assertion that the human resource planning process of an organization is influenced by selected organizational characteristics, and to investigate Walker s typology for implementing and evaluating human resource planning systems. Chapter I introduces the research topic and provides a justification for the study. Chapter II describes the methodology and presents the findings. Chapter III analyzes the findings. The final chapter summarizes the findings and offers conclusions drawn from the research.

Legislation, arbitral and judicial decisions, and public opinion provide evidence of increasing concern for protecting employees from unfair dismissal in both union and nonunion firms. Management's right to discharge is being questioned today more than at any other time in the history of labor-management relations. Thus, organizations must stay abreast of the developments that affect their right to discharge employees. This study investigates arbitration awards and judicial decisions in discharge cases to provide answers to these questions. Are companies aware of the types of misconduct for which discharge is considered appropriate? Are companies aware of what constitutes the burden of proof requirements in discharge cases? Does management know and follow the proper procedures in handling discharge cases? The purposes of the study are 1. To determine the extent to which discharges were overturned or modified because the company did not meet the burden of proving a reasonable cause for discharge; 2. To determine the extent to which discharges were overturned or modified because the company did not follow proper dismissal procedures; 3. To develop a model set of guidelines to assist companies in the proper handling of discharge cases. These guidelines present criteria for meeting the just cause and procedural …

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 on the federal civil service through the establishment of the Merit Systems Protection Board. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 was designed to correct many of the abuses which existed under the Civil Service Commission related to appeals procedures and inefficiency within the federal government. The majority of data collected for this study were obtained from the Dallas field office of the Merit Systems Protection Board, which covers approximately 275,000 federal employees in a five-state area. Additional data, related to all of the regional field offices of the Merit Systems Protection Board, were obtained from Washington, D.C. Two research tools were used to collect data from the Dallas field office: a questionnaire and a personal interview. Three hypotheses were examined. Hypothesis I stated that the creation of the Merit Systems Protection Board has not given presiding officials any additional authority to handle or decide adverse action cases brought within their jurisdiction. Hypothesis II stated that the length of time needed to process adverse action cases has not decreased since the creation of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Hypothesis III stated that …

The purpose of this study was to analyze the trends that have developed in middle management training and development since 1963. Both primary and secondary research data were used. The base data utilized were from a 1963 study by M. Gene Newport. Primary data were acquired from a questionnaire mailing to 251 members of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). Additional primary data were gained from personal and telephone interviews with various training and development personnel. The 251 questionnaires were mailed to companies within 12 different industries. There were 101 questionnaire respondents for a return percentage of 40 percent.

The problem this study addressed was the determination of those real estate tasks perceived to be most essential by successful residential salespersons (defined as the recipients for the past five years of the Salesperson of the Year award, (or, designation) and in some cases, Realtor Associate of the Year designation awarded annually by some local Texas boards of realtors). Out of 116 local boards of REALTORS listed in the 19781979 Texas membership directory, twenty-eight awarded the Salesperson of the Year designation. During the years 1973 through 1977, ninety-five individuals received the award. Of these sixty-nine returned usable questionnaires for the study. The final list of task statements ranked by the participants in the study were selected by a panel composed of Advisory Council members from post-secondary institutions offering real estate programs, and chairpersons of education committees from local boards of realtors.

In this study twenty-two commercial real estate salespeople were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: (1) pretest, training, posttest; (2) pretest, no training, posttest; (3) no pretest, training, posttest; (4) no pretest, no training, posttest. The training groups participated in a monitored aerobics training program designed by the Institute for Aerobics Research, Dallas, Texas. In conclusion, it appears that an improvement in employee cardiorespiratory fitness does not necessarily lead to an improvement in job satisfaction or job performance. It is important to note, however, several possible explanations for these results. First, the pretest scores for the Job Descriptive Index were already quite high indicating there was not much room for improvement on posttest scores. Secondly, with regard to performance scores the; small number of subjects may have contributed to the lack of statistical significance. The study had a 46 percent subject loss rate. Thirdly, it would have been more useful to have had subjects who earned approximately the same amount or, at least, did not have the enormous differences in earnings found in this study. Finally, it is suggested that commissions be watched for more than one sales cycle. By incorporating these changes, future studies will have a …

Flexible compensation is a new concept in wage and salary administration which permits the employee to select from the various benefits, and cash, a plan tailored to meet his own needs, limited only by his total compensation and those statutory provisions pertaining to his wages. Within recent years, compensation practitioners have been urged in professional journals to adopt flexible compensation as a way to improve their compensation programs in order to attract, hold, and motivate employees. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, the results of this research will provide empirical data on the current status of flexible compensation for nonexempt employees in the United States. Second, the research will contribute toward the development of a set of comprehensive guidelines for implementing flexible compensation programs.