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.

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.