A STUDY OF WORK ATTITUDES AND VOCATIONAL CHOICE OF TEENAGERS ENROLLED IN THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY'S NEIGHBORHOOD YOUTH CORPS

Forty-eight teenagers enrolled in the In and Out-of-School Neighboorhood Youth Corps were presented with a questionnaire concerning their jobs in the Neighborhood Youth Corp (NYC), how they felt about them, what their future vocational plans were and general background questions. The answers indicate that the NYC has been effective. The enrollees have positive attitudes toward work and vocational goals. Although the two groups have different frames of reference regarding work (one group attending school full time and the other working full time), their views on all the topics discussed showed no significant differences.     

PREDICTING JOB PERFORMANCE OF YOUTH TRAINEES UNDER A JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT PROGRAM (JTPA): CRITERION VALIDATION OF A BEHAVIOR-BASED MEASURE OF WORK MATURITY

Current concepts of the construct of work maturity have focused on a cognitive developmental perspective. This study demonstrates the criterion-related validity of a behavior-based measure of work maturity. The work-maturity levels of 142 youth enrollees in a job training program sponsored by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) were measured using a locally relevant, behavior-based instrument. Through factor and linear regression analyses, the construct of work maturity was defined and related to later job performance. Two work-maturity factors (Time Consciousness and Sociability) were found to predict a weighted composite criterion composed of ten job performance dimensions. In addition, the ability of individual dimensions to predict job performance was also examined. Future studies of work maturity that combine cognitive and behavioral measures are suggested.     

MODELING JOB PERFORMANCE IN A POPULATION OF JOBS

The Army Selection and Classification Project has produced a comprehensive examination of job performance in 19 entry-level Army jobs (Military Occupational Specialties) sampled from the existing population of entry-level positions. Multiple methods of job analysis and criterion measurement were utilized in a subsample of nine jobs to generate over 200 performance indicators, which were then used to assess performance in a combined sample of 9,430 job incumbents. An iterative procedure involving a series of content analyses and principal components analyses was used to develop a basic array of up to 32 criterion scores for each job. This basic set of scores formed the starting point of an attempt to model the latent structure of performance in this population of jobs. After alternative models were proposed for the latent structure, the models were submitted to a goodness-of-fit test via LIS-REL VI. After accounting for two components of method variance, a five-factor solution was judged as the best fit. The implications of the results and the modeling procedure for future personnel research are discussed.     

MOTIVATING STAFF PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERANT LEARNING PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN

Staff performance in a residential child-treatment facility was measured by counting the number of jobs completed and number of new procedures implemented within one week of their assignment. Public notices were posted listing each staff member's duties and new procedures to be implemented during the week. The notices produced an immediate increase in performance levels, which quickly tapered off. Staff members were then given tokens worth $1.00 each for performing jobs and implementing procedures within one week of assignment. The tokens regained and sustained high levels of performance when used in conjunction with the public notices. The use of public notices alone and tokens alone maintained better performance than baseline levels, but neither was as effective in starting and maintaining high-performance levels as was the combined use of the two.     

CORRELATIONS BETWEEN LENGTH OF STAY IN THE JOB CORPS AND READING ABILITY OF THE CORPSMEN

Data on sex, age, race, length of stay, and reading ability were collected on 116 subjects who dropped out of the Job Corps in 1970. The data were analyzed to determine if there were any correlation between length of stay and reading ability. The findings yielded no significant correlations. Certain weaknesses of the study are pointed out and a more promising experimental design, related to other research, is discussed.     

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIPLE JOB PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF JOBS

The goal of criterion development in Project A was to construct multiple measures of the major components of job performance such that the total performance domain for a representative sample of the population of entry-level enlisted positions in the U.S. Army was covered. These measures were to be used as criteria against which to validate both experimental and existing predictors of job performance. The initial model specified that performance is multidimensional within two major categories of dimensions designated as organization-wide and job specific. The development strategy involved describing the total domain of job content via extensive task analyses and critical incident analyses, generating the critical performance dimensions that constitute it, constructing measures for each dimension, and evaluating each measure using expert judgment and field test data. The specific measures developed consisted of rating scales, tests of job knowledge, hands-on job samples, and archival records. The major steps in the job analyses, content sampling, instrument construction, and instrument evaluation are described, and the final array of criterion measures is presented.     

A PARTICIPATIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACH FOR IMPROVING DIRECT-CARE STAFF PERFORMANCE IN AN INSTITUTIONAL SETTING

The present study evaluated a participative management approach for increasing the frequency of interactions between institutional staff and severely/profoundly retarded residents. The participative management approach involved teaching staff how to use self-monitoring, standard setting, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement procedures. These procedures were then used by staff with minimal involvement of supervisory personnel. Although supervisors provided feedback and praise to staff for using these self-management behaviors, feedback and praise were never dispensed contingent on staff interactions with residents. Results indicated that during the participative management program there was an increase in staff interactions that were contingent on appropriate resident behavior. The increase in this type of staff interaction was accompanied by an increase in appropriate resident behavior. Follow-up data on both staff and resident behaviors, although showing moderating trends, suggested generally good maintenance of the initial behavior changes. Acceptability data suggested that staff were quite receptive to the program. The advantages of participative management procedures for improving staff performance in residential settings are discussed.     

THE VALIDITY OF A MEASURE OF JOB COMPATIBILITY IN THE PREDICTION OF JOB PERFORMANCE AND TURNOVER OF MOTION PICTURE THEATER PERSONNEL

The predictive validity of a measure of job compatibility was studied for theater personnel. Scores on a forced-choice instrument, developed from the Job Compatibility Questionnaire (JCQ), predicted employee performance (r = .22, p< .05), turnover (r = -.35, p< .01), and scores on a "value composite" (reflecting a combination of job performance and employee retention criteria) as defined by the research sponsor (P = .41, p< .01). Furthermore, job compatibility scores explained a statistically significant increment in turnover and value composite score variance when analyzed concomitantly with verbal and numerical ability test scores. Finally, job compatibility scores were shown to be nonredundant with hiring decisions based on an application review, reference check, and interview, whereas the cognitive ability test scores shared considerable redundancy with hiring decisions based on the current selection system.     

GENERIC WORK BEHAVIOR: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DIMENSIONS OF ENTRY-LEVEL, HOURLY JOB PERFORMANCE

Generic work behavior is defined as behavior that contributes to the performance of virtually any job independent of technical job roles. Variations in generic work behavior are primarily dependent on differences in volition, and the effects of generic work behavior are likely to be the most prevalent in jobs where performance does not depend heavily on job-specific knowledge, skills, or ability. Analysis of supervisor ratings of specific employee behaviors gathered from 18,146 employees in 42 different hourly, entry-level jobs in predominantly retail settings suggests the existence of at least eight specific dimensions of generic work behavior: industriousness, thoroughness, schedule flexibility, attendance, off-task behavior, unruliness, theft, and drug misuse. These components were integrated with performance components identified in previous studies to develop a taxonomy of generic work behavior. Implications of this taxonomy for the measurement, prediction, and conceptualization of job performance are discussed.     

THE ROLE OF RESPONSE DELAY IN IMPROVING THE DISCRIMINATION PERFORMANCE OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN

This study investigated the influence of a response delay requirement on the discrimination performance of autistic children. In the context of a multiple baseline design with subsequent repeated reversals, two conditions were compared: a no-response-delay condition, where the child was allowed to make the target response immediately after presentation of the discriminative stimulus versus a response-delay condition, where the target response was permitted three seconds following the discriminative stimulus when the therapist would signal the child to respond. The results showed that the response-delay condition produced higher levels of correct responding than the no-response-delay condition. In addition, teachers in the research setting rated the response-delay procedure to be a practical and effective teaching technique that could be implemented in a classroom setting. The results were discussed in relation to the literature on impulsivity, and were interpreted as indicating that the response-delay procedure provides a valuable technique for teaching autistic children.     

IMPROVING THE GENERALIZED MNEMONIC PERFORMANCE OF A DOWN'S SYNDROME CHILD1

A training program was conducted to improve the generalized mnemonic performance, or memory, of a Down's Syndrome child. Training was directed at digit-span performance with generalization from training determined by responses to untrained mnemonic performance probes. The digit-span items varied in length from three to five digits. Each length constituted an item class, with each class trained within the framework of a multiple-baseline design. Probes consisted of untrained digit-span items, grammatical sentences, nongrammatical sentences, and match-to-sample items. A training procedure, in which 15 items from each class varied continually from trial to trial and from day to day, resulted in the percentage of correct responses to both training and probe items increasing to levels substantially above baseline. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the training procedure in improving the generalized mnemonic performance of a Down's Syndrome child.     

THE USE OF FUNCTIONAL JOB ANALYSIS IN ESTABLISHING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATORS

Research recently completed for a large international craft union provided the opportunity for an empirical assessment of functional job analysis (FJA) as a method for developing job-related performance standards. Based on content-oriented test development procedures, work sample tests were developed to measure operator achievement of these training standards. According to the results the tests significantly differentiated between skill levels of operating engineers in which the significant criterion factor was the degree of independence and autonomy the operator could be permitted in doing the work. FJA proved to be a useful technique for defining the work of operating engineers so that the knowledges, skills and abilities required can be easily communicated to the courts and the public.     

THE FUNCTION OF JOB ANALYSIS IN CONTENT VALIDATION1

Job analysis is invariably mentioned as a part of industrial/organizational activities, but the treatment rarely matches the acknowledged importance. While the amount of research on job analysis methods has increased dramatically in the past decade several critical issues remain unresolved. The EEOC Selection Guidelines have increased the dependence on the process and results of job analysis with respect to personnel selection and especially content validation. In the absence of research which defines the necessary and sufficient job analysis method a multi-method approach using both task-and worker-methods is strongly recommended.