Refusals and Rejections Designing Messages to Serve Multiple Goals

This experiment was conducted to test a rational model of the elaboration of themes found in rejection messages. The experiment involved a situation in which a candidate for membership in an organization must be rejected by an agent of the organization. The model proposed that five themes would be found in the rejection messages, elaborated selectively as a function of the relationship between organizational agent and candidate (friend vs. stranger) and the basis for the rejection (qualified vs. unqualified candidate). The experiment was replicated with American and Japanese participants in the role of organizational agent; no differences due to nationality were anticipated. Results showed partial support for the initial rational model, but the findings also pointed toward two key revisions of the hypothesized model: First, two new themes in rejection messages were identified; and second, there were substantial differences in the way Americans and Japanese elaborated themes to serve their goals.     

Effective Christian Education: A Synthesis of Recent Denominational Studies

In 1987, Search Institute launched an ambitious effort to research the educational effectiveness of seven Protestant denominations. The results identified a variety of factors related to mature faith and denominational loyalty.     

BRIDGING DIFFERENCE THROUGH DIALOGUE: A CONSTRUCTIVIST PERSPECTIVE

Differences in culture invariably underpin the communication failures and misunderstandings that lead to social conflict and dissension. In contemporary organizations, for example, conflicts in values between different occupational groups have the potential to create significant organizational dysfunction. Equally, however, bridging between these conflicts may present an opportunity for organizational learning and insight. Dialogue provides a means of bridging between such differences, but it is notoriously difficult to implement. In this article, we explore the potential of Personal Construct Theory as a way into dialogue. We illustrate our argument with the results of a workshop that involved senior managers and clinicians from a large public hospital.     

UNDERSTANDING SELF-OTHER AGREEMENT: A LOOK AT RATER AND RATEE CHARACTERISTICS, CONTEXT, AND OUTCOMES

This study investigated (a) the relative importance of a number of biographic (e.g., age, race, gender) and contextual (e.g., span of control, functional area) variables and their interactions on self-other agreement and (b) the relationship between self-other agreement and outcome variables such as performance and compensation. Usable data were collected from 3,217 managers and their multi-source raters in 527 organizations. Multivariate regression procedures (as opposed to categorization procedures) were used to determine the sources of rating disagreement. Results indicated that a significant portion of variance in self-other ratings was accounted for by the set of background/context variables. Self-other agreement was also related to performance, compensation, and organizational level, though rating patterns differed.     

A multiple-objective linear programming model for the citrus rootstock selection problem in Florida

Citrus is one of Florida's key agricultural crops, with annual production accounting for over 70% of all U.S. production. During the 1970s and 1980s, citrus blight, tristeza and freezes caused citrus rootstock selection to become a critical issue in Florida, and it remains so today. This paper describes a multiple-objective linear programming model that we have developed for solving the citrus roostock selection problem in Florida. The model has four objective functions. These functions, together with the constraints of the model, capture the main factors that Florida citrus growers use in choosing portfolios of rootstocks for planting in their groves. We tested the usefulness of this model by solving an experimental application for the Fort Pierce area with the interactive STEM algorithm. From our research we conclude that, when properly solved with the aid of STEM, the multiple-objective linear programming model has the potential to serve Florida citrus growers as a useful decision aid in formulating rootstock selection plans. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.