THE EFFECTS OF VARIABILITY AND RISK IN SELECTION UTILITY ANALYSIS: AN EMPIRICAL COMPARISON

To date, utility analysis research has derived point estimates of the expected utility value for human resource management programs or interventions. Utility estimates are usually quite large, but they fail to reflect the size and shape of the utility distribution. The present study investigated utility estimate variability for the selection utility of using the Programmer Aptitude Test to select computer programmers in a medium-sized computer manufacturing organization. Utility calculations incorporated financial/economic factors as well as employee flows over time. The distributions for each utility parameter were empirically estimated, and these distribution estimates were combined through a Monte Carlo analysis to yield a distribution of total utility values. Monte Carlo results were compared to three other risk assessment approaches: (1) sensitivity analysis, (2) break-even analysis, and (3) algebraic derivation of the distribution. Results suggest that the distribution information provided by the Monte Carlo analysis more completely described the variability and riskiness associated with the expected utility value. Future research suggested by these findings is discussed.     

Comparing Family Counseling and Group Counseling: An Interview with George Gazda,James Hansen,and Alan Hovestadt

This article contains edited excerpts from a panel discussion held at the 1984 AACD convention and sponsored by the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW). The three interviewers are members of the Commission on Family Counseling of ASGW. The focus of the interview was on the therapeutic process in family and group counseling and on the delineation of the similarities and differences in the group dynamics in the two modalities.     

COMPUTER-AIDED MONITORING: ITS INFLUENCE ON EMPLOYEE JOB SATISFACTION AND TURNOVER

Computer-aided monitoring is a phenomenon that is likely to become more prevalent in the workplace and, thus, central to understanding contemporary employee responses to work. This study develops a model for examining the impact of monitoring on employee-level job satisfaction and turnover propensity. The results show that for some employees the negative effects of monitoring are inherent, but for others its negative impact can be mitigated by attention to feedback/performance appraisal processes. While organizational-level rules pertaining to monitoring are important, managerial efforts aimed at minimizing negative consequences for the organization and individuals need to pay close attention to the feedback/performance appraisal processes.     

Creativity, Pathology, and Family Structure: A Cybernetic Metaphor

This paper describes a cybernetic metaphor as a novel paradigm for family theory, linking aspects of cybernetic epistemology as described by Bateson ( 1 ) with the tropes, major figures of speech, as defined by the linguist Jakobson ( 25 ). Jakobson describes two operations characteristic of all human discourse at many levels of organization and abstraction: the metaphoric, linking by similarity; and the metonymic, linking by contiguity.
A cybernetic metaphor suggests a view of individuals as adaptive systems able to transform novelty into expectations ( 49 ) in one of two ways and thereby maintain a relationship with their context. Those who encounter contexts characterized by "dissonances" in structure and basic premises would adopt the metaphoric mode by finding similarities in apparent differences and thus learn to link separate domains. Those learning to orient themselves in a context of consistent basic premises and structure would adopt the metonymic mode, linking by temporal or spacial contiguity within an implicit assumed whole. Clinical examples and the literature on the families of symptomatic and creative individuals will be used as illustrations of this process of learning communicative modes.     

Hospitalization of Single-Parent Families of Disturbed Children

In this paper, six years of experience with well-planned, short-term family hospitalization is described. Each family has at least one identified patient who is a child. The approach to treatment is systemic and structural. Areas discussed are selection of families, planning of the hospitalization, stages of the hospitalization, and the organization of the staff. Illustrations are provided by seven case vignettes.     

DEVELOPMENT OF A BEHAVIORALLY BASED PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM

This paper describes the development of a behaviorally based performance appraisal system. Blanz and Ghiselli's Mixed Standard Scale was used as the basis for developing the performance appraisal system for assessing the performance of highway patrol personnel. However, the particular developmental procedures described here differ in some respects from those reported in the literature. Rather than developing rating items describing general traits such as "diligence,""initiative," or "enthusiasm" in behavioral terms, the items in the present scale were developed to describe proficiency levels of specific job tasks. This characteristic is expected to enhance the objectivity of the evaluation system for both appraisal and job counseling purposes. The appraisal instrument was subjected to a series of reliability and validity tests that demonstrated its high reliability and validity. Although the content of the appraisal sytem desribed here included highway patrol tasks, a similar system could be developed using the procedures described for a wide variety and level of jobs.     

ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF PERSONNEL PROGRAMS ON WORKFORCE PRODUCTIVITY

This article describes and illustrates the adaptation of the linear-regression-based decision-theoretic equations used to estimate the dollar impact of valid selection procedures on workforce productivity to the evaluation of intervention programs designed to improve job performance. The appropriate equations are derived and explained, methods for estimating equation parameters are discussed, and the use of these equations is illustrated by means of a hypothetical example. It is concluded that in the future these methods and equations will allow psychologists to make more accurate assessments of the impact of intervention programs on workforce productivity than has heretofore been the case.     

Career Values and Aspirations of Adult Female and Male Puerto Ricans,Blacks, and Anglos

This exploratory investigation found significant variations in career values among adults of Puerto Rican, Black, and Anglo ethnic and cultural backgrounds, but no distinct differences in career aspirations.     

THE NEW UNIFORM GUIDELINES ON EMPLOYEE SELECTION PROCEDURES IN THE CONTEXT OF UNIVERSITY PERSONNEL DECISIONS

The new Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures are considered in a context of university employment decisions. The use of student evaluations as valid criteria for faculty personnel decisions such as hiring, retention, tenure, promotion, or salary increases is examined. Standards of validity contained in the Guidelines are probably not being met with regard to most student rating forms currently used. Recommendations are made regarding use of student and administrators' ratings as criteria for personnel decisions. The need for studies on contaminating sources of variance in ratings is emphasized.