Guidance and Counseling Services in the Federal Republic of Germany

This article presents an overview of the development, implementation, and struggle to maintain guidance and counseling services at various levels within the Federal Republic of Germany.     

ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS IN ESTIMATING THE UTILITY OF HUMAN RESOURCE PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Three economic concepts (variable costs, taxes, and discounting) are applied and incorporated into the previous utility formulas proposed by Brogden (1946, 1949), Cronbach and Gleser (1965), and Schmidt, et al. (1979, 1982). The resulting utility model indicates that the previous formulas are deficient and can produce upwardly biased utility estimates. Empirical examples based on published research (e.g., Schmidt, et al., 1982) are presented indicating the substantial magnitude of the bias given realistic levels of variable costs, taxes, and discount rates. The present utility model is used to adjust for such bias and is shown to provide a more complete and precise utility definition. Implications for future research are discussed.     

JOB SATISFACTION: ARE ALL THE PARTS THERE?

Empirical data indicate that global measures of job satisfaction are not equivalent to the sum of the facet satisfactions. The purposes of this study were to explore the usefulness of single-item global measures of job satisfaction for job satisfaction research and also to explore whether global assessments of job satisfaction include consideration of variables typically not measured by job satisfaction instruments. Subjects are 185 employees working within two research and development units of two multinational corporations. The short-form Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire was used to obtain the sum of the facet satisfactions. Two single-item global questions of overall satisfaction were also used. One required a yes-no response and the second, a 1–5 rating response. Information about perceived determinants of job satisfaction, overall satisfaction with the job, satisfaction with occupational choice, career progress, and overall satisfaction with non-job related events was obtained through semi-structured interviews. Results indicate that defining overall job satisfaction as the sum of the evaluations of the discrete elements of which the job is composed, may lead to neglect of major determinants of job satisfaction. The "whole" appears to be more complex than the sum of the presently measured parts. Results also suggest that the 1–5 global rating of overall job satisfaction may be a more inclusive measure of overall job satisfaction than summation of many facet responses.     

Let's close the confidentiality gap

An examination of the interface between the law of privileged communication and the professional standards of confidentiality reveals a considerable gap between what the law is and what counseling and guidance personnel believe it is. The nature of the law is discussed, and evidence of disagreement with and misunderstanding of the law by counseling and guidance personnel is presented. Several recommendations are made to close the gap by bringing knowledge and attitude of counseling and guidance personnel into agreement with the law as well as modifying the law to reflect the needs of clients, counselors, and society.     

The draft and counseling

This article regards draft counseling as a specialized extension of personal, educational, and vocational counseling. It can be a necessary and valuable outreach program and is needed because most students are unaware of their rights under the Selective Service System. Professional counselors have a crucial role to play in draft counseling by helping to establish a Draft Information Center, by training and supervising students and faculty as draft counselors, and by serving as a referral source for individuals needing further counseling. Suggestions are included for the establishment of a Draft Information Center in high schools and colleges.     

SEX DIFFERENCES IN OCCUPATIONAL CHOICE, PAY, AND WORTH: A SUPPLY-SIDE APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING THE MALE-FEMALE WAGE GAP

The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of adopting a supply-side approach to understanding the nature of wage differentials between men and women. Using an expectancy theory framework, a sample of 272 job applicants evaluated a set of job outcomes and rated the instrumentalities and expectancies for each of eight jobs that varied in terms of sex dominance, pay, and worth. Preferences for each job also were obtained using a paired comparison procedure. The results suggested that much of the wage gap between men and women can be explained by (1) evaluations of multiple outcomes other than pay and (2) gender-related differences in expectancies, instrumentalities, and valences with respect to these outcomes. Both the theoretical and practical utility of approaching the issue of comparable worth from a supply as well as a demand side are discussed.     

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.