A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN GOAL SETTING ON EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION1

Two hundred and forty-five working level scientists and engineers participated in a longitudinal study in which their managers had been trained in a Management by Objectives program. Subjects completed two questionnaries, the latter being completed 21 months after the first designed to assess perceptions of their managers' goal setting behavior along four dimensions derived using factor analytic procedures (Goal Clarity and Planning, Subordinate Freedom, Feedback and Evaluation, Participation in Goal Setting) and their reported intrinsic, extrinsic and total satisfaction. Dynamic correlations (Vroom, 1966) were computed between changes in the goal setting factors and changes in the satisfaction variables and significant positive relationships were observed. In addition, results indicated that job task (research vs. development) demonstrated a moderating influence on the goal setting-satisfaction relationships. An unexpected finding was that there was a significant decrease in perceived managerial behavior on the Goal Clarity and Planning factor over the 21 months. However, a significant increase occurred on the Feedback and Evaluation factor. Since no control group was available for comparison, little can be said about whether these changes were a result of the MBO program. Significant differences between the development and the research subjects were also observed on two of the goal setting factors.     

Group Orientation for Persons on Probation or Parole

The group orientation program described in this article is a systematic attempt to transmit information and initiate a counseling relationship with persons newly placed on probation or parole. The group orientation process reduced tension and allowed reluctant clients to be guided into a helping relationship. Following the group sessions, individual meetings are designed to capitalize on those gains. During one 7-month period, 130 persons went through the group orientation, and 81 of these were subsequently transferred to reduced supervision.     

LEADER INFLUENCE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE

The role requirements of leaders in an assessment group context were manipulated in a laboratory simulation. Discussion leaders (chairholders) either did or did not have first hand contact with an individual who was being assessed. Furthermore, chairholders were either allowed a formal say in the group's decision or were not. As predicted, different configurations of role requirements had an impact on the influence wielded by the chair, as indexed by measures of group process, group decision, accuracy and group member attitudes. Both prior contact and voting rights had direct and interactive effects and served to increase chair influence. Particular role requirement combinations also produced a type of group disruption as reflected in group member ratings of the quality of the session. The results of the study are discussed in forms of implications for the standardization of procedures in assessment center programs.     

Unemployment in the Postindustrial Age: Counseling Redundant Workers

Currently, in the United States, redundancy counseling, dealing with jobless or displaced workers, is the exception rather than the rule in cases of plant closures. It is likely, however, that redundancy counseling will become more common in the future, as more U.S. manufacturers turn to production sharing. Indeed, it has been suggested that redundancy counseling might replace the traditional unemployment compensation system as a better method of dealing with unemployment in a rapidly changing, highly technological world.     

TEAM-BASED EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT PROGRAMS: EFFECTS OF DESIGN AND ADMINISTRATION

In recent years, many organizations have attempted to pursue continuous improvement through team-based employee involvement programs (EIPs). As a result, increased practical emphasis has been placed on how to design and administer EIPs, though empirical work has been slow to emerge. In the present research, a pilot study of 68 EIP administrators was used to identify those design and administrative variables thought to be associated with EIP effectiveness. Data were then collected from 72 EIP teams in two organizations and associated with participant and supervisory assessments of EIP effectiveness. Results suggest that the significant predictors of team effectiveness were the degree of openness of a team's information access structure, the degree of heterogeneity in the job functions performed by team members, and the team's size. Implications for EIP research and practice are discussed.     

Beliefs of Professional Counselors and Clergy About Depressive Religious Ideation

Depressed clients sometimes express the belief that God wants them to suffer and even, through suicide, to die. To assess counselor and clergy beliefs about depressive religious ideation a questionnaire was developed and distributed. Respondents agreed that such ideation is a misinterpretation of Judeo-Christian principles, and respondents also tended to believe in the benefit, right, and ability to challenge such ideation. Expectation of client resistance to having such ideation challenged was more varied. Differences among the five issues appeared to be related to only some of the predictor variables. Limitations of the study and implications for further research are discussed.     

Successful Resolutions to the Career-Versus-Family Conflict

One hundred and twenty husbands and wives (60 couples) were individually assessed on how conflicted (or resolved) they were about the career-versus-family conflict in their lives. Their written resolutions were also content-analyzed to extract specific themes and conflict-resolution strategies. Data on participants' self-esteem, conflict-related anxiety, life satisfaction, and demographic variables were also collected. Results of t tests, chi-squares, Pearson correlations, and a stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that high self-esteem and life satisfaction best predicted being resolved about the conflict. The only theme that discriminated between the most and least resolved spouses was “my family comes first” (held by the most resolved). Wives were more rationally resolved about the conflict than their husbands.