ARE THE 100 BEST BETTER? AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BEING A “GREAT PLACE TO WORK” AND FIRM PERFORMANCE

We argue that positive employee relations effectively serves as an intangible and enduring asset, and may, therefore, be a source of sustained competitive advantage at the firm level. We survey a number of measures of firm-level performance and conceptualize how each measure is likely to be affected by highly positive firm-level employee relations. We then empirically investigate whether positive employee relations is related to firm performance, focusing on publicly traded firms included in the "100 Best Companies to Work for in America." The relative performance of these "Best Companies" is examined via comparisons to both companies in the broad market and a group of matched firms. Our analyses suggest that companies on the 100 Best list enjoy not only stable and highly positive workforce attitudes, but also performance advantages over the broad market, and in some cases, over the matched group.     

WORK–FAMILY CONFLICT AND EMOTIONS: EFFECTS AT WORK AND AT HOME

This study investigated the effect of work–family conflict on the emotions of guilt and hostility, and the implications of work–family conflict and these emotions for job satisfaction and marital satisfaction. Using experience-sampling methodology, data were collected from a sample of 75 individuals over a period of 2 weeks (producing 625 data points). Results revealed that within individuals, family-to-work conflict experienced at work, and work-to-family conflict experienced at home, were positively associated with guilt and hostility at work and at home, respectively. In addition, state hostility mediated the negative effect of work-to-family conflict at home on daily marital satisfaction. Finally, cross-level interaction effects were observed such that work–family conflict more strongly affected the emotions of those scoring high on trait guilt and trait hostility.     

Defining and Assessing Problem‐Solving Style: Design and Development of a New Tool

VIEW: An Assessment of Problem Solving Style (Selby, Treffinger, & Isaksen, 2002) is a new instrument for assessing problem‐solving style, for use with individuals from ages 12 through adult. It measures three dimensions of style relating to creative problem solving and change management. In this article, we discuss the construction of the instrument, the initial evidence supporting the instrument's reliability and validity, and a very brief overview of the instrument's foundations. Our reliability data involve both stability and internal consistency. We report evidence for the criterion‐related validity, based on correlational studies with relevant measures of learning style, cognitive style, and psychological type. We also conducted principal components factor analyses that support our three‐factor structure. Researchers and practitioners studying and applying Creative Problem Solving and change management methods can use VIEW in several ways. Finally, we identify several research directions that will contribute to the refinement and development of the instrument as well as to a better understanding of the “problem‐solving style” construct.     

Presidential Appointments and Religious Stratification in the United States, 1789–2003

In America's colonial period, the “Protestant Establishment” (Anglicans, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians) had more access to political power than “Other Colonial Elites” (Quakers and Unitarians), “Other Protestants” (e.g., Baptists and Methodists), and “Others” (e.g., Catholics, Jews, and people with no religious affiliation). To what extent has this pattern of religious stratification persisted and/or changed over the course of U.S. history? New data on the religious affiliations of U.S. presidents, cabinet members, and justices on the Supreme Court indicate that the Protestant Establishment and Other Colonial Elites are not as dominant as they once were but continue to be overrepresented in the White House, in the cabinet, and on the Supreme Court. Other Protestants and Others have made noteworthy gains but continue to be underrepresented in most spheres of national political life. Presidents from all religious strata are more likely to appoint people who belong to the Protestant Establishment than any other religious stratum. Other Protestants and Others are most likely to appoint religious outsiders. Thus, political appointments are a means by which religious stratification both persists and changes.     

Physical "Phantasies" and Family Functions: Overcoming the Mind/Body Dualism in Somatization

In this article, we examine some of the ways in which family therapists have conceptualized the experience of illness of unexplained physical origin. We argue that opinions about the etiology of somatic symptoms should not be the primary focus of therapeutic work with people who share the prototypical characteristics of what has been defined as "somatization disorder." We suggest that current research in neurobiology can expand the linguistic resources of clinicians and help them avoid perpetuating unhelpful dichotomies between the mind and the body.     

The Effects of Theistic and Atheistic Counselor Values on Client Trust: A Multidimensional Scaling Analysis

Using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS), we investigated how theistic or atheistic values of an analogue counselor influenced trust of the counselor by 49 religious psychotherapy clients and 51 religious leaders.