MANAGEMENT TURNOVER: EXPERIENTIAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FORMER AND CURRENT MANAGERS

Potential experiential determinants of managerial turnover were investigated based on questionnaire responses from 140 former managers and 143 current managers within the same organization. To assess these experiences, measures were developed from four different areas of literature that consider the turnover phenomenon. Results indicate that, compared to current managers, former managers describe their managerial experiences in terms of (1) less satisfying job characteristics, (2) greater degrees of adjustment and socialization difficulties, (3) more unmet job expectations, and (4) greater degrees of job stress. Furthermore, it was discovered that all four areas of literature actually give very similar advice on reducing turnover, but each area differs in terms of intended applications and time perspective. Recommendations are provided for reducing management turnover.     

The Tyranny of Technique

The role of technique and technology in psychological counseling is briefly discussed. A preoccupation with both has characterized approaches to knowledge and power for several centuries. It is argued that the distinction between “knowing that” and “knowing how” is an important one in professional training. Techniques are necessary codifications of more basic, abstract development. The counseling apprentice and supervisor should therefore relegate technique and technical skills to an important, but hardly central, role in psychological services.     

Primary Prevention in University Residence Halls: Paraprofessional-Led Relationship Enhancement Groups for College Roommates

The author examined the effect of Relationship Enhancement training as a preventive intervention with college roommates. Trained paraprofessional counselors (resident assistants) led 20 Relationship Skills Workshops for students in their living units. The workshops (four 2-hour sessions each) were based on the Relationship Enhancement method and involved training students in expressive (subjective self-disclosure) and empathic (demonstrating understanding) skills. Students were randomly assigned to workshops either early (experimental group) or late (delayed treatment control group) in the semester. Assessments of students' expressive and empathic skills when discussing personal concerns and conflicts with their roommates were made on all participants at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester. Results show significantly higher level skills for the trained experimental group in comparison to the as-yet untrained delayed-treatment control group at the middle of the semester, and that significant improvement occurred in both groups following their respective participation in training, suggesting training was effective.     

Criteria Used by College Students to Select Employment Referents

Content analysis of college students' rationales for selecting employment referents suggests that their choices do not always match with what employers value in reference reports. The concluding section of the article offers suggestions for effective referent selection.     

College Students and Their Part-Time Jobs: Job Congruency,Satisfaction, and Quality

Randomly selected undergraduate students (1,438) at an urban west coast university were surveyed about their college employment experiences. Results indicate that students employed in part-time jobs congruent with their career interests were more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

Choosing Outcome Assessment Devices: An Organizational and Conceptual Scheme

The assessment of counseling outcome is an important issue that has theoretical, ethical, empirical, and practical significance. Our examination of the state of the science, however, revealed much diversity and disorder. To impose order on this chaos, an organizational and conceptual scheme consisting of content, source, technology, and time orientation dimensions was proposed. The scheme's utility was demonstrated through a review of and application to outcome studies found in two leading counseling journals over the past 3 years. The conceptual scheme was further illustrated through an in-depth application to one specific outcome study. This scheme may guide future outcome research efforts, and its utility may be broadened to include the selection of outcome instruments in career counseling and supervision research.     

Adolescent-Parent Attachments Family Problem-Solving Styles

Variation in exploratory and collaborative behavior among family members define different problem-solving styles or “paradigms” in families. Similar characteristics distinguish patterns of attachment within dyads. This suggests an association between these phenomena. The hypothesis was tested in a laboratory study of families with young adolescents. Using the Reiss Card Sort Procedure (CSP) and a newly developed scheme for classifying adolescent attachments, it was demonstrated that particular problem-solving styles were linked to specific patterns of adolescent-parent attachments. An association of paradigms and attachment patterns may afford a new perspective on the dialectical interplay between individual and family development. The probabilities of paradigm-attachment association could prove useful when choosing an intervention model for family therapy.     

Ethnicity and emotional support in same-sex friendship: A comparison of Asian-Americans,African-Americans,and Euro-Americans

Emotional support is a central feature around which white, middle-class adults organize their same-sex friendships. The purpose of this study was to examine whether emotional support is accorded the same significance in the friendships of Asian- and African-Americans. Participants included 199 students (60 Euro-American men and women, 80 Asian-American men and women, and 59 African-American men and women) attending either a state or private university in California. Each participant completed three different questionnaires designed to assess perceptions of (a) the importance of comforting skill in same-sex friendship; (b) the significance of emotion-focused versus problem-focused goals in situations requiring emotional support; and (c) the sensitivity and effectiveness of various comforting strategies. Several significant differences due to ethnicity were found in participants’perceptions of emotional support and its attendant behaviors. These and related findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the conduct of same-sex friendship among individuals from different ethnic backgrounds.