AN EVALUATION OF JAQUES’ STUDIES OF PAY IN THE LIGHT OF CURRENT COMPENSATION RESEARCH1

Elliott Jaques’ work in the area of compensation is evaluated for two major reasons: first, to ascertain its methodological fitness and meaningfulness; and, second, to discuss the impact of his work on the course of psychological research on pay. It is concluded that, although Jaques is the first psychologist to have attempted to bind theoretically a number of vaguely related concepts such as job analysis, equity, level of work, and pay curves, his pay technology has not achieved its goal due to a poor methodological foundation. Replication of Jaques’ studies is virtually impossible because his instruments and concepts are poorly defined. Furthermore, some of the hypothesized relationships among the constructs contained within the model appear inconsistent. However, Jaques’ work is valuable because it has served as a first approximation to a general program of research on pay. Furthermore, his work has highlighted a number of important, fundamental issues which investigators who research pay must ultimately resolve. Several of these issues are discussed.     

PERSONNEL SELECTION FOR PHYSICALLY DEMANDING JOBS: REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Improvement in personnel selection systems for physically demanding jobs is needed due to equal employment opportunity (EEO) considerations, concern for worker physical well-being, and the lack of alternative procedures. After addressing the special EEO sensitivities of physical abilities selection, the literature is reviewed from a variety of disciplines on: (1) the physiological background underlying the selection strategies, (2) the assessment of human physical abilities, (3) the measurement of physical requirements of jobs, and (4) the physical abilities personnel selection studies reported in the literature. Conclusions are provided in the form of recommendations for future research.     

THE JOB COMPONENTS INVENTORY AND THE ANALYSIS OF JOBS REQUIRING LIMITED SKILL

The Job Components Inventory, a new job analysis technique examining the use of tools and equipment, physical and perceptual requirements, mathematical requirements, communication requirements, and decision-making and responsibility requirements, is introduced. Results of a study of 100 job holders demonstrate a high reliability of the technique in terms of supervisor-job holder agreement, and the method is shown by analysis of variance and cluster analysis successfully to discriminate between and within job titles. The technique is proving to be a practical instrument for use in curriculum development, careers guidance and broad-based training, and recommendations for its further use and evaluations are made.     

Practice and Training in Family Therapy: A Known Group Study

The present study reports on a comparative survey of the belief and action systems of graduates who had been intensively trained in one of three of the major models of family therapy: Bowenian, communications, and strategic. An analysis of the factor-analyzed assumptions (belief system) and style (action system) items showed consistently greater divergence among the three models than convergence, as well as a remarkable synchronicity between the respective literature on these three models and their implementation, as represented by family therapists intensively trained in each model. A comparison of the present study's findings with previous research strongly supports the potency of formal and intensive training for developing adherents of a particular model and suggests that the distinctiveness of each model needs to be more fully developed in preference to premature attempts to develop generic or inclusive models that may become internally inconsistent and therefore difficult to operationalize in practice.     

The Acquisition of Information: An Important Life Skill

This article proposes the acquisition of information as a relevant step in the problem-solving process. A problem-solving model is outlined, the link between individuals and information is explored, and an information system is presented. The authors identify formal and informal resources and develop a model for teaching information acquisition. The need for learning this skill is considered in both a preventive/enhancement and counseling context.     

THE SOUNDNESS OF SUPERVISORY RATINGS AS PREDICTORS OF MANAGERIAL SUCCESS

A model of career development is presented. Using this model, three types of validity, empirical, content, and construct, are considered for supervisors' rating of non-managers as a predictor of success as managers. As denned in the Uniform Guidelines and the professional literature, all three are inapplicable to this prediction situation. Characteristics of a sound rating system are suggested.     

SELECTION INTERVIEWING IN THE LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY: AN UPDATE OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Over the past decade, the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association has been researching and implementing the use of structured selection interviews in the agent selection process. The practical problems encountered during this period are reviewed, and studies of the most recent interview guide are presented. These studies are based on interview evaluations made by 270 managers in interview training sessions, as well as field managers'evaluations of 163 applicants in actual agent selection situations. The results indicate that it is possible for managers to agree on their evaluation ratings of an applicant, that there is a stable factorial structure for the ratings, and that the ratings are related to the selection decision although not all items carry the same weight. The implications of these results for the use of structured selection interviews and for further research are discussed.