bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Testing Programs Draw Better Applicants1
Authors: Stromberg Eleroy L. 
Published: December 2006

Summary:A number of personnel managers who have adopted selective test procedures have been surprised and even alarmed to discover that within a short time almost all applicants qualify on the test batteries, even though the installations were carefully made and flexible selection standards established. No great problem arises, for the employment manager can effectively adjust his critical scores to meet the fluctuation of the labor market; however, the reasons for the superiority in the test level of new applicants as compared to the original criterion groups present an interesting problem to be considered. Although the answers are not clear‐cut, the implications for such changes in qualifications are the subject of this report. These indicate that the existence of a testing program attracts the better applicants and discourages the poorerA selective testing program was installed for all productive workers in three plants of the same industry. One plant was in Illinois, one in Maryland, and the third in Washington, D. C. All three plants are members of the same national association. This is a borderline industry, employing womenSelection tests were validated by testing present employees in all three plants. Subsequent applicants were superior to the criterion groups to such a degree that initial standards failed to screen out the expected number of applicants. The differences between the experimental groups and subsequent applicant groups are statistically significant. These differences cannot be explained in terms of shifts in the labor market or motivation. It is suggested that self‐imposed selection may take place within the labor source, and that only the more capable applicants apply at plants where it has become known that test qualifications have been made a requisite for employment.
Reduce Factory Turnover
Authors: Bolanovich D. J. 
Published: December 2006

SummaryThe problem of high turnover during the first few months of employment is frequently serious and costly. In the factory studied, 22% of one group of 212 hired had left by the end of the first month, 35% by the end of the second month and less than half were on the rolls by the end of the sixth month. Use of an interest inventory enabled the reduction of first‐month turnover from 22% to 7.5%; six‐month turnover could be cut from 54% to 31%. The interest inventory was specifically designed for its purpose and the scoring key developed experimentally. Trial has shown that the interest inventory and scoring weights are effective in reducing early turnover, not only in the factory in which they were developed, but also in another factory in a different section of the country. It is particularly worth noting that the scoring weights which actually distinguished the early quits from the continuing workers were radically different from those which would have been set on the basis of “informed judgment”.
A Group Situation Compared with Individual Interviews for Securing Personnel Information1
Authors: Wagner Ralph 
Published: December 2006

SummaryThe Personnel Department frequently finds it necessary to gather personnel information for either research or operating purposes. For many types of information the personal interview has been preferred in spite of its expense because it has been thought to provide fuller information than can be obtained by other means. This study describes a group interview technique developed to secure personnel information less expensively. The, results of the group technique are compared with a control situation in which individual interviews were used. Results indicate that the group interview accomplishes the work of the individual interview in one fourth the time with no loss of quality and no adverse morale effects.
A Program of Human Engineering
Authors: Mead Leonard C. 
Published: December 2006

SummaryA résumé of the manner in which the field of “human engineering” arose is presented together with a specification of what is encompassed by the term. This is followed by an outline of major topics of the field and representative experiments for each topic. These researches indicate that human engineering is not a science or field of endeavor unto itself. Rather it is a technical service which our society now demands. Recent interest in the phrase merely indicates that individuals from many professions, particularly the engineering and biological sciences, have discovered that they can and should be of mutual assistance in solving the problems of fitting man to the complexities of his contemporary work situation.
The Problem of Obtaining Negative Nominations in Peer Ratings
Authors: WEBB WILSE B. 
Published: December 2006

SummaryOne of the most effective ways of evaluating complex behavior characteristics is the use of peer ratings. The method requires that the individual be rated by the members of a group in which he is an active member. This technique has been widely used in leadership studies and is being increasingly used as a measure of job performance.The typical technique involves obtaining both “positive” and “negative” evaluations. Often, there are difficulties inherent in obtaining unfavorable descriptions from group members about their associates. This study indicates that getting such unfavorable descriptions is not always necessary.
The Construction of a New Type of Attitude Measure1
Authors: KUNIN THEODORE 
Published: December 2006

SummaryAttitude surveys are widely used throughout industry today, as modern management has become aware of the value of sampling employee opinion both in connection with changes of policy or procedure and with current conditions within the organization. It has been found that more harmony can be achieved within an organization and serious labor trouble sometimes can be averted if employee opinion is determined and potential problems rectified before they become serious.Most attitude surveys utilize words as the vehicles by which attitudes are expressed. The items may require that the employee decide which of a series of phrases best expresses his feelings about a designated topic or, alternatively, whether or not a given sentence is indicative of his attitude. It is felt that a certain amount of distortion is an invariable result of this process which necessitates the translation of one man's feelings into another man's words. Error creeps in, both in the interpretation of the meaning of the items by the respondent, and in the selection of the item which most accurately indicates the true feelings of the respondent on the topic in question. This is particularly difficult for persons of low verbal facility to achieve with any accuracy.The present paper is an account of the development of a qualitative or projective attitude scale. Two series of faces have been constructed which run the gamut of feeling from extremely positive to extremely negative. These faces have been quantified so that attitude scales in which they are used can be scored in the same manner as can any other form of attitude measuring device. They have, however, the advantage of eliminating the necessity for translating feelings into words. The respondent is required only to check the face which “looks like he feels” rather than verbalizing his feelings. It is felt that the resulting measure provides a more accurate measurement of attitudes than is otherwise possible.
Factors Influencing Organizational Effectiveness VI. A Survey of Aircraft Workers
Authors: COMREY ANDREW L. , HIGH WALLACE , WILSON ROBERT C. 
Published: December 2006

SummaryThis is the sixth in a series of validation studies designed to provide some information concerning the variables related to organizational effectiveness (1, 2, 3, 5, 6).2 Questionnaires composed of groups of relatively homogeneous objective items were given to 213 workers, 244 supervisors, and 29 foremen at the California Division of the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, California. The homogeneous item groups, or dimensions, were designed to measure different characteristics of the organization and its personnel, e.g., supervisory practices, and attitudes toward each other, the work, and the company. The personnel surveyed were located in 29 distinct departments, each headed by a foreman. Criterion data relating to organizational effectiveness were obtained for each of the 29 departments. These data consisted of two quality control measures, production measures based on standard hours, and ratings by one of the company's staff executives. Responses to the questionnaires in the form of dimension scores were correlated with these four criteria. The present report is concerned with the analysis of questionnaires at the worker level. The other phases of this research will be reported at a later date.The results from the worker questionnaire may be summarized as follows:1. Ail correlations between questionnaire dimensions and the rating criterion were zero.2. Many substantial correlations were obtained between questionnaire dimensions and quality control measures, but the relationships were usually curvilinear or negative and hence difficult to interpret.3. The production criterion correlated in the expected manner with dimensions Communication Downward, Good Judgment, Lack of Arbitrariness and Safety Enforcement. Several other dimensions gave correlations of interest, though short of significance.
Non‐Technical Factors in Supervisors' Ratings of Job Performance
Authors: HAUSMAN HOWARD J. , STRUPP HANS H. 
Published: December 2006

SummarySupervisory ratings were analyzed to determine whether supervisors could rate aircraft mechanics on several dimensions of on‐the‐job proficiency, or whether their ratings contained nothing more than global general impressions. Three samples of USAF aircraft mechanics were administered a test of technical competence, while supervisory and co‐worker ratings were obtained on them. The rating instruments contained a large number of detailed items, plus one over‐all item. Special effort was directed at items which reflected motivational areas, or those “non‐technical” variables which appear to modify job performance so that technical skill does not perfectly predict actual performance.Several clusters of rating dimensions were obtained from both the supervisory and co‐worker rating instruments. These dimensions tended to correlate differentially with measures most likely to reflect technical skill, so that the ratings of technical skill correlated highest with them, while the other dimensions had negligible correlations with test and experience. Rater agreement was at the level usually found for rating instruments, although evidence showed supervisors were better raters than co‐workers.Using a criterion of grouped co‐worker over‐all ratings, it was found that the supervisory rating dimensions were a useful addition to the test of technical competence in predicting over‐all proficiency. This was interpreted as evidence of the existence of non‐technical variables in the supervisory ratings, since technical competence was covered in the test.
A Suggested Modification in Job Satisfaction Surveys
Authors: ROSEN R. A. HUDSON , ROSEN HJALMAR 
Published: December 2006

SummaryIn this paper it initially is pointed out that varying types of questions included within job satisfaction surveys often are interpreted as being equivalent; that is, as giving some measure of satisfaction‐dissatisfaction. A modification is proposed which not only would overcome that difficulty, but would give some insight into reasons behind evaluations. A questionnaire incorporating this modification, and used in a survey of union member attitudes about their union organization, is described.The following conclusions were derived: (1) The danger of interpreting varying types of questions as providing a measure of satisfaction‐dissatisfaction was demonstrated. (2) The proposed modification provided insight into the reasons behind satisfaction‐dissatisfaction. (3) Differing statistical treatment of the data produced no significant differences in interpretation.
Relationship of Short Employment Tests and General Clerical Tests
Authors: HUGHES J. L. , McNamara W. J. 
Published: December 2006

SummaryThis study sought to determine whether the Short Employment Tests (SET) were as discriminating as the General Clerical Test (GCT) in selecting and classifying two groups of office workers with different educational backgrounds.Group I was composed of male and female clerical and other office applicants who were mainly high school graduates. This group was given the GCT and the vocabulary, numerical, and clerical sub‐tests of the SET. Group II included male and female secretarial and stenographic applicants most of whom had business school or college training beyond high school. These applicants took the verbal section of the GCT and the verbal sub‐test of the SET.For the clerical applicants, the correlation (.87) between the GCT and the SET total scores indicated that the SET could satisfactorily replace the GCT in the selection procedure and reduce test administration time. For the secretarial and stenographic applicants, the correlation between the GCT‐B (Verbal) and SET Verbal was .77. The GCT‐B differentiated more finely throughout the entire score range among these better educated applicants than the SET Verbal, which was too easy a test for this group. However, the SET Verbal appeared to be useful as a rough screen for eliminating the poorest applicants. No validity data are reported.
Factors Influencing Organizational Effectiveness. VIII. A Survey of Aircraft Foremen
Authors: HIGH WALLACE S. , WILSON ROBERT C. , COMREY ANDREW L. 
Published: December 2006

SummaryThis article is a report of the eighth in a series of studies designed to discover some of the variables related to organizational effectiveness (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8)2. Questionnaires containing groups of relatively homogeneous items hypothesized to have some relation to organizational effectiveness have been administered to individuals within subunits of various organizations. These variables have been analyzed against ratings of effectiveness and several types of objective criteria to determine if individuals in the “better” subunits respond to the items differently from those in the “less effective” subunits.In this study, questionnaires were administered to 213 workers, 244 supervisors, and 29 foremen at the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, California Division, Burbank, California. Two previous articles have described the results from the worker and supervisor survey (4, 5). The present report is concerned with the foremen, each of whom headed one of the 29 departments surveyed. Four criterion measures pertinent to the effectiveness of these departments were obtained: two quality control indices, a measure of quantity of production based upon per cent realization of engineered time standards, and a rating by a staff executive of over‐all department effectiveness. Responses to the questionnaire dimensions were correlated, by means of the epsilonc technique, with each of the four criterion measures.Results from the analysis of foremen questionnaires against the criteria are summarized below:1. Only two significant correlations occurred with the two quality control criteria. Since this is about the number of significant correlations one would expect from chance alone, no great weight is placed upon their occurrence.2. Six significant correlations were obtained between the dimensions and the production criterion: Adequate Authority, Attitude Toward Paper Work, Backing Up Decisions, Job Security Consciousness, Non‐Hypercritical Attitude Toward Subordinates, and Urgency.3. With the rating criterion, the only significant dimension was Feeling About the Company.
Profile of the Mechanical Engineer III. Personality
Authors: HARRISON ROSS , TOMBLEN DON T. , JACKSON THEODORE A. 
Published: December 2006

SummaryThe personalities of 100 mechanical engineers were investigated by means of protective techniques, a personality inventory, a personal history form, and a clinical interview. While they show a wide range of temperamental variation, there are definite trends which characterize the main body of mechanical engineers.(1) Mechanical engineers are emotionally stable. They ordinarily make compatible marriages, maintain comfortable human relations, and are usually free of neurotic and psychosomatic symptoms. (2) Interpersonal relations are harmonious but casual. Impersonality is one of their more common traits. (3) An analytical interest in people is rare. (4) They avoid introspection and self‐examination. Insight is often shallow. This lack of self‐understanding makes them less perceptive of social nuances and relatively insensitive to the less obvious needs of others. (5) Engineers are straightforward, direct, and self‐sufficient. (6) They are inclined to be matter‐of‐fact and, outside their own field, are often unimaginative. Their attitudes are realistic, though their brand of realism deals more with surfaces than with depths. (7) Engineers are energetic. When faced with problems, they are advocates of the direct action approach. Polite diplomacy and oblique conciliatory tactics are foreign to their nature. (8) Most of them are goal‐oriented, serious‐minded, and conscientious. (9) They like phenomena to be definitely structured; there is a fundamental aversion to ambiguity. This fondness for structure and order may underline their essentially authoritarian approach. (10) Engineers have definitely masculine traits and interests. (11) Social participation is normal in amount. The explanation is more a matter of conventionality and social conformity than any profound interest in people. It is not true that engineers are usually introverts. What sometimes makes them appear so is their characteristic impersonality.
Group Situational Performance Tests: Their Uses and Construction*
Authors: COHEN EDWIN 
Published: December 2006

SummaryA GROUP situational performance test is defined as a test measuring the performance of an ongoing group as a unit. This article summarizes some of the extensive research conducted on this type of test in military organizations. Group situational tests can be used in many ways: (1) as training devices, (2) to establish leadership criteria, (3) to determine training requirements, (4) to evaluate training and work procedures, and (5) to evaluate organizational structures. Problems connected with the construction, administration and scoring of these tests are discussed and some of the possibilities of the use of group situational performance tests in industrial situations are indicated.
Need Satisfactions and Employee Turnover
Authors: ROSS IAN C. , ZANDER ALVIN 
Published: December 2006

SummaryIn this study we establish the fact that the degree of satisfaction of certain personal needs supplied by a person's place of employment has a significant direct relationship to his continuing to work for that company. These personal needs are for recognition, for autonomy, for a feeling of doing work that is important, and for evaluation by fair standards. In addition, knowing important people in the organization is related to continued employment. There are some indications that anxiety develops in those employees who state that their needs for autonomy and fair evaluation are not satisfied.In addition to the degree of need satisfaction provided by the job, we examined the degree to which the employment situation limits satisfactions which the worker can receive from his family and from his community. We found that the extent to which the job interferes with family and community satisfactions is related to turnover as strongly as the failure to receive need satisfactions on the job. But interference with off‐the‐job sources of satisfaction is not related to experiencing dissatisfaction on the job. We interpret these results to mean that there are two essentially different kinds of reasons for leaving the employing organization. Some people resign for reasons of both kinds: the job itself does not satisfy needs, and it also keeps them from receiving satisfactions from other sources. Most of the people in this study who resigned, how‐ ever, felt only one or the other of these two forms of dissatisfaction. (The interference with off ‐the‐job satisfactions is probably higher among the people studied than in the popula‐ tion at large since shift work is prevalent in the industry in which this study was conducted.)
A Validation of Tachistoscopic Training for Clerical Workers 1
Authors: MacKINNEY ARTHUR C. 
Published: December 2006

SummaryThis study was designed to validate the industrial use of tachistoscopic training. Twelve hours of training were administered to a group of clerical personnel on three jobs, and the training was validated against output on these jobs. Two of the three jobs failed to show any significant improvement, while the third job, a cross‐checking activity, showed a significant gain in output as a result of the training. Other results of secondary interest are presented.
Selecting Supervisors with Peer Ratings
Authors: WEITZ JOSEPH 
Published: December 2006

SummaryPeer nominations on a fourteen‐item questionnaire were made by a group of life insurance agents. There were two general kinds of items–work‐oriented and socially‐oriented. Some of the agents were subsequently promoted to a supervisory position. After they had been in the job for six months, they were rated in terms of how good a job they were doing in their new position. The ranks of peer nominations for each of the items were then related to the criterion rating. It was found that this type of nomination is very useful in identifying potential supervisory personnel and is quite predictive of performance.
The Evaluation of Foremen's Performance in Relation to the Internal Characteristics of Their Work Groups
Authors: Ghiselli Edwin E. , Lodahl Thomas M. 
Published: December 2006

SummaryThis investigation is concerned with the relationship between merit ratings assigned to foremen and the distribution of managerial traits within their work groups. Data were available on 18 four‐man work groups and on the foreman of each. Measures of supervisory ability and decision making approach (DMA) were obtained from a self‐description inventory administered to all the subjects. Three variables were found to be related significantly to the merit ratings assigned to the foremen: the foreman's own score on the supervisory ability scale, the difference between the foreman's score and that of the highest man in his work group on the supervisory scale, and the skewness of the distribution of DMA scores among the four men in the work group. The sum of these three variables was found to correlate .92 with the merit ratings.