Performance data on 223 customer-service and sales representatives showed that participation in self-managed teams correlated with significant improvement in service quality and 9.3% sales increase. New technology helped teams increase sales 17.4%. Total-quality management did not affect performance. Results show that group collaboration fosters…

A model based on Bandura's Social Learning Theory proposes the following personality traits as determinants of career success: locus of control, self-monitoring, self-esteem, and optimism, along with job performance and person-to-environment fit. (SK)

Surveyed 108 Georgia elementary and secondary principals concerning their acquisition of small-group process skills. Respondents indicated they valued group process skills and used them for team, trust, and consensus building; agenda setting; improving school climate; and conducting meetings. The majority (66%) learned these skills through…

In an interview, Daniel Goleman, author of "Working with Emotional Intelligence," explains how emotional intelligence outweighs cognitive ability and technical skills as a contributor to success in the workplace. (Author/JOW)

A study of 109 hospital employees found that those commitment to the organization and their careers had the most positive work attitudes and least intention to quit, although they also were most likely to engage in job search activities. No correlation was found between either type of commitment and job performance. (SK)

A study of the effect of organizational politics on 303 Israeli public employees found that public sector workers are more likely to react to organizational politics with negligent behavior than quitting. Women, highly educated employees, and those with higher incomes showed fewer intentions of neglect. (Contains 66 references.) (SK)

A leadership development program for managers used appreciative learning, based upon appreciative inquiry, an organizational development method focused on what organizations do well. Participants identified prior successful learning experiences for use in future work performance, creating a multiplier effect of positive experiences. (SK)

Discusses personal mastery for organizational change based on experiences used by Learning as Leadership at Fairchild Semiconductor. Topics include individual change leading to more accountability in workplace performance improvement; examining the past to uncover behavioral and communication patterns; creating goals for the future; and taking…

A literature review identified differing learning needs of new and more experienced workers. Novices need to learn over extended time periods with deliberate practice and feedback. Experienced workers need to develop existing knowledge and skills. Different approaches to training and supervision are needed. (SK)

An informant functional assessment was used to evaluate closing-task completion by servers and dishwashers at a restaurant. Based on the functional assessment results, an intervention consisting of task clarification, posted graphic feedback, and verbal feedback was implemented and evaluated with a multiple baseline design across two groups of…

This study examined the relationships among employees' emotional intelligence, their manager's emotional intelligence, employees' job satisfaction, and performance for 187 food service employees from nine different locations of the same restaurant franchise. We predicted and found that employees' emotional intelligence was positively associated…

Many colleges use some form of an employee performance appraisal process. Yet, despite prevalent use, the performance appraisal process is facing growing criticism. The author reviews the literature regarding the process of performance appraisal in higher education, focusing on articles supportive of the use of the performance appraisal, and those…

This article uses the 1992 National Study of the Changing Workforce to examine family and workplace factors contributing to gender differences in negative family-to-work spillover. We focus on spillover as manifested when family demands negatively affect job performance. Among married workers, women were twice as likely as men to report that…

A simple prompting procedure involving index cards was used to increase suggestive selling by the owner/operator of a small pet grooming business. Over a year of baseline data revealed that no sales prompts were given and few pet products were sold. When the owner was prompted by an index card to ask customers if they wanted to purchase pet…

Robin E. Perry's article, Do Social Workers Make Better Child Welfare Workers Than Non-Social Workers?, is an important step in studying the relationship between education of child welfare workers and their job performance. In this case, however, workers' performance was measured by poorly designed performance evaluation tools completed routinely…