Findings from a study of Kentucky elementary school principals are presented in this paper, with attention to their demographic characteristics and roles in educational reform. Questionnaires mailed to all 1,122 elementary principles (including both public and private schools) in Kentucky yielded 570 returns, an approximate 51 percent response…

Approximately six to eight percent of the nation's workers have problems which affect their job performance; without assistance, these problems become worse, affect others, and may have serious consequences to the employer as well. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a pragmatic but compassionate attempt to improve performance by constructing…

Addresses the issue of retention of young professionals in college admission, suggesting a program whereby staff members from different enrollment service offices switch jobs for various periods of time. Results of one such program indicated that retention, career development and the overall relationship among enrollment services staff were aided.…

Evaluated concept of professionalism as a form of work commitment using a modified version of Hall's (1968) multidimensional measure of professionalism on 325 accountants in public practice. Examined three forms of work commitment--job involvement, organizational commitment, and work ethic endorsement--and four professional behaviors. Suggests the…

The authors offer career development principles, outline the processes in a career development workshop, and discuss measures being taken by a number of companies. (CH)

This paper presents findings of a survey of 500 elementary, middle, and senior high school principals. The survey focused on four areas of the principalship: (1) principals' perceived roles as building administrators; (2) time spent in those roles; (3) graduate school preparation for the roles; and (4) levels of job satisfaction. Findings indicate…

Asserts that China's rulers are trying to have a free labor market without the freedom, and that the Chinese labor union is actually a branch of the Communist Party. The result is worker exploitation and a burst of worker protests (despite the threat of jail). Describes efforts by Chinese activists to mobilize and empower workers and document…

Cluster analysis grouped 621 jobs into 6 "contours" showing that from 1973-1990 employment distribution shifted away from 2 middle-quality to the 2 highest-quality contours; no change was apparent in the 2 lowest quality. Black and Hispanic men were affected by a worsening job mix and drop in the quality of low-skill jobs. Women experienced a…

Social workers (n=80) working with elderly patients in acute care hospitals identified sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in their jobs. Sources of satisfaction were the ability to help patients and families, concrete resource provision, job challenge, and autonomy. Dissatisfaction resulted from organizational constraints and lack of…

Texas school superintendent advises restless colleagues to think twice before deserting schoolhouse for halls of ivy. Education has never been accepted as a bonafide academic discipline, and education professors accept their second-class status. Publishing is considered more important than teaching and community service, and publications read by…

A survey of 450 North Carolina employees indicates that jobs are better in outside-owned firms than in local firms and that, regardless of the ownership locale, urban Piedmont labor markets provide better jobs than rural labor markets. Analyses suggest that outside firms may be undermining local relations of production in rural North Carolina.…

A program to improve the quality of work relationships among managers and staff of group homes for the developmentally disabled includes three strategies: (1) adding people to the employee's social network; (2) improving skills for maintaining networks; and (3) training network members to be more supportive. (SK)

A checklist for school boards is based on interviews with 26 school teachers who were asked what gift they would give their fellow teachers. Almost all the presents the teachers cited involved conditions that would make the teachers better professionals and their students more successful. (MLF)

Discussion of organizational development and change focuses on parallel organization, a theory that combines changes in organizational theory with Quality of Work Life (QWL) theory. Criteria for effective employee participation groups are described, design and implementation of the parallel organization are explained, applications to libraries are…

A survey of 50 male and 54 female German social service workers found their perceptions of working climate varied by gender and age. For both, career motivation decreased over time. Women were particularly affected by decreased quality of the working climate. Factors affecting perceptions included job pressure, dissatisfaction, poor collegial…