Among the available selection strategies (e.g., top down selection), sliding bands with minority preference selection was shown to be the most effective at striking a balance between reducing adverse impact with minimal test utility loss. Unfortunately, all previous research into selection strategy effectiveness failed to model job acceptance rates, a variable shown to decrease overall test utility (Murphy, 1986). In this study we compared the utility and adverse impact ratios obtained from strict top down and sliding bands with minority preference selection strategies in which we varied selection ratios, job acceptance rates, and sample sizes. Across all conditions, utility and adverse impact ratios were found to be lower than was demonstrated in previous research which ignored job acceptance rates. Only one of our four hypotheses was supported in this study. We found that differences in adverse impact ratios between top down selection and banding with race preferential selection was reduced when high scoring minority applicants refused offers at a rate higher than high scoring majority applicants. Thus, the benefits that employers expect to see when utilizing the sliding band with minority preference selection strategy are not as great as previously believed.

Virtually all organizations are concerned about employee safety and the prevention of workplace accidents, but maybe unaware that most accidents are the cause of unsafe employee behaviors. In this study, one company in particular wanted to know where, when, how, and why accidents were occurring in its plant. Accidents of the past three years were content analyzed. The results show that 87.4% of the accidents were due to unsafe behaviors. The highest absolute frequency of accidents occurs in the die cast area, while the highest relative rate of accidents occurs in the furnace room. The type of accident that occurs with the highest frequency is lacerations and the highest rate of accidents occurs during the first shift. The accident analysis can now serve as the basis for the development of a behavioral safety training program. With its implementation, a behavioral safety program has the potential to save thousands of dollars and give the workers a safer environment in which to work.

Affective states influence an individual's level of job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Affective states also influence behavior (e.g., withdrawal intentions and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors). The present study investigated the inverse relationship—that is, whether job and life satisfaction influence immediate mood state, and consequently withdrawal intentions and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. Participants, who role played a restaurant server, were given a scenario that induced either positive job or life satisfaction, negative job or life satisfaction, or no information was given regarding their level of job or life satisfaction. Participants then responded to instruments measuring immediate mood state and behavioral consequences. Results indicated that an individual's level of job and life satisfaction influenced immediate mood state. In addition, job and life satisfaction influenced both withdrawal intention and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors.

This thesis represents the first known study to investigate the equivalency of paper vs. electronic survey data collection formats in an upward feedback application. Findings are similar to recent research utilizing employee opinion survey data. Format explained less than 1% of variance in managers' total scores over that of ratee and rater demographic variables.

Employees are concerned with the fairness of organizational outcomes they receive and the fairness of the decision-making processes used to determine how these outcomes are allocated in accordance with organizational policies. The present study focused on the distributive justice and procedural justice outcomes of disciplinary actions in work place settings. This study assessed the effects of three levels of the severity of rule violation, severity of punishment, and decision-making processes utilized. The results indicated that conditions allowing participation in the decision-making process resulted in perceptions of greater procedural fairness to employees, but did not influence perceptions of distributive fairness. The moderately severe punishment was perceived to be more appropriate and more fair to the punished employee and his/her co-workers. Increased punishment severity was perceived as significantly more likely to deter future rule violations by the punished employee and the employee's co-workers.

Ideal versus current organizational culture perceptions, differences in perceptions of culture between hierarchal levels and departments, and the strength of organizational culture were investigated in the current study. Organizational culture was measured by Cooke and Lafferty's (1987) Organizational Culture Inventory. There were differences in culture perceptions between ideal versus the current culture, hierarchal levels, and departments. The organizational culture was perceived to be weak in comparison to the four desirable styles indicated by the OCI profile.

Attitudes toward individuals with disabilities were examined using two different methods: (a) the Implicit Association Test assessing general implicit attitudes and (b) a vignette study assessing coworker attitudes. The Implicit Association Test was used in an attempt to replicate Tringo's Hierarchy of Preference using five exemplar disabilities: (a) Cancer, (b) Paraplegic, (c) Mental Illness, (d) Alcoholic, and (e) HIV Positive. The results did not support a replication of the Hierarchy of Preference. Three dimensions of disabilities were manipulated for the vignette study. These dimensions were the overtness of the disability, the level of risk associated with the disability, and response of the individual with the disability to their environment. The participants rated the individual in the vignette on perceived competence of the individual, potential tolerance of the individual, and potential befriending of the individual by coworkers. The response dimension and the risk dimension influenced ratings on the dependent variables while the overtness dimension did not. Furthermore, no relationship was found between scores on the five IAT tests and ratings on competence, tolerance, and befriending. Taken together, the results of the current study indicate that further studies are warranted to determine if the IAT is a valid measure of attitudes toward individuals with disabilities.

Two approaches were utilized to reduce turnover in a printing company. First, the orientation program was revised to incorporate tactics from the organizational socialization literature, which indicates that the more socialized employee will report greater levels of satisfaction and commitment, lower intentions to quit, less role ambiguity, and less role conflict. Second, realistic job previews (RJPs) in the form of temporary employment, department tours, and job descriptions were utilized. It was hypothesized that new hires attending the revised orientation program that incorporated socialization tactics and new hires that received a RJP would remain on the job longer than new hires that attended the original orientation program or new hires that did not receive a RJP. The revised orientation was found to reduce turnover rates by 20%. All three forms of the revised orientation program (i.e., program only and program combined with RJPs) were equally effective in reducing turnover. New hires that first worked as temporary employees stayed significantly longer than other new hires attending the original orientation.

This study examined the upward Pygmalion effect from the subordinate to the supervisor. One hundred and sixty-one undergraduate participants assumed the role of a supervisor and were randomly assigned to one of nine experimental conditions representing different levels of expectations and performance feedback. Participants then completed questionnaires designed to measure self-efficacy and the performance effort level of the supervisor. The result of the study failed to support the hypotheses that positive subordinate expectations would improve supervisors' self-efficacy level and that negative subordinate expectations would have little impact on supervisors' self-efficacy level, but succeeded in supporting the hypothesis that supervisors' performance effort level is unlikely to be influenced by subordinate expectation feedback. Explanations for the result of the study were explored.

Once unnoticed and unreported, sexual harassment claims have risen dramatically within the last two decades. Although guidelines published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1980 provided a definition of sexual harassment, researchers continue to examine variables affecting individual perceptions of sexual harassment. Contextual factors impacting the labeling of sexual harassment include the type and severity of the harassment, the ambiguity of the sexually harassing behaviors, and gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment. The present researcher examined the impact of employee performance and employment status on perceptions of sexual harassment. Results indicated that female participants were more likely than male participants to label behaviors as sexual harassment. There were no differences between perceptions of sexual harassment for employees with either good or poor performance records. However, participants were more likely to perceive the employee was the victim of sexual harassment when no employee performance information was presented than when either good or poor performance information was presented. Finally, employees currently employed by the organization were perceived to be victims of sexual harassment more often than employees who had been dismissed from the organization.