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.

Three a priori models of turnover intentions were tested to investigate differences in turnover intentions for exempt and nonexempt employees. Results of measured variable path analysis failed to differentiate exempt and nonexempt employees in their turnover intentions. Because the a priori models failed to support a distinction between exempt and nonexempt employees, an exploratory analysis was conducted for each employee group to investigate possible differences in turnover intentions. The exempt exploratory model revealed that overall satisfaction, vision and mission, total compensation, job fulfillment, leadership, and culture were significant determinants of turnover intentions. For the nonexempt exploratory model, overall satisfaction, tenure, job fulfillment, and culture were significant determinants of turnover intentions. Based upon the results of the exploratory analysis, support was found for differences in the determinants of turnover intentions for exempt and nonexempt employees. These findings provide evidence that practitioners and researchers can no longer ignore the role of occupational level when modeling the turnover process.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the selection practices used by manufacturing companies in Kentucky and whether the size of the organization and the number of employees hired in 1999 affected the use of valid selection procedures and compliance with EEO Guidelines. Surveys (300) were mailed to Human Resources professionals with a response rate of 35.7%. The majority of participants reported using three selection procedures: interviews, application blanks, and reference checks. The size of the organization and the number of employee hired in 1999 were not found to be related to the tendency to use a greater number of selection procedures and use valid selection procedures as predicted. Company size and the number hired were found to influence the organization's tendency to be in compliance with EEO Guidelines. Given the tight labor market, it is likely the selection function will remain an important factor in the applied sector for years to come.

Using feedback scores from an established upward feedback program, the role of gender interactions, company tenure, and job tenure on leadership ratings of managers by subordinates were examined. Four separate analyses were conducted: a 2 X 2 ANOVA, a 2 X 6 ANOVA, and two Aptitude-Treatment Interaction (ATI) regression analyses in accordance with the procedure set forth in Pedhazur (1997). No significant main effects or interactions were found for manager gender and subordinate gender on ratings of managers. Manager company tenure had a significant effect on ratings of managers, R = .002, F (1, 168) = .53, p < .05, but manager job tenure was not found to have a significant effect on manager ratings. Subordinate company tenure also had a significant effect on manager ratings, F (5, 3973) = 5.95, p < .01. A post-hoc Scheffe's test indicated significant differences were shown between subordinates whose tenure was 6 months to 1 year and 1 to 3 years versus subordinates whose tenure was greater than 10 years, p < .05. The need for further research of factors that may influence upward feedback ratings was emphasized; limitations of the study were also discussed.

The preference for the use of employment interviews over other selection measures is evident in the wide usage, popularity and the vast amount of research on the utility and psychometric properties of interviews over the last 60 years. Although the vast majority of interview research has focused on the factors influencing the interviewer's rating and comparing unstructured to structured interviews formats, little in the way of comparing structured formats (i.e., the situational interview and patterned behavioral description interview) has been performed. This researcher addressed this specific concern in regard to soft-skills in a retail setting. After development of situational and patterned behavioral description interview questions, the validity of both types of interview questions in predicting job performance was measured. Both interview formats had good inter-item and inter-rater reliability. Overall, the situational interview was a better predictor of current "Customer Service" performance and overall year-end performance than the patterned behavioral description interview. The situational interview accounted for significant incremental validity beyond the patterned behavioral description interview for the overall performance data but not for the current "Customer Service" performance.

The purpose of this study was to determine if training in self-management principles would enhance the transfer of training in leadership skills to the work setting. Managers, supervisors, and group leaders of a small manufacturing company served as the participants for the study. Two training groups were formed, one which received training in leadership skills only and another which received training in leadership skills and self-management. Prior to and after training all participants completed a learning measure and were rated by subordinates, peers, and/or supervisors on the demonstration of leadership skills on the job. Results showed that training significantly increased participants' learning measure scores for those skills taught in the training modules. Leadership-training-only participants received significantly better behavioral ratings than self-management participants, although this difference was deemed to be practically nonsignificant. The results suggest that participants gained a better understanding of leadership skills through the leadership training modules. However, participants did not significantly increase their application of those skills on the job, and self-management did not serve to enhance the transfer of training.

In this study, perceptions of conflict were examined with respect to sex and occupational rank. The model for this study was Tjosvold's cooperation theory. Yet, unlike much of Tjosvold's work, I examined cooperation as a dependent rather than an independent variable. A reward-level pre-test was used to account for the predisposition to cooperate, and a mixed motive scale (post-test) was used to measure any differences in cooperation between occupational ranks and the sexes. Two hypotheses in this study were tested. First, in a between-rank conflict, supervisors were expected to view the conflict as competitive, while subordinates were expected to view the conflict as cooperative. Second, it was hypothesized that in a same-sex conflict women would tend to view the conflict as more cooperative then would men. Contrary to hypothesis one, occupational rank did not affect the perception of conflict or cooperation. There was partial support for the second hypothesis. Specifically, at low levels of pre-test cooperativeness, women exhibited more workplace cooperation than did men. However, at high levels of pre-test cooperativeness, the sexes did not differ in workplace cooperation.

Logistic Regression was utilized to add to what is known about biodata and turnover. Biodata items from 958 former and current employees in a manufacturing environment were used to develop models to predict a) which employees will turnover prior to completion of a ninety-day training period, b) who will leave voluntarily versus involuntarily, and of those who leave voluntarily c) which leavers are functional versus dysfunctional. A significant relationship was found between biodata items and completion of the ninety-day training period. The resulting model indicated that those who completed training were employed at time of hire, had higher aptitude scores, and had a previous address close to the plant. In addition, those who left voluntarily had higher levels of performance than involuntary leavers. However, biodata items did not differentiate between voluntary and involuntary leavers or between functional and dysfunctional leavers.

A common method for reducing turnover in organizations is the implementation of a realistic job preview (RJP). Unlike typical job descriptions that might be seen in newspapers, on the Internet, or on television, the differentiating characteristic of an RJP is that both positive and negative aspects of the job are presented to the prospective employee such that the applicant has a very realistic idea of the nature of the job. An RJP in both an audio-visual format and a written brochure was developed for deputy jailer applicants at the Warren County Regional Jail in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Consistent with hypotheses, applicants who experienced the RJP had lower job acceptance rates and were less likely to voluntarily leave the organization than were applicants hired when the RJP was not utilized.

The goal of the present research was to discover if employees in low-status social groups (i.e., women, people of color, sexual minorities, and non-Christians) experience more incivility in the workplace compared to their high-status counterparts. Data come from four different samples of working adults: employees from a property management company (N = 90), employees of a northwestern university (N = 1,843), a national sample of law school faculty (N = 1,256), and employed students from a southern university (N = 243). Participants in all studies completed measures of demographics and personal experiences of incivility at work. A series of t-tests revealed that gender and sexual orientation are most related to experiences of incivility.