The purpose of this study is to review employee unionism and employee-management relations as they exist in the Federal public service of the United States. Attention is given to the historical development of employee organizations with the record of the Government as an employer as a background. The work of the Kennedy Task Force on Employee-Management Relations in the Federal Service is reviewed together with progress in employee-management relations since Executive Order 10988 was issued implementing the Task Force's recommendations. Employee-management relations in the central governments of Great Britain, Australia, and Canada are discussed to provide a comparative framework within which the United States' experience may be viewed and considered. / M.S.

The purpose of this study was to determine employees' attitudes and perceptions toward the effectiveness of workplace violence prevention training within a U.S. Government service agency with 50 offices located in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Chapter 1 presents an overview of the phenomenon of workplace violence, the movement toward prevention programs and policies and the implementation of prescreening processes during hiring and violence prevention training. Chapter 2 contains a thorough review of pertinent literature related to violence prevention training and the impact of occupational violence on organizations. This topic was worthy of research in an effort to make a significant contribution to training literature involving organizational effectiveness due to the limited amount of research literature covering the area of corporate violence prevention training and its effect on modifying attitudes and behaviors of its customers. The primary methodology involved the assessment of 1000 employees concerning their attitudes and perceptions toward the effectiveness of workplace violence prevention training. The research population were administered a 62 item online assessment with responses being measured, assessed, and compared. Significant differences were found calling for the rejection of the three study hypotheses. Chapter 4 described the findings of the population surveyed and recommendations were identified in Chapter 5.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of size of performance pay increases on employee perceptions critical to the success of merit pay programs. Perceptions investigated in this study included: 1) instrumentality, 2) expectancy, 3) performance appraisal administration, 4) performance appraisal content, 5) trust in city management, 6) pay communication, and 7) importance of pay. It was hypothesized that individuals who received above average performance pay increases would exhibit significant positive changes toward perceptions of interest while individuals who received below average performance pay increases would exhibit significant negative changes toward perceptions of interest. / Master of Science

This ex post facto descriptive study used personal and environmental variables to differentiate 1,318 youth who attained either self-employment or positions working for a governmental entity within four years after high school. Differentiation was assessed based on the "push" and "pull" theories of employment. The sample was taken from the High School and Beyond 1980, 1982, 1984 and 1986 Sophomore Cohort database. The sample was analyzed as a whole, by females only, and by males only. Statistical techniques used in this study included factor analysis, logistic regression, Cramer's phi, and canonical correlations. Attainment of either self-employment or employment in a government position for the sample as a whole,for females, and for males could not be explained by the study. Neither could environmental variables indicate type of employment (signifying that these youth were not "pushed,") nor did substantial evidence exist favoring the impact of personal variables on employment choice (indicating that these youth were not "pulled.") Further research is needed to understand the self-employed/small business owner profile for developing potential entrepreneurs and an appropriate high school level, entrepreneurship curriculum. / Ed. D.

This study explored union leaders' attitudes and perceptions about Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) in the united states. Three hundred and five union leaders who were participants in a union leadership training program completed the survey instrument. This study explored a number of research questions that add to the descriptive knowledge about EAPs and tested four groups of hypotheses concerning union leaders' view of EAPs. The first two hypotheses examined the readiness of union leaders to cooperate with management on the EAP. The second hypothesis examined the factors that affect the readiness to cooperate variables. The results revealed that the majority of union leaders perceive EAPs as increasing human capital rather than as a form of management control. The readiness to cooperate was found to be affected by the presence of training, written materials, and whether the EAP was in collective bargaining agreement. Generally, the demographic characteristics of union leaders did not have an impact on their views of EAPs. Replication of the research of Trice and Beyer (1982) was conducted and little similarity was found with their earlier findings. The results revealed that EAPs were relatively new in this population, were generally sponsored by the company and the actual services delivered by EAP providers. Union leaders perceived the drug problem in America as serious but saw it as less serious in their locals. Drug testing was being conducted at most of the companies and one half of the companies referred workers who tested positive to the EAP for assistance. / Ph. D.

In 1994, the Federal Government is projected to face a critical personnel problem that a large number of Senior Executive Service members will be eligible for retirement. The Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program (SESCDP) is a major program designed to train potential candidates for the Senior Executive Service positions. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provides agencies with a broad guideline so that they are able to design their own development programs that best suit their needs and circumstances. After the completion of the program, the candidates’ qualifications will be reviewed by the OPM's Qualification Review Board. The qualified candidates, then, will receive certifications from the Qualification Review Board. However, this does not guarantee the candidates the SES placement. The study investigates the SESCDP in several federal agencies, namely, the Department of Interior, the Department of Labor, the Department of Veteran Affairs, and the Small Business Administration. Specifically, it examines the agencies' values and philosophy (basic assumptions) of training the executives, the agencies’ succession planning, their implementation of the programs (the strengths and weaknesses), and their relationships with the OPM. One major purpose of the study is to examine the SESCDPs currently operated by the five federal agencies. Based on government documents and an in-depth interview with the policy makers, experts, program coordinators, and participants, the data was analyzed across all five cases and in relation to Office of Personnel Management's framework. Through various methods of analysis--system analysis, strategic management, and other related executive development theories and learning theories, the results show four major issues of the federal agency SESCDP: 1) the lack of systematic program; 2) the lack of strategic succession planning; 3) the lack of career development planning and; 4) the impacts of the Clinton Administration on the program implementation. To counter the above problems, the author recommends that the federal executive development program should be systematically designed to provide career development to every federal employees at all levels and a system of strategic succession planning should be implemented government-wide. / Ph. D.

Can pay-for-performance increase the motivation of public employees? By providing a basis for personnel decisions, particularly linking rewards to performance, performance appraisals aim to increase employees' work motivation and ultimately to improve their work performance and organizational productivity. With the emphasis on results-oriented management, performance appraisals have become a key managerial tool in the public sector. Critics charge, however, that pay-for-performance is ineffective in the public sector, largely because the link between performance and rewards is weak. However, no one has empirically measured the strength of the linkage. If performance ratings do have an impact on career success in the federal service, they might contribute to race and gender inequality. Although many studies have examined factors affecting gender and racial differences in career success, studies that try to connect gender and racial inequalities to managerial tools are scarce. Using a one percent sample of federal personnel records, the first essay examines the impact of performance ratings on salary increases and promotion probabilities, and the second essay explores whether women and minorities receive lower ratings than comparable white males, and women and minorities receive lower returns on the same level of performance ratings than comparable white males. The first essay finds that performance ratings have only limited impact on salary increases, but that they significantly affect promotion probability. Thus, the argument that performance-rewards link is weak could be partially correct, if it considers only pay-performance relationships. The second essay finds that women receive equal or higher performance ratings than comparable white men, but some minority male groups, particularly black men, tend to receive lower ratings than comparable white men. On the other hand, the returns on outstanding ratings do not differ between women and minority male groups and white men, though women groups seem to have disadvantages in promotion with the same higher ratings as comparable men in highly male-dominant occupations.