Examines links between three competitive strategies (cost reduction, quality improvement, and innovation) and human resources (HR) practices. Describes a framework for ensuring that the two are made compatible and illustrates the process by showing how one $20 million business wrestled with these compatibility issues. (CH)

Although previous research on perception of work environment has focused on the underlying structure of the environment, perception of a specific event can indicate whether a three-dimensional model (prediction, understanding, and control) or a two-dimensional model (information and control) accounts for the individual's perception in terms of…

A field test was conducted to research the effects of feedback and goal-setting techniques on increasing productivity. Subjects were regular employees of two autonomous clerical-type units in a credit card and payment processing center of a Southwestern oil company. The study desiqn had three phases--baseline period and two experimental conditions…

Supervisors and coworkers of 98 persons with mental retardation rated subjects' overall job performance and social interaction and their performance in specific social situations. Results suggest that both task-related and non-task-related social skills make unique and relatively equal contributions to supervisors' and coworkers' perceptions of a…

This comparison of the attitudes of 78 employers, who identified traits needed by either handicapped workers or workers in general, found no significant differences in ratings of the importance of various traits. (DB)

A study examined innovative workplace practices in companies that employ significant numbers of entry-level workers. Findings were based on a series of personal interviews with human resource directors in 58 companies in the Northwest and the Pacific. Asked about the quality of current entry-level workers, employers reported that a disturbing…

The impact of successful completion of the General Educational Development (GED) testing program upon the candidates and on the perceptions of their employers was analyzed. Questionnaires were returned by 241 successful GED candidates and 52 of their employers in DeKalb County, Illinois for the period 1970-79. Over one-half of the 428 successful…

This guide contains 80 short items that provide information and insight to persons conducting a job search, as well as practical tips for keeping a job. The 80 items are organized into seven chapters that cover the following topics: (1) jobs and careers; (2) job skills; (3) job seekers; (4) paper power; (5) presentation package, "You"; (6) tool…

Ninety-four persons employed in direct care positions in a community-based agency that serves adults with mental retardation completed self-report questionnaires assessing relationships between social support and the adaptive outcomes of mood, perceived competence, and self-efficacy. Findings indicated that: (1) negative mood was negatively…

To determine how employers select and train employees and the implications of this behavior for schools, telephone interviews were conducted with more than 3,500 employers. These employers answered questions on the number of persons who applied for the last position for which they hired prior to August, 1981; the number of applicants interviewed;…

This report is one of a series of papers analyzing how employers select and train employees and the implications of their behavior for schools. Data for the study were gathered in telephone interviews with more than 3,500 employees conducted by the Gallup Organization. This report is organized in three chapters. In the first chapter, John Barron…

A study was conducted to determine what factors of human resource development (HRD) or other learning interventions impede or enhance improved performance. A review of the literature suggested theories of HRD effectiveness, where HRD effectiveness is perceived as the extent to which HRD goals and objectives are achieved. Various authors state that…