Barbara L. Rau

Putting off tomorrow to do what you want today: planning for retirement.

In this article we note that in the coming years, a larger number of people will be experiencing retirement for a longer period of time than ever before and that despite this fact, many will find themselves unprepared for this stage of their lives. We review the literature on retirement preparation, structuring our review around the key questions that need to be addressed when planning for retirement: (a) What will I do? (b) How will I afford it? (c) Where will I live? and (d) Who will I share it with? We make a number of suggestions for research and practice. We conclude that although psychology has begun to play a role in understanding and addressing retirement preparation, there are considerable opportunities for psychologists to engage with this issue in their research and applied work.

A review of research on online and blended learning in the management disciplines: 1994–2009

This paper reviews studies of online and blended learning in management-oriented disciplines and management-related topics. The review shows that over the last decade, this emerging field has seen dramatic conceptual, methodological, and analytical advances. However, these advances have progressed within the particular disciplines at uneven rates. Studies examining courses in Organizational Behavior and Strategic Management have seen the most progress, with courses in Human Resources, Operations Management, and International Management receiving lesser attention. To date, studies of courses in Entrepreneurship are next to non-existent. Our review suggests that although several multi-course studies have been published, there is ample opportunity for research within the respective management disciplines. We also suggest topics and methodological issues requiring further study, including stronger delineations between online and blended management education; further examination of participant characteristics, particularly for instructors; and the influence of institutions located outside North America.

The Effects of Local Market Conditions on Two Pay-Setting Systems in the Federal Sector

The authors examine the sensitivity of wage setting in two federal pay systems—the General Schedule (GS) system, covering white-collar workers, and the Federal Wage System (FWS), covering blue-collar workers—to local wages and cost-of-living. In 1978 and 1980, the years of the data, FWS wages were designed to reflect local labor market wage levels, while GS wages were intended to be responsive to national wage trends, independent of local wage levels. The authors find that FWS wages were closely tied to local external market conditions, as intended. However, GS wages, both for new hires and for longer-tenure employees, were also responsive to those conditions (though less so than FWS wages). To circumvent policies designed to screen out local labor market effects, GS administrators apparently employed such pactices as assigning new employees to higher grade levels than were formally warranted.

Managing Chronic Excuse-making Behaviors of Faculty Applying Schlenker's Responsibility Triangle

Managing chronic excuse-making behaviors of faculty can be difficult and challenging for college administrators. In this article, Schlenkers responsibility triangle is applied in the higher education forum to better understand the underpinnings of responsibility and accountability in faculty jobs. Using this framework, attention is given to strategies for preventing excuses from becoming a chronic and unwanted behavior for faculty to use when justifying performance shortcomings.