Frank S. McLaughlin

Sexual harassment at work

Abstract Sexual harassment continues to cause problems in companies, and the survey results reported here show that human resource managers do not even agree on the action to be taken for different levels of harassment.

Perceptions of Socially Responsible Activities and Attitudes: A Comparison of Business School Deans and Corporate Chief Executives

The article discusses a study which compared the attitudes of executives and business school deans in relation to corporate social responsibility. The study sought to determine whether or not busin...

Successful project teams: a study of MIS managers

A study of 492 management information systems (MIS) managers was conducted to determine the degree of satisfaction with MIS project teams and the factors associated with successful teams. In general, project teams met, and in many cases, exceeded expectations. Respondents were divided into two groups: managers whose expectations were exceeded and those whose expectations were not. Test of differences showed that only one characteristic, the size of the MIS department, significantly distinguishes between these two groups. In addition, the two groups were tested for differences in attitudes toward items that have been noted in the literature as being either an advantage or disadvantage of project management. Many statistically significant differences were found. An analysis of the possible reasons for these results and a discussion of their practical significance are given. >

Making workplace fun more functional

Recently, many practitioners, books, articles, and consultants have claimed that a fun work environment is a good thing for organizations to have. These sources assert fun will lead to increased productivity, higher morale, and fewer human resource problems. This paper draws the results of a large e‐mail survey of managers conducted by the authors. The results indicate that there is overwhelming support for having fun in the workplace. These respondents report that having a fun work environment will increase the levels of enthusiasm, satisfaction, creativity, communications among employees and enhanced feelings of group cohesiveness. The respondents reported few significant downside risks. The survey also asked for suggestions as to how to make the work environment more fun. Many responses were received. They were analyzed, cataloged, and evaluated by the authors and discussed in this paper.

Measuring and Correcting Inversion in Faculty Salaries at Public Universities

Compression/Inversion is becoming an increasingly important part of some compensation plans for university faculty. This article derives a measure of salary inversion. It uses it to evaluate the effectiveness of several inversion models. Results are presented and policy implications are discussed.

Creating and Sustaining Fun Work Environments in Hospitality and Service Organizations

ABSTRACT Managers of hospitality and service organizations have long believed that it is critical for their employees to have fun at work. They recognize the important relationships between their employees having fun and their customers having a pleasant experience. While everyone accepts this notion, there is little empirical support for either a definition of what managers can do to promote a fun work environment or even what makes a fun work environment fun. Further, while many positive outcomes for both the individual and the organization are claimed to be associated with fun work environments, there is even less empirical data to support this belief. This primary purpose of the paper is to identify and define the actions and activities that managers can do or support to create and sustain the feeling employees have that their firm is a fun place to work or have a “fun work environment.” The paper reports results of a large e-mail survey of human resource managers designed to identify what cues managers send to create a fun work environment, the degree to which these cues actually are associated with a work environment that is fun, and the positive individual and organizational outcomes that are claimed to be associated with working in such an environment. The study offers definitions and measurements of the cueing process, a fun work environment, and outcomes of the process. We found a strong relationship between the antecedent cues and the degree to which the work environment was perceived as fun. The relationships between a fun work environment and various outcomes were not as strong or comprehensive. While the results of this research are positive and extend our knowledge of cues, culture and especially “fun work environments,” more needs to be done in validating the measures and extending the research.

Using certified mail in industrial research

Abstract Mail surveys play an important role in business, government, and economic research. Despite a legion of material written on the general topic, almost no published research is available on the effectiveness of using certified mail in the research process. This article reports the results of an experiment designed to determine the effects of using certified mail in industrial survey research. The results of this research suggest that certified mail, when properly used, may be an effective and efficient tool in business research.

Ten Questions about MBO

During the past fifteen years the popularity of management-by-objectives programs has greatly increased. A survey of U.S. personnel managers yields information regarding the makings of a sucsesful MBO program.

Using Microcomputers to Ensure Proper Representation in Committees: A Tutorial on Integer Programming

Despite the popularity of the committee as a decision-making authority in many organizations, the social science literature offers few objective means for selecting committee members. This paper shows how Integer Programming, using a microcomputer, can be useful to both practicing managers and researchers in the social sciences. The theory is first developed. Then a familiar example, one analogous to forming a committee in many settings, is used to illustrate the procedure. Other implications and advantages of the procedure are discussed. Keywords: committees, group selection, m-teger programming, microcomputers.

Wage and performance discrimination: The situation facing hispanics and blacks in major league baseball

Abstract Much has been written about discrimination in professional baseball. Many hypotheses have been formulated and tested to document the existence or nonexistence of discrimination in the major leagues. Surprisingly, research has ignored a criterion put forth by Jim Bouton in his popular and controversial 1970 book, Ball Four. This paper concentrates on the Bouton criterion. This article first discusses the history and background of discriminatory attitudes toward blacks and hispanics in major league baseball. A data base is then established, and the Bouton criterion is used to investigate three types of discrimination that blacks and hispanics can face on the playing field: differential performance requirements, job assignments, and salary treatment. The results are discussed and compared with traditional claims.