James G. Hougland

Voluntary Organizations and Dominant American Values

The importance of values has long been asserted by sociologists who note the need for shared cultural understandings for the integration of social relationships. Because of their abstract nature, values do not dictate specific forms of behavior, but Williams (1967:26) has suggested that &dquo;values constitute especially economical sets of high-level guidance systems.&dquo; In broader terms, they may serve as standards to organize systems of action (Kluckhohn, 1962); a value &dquo;transcendentally guides actions and judgments across specific objects and situations, and beyond immediate goals to more ultimate end-states of existence&dquo; (Rokeach, 1968:160).

Voluntarism and the Manager: The Impacts of Structural Pressure and Personal Interest on Community Participation

The extent to which participation in voluntary organizations reflects autonomous decisions by individuals, rather than a less than fully voluntary response to social pressure, has been a matter of debate in the voluntary action literature. Middle- level managers of manufacturing companies are particularly likely to experience pressures regarding the extent and nature of their participation in local organiza tions. For this reason, a nationwide sample of production managers is used to explore the relative usefulness of personal interest in community affairs, of socio- demographic and structural characteristics known to be related to participation, and of company policy for predicting participation in local voluntary organizations. Participation is shown to reflect a number of factors, including company policy. However, the importance of community interest suggests that membership and participation in many organizations continue to be perceived as voluntary.

Toward a Participation-Based Typology of Voluntary Organizations

process (Chapin and Tsouderos, 1956) are among the proposed bases for classification. Typologies involving organizations’ functions for members and/or society are more commonly used. Gordon and Babchuk (1959) classified organizations according to whether they served instrumental, expressive, or instrumentalexpressive functions. Similarly, Warriner and Prather (1965) classified organizations on the basis of the &dquo;value functions&dquo; of their central

Rewards and Impacts of Participation in a Gerontology Extension Program

Because involvement in specific organizations typically is part of a general pattern of social participation, understanding the effects of activity in a particular realm is difficult. A 1985 program designed to make the skills of retired professionals available to public service agencies provided an opportunity to follow volunteers during various stages of their participation. It also permitted an assessment of the impact of their volunteer work in this program on changes in their morale, self-esteem, and alienation as well as the extent of their participation in other voluntary activities. It was predicted that the effects of voluntary action would vary according to the participants’ reasons for volunteering, their perceptions of their success in serving the agencies, and the number of opportunities they had for demonstrating their competencies. Analysis suggested that participants responded positively but not dramatically to opportunities for meaningful social participation.

God's Line Is Never Busy: An Analysis of Symbolic Discourse in Two Southern Appalachian Denominations

Because of the importance of symbolism in religion, this study analyzes language use and storytelling in congregations of two religious denominations Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the Southern Baptist Convention in Southern Appalachia. Interest centers upon recurrent themes, stories, and metaphors in church leader talk. Attention is given to the role such language plays in symbolizing organizational values. While study findings show many similarities between the two denominations, fundamental differences in church values are illustrated through both qualitative and quantitative methods. This study emphasizes the importance of stories and metaphors in understanding religious life and the usefulness of discourse analysis in research on religious organizations.

A Fairly Common Ambiguity: Comparing Rating and Approval Measures in Public Opinion Polling*

Abstract Although public assessments of the performance of elected officials are often measured by job rating questions using easily understood language, answers to such questions can be difficult to interpret because of their use of generic words containing multiple meanings. The word “fair,” which is often presented as a response intended to signify mild disapproval, is particularly problematic in this regard. Because of this problem, we have used a statewide survey to compare results generated by job rating (excellent, good, fair, poor) and job approval (strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, strongly disapprove) questions for elected officials. Magnitude estimation techniques are employed to enhance our understanding of the general value attached to responses and the stability of their meaning for respondents. Finally, a structural model of assessments developed. We conclude that, while job approval questions have some advantages over job rating questions, a number of potential probl...

Organizational Effects On Mentally Retarded Adults A Longitudinal Analysis

Normalization has gained wide acceptance as a goal that residential institutions for the mentally retarded should strive to achieve, but many organizations have been shown to have difficulty achieving the goal. Theo ries developed from the organizational contingency perspective suggest that or ganizations with bureaucratic structures will have particular difficulty accomplish ing the nonroutine tasks associated with normalization Our major purpose was to test the usefulness of such theories for the evaluation of mental retardation facilities by ascertaining whether a less bureaucratic organization for the mentally retarded would achieve greater success than a more bureaucratic organization. The closing of a large public hospital and the subsequent transfer of most of its residents to two new facilities (one of which was more bureau cratic than the other) allowed us to exam ine bureaucracys effect on treatment A s predicted, the analysis showed that the less bureaucratic organization produced a greater average positive change in behavior than did the more bureaucratic organi zation A number of clinical and demo graphic characteristics of the residents which could have influenced the observed changes in behavioral level were identified and controlled. They were not found to ex plain the differences between facilities Other factors, which could not be con trolled in this study, provide suggestions for future research.