Steven B. Moser

Family background and gender: implications for interest in small firm ownership

This paper directly assesses the impact of family background, sex and work experience on interest in small firm ownership and employment. Additional exploration focuses on differentiating family background (parents-only versus extended-only) to assess the impact on small firm career interest. Results indicate that family background, sex and work experience are significant predictors of these interests. Specifically, males are more interested than females in someday owning their own small business. Small firm work experience enhanced interest in small firm employment. When comparing males and females with an extended-only family background, males are significantly more interested than females in small firm ownership. Implications for future research are discussed.

Sexual Harassment in Small Government Units: An Investigation of Policies and Attitudes

While there has been considerable investigation of sexual harassment in large firms and in the federal government, much less research has focused on smaller firms and government units. This study investigated small government units (city and county governments) regarding the application of sexual harassment policies. In addition, attitudes toward sexual harassment were also studied. Findings revealed that just over half of the sample had a policy in place and the existing policies did not consistently provide for any training. Attitudes toward harassment were somewhat contradictory showing feelings of responsibility for employee actions, while not completely believing sexual harassment claims. These findings and their ramifications are discussed.

Boards of Directors for Small Businesses and Small Private Corporations: The Changing Role, Duties and Expectations

Today the governance and management structure of business organizations, particularly publicly traded corporations uti lizes a board of directors. Organization use of boards of directors is considered an openly accepted and utilized structure to provide leadership and management direction in business organization. Because large public companies recognize the value to the corporation and because of the increased regulatory requirements placed on publicly traded companies, the use of boards of directors are strongly endorsed. For small businesses and privately held companies, however, a board of directors is not always viewed as a useful part of the corporate structure. This paper reports on the results of a study which focused on the board functions and operations of small privately held corporations. A survey of 180 small, of ten family owned, non‐public corporations was conducted in one Mid western state. The study corroborated the expanding body of literature suggesting the lack of formality in board functions for small privately held companies. Critical factors influencing board function and action included needs of the company, abilities of the directors, sophistication of ownership and management, as well as life cycle stage, percent of family ownership and trading status of the corporation’s stock.

Total quality management in the US Air Force: a study of application and attitudes

States that the US military has adopted total quality management (TQM) initiatives to help maximize effectiveness during downsizing. Identifies, however, some potential barriers to military applications, for example, the autocratic hierarchy on which the military is based may not be conducive to TQM. Focuses this investigation on the use of and attitudes towards TQM in one branch of the US military, the Air Force. Posits that results revealed that the military hierarchy is perceived as a barrier and that lower‐level personnel had more positive attitudes towards TQM. Shows that, in addition, TQM training was related to understanding of TQM concepts; however, training was not significantly related to the perceived relevance of TQM to the job or the military in general. Reveals the importance of going beyond TQM training and making the necessary changes so that learning can be applied.