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This study compared the salary differentials of college chief executive officers (CEOs), college presidents, and the five highest-paid employees at 190 private colleges and universities. The pay differential in total compensation for CEOs and the highest-paid professor at liberal arts institution was significantly higher than that at doctorate-granting institutions, which in turn was higher than that at research institutions. The pattern of pay differentials was reversed for the highest-paid and second highest-paid employee at research institutions and at liberal arts institutions. Other differentials failed to reach significance across institutions. Implications concerning institutions' internal consistency and external competitiveness are discussed. (Contains 34 references.) (Author/MSE)

This study sought to identify major factors of teaching evaluation as related to professors' overall teaching effectiveness. Undergraduate and graduate students at a university in the southeastern United States were asked to rate 126 business faculty through anonymous course evaluations. Students rated faculty on 12 specific items related to teaching performance; responded to 5 items about class standing, grade point average, reason for taking the course, attendance, and expected grade; and rated the instructor on overall teaching effectiveness. A total of 6,395 evaluations were collected and analyzed. The results of a multiple regression analysis demonstrated that 12 factors were predictors of overall teaching effectiveness, including: (1) instructor presents material clearly; (2) instructor answers students' questions; (3) instructor treats students in a courteous and professional manner; and (4) instructor appears to be well-prepared for class. These data suggest that students are fairly reasonable in considering important aspects of the learning process when they evaluate professors' overall teaching effectiveness. The results are discussed in light of the faculty reward system in place at U.S. universities, the balance between teaching and research, and the changes in management education. (Contains 40 references.) (MDM)

For the past two decades, Japanese management practices have attracted a great deal of attention in the United States. Quality Circles (QCs) have been considered to be one of the most promising approaches to improving American workers' productivity. QCs are defined as small groups of employees from the same work area who meet to identify, analyze, and solve various work-related problems, and to make recommendations to management. In Japan, QC activity in chemical industries has declined significantly over the years. In the United States, QC programs have failed in more than 60 to 75 percent of the organizations in which they have been tried. This study examined the attributional differences among top management, supporting staff, and QC members. Research data were collected from a structures fabrication and assembly plant in the southwestern United States. A total of 100 employees from a cross-section of the organization completed a survey questionnaire. These participants were selected due to their experience, knowledge, and involvement in QCs. The attributional differences among top-level managers, the supporting staff, and QC members were examined using a multivariate analysis of variance. The results revealed significant differences among the three groups on seven variables. It appears that the participants are making defensive attributions concerning the failure of QCs. (LLL)

Quality circles, a management practice that involves groups of workers from the same work area voluntarily meeting on a regular basis to identify, analyze, and solve various work-related problems, have been used in Japan for over 40 years. In the United States, quality circles have been tried in many organizations during the past 2 decades and more than 60 to 75 percent of the quality circle programs in the U.S. have failed. In this study, employees' perceptions of quality circle failure were investigated. A cross-section of 100 employees of an aerostructures fabrication and assembly plant completed a survey questionnaire concerning the failure of quality circles. Respondents included blue-collar workers who were quality circle members, middle-level supporting staff and supervisors, and top-management personnel. Survey results revealed seven major factors. The most important factor thought by respondents to contribute to quality circle failure was lack of top-management support, followed by lack of quality circle members' commitment, lack of problem-solving skills, quality circle members' turnover, the nature of the task, lack of support from staff members, and lack of data and time, in that order. Furthermore, top-management personnel attributed quality circle failure significantly less to the lack of top-management support than did middle-level supporting staff and quality circle members. (Author/NB)

In the field of human resources management, self-esteem has been one of the most researched personality variables. Recently, the construct of organization-based self-esteem also has come under investigation. Organization-based self-esteem is defined as "the degree to which organizational members believe that they can satisfy their needs by participating in roles within the context of an organization." This study was conducted to further validate and explore the construct validity of a scale developed to measure organization-based self-esteem. Mental health workers (N=155) from the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in the State of Tennessee completed the organization-based self-esteem scale and provided information on demographic, personality, and organizational variables. The results of a step-wise multiple regression analysis showed that organization-based self-esteem was related to subjects' global self-esteem, need for achievement, organizational citizenship, organizational commitment, motivating potential score, and education. Subject status in the organization (direct care employee, administrative staff, managerial personnel) was not related to organization-based self-esteem. The findings suggest that organization-based self-esteem is related to many variables that are intrinsic to the employees' subjective feelings in an organization. (Author/NB)

A quality circle (QC) is a group of workers from the same work area who voluntarily meet on a regular basis to identify, analyze, and solve various work-related problems. While management support has been a variable frequently cited as critical to the success of QCs in organizations, very little research has empirically documented the relationship between management support and QC effectiveness. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between top-, middle-, and lower-management attendance and the effectiveness of QCs. The effectiveness of 47 QCs over a 3-year period was examined as a function of management attendance using the archival data of a QC program. The results showed that QCs with a high level of upper-management attendance had a higher attendance rate at QC meetings and had more QC members than had QCs with a low level of management attendance. QCs with a high level of middle-management attendance had attempted more QC projects and had a higher amount of cost savings than had QCs with a low level of management attendance. The effect of lower-management attendance on QC effectiveness was not significant. (Author/NB)

Japanese management practices have attracted much interest in the United States. The use of quality circles (QCs) common in Japan, has been considered a promising approach to improving Americn workers' productivity. A quality circle is made up of workers from the same group who meet to discuss quality problems, recommend solutions, and implement improvements. In-process goals of QCs include immediate feedback, improvements, and modifications of policies; end-product goals deal with cost-savings, improved quality, and higher productivity. This study examined the in-process goals of 47 quality circles over a 3-year period in a quasi-experimental field study in a Tennessee fabrication and assembly plant. The dependent variables were the quantity of QC presentations and the speed of problem-solving. These two dependent variables were examined as a function of upper-management support (high versus low), QC initiation (management-initiated versus self-initiated), and collar color (white versus blue) in a 2 x 2 x 2 multiple analysis of variance. The results showed that QCs with a high level of upper-management support solved their problems significantly faster than did those QCs with a low level of support. Management-initiated QCs solved their problems significantly faster and solved more problems than did self-initiated QCs. Self-initiated QCs with a low level of upper-management support had a slower speed of problem-solving. Further, self-initiated QCs with white collar workers also had a slower speed of problem-solving. A six-page reference list and three data tables conclude the document. (ABL)

Student evaluation of professors is increasingly accepted as a normal part of higher education. To examine whether students' involvements and participation in an instructional setting would be positively correlated with their evaluations of faculty performance, 66 college students were given a Likert type rating scale to rate their own behaviors in an instructional setting and to evaluate faculty performance. Eight dimensions of the instructor's performance were rated: (1) knowledge of subject matter; (2) ability to answer student questions; (3) ability to explain, demonstrate, and present material clearly; (4) ability to stimulate student interest; (5) willingness to talk with students outside of class; (6) clarity of course requirements; (7) clarity of grading criteria; and (8) knowledge gained by student in class. Correlations among student behaviors and faculty performance ratings were examined. The results showed that students' self-reported behaviors in an instructional setting were significantly correlated with their faculty evaluations. Further, 33 out of 36 intercorrelations among the eight dimensions of the instructor's performance reached significance, suggesting a strong halo effect in students' evaluations. The present results supported the notion that ratings may give a better indication of a rater's schemata than they do a ratee's actual level of performance. (NB)

Quality circles (QCs) have been considered one of the most promising approaches to improving American workers' productivity. The differences of quality circle effectiveness between active QCs (N=36) and inactive QCs (N=17) in a 3-year period were examined in a quasi-experimental field study. The dependent variables examined were the amount of middle-management involvement, the number of people per quality circle (QC size), the attendance rate at QC meetings, and several measures of their problem-solving activities. The results suggested that active QCs had a significantly higher level of involvement from the middle management than had inactive QCs. Active QCs had more circle members and had a significantly higher attendance rate at QC meetings than had inactive QCs. Further, active QCs had a significantly lower rate of failure in their problem-solving process than had inactive QCs. It was also found that for active QCs, their QC tenure was negatively correlated with the QC size, and was positively correlated with the number of projects attempted, the number of projects dropped, and the number of projects completed. For inactive QCs, the attendance rate at AC meetings was negatively correlated with the number of projects completed and their QC tenure was negatively correlated with the rate of failure. (Author/NB)