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Spatial studies of political behavior have examined the structure of influential interests, yet there is little comprehensive, coherent, theory-based research of such influences on policy administration at the local and regional levels. Borrowing from the work of many scholars and integrating findings from across various subfields, this study identifies indicators for explaining the politics of area and administration. In particular; the author argues that the nature and degree of field office responsiveness depends on its place within the institutional structure, the congruence between organizational norms and societal expectations, areal effects arising from political context, and the structure of organized interests.

To maintain organizational competitiveness, employee benefits programs must not only provide traditional benefits, but also provide unconventional benefits. Because the labor market has seen an increasing influx of employees with dependent care responsibilities and has become increasingly competitive for highly skilled workers, innovative employers have used dependent care and flexibility work options to attract employees. In this research and practice synthesis, we examine the variety of options available to employers for creating family and worker friendly organizations. In general, we found that many options are available to employers for addressing the dependent care and family pressures that most influence the productivity of their employees. By providing assistance in securing dependent care, creating flexible working conditions, and/or providing on-site care facilities, employers with or without government collaboration, can and have improved the productive capacity of their employees.

This research examines the impact of changes in the presidential appoint ment process on case processing in the regional offices of regulatory boards using the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as a case in point. While controlling for regionally determined factors, this study investigates whether changes in the presidential appointment process influence clien tele strategies and the decision-making routines of regional offices. The results show that changes in the presidential appointment process, group strength, and unemployment differentially influence case-filtering and clientele filing behavior in NLRB regional offices generally, and particularly in those offices where clientele are weak or caseloads are low. Only changes in the presidential appointment process had a significant influ ence on both staff and clientele behavior

As part of an investigation of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office decision making, I examine decisions to dismiss cases or withdraw unfair labor practice complaints by unions against their employers by creating a cross-sectional time series data set from 1964 to 1986. I hypothesize that changes in economic conditions, traditional regional sympathies, and union membership coupled with the demise of the pro-labor coalition in the NLRB under the Reagan administration significantly increased the uncertainty by which decisions are made to dismiss or withdraw cases. In particular, regional offices with high caseloads or those who reside in states traditionally hostile to unions have higher withdrawal and dismissal rates. Further, changes in the NLRB under the Reagan administration influenced decisions to dismiss cases made by regional offices in economically declining areas and decisions by unions to withdraw cases. This suggests that regional offices may be reacting to environmental conflict and exhibiting independence from each other and the partisan preferences of the NLRB.

Public opinion about labor unions is influenced by a variety of factors, including media coverage. The type of media coverage unions receive provides a cognitive foundation for judgments about them and media coverage of unions has often been characterized as biased. This study examines media coverage of unions between 1946 and 1985 and shows that it became increasingly concentrated on strike activities and exaggerated the frequency of strikes. Moreover, strike-centered coverage has its strongest negative influence on individuals who lack ideological and group attachments to unions.