Corporate planning at Rolls-Royce Motors Limited

In this article the authors describe the introduction to date of a formal planning process at a British manufacturing company which, according to its recent performance, had no pressing need to implement radical change. Is Rolls-Royce Motors' decision the symptom of a new trend in industry to overhaul planning techniques while the going is good? How was company morale used to justify a new planning style? Why did an evidently capable organization choose to engage consultancy assistance? While the company's intentions are not yet fully achieved, its experience may be of benefit to others contemplating a similar decision.     

Cohort size effects and migration

"This article explores whether changes in the size of [U.S.] cohorts entering the labor force affect the propensity to migrate and the socioeconomic circumstances of migrants at destination. The flow of young in-migrants to large SMSAs declined during the 1965-76 period, but the relative socioeconomic standing of migrants at destination was unaffected by either cohort size or regional differentials in economic growth. It is suggested that a significant reduction in the volume of migration among members of the baby boom cohort was the primary adjustment mechanism, hence reducing the need for degrading the opportunities available to migrants."     

Recent trends in Hispanic immigration to the United States

Recent patterns of Hispanic immigration to the United States are examined using data from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. "From 1960 to 1978 Hispanic immigration increased significantly, reflecting the general acceleration in total immigration to the United States. Demographic trends reveal that Hispanic immigrants are increasingly working-age women. Their occupation composition is primarily blue collar, with operatives emerging as the predominant job category during the 1970s." The authors note that these immigrants settle primarily in a small number of urban centers of Hispanic population and culture in the United States, and thus the effects of immigration will be concentrated on the low-skill segment of particular urban labor markets that already contain large numbers of Hispanic workers.     

Assessment of patient satisfaction: development and refinement of a service evaluation questionnaire

A series of seven studies was conducted by the authors and their colleagues to produce an efficient measure of service satisfaction that can easily be related to symptom level, demographic characteristics, and type and extent of service utilization. The resulting measure, the Service Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) is a brief, global index that has excellent internal consistency and solid psychometric properties. Data from an extensive SEQ field study can be used as a comparison base for future applications of the two SEQ component scales, the CSQ-8 and the SCL-10. A new hypothesis has emerged from this series of studies that will guide future research: Service recipients may find if difficult to formally express dissatisfaction in the face of significant caring--however ineffectual--when the technical capacity to offer definitive treatment is not yet fully developed and when criteria for evaluating the efficacy of treatment are not yet crystal clear.     

Some specifics on the brain drain from the Andean region

An analysis of the brain drain from the Andean countries of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru to the United States is presented. The data are from a survey of 62 persons from those countries who are currently residing in the United States and are listed in the current edition of "American Men and Women of Science". The reasons why they left their country of origin and are staying in the United States are considered. (summary in FRE, SPA)     

Errata

My article entitled "Replications, Significance Tests, and Confidencein Findings in Survey Research" (POQ 47:261–69) is marredby a serious error which has implications for most of the contentsof the article. Table 1, which is adapted from a table published by Rosenthaland Hall,¹ gives the critical values of required for significance at several levels; itdoes not give the critical values of Trans , or () (). Rather, the latter should be referreddirectly to a table giving the areas under the normal curve,or, in other words, it should be treated as though it were aZ from a single-sample test. This means that the comparisons of significance test resultsfrom pooled data and from series of replications in Tables 2and 3 do not support the conclusion that using a replicate designrather than pooled data lessens the probability of Type II errors.In the case of Table 2, the probability from the pooled sampleis lower than the correct one from the series of replications,and in the case of Table 3, the probabilities are about thesame. The data in Table 4 illustrate a kind of situation in whicha replicate design may be the preferred one for another reason.The replicate design allows an estimate of sampling variabilityfrom the actual variability among a small number of samples,whereas the single-sample and pooled-sample significance testresults may be substantially in error due to the unstable meaningof the "zero" assigned to the reference category for the dummyvariables. However, the estimated probability for the arrayof replications should be .05 rather than the probability reported. Another error with less serious implications for the paper asa whole is that the third "alternative formula" for Trans is incorrect as printed. One of thefirst two formulas, or () (), should be used instead. The major error resulted from a misreading of the paper by Rosenthaland Hall. I apologize to Rosenthal and Hall and to any readersof my paper who have used the table of critical values incorrectlyin their research.