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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1972)
jonec white OSCC33 Pretend that you are an insurance company president. Fifteen per cent of the salesmen you hire are highly successful-they sell a million dollars of insurance a year. Now you hear of a corporation that applies psychological research to predict all levels of sales performance with 75 per. cent accuracy. It can select million-dollar salesmen with 100 per cent accuracy. If you are like at least 17 other insurance companies, you enlist the service of the corporation as soon as possible. That's why Selection Research, Inc. (SRI), based in Lincoln three years ago, has grown at a rate of 2Yt times annually since. Its staff has multiplied from three to forty-four. Its monthly income has leaped from $4300 in June 1969, to $52,000 in March 1972. President Don Clifton, who has a Ph.D. in psychology, projects there will be a new company building in Lincoln next year, and regional offices across the country in two years. Community response offices, the branch of the business that polls communities, are currently established in Omaha, Des Moines, Iowa, and Columbus, Ohio. The sheer physical expansion of the operation is reminiscent of Horation Alger, Andrew Carnegie, and the age of entrepreneurs. And, in an altered fashion, this is a modern day success story the success of an idea. The idea? to use research and techniaue developed in the past 20 years by Donald Clifton and William Hall to aid businesses, schools and public institutions in maximizing human potential. SRI serves clients in 35 states and Canada. In addition to selecting teachers, salesmen, managers and policemen, SRI conducts opinion polls, provides recruiting and manpower development services, administers a leadership academy for teachers and community leaders, and conducts research. Clifton pointedly describes the selection consulting service as "a process for gaining understanding, not a technique." Final hiring responsibility rests with employers. A potential employ is asked structured, open-ended, stress-free questions. His comments are taped, and typed verbatim. A psychologist with SRI analyzes the interview, discerning the "life themes" of the individual. The analysis fee is $50; it involves one to two hours of interview time, three hours of secretarial time, and two hours of analysis time. The end product is a. written configuration of the respondent's personality based on the repeating patterns in his interview. A life theme is an established way of thinking and behaving. Clifton said some dominant life themes in the insurance underwriter are ego drire, stamina, empathy and persuasion. There are thirteen identifiable themes in the successful salesman. The interpretation of the taped interview is based on the assumption that people act themselves into ways of thinking. That is, everyone rationalizes his behavior. A person defines reasons for the things he does, making himself a rationally-motivated individual in his own eyes. The interview questions are purposely constructed with ambiguity. For example, one question used is, "What kind of person do you like to work for?" Some people answer the question by saying they like a strict manager, or a lenient one. Others see the question differently, and answer with reference to the public they work for. For instance, the salesman might answer in terms of his clients or his superior. Personalities are projected into answers. The predictive value of the interview technique was first established with nurses, teachers, Naval ROTC students, and college leaders in the 1950's. Studies were begun with life insurance salesmen and management in the 1960Y The insurance salesman studies were facilitated because the successful salesman was easily defined as the one who sold one million dollars worth of insurance. The definition of a good nurse or teacher, on the other hand, was and is debatable. How does SRI determine "successful" teachers in the 29 school systems nationwide they presently advise? By asking other faculty, administrators and students for their opinion. The same procedure is followed in identifying successful policemen, and managers. SRI is currently working with Kearney State Training School for Boys, Geneva State Training School for Girls, Nebraska State Penal Complex, and the institute for the visually handicapped in Nebraska City to maximize institutional effectiveness. Robert Manley, former NU professor and historian, has worked for ; SRI since November in the area of community research. He is presently studying school boards in the state. SRI is now providing about 6,000 analyses yearly. The spiraling number of clients using SRI services raises the ethical question of whether the corporation is justified in wielding a powerful sway in the lives of individuals interviewed. Clifton answers that it is a service to individuals to discourage their entry into a field where they have little potential. He emphasizes that everyone has potential for some things and not others. SRI employes make an indelible impression. They are satisfied with what they are doing, and have a strong "sense of mission." Three of them described it that way. They come from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds: history, psychology, business administration. They don't impatiently pack away desk items at five minutes to five. In fact, they are given the freedom to work any hours they choose (except secretarial staff). "Everyone has a best and worst time of day," Clifton explained. "Some people don't get started until 11:00 a.m., and stay late into the evening. We find productivity of employees is very high." The sense of accomplishment and purpose reflected in the staff is a resounding endorsement of the corporation and its worth. In a time when the "Peter Principle" is an accepted household usage, it is encouraging to find a corporation effecting a commitment to maximizing individual potential, rather than paying lip service to it. J 0 Steve Arvanette is a junior journalism major in the College of Arts and Sciences. He hat been th legislative reporter for the Daily Nebraskan. during the Unicameral's short session by Steve Arvanette - The verbal assault Nebraska Gov. J J. Exon gave state lawmakers moments before they adjourned last Wednesday was a surprise to most. Everyone knew the love affair between the executive and legislative branches of state government was short lived. All one had to do was read the day's newspaper to find which senator or bill was the object of the governor's latest castration. However, few expected Exon to come onto the floor of the Legislature, face the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and criticize that committee for inaction on a biS setting stiffer penalties for assaults on police and prison guards. Other senators were to receive similar damnation in a short speech minutes before adjournment. With the time limit for vetoes rapidly advancing, Exon put the axe to nine bills thus far. Two were overriden. The most disgusting veto of the session was that of the bill forcing the election of Omaha board of education members by districts. Exon based his veto on the statement of two Omaha senators who said they accidentally voted for LB 121 7. The bill narrowly passed on final reading 26-13 with 25 affirmative votes needed. The Legislature's ony black member, Ernie Chambers of Omaha, amended the bill into its final form from one concerning propsed bicycle paths. Chambers said blacks in Omaha were not being represented on the present school board- . One of those saying be accidentally voted for the bill was Sen. Orval Keyes of Springfield. Keyes admitted he really wasnt paying dose attention to the final day's activities. It is a relatively simple job to change one's vote in the Nebraska Legislature. Senators have two buttons to decide between. A green button represents an "aye" vote, and a red button a "nay" decision. After reading the bill in total, Lt. Gov. Frank Marsh calls for the vote, giving straggling senators more than ample opportunity to reach their desks and come to a decision. Should a senator change his mind, he can push the other button before the vote is locked or vocally call in a change before the final total is read by the clerk. One can only wonder how many other incorrect votes were registered in the past by Keyes and fellow Omahan William Skarda. Most senators have their minds made up far in advance as to how they will vote on final reading. Chamber's called Exon's veto an "act of a petty, vindictive demagogue who couldn't stand .the fact that a black man was able to accomplish what be is supposed to accomplish in the way of change." Exon had absolutely no interest in the bill. In fact the state Democratic Party had gone on record favoring the election of school board members by districts rather than at large. Exon's action makes one wonder if he was trying to get even with Chambers for his successful override of another veto on Aid to Dependent Children payments. Some of the most important legislation coming out of this Unicameral session had to do with court reform. Senators passed into law a massive bill designed to drastically overhaul the lower court system within the state. Specifically, LB 1032 sets up 21 county court judicial districts and eliminates magistrate and justice of the - peace courts. By requiring judges in these 21 districts to be members of the bar, Nebraska may get a better quality of lower court law interpretation. Many county judges in the past have been lay experts in the field of law. The new system gives county judges limited jurisdiction and moves more serious offenses to the 21 county court judicial district. In a related field, senators started moving towards a massive penal reform act. Specifically, they directed comprehensive jenal reform plan be developed with hope of implementation by 1974. A relatively unpublicized bill passed late in the session replaced Lincoln Sen. Wally Barnett's LB 1096 concerning the treatment of juveniles for venereal disease. The bill, LB 1302, provides for treatment for drug addiction and VD of minors without parental notification. It was introduced by Sen. David Stahmer of Omaha. Look for a change soon in the national delegate selection process in Nebraska. What other state permits nearly 450 citizens to place their name on the state ballot for the measly sum of $ 10? After the tremendous hassle over the Usirersity's budget in the 1971 Unicameral and problems with student fees and the student newspaper this year, it is hard to believe the Legislature and the University were divided by only eight blocks. Political philosophies divided the two institutions by miles. After the '72 session, however, NU didn't come out too badly. A new fieldhouse will be built as well as several other University structures. The administration came through with a nice increase in the operating budget, too. Rumor has it Ed Muskie doesn't even plan to campaign in Nebraska before the May 9 primary. Money, as one might expect, is the reason. That should leave the ball game to George McGovern and Hubert Humphrey even though Muskie was generally considered the early favorite in the state. -.PAGE 5 WEDNESDAY, fiPntL01 1972