Measuring the ROI of a coaching intervention,Part 2

This article, the second of a two‐part series, describes a case study application of the ROI Methodology™. In this case, a structured coaching program was implemented as part of a comprehensive performance improvement solution designed to improve efficiency, customer satisfaction, and revenue growth for Nations Hotel Corporation. This case study provides critical insights into how a project was systemically designed, delivered, and measured to create performance value, including a return on investment.     

Willingness to Pay for Submerged Maritime Cultural Resources

Many consider salvage value and tourism expenditures as the only economic values of a historic shipwreck. This paper looks at one alternative, the non-market value generated by management of shipwrecks as submerged maritime cultural resources. We consider the question: How much are people willing to pay to maintain shipwrecks in their pristine state? The contingent valuation method was implemented during summer 2001 as part of a telephone survey to households in eastern North Carolina. We find that households are willing to pay about $35 in a one-time increase in state taxes. Willingness to payis internally validated by expected relationships with prices and income but fails to pass the scope test. We speculate that we inadvertently succumbed to the well-known “birds” problem. The double-bounded willingness to pay questions are not incentive compatible and are subject to starting point bias, despite efforts to minimize these effects.     

Sources of bias in performance evaluation: Two experiments

Attribution and stereotyping theories predicted that poor-performing black workers would receive lower evaluations than corresponding Whites, while good performance would have the reverse effect. “Dress and lifestyle” was also predicted to influence performance evaluation. Male business students, evaluating bogus employees differing in race, dress, and behaviorally described performance, provided weak support for the second hypothesis. A second experiment investigated the possibility that perceived social class, rather than race, was the relevant variable in the operation of a stereotype confirmation—contrast process. Individual differences in stereotyping were also measured. No support for the specific hypothesized process was found, but results supported the potential relevance of attribution theory to a configural performance-evaluation model. Results were also discussed in terms of worker-perceived discrimination.     

Log‐linear Model Analysis of Responses to Economics Attitude Scale Items

Attitude scales are normally treated as unidimensional, but if this assumption is inadmissible, the use of log‐linear model analysis enables treatment effects to be isolated for individual scale items. This article suggests appropriate procedures and applies them to a particular economics attitude scale.     

The ADAPT Program: A Developmental Approach for Serving Profoundly Disturbed Children

The need to provide educational and therapeutic services for profoundly emotionally handicapped children has been well documented in the professional literature. The purpose of this article is to describe a local program for this population of children. The program, known as ADAPT, is operated by the Hillsborough County School System in Tampa, Florida.