[Review of Absences and employee attitudes in an electric power company

Abstract

Reviews three booklets: Absences and employee attitudes in an electric power company , by Floyd Mann and Howard Baumgartel (see record 1955-06375-000 ); The supervisor's concern with costs in an electric power company , by the same authors (see record 1955-06376-000 ); and Appraisals of supervisors and attitudes of their employees in an electric power company , by Mann and James Dent (see record 2006-09526-000 ). According to the reviewer, these booklets were written for business executives, not for psychologists. They illustrate how reports should not be written. They badly miss their mark. The writing suffers from what this reviewer interprets as a misguided attempt to be modern or popular. The authors go beyond evidence on hand in inferring causal relationships. Clumsy structure sometimes results in sentences which are meaningless if interpreted literally. Some statements are vague or ambiguous. Carelessness in word choice has resulted in incorrect statements. Executives are not professionally trained psychologists. However, reports to top management need not assume lack of intelligence, lack of general information, or lack of interest. Many executives arc studious, and they do have common sense. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)