AFTER MILITARY SUCCESS, CAN BUSH AVOID HIS FATHER'S FATE? -- In 1991, President George Bush's approval ratings were high and the U.S. military had just convincingly defeated the Iraqi army in Kuwait. One year later, he lost his reelection bid to little-known former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. The U.S. victory in Iraq does not insulate George W. from sharing in his father's fate, says Temple presidential historian Jim Hilty. "Polls indicate that he would narrowly defeat any one of the several current Democratic candidates, but reelection is by no means assured," says Hilty. And while Hilty does think Bush has shown an ability to lead, which many of his critics thought he failed to possess, that alone does not guarantee success. "The question now is how he will exercise other powers and deliver on other responsibilities, including plans for the restoration of order in Iraq and for correcting the current economic downturn at home. No president has ever achieved the station of historical 'greatness' based entirely on military successes gained by declaring war on other countries. Otherwise, James K. Polk and William McKinley would be on Mt. Rushmore."
WAGES, BENEFITS KEYS IN RETAINING WELFARE-TO-WORK EMPLOYEES -- What are the most effective things an employer can do to retain employees who go from welfare to work? Provide good starting salaries and key family-friendly benefits, such as health coverage, sick leave, and paid personal days, holidays and vacation days, according to Temple Human Resource Management (HRM) Professor Alison Konrad, lead investigator on a new study that examined the role employers' HRM practices have in job retention of welfare-to-work employees. "Starting wages, along with health care and other financial benefits, had a strong positive effect on job retention," says Konrad, whose study examined 7,000 employees in 350 companies in the public, non-profit and private sectors in Philadelphia. "And other practices that do not necessarily involve significant cost--such as making written performance plans or goals and conducting a formal performance review in the first six months of employment--had a positive effect as well." New employee training, employee recognition programs, transportation assistance, and even a positive management attitude toward the employment of former welfare recipients had little effect on whether workers stayed on the job, according to the study. Konrad and her fellow researchers, including HRA department chair John Deckop and social administration emeritus professor Felice Perlmutter, will present their study findings during a talk on Wednesday, April 23, at 3 p.m. in Room 222 of Temple's Center City Campus, 1515 Market St.
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