For the past two decades I have focused on the study of the occupational work ethic, that is, the scientific exploration of behavioral factors and motivation of workers. My unique and original research has lead to the design of a psychometric instrument, the Occupational Work Ethic Inventory, OWEI ((c) Petty, 1992) to determine an individual's occupational work ethic. This achievement was based on my previous research with the Work Attitudes Inventory ( (c) Petty & Brauchle, 1984) and the Affective Work Competencies inventory ((c) Kazanas, 1979). These empirical studies have involved more than 10,000 workers, supervisors, teachers and students from all walks of life. The OWEI has been translated into four foreign languages (Spanish, German, French, and Japanese) and preliminary findings from statistical analysis indicate it is a very powerful instrument that discriminates on several aspects of the work ethic. There has been a resurgence of interest in the occupational work ethic as researchers and practitioners from across the nation study work teams, work adjustment and the work place as a community. Of secondary interest I have served as expert program evaluator and management consultant for human resource development programs in industry and postsecondary educational institutions. My particular interest has been with vocational and technical programs serving adults with disabilities, most specifically those that are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Much of my professional service in the past five years has been with vocational-technical teacher reform. My role as Acting Head of Human Resource Development has enabled me to facilitate workforce teacher education reform at The University of Tennessee and I expect this work to influence other workforce development programs in the United States.
Petty, G.C. (In Press) Vocational-technical education and the occupational work ethic. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education. Manuscript accepted for publication. A multivariate analysis of variance study of 2279 industrial workers and supervisors.
&Hill, R.B. (In Press) Are women and men different? A study of the occupational work ethic. Journal of Vocational Education Research. Manuscript accepted for publication. A multivariate analysis of variance of workers and supervisors from industrial occupations.
(1993, Fall). Differences in work attitudes as determined by male and female students. SAEOPP Journal. 12(2), 21-30. An analysis of variance of 1259 community college students.
Campbell, C.P. & Petty, G.C. (1993, Fall). Vocationalism in Great Britain: With a focus on initial vocational education and training. International Education. 23(1), 32-45.
Petty, G.C. (1993, December) Development of the Occupational Work Ethic Inventory. National presentation of research paper to the American Vocational Association, Nashville, TN.
(1993). Technical Education Delivery Systems. In C.P. Campbell & R. Armstrong (Eds). Workforce Development in the Federal Republic of Germany. Press International, Pittsburgh, KS.
(1992, April). Total Quality Management in Post Secondary Education: Implications for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students. Presented to the Fifth Biennial Regional Conference on Postsecondary Education for Hearing-Impaired Persons, Knoxville, TN.
(1992). Innovation in technology teacher recruitment. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education. 30(1), 7-14.
& Kelling, C. (1992). Total Quality Management Annotated Bibliography of Issues and Trends and Implications for Post Secondary Education for Special Programs Serving Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Persons. (ED Report No. HO78A90012-92). Knoxville: University of Tennessee, Postsecondary Education Consortium.