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This study investigated the retention rates of 904 college graduates hired in six public accounting firms over a six-year period. Organizational culture values varied significantly among the firms. The variation in cultural values had a significant effect on the rates at which the newly hired employees voluntarily terminated employment. The relationship between the employees' job performance and their retention also varied significantly with organizational culture values. The cultural effects were stronger than the combined exogenous influences of the labor market and the new employees' demographic characteristics. The cultural effects are estimated to have resulted in over six million dollars' difference in human resource costs between firms with different cultural values. Implications for research on person-organization fit are discussed.

The‐survival‐characteristics‐of‐a‐non‐toxigenic,‐antibiotic‐resistant‐strain‐of‐Escherichia‐coli‐O157:H7‐in‐bovine‐faeces‐were‐investigated.‐Faecal‐samples‐were‐inoculated‐with 108‐9‐cfu‐g−1‐of‐the‐organism‐and‐(i)‐stored‐in‐closed‐plastic‐containers‐at‐10 °C, (ii) stored in closed plastic containers placed outside or (iii) decanted onto the surface of grazing land. Recovery and enumeration on Sorbitol MacConkey Agar (SMAC) and Tryptic Soya Agar (TSA) revealed that the E. coli O157:H7 numbers in both enclosed samples (i and ii) had decreased by 4·5–5·5 log10 cfu g−1 within 99 d. Numbers in samples decanted onto grassland (iii) decreased by 4·0–5·0 log10 cfu g−1 within 50 d but the organism was still detectable in the surrounding soil for up to 99 d. Persistence of E. coli O157:H7 in bovine faeces and contaminated pastures may therefore be an important factor in the initial infection and re‐infection of cattle.

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Aims: To investigate the prevalence and virulence characteristics of Escherichia coli O157:H7 after a number of beef process operations at a commercial Irish abattoir. Methods and Results: Two 12-month studies were carried out. The first study (study 1) examined the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 at up to six sites on carcasses at eight stages of the dressing, washing, chilling and boning process. The second study (study 2) examined the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in bovine faeces and rumen contents post-slaughter and on dressed, washed carcasses. Isolates from both studies were phage-typed and the presence of genes encoding verocytotoxin, enterohaemolysin and intimin production was determined. E. coli O157:H7 was isolated from four of 36 carcasses in study 1. E. coli O157:H7 was detected during hide removal and was detected at multiple carcass sites and multiple process stages, including boning. On two carcasses, contamination was first detected at the bung following its freeing and tying. All isolates from study 1 were phage type (PT) 2, eaeAO157 and ehlyA positive, but were verocytotoxin 1 (VT1) and verocytotoxin 2 (VT2) negative. In study 2, E. coli O157:H7 was isolated from 2AE4% of faecal, 0AE8% of rumen and 3AE2% of carcass samples. In some cases, isolates recovered from the faeces of a particular animal, the resulting carcass and adjacent carcasses on the line had the same phage typing and virulence characteristic profile patterns. All isolates from study 2 were eaeAO157 and ehlyA positive and only one isolate was VT1 and VT2 negative. Most isolates were PT 32. A higher frequency of positive isolations was noted from samples taken during spring and late summer. Conclusion: These studies show that in a typical Irish beef abattoir, carcass contamination with E. coli O157:H7 can occur during hide removal and bung tying and this contamination can remain on the carcass during subsequent processing. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study provides data that is necessary for the understanding of how E. coli O157:H7 contamination of beef occurs.

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