Humor may be a useful managerial tool, contributing to effectiveness and subordinate satisfaction. A survey explored 290 workers' job satisfaction and impressions of supervisors as a function of subject age, subject sex, supervisor sense of humor, and supervisor sexual humor. Subjects rating their supervisors high in sense of humor reported higher job satisfaction and rated other supervisor qualities higher than did subjects rating their supervisors low in sense of humor. In general, the differences between ratings, given low and high sense of humor supervisors, were greater for younger (under 15) subjects than older. Older females downgraded supervisors who used sexual humor, while younger females and males did not. Future research should attempt to relate humor to objective measures of leader effectiveness.

Purpose -The goal of this paper is to better understand affiliation motivation patterns among students interested in pursuing entrepreneurial/self-employment careers as compared to students less interested in pursuing entrepreneurial careers. Design/methodology/approach -The study sample included 424 college students enrolled in upper-division business courses in a public institution in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the effects of four dimensions of affiliation motivation on entrepreneurial aspirations. Findings -Interest in entrepreneurial careers was negatively associated with the need for emotional support and positively associated with the need for positive stimulation from other persons. Therefore, persons with entrepreneurial interests enjoy interacting with other people, but they are not emotionally dependent upon them. Neither the need for social comparison nor the need for attention varied as a function of entrepreneurial aspirations. Research limitations/implications -Future research should distinguish among persons seeking different types of entrepreneurial and self-employment opportunities, as well as compare business students both to students studying fields other than business and persons established in careers. Practical implications -Knowledge of persons' affiliation motivation patterns may contribute to effective career counseling and career development. Originality/value -This paper contributes to greater understanding of the distinguishing characteristics of persons aspiring to be entrepreneurs by assessing four subcategories of affiliation motivation rather than treating it as a one-dimensional concept.

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Attributions based on written accounts of self-presentations by hypothetical managers were studied. Contrary to prior research, college students did not rate managers sharing credit with subordinates less favorably than managers merely disclosing personal obstacles overcome. A critical difference between this study and the prior one seemed to be that performance was portrayed as strictly a team effort, whereas in the prior study the manager made a significant individual contribution. Credit-sharing, male managers, who were average in weight, were rated more favorably than other men or any women. The present and prior research seem to have confounded information disclosed and degree of modesty.

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