In 1991 the National Organizations Study (NOS) surveyed a number of U.S. businesses about their structure, context, and personnel practices to produce a database for answering questions about social behavior in work organizations. This book presents the results of that survey. The study aimed to create a national database on organizations--based on a probability sample--that provides information for the organizations research community. The three central themes here describe the NOS and its implications; provide overviews of specific employment practices--hiring, training, promotion, performance measurement, benefit packages, contingent work--and supply comparisons between different businesses and business sectors; and offer differences between male and female employees. The 16 research articles are organized into 4 parts: "The National Organization Study,""Organizational Structures,""Organizations' Human Resource Practices," and "Organizations and the Changing Workforce." The 16 chapters are: chapter 1, "Organizational Properties and Practices" (Arne L. Kalleberg, David Knoke, Peter V. Marsden, and Joe L. Spaeth); chapter 2, "Design of the National Organizations Study" (Joe L. Spaeth and Diane P. O'Rourke); chapter 3, "American Organizations and Their Environments" (Peter V. Marsden, Cynthia R. Cook, and David Knobe); chapter 4, "Bureaucratic Structures for Coordination and Control" (Peter V. Marsden, Cynthia R. Cook, and Arne L. Kalleberg); chapter 5, "Formalizing the Employment Relation" (Arne L. Kalleberg, Peter V. Marsden, David Knobe, and Joe L. Spaeth); chapter 6, "Human Resource Management and Organizational Performance" (Arne L. Kalleberg and James W. Moody); chapter 7, "The Staffing Process" (Peter V. Marsden); chapter 8, "Job Training in U.S. Organizations" (David Knoke and Arne L. Kalleberg); chapter 9, "Training, Unions, and Internal Labor Markets" (David Knoke and Yoshito Ishio); chapter 10, "Organizational Differences in Earnings" (Arne L. Kalleberg and Mark E. Van Buren); chapter 11, "The Structure of Organizational Earniings Inequality" (Arne L. Kalleberg and Mark E. Van Buren); chapter 12, "Cui Bono? Employee Benefit Packages" (David Knoke); chapter 13, "Contingent Employment in Organizations" (Arne L. Kalleberg and Kathryn Schmid); chapter 14, "Organizational Patterns of Gender Segregation" (Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Arne L. Kalleberg, and Peter V. Marsden); chapter 15, "Gender Differences and Organizational Commitment" (Peter V. Marsden, Arne L. Kalleberg, and Cynthia R. Cook); and chapter 16, "Conclusions and Prospects" (Arne L. Kalleberg, David Knoke, Peter V. Marsden, and Joe L. Spaeth). (Contains approximately 360 references, an author index, a subject index.) (RJM)