A model of organizational commitment was developed using, as independent variables, factors associated with self, with family and with career. Australian military officers (males only) were used as the research population (W1300). All these factors were influential in explaining the variance in organizational commitment. Examination of the interplay of the independent variables across career/ life stages gives insight into the dynamics of organizational commitment.

The construct ' work involvement ' was viewed as having three dimensions: job involvement, or psychological identification with the position or job occupied; specialization involvement, or psychological identification with the career or specialization of which the present job is a part; and importance ofperformance to seyesteem, an individual difference variable akin to the Protestant ethic. Two studies of professional Army officers are described (n = 100, and n = 384). Factor analysis of questionnaire items supported the hypothesis that the three attitudes are distinct. Scales were developed to measure the attitudes, and assessments of their validity and reliability are presented.

Whilst the Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model (JCM) continues to attract research attention, including questions about its factorial structure, very few have questioned its comprehensiveness. The model pos:ulates five job dimensions, but it is questioned whether these arc necessary and sufficient for the development of the outcomes which the model predicts. This study investigates the effect of including a sixth dimension, a measure of person-task match called selfexpression. Data from two surveys of public sector employm (n = 170 and n = 160) were used to test the hypotheses that self-expression will make a unique contribution to the variance explained in both job satisfaction and job involvement beyond that explained by the five job characteristics of task identity, task significance, autonomy, skill variety, and feedback and that self-expression will be a stronger influence on job involvement than it will be on job satisfaction. The hypotheses were partly supported, with self-expression tending to show stronger relationships with job involvement than with job satisfaction. These results support O' Brien's (1985) argument that the JCM is not comprehensive without the inclusion of a person-task match variable.

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This article reviews the history of military reserves in Australia with particular reference to the Army Reserve. It shows how the importance of reserves in Australia has waxed and waned across the past two centuries, from an early situation of primacy in the colonial period. The importance of reserves has reemerged in the post–Cold War era, with new forms of reserve organization evolving alongside ‘‘conventional’’ reserve forces. The authors discuss the extent to which these developments need to be accompanied by attention to cultural and personnel management issues and to enhanced reserves–regular integration. Despite the challenge of juggling civilian employment with reserve commitments, most reservists appear to welcome a greater, rather than a token, obligation to serve. There is a viable and meaningful role for the reserves provided that the Australian Defence Force and the government are prepared to devote sufficient effort to them and to assign them appropriate tasks.