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The author reports on a study of 41 HSOs which are consciously attempting to implement a total quality management approach to agency administration. After a brief introduction to the principles of TQM, an estimate of the extent of utilization of this approach, inferred from the sample, is made. The agencies in the study sample are described in terms of characteristics which typify the quality-managed organization, with attention given to differences in degree of implementation. The impact of TQM on such variables as client satisfaction, customer complaints, and employee morale is reported. Several bi-variate relationships are presented as possible directions for future research.

Interspousal empathy is conceived as a fundamental part of the structure of the marital relationship along with other elements of a couple's communication, role, and value systems. In a study of 25 couples receiving marriage counseling, it was found that improvement in interspousal empathy was associated with improvement in marital satisfaction. This finding has implications for approaches to marriage counseling and is supportive of those approaches that attempt to influence directly the empathic exchanges of the couple as well as other communication elements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]