¶ … CEO who asked for a short report on strategic human resource management was impressed with the report. Following the reading of the research on strategic human resource management and considering how senior individuals in the organization are selected the Assessment Center Approach caught the attention of the CEO. The objective of this work is to prepare a proposal that includes a description of this approach as well as methods of measuring the effectiveness of the approach and the costs and benefits anticipated for such an approach.
The "Guidelines and Ethical Considerations for Assessment Center Operations" Task Force on Assessment Center Guidelines states that the Assessment Center "…consists of a standardized evaluation of behavior based on multiple inputs. Multiple trained observers and techniques are used. Judgments about behaviors are made, in major part, from specifically developed assessment simulations. These judgments are pooled in a meeting among the assessors or by a statistical integration process." (1989)
I. Characteristics of the Assessment Center Approach
The Assessment Center approach is inclusive of evaluation techniques of various kinds including "job-related simulations and sometimes interviews and psychological tests." (Byham, 2011a) Typical job simulations utilized in assessment centers include those as follows:
(1) In-basket exercises;
(2) Group discussions;
(3) Simulations of interviews with subordinates or clients;
(4) Fact-finding exercises; and (5) Written communication exercises. (Byham, 2011a)
The simulations used in the Assessment Center approach are designed for the purpose of discovering individual behavior in relation to the primary aspects of the level for which the individual being assessed has applied or is being considered for in the organization. These competencies or "aspects of the job" are stated prior to the individual being assessed through analysis of the position at focus. Identified by the job analysis are the "behaviors, motivations and types of knowledge that are critical for suggest in the target position." (Byham, 2011a)
II. Analysis of the Assessment Center Approach
The Assessment Center approach was reviewed in the work of Thornton and Byham (1982) in a review of 29 studies that examined the validity of the methodology utilized in the Assessment Center approach. Finding state that more support existed for the Assessment Center approach than for other methodologies that were examined. Byham (2011a) reports that Thornton and associated at Colorado State University in 1985 "processed 220 validity coefficients from 50 studies using a statistical approach called meta-analysis. They estimated the method's validity at .37. (Byham, 2011a)
Byham reports that research followed the advancement of participants in the years that followed and that eight years later another assessment was conducted and the previous assessment ratings were found to still be valid after the lapse in time. Wayne Cascio of the University of Colorado in a separate study also arrived at the .37 finding in his study of the validity of the assessment centers first level at Bell System. The bottom-line impact was also measured by Cascio in regards to decisions on promotion using the assessment center data as the measure. Organizations have made a move toward empowering their workforce and as such are providing their employees with the following:
(1) Responsibility for their designated areas or outputs;
(2) Control over resources, systems, methods, and equipment;
(3) Control over working conditions and schedules;
(4) Authority (within defined limits) to commit the organization; and (5) Evaluation by achievements. (Byham, 2011a)
It is reported that most organizations are "organizing employees into self-directed work teams." (Byham, 2011a)
III. Team Member and Team Leader Responsibilities
The teams are comprised by team members and a team leader and the teams take the responsibility for the following: (1) improvement of both quality and productivity as well as rotation of job; (2) planning in addition to scheduling; (3) deciding who performs what work; (4) audit of quality; (5) adjustment to equipment as well as maintenance and repair adjustments; (6) planning of vacations, housekeeping, absenteeism and tardiness as well as other job performance issues; and (7) choice of team leader. (Byham, 2011a)
The roles of supervisors and managers are changed greatly as the organization makes changes to teams that are self-directed. The supervisor gains a large range of control and the team members take on many of the normal functions of supervision as the supervisors take on more management functions including budgeting and planning. The role of middle managers are also impacted due to the multiple-level shifts in the organizational job functions. (Byham, 2011a, paraphrased)
IV. Methods of Measuring Effectiveness
The methods utilized for measuring effectiveness in the assessment center approach includes the following: (1) Individuals being assessed participate in exercises that simulate situations that are known to occur on the job; (2) assessors who are specially trained observe and document the participants' behavior; (3) assessors write individual reports which document their observations of...
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