Using Individual Assessments in the Workplace : A Practical Guide for HR Professionals, Trainers, and Managers

by Goodstein, Leonard D.; Prien, Erich P.

• ISBN13: 9780787982560
• ISBN10: 0787982563
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-07-21
• Publisher: Pfeiffer & Co

Summary

Written for human resource professionals, trainers, and managers, Using Individual Assessments in the Workplace is an easy-to-read and easy-to-apply manual for using assessment tools. Step by step this much-needed resource leads the reader through the often complex processes of job analysis, test selection, test administration and interpretation, and decision making. The authors- Leonard D. Goodstein and Erich P. Prien-are leading experts in the field of workplace assessment. In this book they present a comprehensive resource that offers an introduction to individual assessment, shows how to collect and analyze assessment data (including a five-step model for conducting this process), reveals how to perform psychological measurement, develop and integrate individual assessment data, and report individual assessment results.

Author Biography

Leonard D. Goodstein, Ph.D., a consulting psychologist based in Washington, D.C., specializes in providing consultation in personality assessment, especially in the workplace—as well as executive development, including executive coaching. He is also a Principal with Professional Assessment Services and Solutions (PASS), Psichometrics International, LLC, and Forensic Sciences Medical Group, PC.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree with honors from the City College of New York, Dr. Goodstein went on to receive both an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University, both in psychology. A holder of the Diploma in Clinical Psychology of the American Board of Professional Psychology, Dr. Goodstein is a Distinguished Practitioner of the National Academy of Practice. He is a licensed psychologist in both California and the District of Columbia. Dr. Goodstein is listed in Who’s Who in America and American Men and Women in Science.
Since completing a three-year term as executive vice president and chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association, psychology’s national membership association, in 1988 he has been engaged in consulting, research, and writing. Prior to APA, Dr. Goodstein had a distinguished academic career, including professorships at the Universities of Iowa, Cincinnati, and Arizona State, where he served as chair of the Department of Psychology. In addition, he has been a Fulbright Senior Lecturer (Professor) at the Vrije Universiteit in the Netherlands. After leaving academia and prior to joining APA, he was president and later chairman of the board of University Associates, Inc., now Pfeiffer.

Erich P. Prien, Ph.D., an industrial/organizational psychologist based in Memphis, Tennessee, specializes in the development, standardization, and application of psychological tests, especially in the workplace. He is also the founder and president of Performance Management Press (PMP), which has been the principal marketing arm for his tests.
Following receipt of his bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, he received an MA from Carnegie Mellon University and a Ph.D. from Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve), both in industrial/organizational psychology. Dr. Prien has served as a research psychologist for the Standard Oil Company, as assistant director of the Psychological Research Service at Case Western University, as adviser to the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces, and as a faculty member at Greensboro College, University of Akron, Georgia Technical University, and the University of Memphis. After leaving the University of Memphis in 1987, Dr. Prien has devoted himself to his professional practice, his research, and his sustained interest in writing. Dr. Prien is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and holds the Diploma in Industrial Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. Among his many awards are the Distinguished Professional Award from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the Author of the Year Award from The American Society of Training Directors and the Journal of Performance and Instruction, and he was the Creativity Research Award Winner from the American Society for Personnel Administration twice.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
W. Warner Burke
Foreword	xv
Adrian Furnham
Introduction	1	(6)
For Whom Did We Write This Book?	1	(1)
What Are Our Recommendations?	2	(1)
How Is This Book Organized?	3	(4)
The Practice of Individual Assessment	7	(24)
What Is Individual Assessment?	8	(1)
What Does an Assessor Need to Know?	8	(1)
The Three Levels of Assessor Competencies	9	(6)
The Individual Assessment Model	15	(7)
Information Technology and Individual Assessment	22	(7)
Summary	29	(2)
Psychological Measurement	31	(22)
The Normal Distribution Curve	31	(2)
Reliability	33	(4)
Validity	37	(3)
Norms	40	(2)
The Role of the Assessor	42	(2)
Classification of Psychological Tests	44	(7)
Interviewing	51	(1)
Summary	52	(1)
Collecting and Analyzing Assessment Data	53	(32)
Using the Five-Step Model of Individual Assessment	54	(14)
Hard and Soft Data	68	(3)
Assessment Procedures and Choices	71	(11)
Reporting and Follow-Up Choices	82	(1)
Summary	83	(2)
Developing and Integrating Individual Assessment Data	85	(22)
Choosing Measures	86	(2)
The Database	88	(8)
Processing the Database	96	(8)
Summary	104	(3)
Reporting Individual Assessment Results	107	(30)
The Focus of a Final Report	108	(1)
Content and Style	108	(10)
Drawing Conclusions and Making Recommendations	118	(1)
A Decision-Making Model	119	(2)
A Forty-Question Checklist	121	(1)
Computer-Generated Reports	121	(4)
Individual Assessment for Development	125	(9)
Future-Oriented Job Analysis	134	(1)
Summary	135	(2)
Appendix A: Recommended Readings	137	(2)
Appendix B: Sample Position Description	139	(4)
Appendix C: Introduction to Job Analysis	143	(10)
Appendix D: First-Line Management/Supervisory Level Competency Model	153	(6)
Appendix E: Senior Management/Executive Level Competency Model	159	(8)
Appendix F: Sample Individual Assessment Report on Applicant for Administrative Assistant Position	167	(4)
Appendix G: Sample Assessment Report---Supervisor/First-Line Manager	171	(8)
Appendix H: Sample Individual Assessment Report---Management and Executive Level	179	(10)
Appendix I: Selected Tests and Publishers	189	(10)
References	199	(4)
About the Authors	203	(2)
Index	205