Assessment Center Practices Research Articles

Assessment Center Evaluation in Indonesia: An Exploratory Study

Although assessment center practice continues to spread to Asian countries, no published study exists that evaluates the quality of AC within the largest populous country of Indonesia. Therefore, this study aims to determine the quality of assessment center methodology in Indonesia. Then, the result is compared to a prior benchmarking of the BACDi-instrument. The results indicate no differences between Indonesian and German assessment centers' overall development and post-processing quality phases. The difference between Indonesian and German assessment centers was found in conduction quality. The assessment center practice has to consider the context of other aspects that could lead to its methodology improvement in future practice. This study is the first detailed and standardized representation of assessment center methodology quality that adequately explains every phase within the assessment center in Indonesia, and more widely, is discussed.

THE ROLE OF ASSESSMENT CENTER IN CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN POLDA BANGKA BELITUNG ISLANDS

To evaluate candidates, the National Police employs a variety of methods and competency test tools. However, in its implementation there are many obstacles in the National Police Assessment Center. This essay aims to provide an overview of the implementation of the National Police Assessment Center at the Bangka Belitung Islands Regional Police, whether the assessment center process has been carried out in accordance with the correct standard operating procedure (SOP), and whether the personnel who carry it out have met the required competency standards. was carried out using a qualitative method with a literature review data collection method on various theories, and a documentation study of reports and publications, regarding personnel career development. By conducting a literature and documentation study, the authors hope to obtain theoretical eand practical knowledge of the assessment center in the context of personnel career development and practice in the implementation of the Assessment Center within the Bangka Belitung Islands Regional Police so that the strengths and weaknesses of the Assessment Center's practice can be identified. The results of the study indicate that the National Police Assessment Center at the Bangka Belitung Islands Regional Police is not in accordance with the procedures according to the Assessment Center theory for the purposes of developing human resources, and the qualifications of the assessors who carry out the Assessment Center are not in accordance with the qualification requirements of the provisions in the Uniform Guidelines and Standards. and Ethical Considerations for Assessment Center OperationKEYWORDS: Assessment Center, standard operating procedure (SOP) and competency assessor

Assessment Center Practices in Indonesia: An exploratory study

Although assessment centers (AC) continue to spread to Asian countries, no published study exists that evaluates AC practices in an Asian country, and none within the largest populous country within the region of Indonesia. Therefore, we conducted an exploratory survey of Indonesian organizations to examine how ACs are designed, executed, implemented, and evaluated in the target country. In this article, we show first how political, economic, and cultural circumstances have an impact on the use of AC programs in Indonesia. Second, we report a broad spectrum of AC features within Indonesian organizations. Third, we compare selected results of our study with prior findings in other countries and regions to identify advantages and disadvantages in current Indonesian AC practices. Finally, implications for both future AC research and practice in both this region, and more widely, are discussed.

Building Situational Stimuli in Assessment Center Exercises: Do Specific Exercise Instructions and Role-Player Prompts Increase the Observability of Behavior?

Little is known about how assessment center exercises might be designed to better elicit job-relevant behavior. This study uses trait activation theory as a theoretical lens for increasing the number of behaviors that can be observed in assessment centers. Two standardized exercise stimuli (specific exercise instructions and role-player prompts) are proposed, and their effects on the observability of candidate behavior are examined. Results showed a significant effect of role-player prompts in increasing both the general number of behavioral observations and the number of behavioral observations related to three out of four dimensions. Specific exercise instructions did not have effects on observability. Implications for trait activation theory and assessment center practice are discussed.

Assessment Center Practices in South Africa

Despite the popularity of assessment centers (AC) in South Africa, no recent study exists that describes AC practices in that region. Given this research gap, we conducted a survey study that analyzes the development, execution, and evaluation of ACs in N=43 South African organizations. We report findings regarding AC design, job analysis and job requirements assessed, target groups and positions of the participants after the AC, number and kind of exercises used, additional diagnostic methods used, assessors and characteristics considered in constitution of the assessor pool, observational systems and rotation plan, characteristics, contents, and methods of assessor training, types of information provided to participants, data integration process, use of self- and peer-rating, characteristics of the feedback process, and features after the AC. Finally, we compare the results with professional suggestions to identify pros and cons in current South African AC practices and offer suggestions for improvement.

A Cross‐Cultural Look at Assessment Center Practices: Survey Results from Western Europe and North America

No recent survey documents assessment center (AC) practices across several countries. Therefore, we analyse AC practices in a sample of 97 organisations from nine countries in Western Europe and North America. We report findings regarding job analysis, dimensions, exercises, additional diagnostic methods, use of technology, assessor characteristics, contents and methods of assessor training, observational systems, information provided to participants, evaluation of participants’ reactions, data integration, characteristics of feedback, and features after the AC. Finally, we compare our results with prior findings to identify trends over time and point out features of ACs that could be improved.Face aux défis que soulèvent les centres d’évaluation (AC) dans les organisations internationales, nous proposons un modèle qui rend compte des variations transculturelles dans ces pratiques, variations relevant de données individuelles (la motivation et la qualification des experts en resources humaines), de conditions culturelles (le « contrôle de l’incertitude » et la « distance hiérarchique ») et de réalités institutionnelles (des differences dans le niveau officiel de collectivisme et des divergences en ce qui concerne les normes légales et les lois régissant l’emploi). Ce modèle est exploité pour expliquer les différences dans la planification, l’exécution et l’évaluation des AC dans des organisations situées dans neuf pays d’Europe de l’ouest et d’Amérique du nord. Nous mettons aussi en evidence des tendances sur le long terme dans les pratiques des AC et discutons de l’amélioration de ces pratiques et de l’orientation des futures recherches dans ce domaine.

Managing assessment center practices in the context of employment discrimination litigation.

The assessment center (AC) method has been shown to have content, predictive, and construct validity for assessing a variety of performance dimensions important to a variety of management positions in a variety of organizations. But like any personnel assessment method, decisions based on results may be challenged in employment litigation if the process is not managed properly. In this article, we examine judges' rulings in 61 federal cases involving ACs. We interpret 53 rulings to be favorable to the AC method: substantive rulings on the AC, summary judgment in favor of the organization using the AC, approval of settlement agreements involving an AC, and the denial of injunctions against an AC. We interpret eight rulings to be unfavorable: failure to endorse an AC as an alternative promotional method and substantive rulings against mismanaged ACs. Both favorable and unfavorable rulings provide guidance to psychologists managing the design, implementation, and evaluation of ACs.

A Comparison of Assessment Center Practices in Organizations in German‐speaking Regions and the United States

The development, execution, and evaluation of ACs in 281 German, Swiss, and Austrian organizations are examined for compliance with professional guidelines and consideration of moderator variables of validity, and the results are compared with those reported for U.S. companies (Spychalski et al., 1997). The authors show that some recommendations (e.g., systematic testing of reliability and validity) have not received sufficient attention in either the German‐speaking or U.S. sample and that compliance with guidelines (e.g., the application of information policy to assessees) varies across the countries studied. The most important cross‐national differences in the development, execution, and evaluation of ACs are explained as results of ideologically rooted reservations, insufficient professionalization in some aspects of intraorganizational AC use, as well as specific aspects of the Labor‐Management Act and similar legislation in German‐speaking regions. These factors are linked with a cultural difference—institutionalized collectivism, which is greater in German‐speaking regions than in the United Sates.

A new frame for frame-of-reference training: enhancing the construct validity of assessment centers.

The authors undertook a comprehensive examination of the construct validity of an assessment center in this study by (a) gathering many different types of evidence to evaluate the strength of the inference between predictor measures and constructs (e.g., reliability, accuracy, convergent and discriminant relationships), (b) introducing a theoretically relevant intervention (frame-of-reference [FOR] training) aimed at improving construct validity, and (c) examining the effect of this intervention on criterion-related validity (something heretofore unexamined in the assessment center literature). Results from 58 assessees and 122 assessors suggested that FOR training was effective at improving the reliability, accuracy, convergent and discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity of assessment center ratings. Findings are discussed in terms of implications and future directions for both FOR training and assessment center practice.

A Different Look at Assessment Centers: Views of Assessment Center Users

This study aims to shed light on possible problems of assessment center users and designers when developing and implementing assessment centers. Semi‐structured interviews with a representative sample of assessment center users in Flanders revealed that, besides a large variability in assessment center practice, practitioners experience problems with dimension selection and definition, exercise design, line/staff managers as assessors, distinguishing between observation and evaluation, and with the content of assessor training programs. Solutions for these problems are suggested.