Abstract This paper studies the development and use of assessment centers to eliminate unfair and unequal employee selection procedures. The paper defines the purpose of assessment centers as providing a standardized evaluation of behavior based on multiple exercises and observations. The paper then provides a historical reviews of assessment centers, which reached large scale implementation for the first time in the military during World War II. Next, paper discusses the essential elements of an assessment center, explaining that it is multi-faceted and goes well beyond panel interviews or single techniques and assessors. The paper also examines how assessment centers aid employers in making decisions about candidates and how the use of these centers protects potential candidate from biased criteria. The paper concludes by discussing how assessment centers increase the validity and acceptance of the results of such a process.
Outline
Introduction
Background
Essential Elements
Candidate Selection and Rights
Validity
Conclusion
From the Paper "The first private sector use of assessment centers was seen in the Michigan Bell Telephone Company. They became the first company to establish an assessment center program for operational use, specifically to assess the qualifications of long-term, non-management employees for the purpose of moving into managerial positions. Companies to follow suit were Standard Oil of Ohio, IBM, Sears Roebuck, General Electric, and J. C. Penney (MacKinnon, 1975, p. 2-3). The first use of assessment centers in uniformed public service, such as police and fire services, can be found in England. The British are considered to have pioneered this process and have led the field for many years (Olson, 1981, p. 2). Perhaps the most historically influential use of the assessment center process can be found in the American Telephone and Telegraph Company's Management Progress Study which took place from 1956 through 1960. This was strictly a study and the results were not used for actual promotional decisions within the company. The steps taken in the study almost mirror the steps taken in creating and implementing an assessment center in any organization. Characteristics of successful managers were identified, including dimensions such as managerial functions, interpersonal relations, general abilities, attitude, and values. Candidates were then rated on each of the variables through the use of exercises designed to cover each of the characteristics. An in-basket exercise was used which required the assessee to prioritize and carry out multiple administrative tasks which might be found on a manager's desk. A business game and a group discussion allowed assessors to observe the behaviors associated with group problem solving and communication skills. An interview was used to cover the areas of attitude and values, and several pen and paper tests were administered as well."
Abstract This paper discusses the importance of management control to the running of any business and examines how the process of control has changed with the introduction of the internet. Factors affecting effectiveness of management control, elements of the control system, key management control activities and the Internet's effect on management control systems are detailed.
From the Paper "Doing business is simply mathematics by other means ? all a question of keeping equations in balance on both sides. Labor must be balanced with capital. Resources with allocation. Customers with services or goods. Workers with rewards. The only way that such balances can be instituted and maintained is through a system of management control. At the heart of any well-run business operation is a sound theory of control and overall operating strategy. This paper looks at the importance of management control to the running of any business and examines how the process of control has changed with the introduction of the internet."
Abstract In this paper, the author considers the role of a nurse from a perspective based on a six week student placement in nursing practice. This involved; two weeks with the primary care and community nurses (otherwise known as District Nurses); a week with a health visitor; two weeks of two units of mental health, one in a mental health rehabilitation unit and another in community mental health and a week in an acute elderly rehabilitation ward in a hospital.
Outline
As an Assessor of Care: Conducting Assessments
As an Advocate: Representing the Interests of the Client
As a Primary Carer: Providing Frontline Care
As a Manager of Care: Coordinating all the Care Required
As a Counsellor: Providing Talking and Listening Therapies
As an Educator: Promoting Health Through Educating Clients
As a Researcher: Providing Evidence Based Practice
From the Paper "The role of the 21st century nurse in the United Kingdom is a highly varied, dynamic and multidimensional one. This is more important perhaps, due to the changes that have come about in the last two decades of the last century. There are demographic, epidemiological, political, economic and technological changes that have forcibly caused the NHS to undergo great organisational changes in the 1980s and 1990s. And now recently the government continues to outline further changes in the health care system which puts an emphasis on partnership and continuity of care between hospitals and the community. All this has seen nurses continuously readapt themselves in the role they play in the delivery of health care (Melia 2004)."
Abstract The paper explains how important it is to understand the difference between the terms "disability" and "handicap" when assessing individuals with disabilities. The paper further emphasizes the importance of diagnosing disabilities accurately. The paper then goes on to look at how the assessor evaluates the individuals' unique psychological and vocational abilities and determines how their various disabilities impact their vocational capabilities. The paper also discusses how the quantity and quality of client input is important to the assessment process.
Outline:
Issues in Psychological and Vocational Assessment
Types of Disabilities that Impede
Modification to Address Issues
From the Paper "The person assessing the client must have a clear idea of the meaning of the term "disability." Although frequently used interchangeably, "disability," "impairment," and "handicap" all have different meanings. An assessor's perception of the client based on what some people might consider semantics can have a serious affect on that person's ability to accurately evaluate the individual being assessed. In strictest terms, a "disability" is a "physical or mental impairment that a) substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual" (Power, 2000, p. 37)."
