Abstract This paper explains human resources management (HRM) in public organizations by examining the 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash as if the author were the commissioner and wanted to avoid similar crashes in the future. The paper first defines a set of evaluative criteria to determine which HRM principles are the most and the least important. The paper then indicates the importance of the job related test, performance appraisal and merit and notes that equal opportunity employment and affirmative action are not as significant in preventing future crashes.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Definitions
Criteria and Ranking
Conclusion
From the Paper "Job Related Test- This is first on the list because it was discovered following the crash that the pilot was on heavy medications which caused him to fall asleep at the helm. Perhaps if job related testing was performed on a regular basis this individual's medical condition would have been exposed and he would not have been driving the ferry on that day. In addition, if job related testing had been conducted perhaps the two pilot rule would have been enforced and the crash would not have occurred because there would have been somewhere there to take over the controls."
Abstract This paper examines the use of performance appraisals in the workplace. The three building blocks of performance appraisal are trait based, behavioral based, and rate based, all offer The author evaluates these three methods, and how they are affected by the habits of the supervisors conducting appraisals.
From the paper:
"An organization should be able to teach their supervisors the proper techniques for rating and having the appraisals implemented with high ethical consideration. "Managers, as well as, subordinates, are concerned about the politics and lack of fair treatment, honesty, and truthfulness within a performance review" (Axline, 1996, 44). To give an accurate representation of the performance an employee accomplishes two things should be done. One is that management should require appraisers who give poor ratings to document an outline procedure for improving performance and/or initiate termination."
Abstract This paper discusses the use of performance appraisal in a small company in which performance appraisal is handled by the manager of each sales region and is thought of as an ongoing process. It explores the brief monthly reports, which are based on sales performance and lengthier quarterly appraisals of a more formal fashion. It explains that the general sales manager sends out a simple form to be filled out for each employee indicating sales record and managerial evaluation.
From the Paper "The company being considered is one that is in the business of producing and selling computer equipment. This company has been in business for about five years and has grown rapidly, perhaps too rapidly, and the development of the sales force has been undertaken to date in a rather haphazard fashion. The sales department is the one whose performance appraisal is to be examined. The company was developed as a distributor for a product created in Belgium and imported by this company for sale in the United States. The product allows an office to connect multiple computers to one or two printers, with a buffer so that a number of jobs can be retained at once and then printed out in the order received. The product was sold successfully in Europe by the originating company. The U.S. company also refined the product and improved it before putting it on ..."
Abstract A paper analyzing the performance appraisal system at Vons Grocery Store, reviewing some literature and using them as a base for recommending an efficient appraisal system for the store.
Abstract This paper discusses a survey used to question employees regarding their perception of company performance appraisals. Five employees from the same company were surveyed, and their results have been recorded. These results were then weighed against outcomes and the research. The research is used as an aid in determining the effectiveness of the appraisal system, and recommendations are made for improvements.
From the Paper "Five employees from a local unnamed restaurant were surveyed regarding their latest employee performance appraisal. The unit of measurement in the appraisal system was a written evaluation by the supervisor, which contained a 1 through 5 rating system. When an employee was rated with a 1 the rating was at the lowest end of the system, and when an employee was rated with a 5 the employee had reached the highest end of the rating system. The instrument contained blocks for management comments underneath several headings that included training, attitude, customer service, and work ethic. On a specified date each employee was called into the manager's office and presented with the appraisal. The employees were offered an opportunity to read the appraisal, and then the manager discussed his findings with each employee. "
Abstract The work of Carl Rogers has contributed in substantial ways to the development of psychotherapy. There exists an extraordinarily extensive amount of writing about the value of his research, his clinical work, his methods, his style, and his profound impact on therapy. This paper poses the question, "Could interpretation of projective testing aid the process of reflection and clarification of communication between client and therapist during client centered (Rogerian) therapy"?. The paper provides a critical analysis of Rogers's work and into ?projective testing? itself. There are many forms of projective testing and diverse opinions with reference to projective testing. This paper critiques and analyzes several of them, using existing research in order to best formulate an informed answer for the central question being posed.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Carl Rogers's Life and the Seeds of his Interest in Psychology
Client-Centered Therapy and Listening to the Client
Professional Responses to and Critiques of Client-Centered Therapy
Process of Reflection and Clarification in Client-Centered Therapy
Projective Measures / Projective Testing: an Introduction
The History ? and Methods of ? Projective Testing Six of the Best-Known Projective Tests Zeroing in on Spurious Therapists and Rorschach Projective Testing Rogerian Reflection and Projective Testing Conclusion
References
From the Paper "Sir Francis Galton is generally given credit for devising the first projective test, which the British explorer and intellectual researcher developed in 1879. His test consisted of a word-association challenge; subjects were given a set of words and asked to produce a "first response" to each word. Following Galton's work, Carl Jung ? a Swiss psychiatrist and renowned prot?g? of Freud ? utilized a word-association test in combination with blood pressure measuring devices to detect what he called ?complexes.? Those complexes were "constellations of feelings and thoughts organized around an emotionally charged issue" (Lilienfeld). And Jung believed that a "delayed or physiologically pronounced response to a word" can indicate the existence of a complex."
Abstract This paper uses the hypothesis statement, "The typical American drinks on average 3 or more 8 oz. caffeine beverages a day" to demonstrate hypothesis testing. The author points out the steps in the five-step hypothesis test: (1) formulate a null and an alternative hypothesis; (2) select a level of significance or risk for the research; (3) identify the test statistic; (4) formulate a decision rule and (5) do the calculations and make a decision. The paper relates that hypothesis testing can be used to test any claim about a parameter.
Table of Contents:
Research Issue
Hypothesis
Five-Step Hypothesis Test Results
Other Uses of Hypothesis Testing Excel Spreadsheets
Hypothesis Test: Mean vs. Hypothesized Value
From the Paper "A one-tail test is a test that indicates a direction. This direction can be indicated by the use of words such as less than or more than, or it can be indicated by the use of the greater or less than mathematical signs. The direction of the tail is determined by which direction the alternate hypothesis points. A two-tail test is needed when the words or signs equal and not equal are used. By looking at the hypotheses, Team B determined that they will be conducting a one-tail test to the right."
Tags: tail, test, test, alternative, null, population
Abstract This paper examines standardized tests with an emphasis on their fairness to minorities, those with cultural diversity, limited English and disabilities. The reliability of standardized tests as a fair indicator of school success is considered, focusing primarily on the experiences of African-American students. This paper concludes that standardized tests are not at all fair towards minorities - as indicated in the fact that several colleges, such as Holy Cross, are abandoning standardized tests in their admissions processes.
Introduction
Standardized Tests and Bias in College Admissions: Several Case Studies
The SAT's Racial Bias - If This Test Didn't Work, What of NCLB and AYP?
With This Discrepancy In Standardized Testing, How Are NCLB and AYP Affected?
Conclusion
From the Paper "Most alarmingly, of the seven tests addressing "African American issues," four or 57% were "negative" or culturally unflattering and unappealing in nature. Those tests focused on the slavery experience and on the diminished rights, poverty, and racial/ethnic chauvinism faced by Black people in the United States. (Fleming, 2000) The three "positive," or culturally celebratory, tests addressed Harlem (New York City) politics in transition, William H. Johnson's paintings, and a memoir of a Black leader - as the popular sarcastic phrase in the industry notes, the rest of the questions are about polo and fly fishing, activities in which, for both social and economic reasons, African Americans are hardly likely to engage. "
Tags: education, minorities, testing, school, success, university
Abstract The essay evaluates three different intelligence or cognitive tests, namely Raven's test, the Mental Alertness test (HSRC) and the Cognitive Process Profile. These tests are used in both academic and workplace settings and are mainly critiqued in this essay according to their manual information, norm groups, reliability, purpose, and item content.
From the Paper "Intelligence tests are being used increasingly to assist individuals in educational planning, and in making decisions about aspects of their own lives" (Anastasi & Urbina, 1997). Raven's tests have been described as "tests of observation and clear thinking"( Raven et al., 1998, p.657). The Mental Alertness test is to provide measures of general intelligence, arithmetical ability and certain language abilities (Lombard, 1975). A strength of the Cognitive Process Profile is that it measures learning potential and involves a teach-test-teach approach (CPP Manual, 2000).?
Abstract This book presents a review of a book about standardized tests by G.W. Bracey, "Put to the Test: An Educator's and Consumer's Guide to Standardized Testing." The paper discusses Bracey's thesis that tests have grown beyond their ability to serve useful educational purposes.
From the Paper "The big pedagogic picture of Put to the Test is that it is a reality check on what Bracey analyzes as the blind faith that has been put in standardized-test scores as far as predicting the academic success or failure of students is concerned ..."
Abstract This paper studies the subtle cultural biases contained in standardized tests, including IQ tests. The paper asks whether this bias unfairly penalizes those who are not white and middle-class. The paper presents counter-arguments that while significant cultural differences might distort test findings in general, IQ tests are not biased in this way. The paper concludes that IQ tests in particular are constructed so that they can fairly assess intelligence of anyone who has grown up in the United States and can read English.
Abstract This paper discusses two attitudes toward animal testing in medical research, one desirous of ending such testing and the other supporting such testing. According to this paper, those who support such testing also hold that animals have moral significance, but that human beings have to be given more consideration than do animals, so therefore testing to end human diseases needs to be conducted.
From the Paper "The use of animals in medical research has been much criticized for many years. In 1955, the Humane Society of the United States passed a resolution noting that at least 50,000,000 animals were used each year in American laboratories, many in ways causing great and prolonged pain and suffering, many inhumanely housed and cared for. The resolution stated that it was the moral duty of every human society to inform itself about these matters and to take all possible action to prevent cruelty to these animals. Because of this, the Humane Society undertook a systematic study of the use and care of animals in laboratories (Humane Society of the United States 1). After the study by the Humane Society, the group concluded that animal research was a problem and that efforts should be taken to stop it."
Abstract The paper analyzes standardized testing used by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), an independent agency that evaluates the quality of education in the Ontario. Th paper discusses the province-wide tests administered by the EQAO, including the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) for Grade 10 students, reading, writing and math tests for Grade 3 and 6, and math tests for Grade 9.
From the Paper "The government of Ontario appointed the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) in 1995, as an independent agency to evaluate the quality of education in the province. One of the most important things EQAO does is to administer province-wide tests. These include the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) for Grade 10 students, reading, writing and math tests for Grade 3 and 6, and math tests for Grade 9 (EQAO, Sept., 2005). The EQAO stated in its most recent provincial report that: EQAO is a vital part of the education community."
Abstract This study analyzes results of the Virginia Standards of Learning tests. The author contrasts one group of high school students who used online computerized methods of testing versus the second group, who were tested with the traditional "paper-pencil" method. The author argues that computer-based testing is in its preliminary phases. This study, therefore, is intended to let scholars research the dependability of these tests. This research begins to fill this gap and offer future direction for additional research to be carried out.
Outline:
Abstract
Statement of Problem
Rationale of Study
Research Objectives
Literature Review
Hypothesis
Methodology
Participants
Measures
Procedure
Implications and Conclusion
References
From the Paper "The control of computers is the seeming dominant feature at the closing stages of the twentieth century. In the 1970s computers operated behind closed doors to tally books, record paychecks, organize weather newscasts, and perform whichever errands whose qualities frequently incorporated repellent recurring processes. The 1980s saw a transformation. Computers took a permanent position in the forefront of firms and businesses. Soon after, the computers replaced the human employees in the department of customer services. Personal computers with telecommunication were more common. Nowadays, the computers handle far more complicated procedures than what they did before. "Machine intelligence", "Inference engines", and "Expert Systems" are expressions that are gradually growing in trend. "
Abstract This paper contends that student aptitude should not be assessed through standardized testing because these tests are unfair to many students. It also claims that, these tests are unfair to underprivileged schools and poor test takers and that they take time out of class and don't prepare students for real life by teaching them to pass the test.
From the Paper "Not only does this form of testing cut out time from class, it is a poor assessor of student achievement. This means that a standardized test cannot measure the ability to create. A multiple choice test cannot determine a child's ability to "think or create in any field" (Fairtest 1). Standardized tests cannot give questions to do so because they are expensive and often the scoring is incorrect. Therefore this type of test should not be given if the ultimate goal is to assess student achievement because it cannot measure the student's ability to think at a high level; which is what all educators want for their students. Not only this says Fairtest.org, "Nor so these tests adequately measure thinking skills or assess what people can do on real-world tasks" (fairtest 3). Is not the sole purpose of education to prepare a student for college, and then ultimately the real world? Students are required to take classes such as FACS to prepare them for life situations, however if a standardized test cannot measure such skills then they are ineffective and obsolete. "
