Instructions: The following questions are meant for you to demonstrate your knowledge acquisition of the materials and ideas.
Please take your time in answering the questions thoroughly. I am looking for completeness of response.
Top scorers will have effectively analyzed, synthesized, evaluated, and applied.
Analyzing can involve some or all of the following:
Identifying the most important information.
Identifying the key concepts needed to understand the ideas discussed (figuring out the most important ideas needed to understand the material being presented).
Identifying assumptions underlying one’s thinking (what’s been taken for granted).
Identifying the implications of ideas (i.e., consequences).
Synthesizing is the process of putting all those elements of the analysis together with other ideas and thoughts:
What other information, ideas, findings, are relevant to understanding the material being covered?
Synthesizing involves integrating various facts and pieces of information.
Draw upon your previous courses and connect the dots between the ideas discussed prior and what is being discussed now.
Evaluating is the process of making decisions using evidence:
Based on what has been analyzed and synthesized, what is your evaluation?
Are there any other implications missed by the what has been presented thus far? If so, what are they and why are they important?
Application involves thinking about how the information presented can be used and implemented and in many ways is a part of Evaluating.
If you were in a leadership position and found yourself in this predicament, what would you do?
Additional Considerations:
Be sure to define your terms, don’t assume that I will know what you are talking about.
Try to be as specific as possible and not speak in generalities.
Give examples: include real-life or hypothetical examples to illustrate the ideas that you’re trying to make as well as give depth to the definitions and explanations that you’ve provided.
Elaborate: show me how you are understanding, connecting, and dissecting the material. Don’t assume that I’ll know what you mean, explain it to me.
Remember, the thoroughness of your response is key. Think of this as a performance evaluation, you are the employee asked to perform the task.
I am the manager who must evaluate how well the task was performed.
Question 1: Job Analysis
You are a junior consultant at AssessRUs and have been assigned to a new client to write a proposal explaining the reasons why the client should conduct a job analysis. The client is an accounting firm: Dewey, Cheetam, & Howe. They are looking to revamp their selection processes for junior accountants at their firm. They have three locations in South Florida with about 1,000 employees total. Your task is to explain what a job analysis will provide them with, give some examples of what would go into the job analysis by using O*Net and other resources, and explain the need for a thorough job analysis before starting to develop any new selection procedures.
Question 2: Validity
You are the assistant director of assessments and employee development at the prestigious Art Vandelay Enterprises, an architecture firm. AVE has offices in New York, Miami, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The CEO, Mr. Art Vandelay himself, has asked you to implement for the selection of architects a new personality test that he discovered while on a retreat in Bali. Your task is to write up a brief memorandum explaining to Mr. Vandelay the concept of validity in testing and in selection. While you don’t have access to this new personality test yet, you need to explain to him how and what you’ll evaluate to ensure that the tool is a valid instrument that can be used with architects.
Question 3: Performance
At a recent networking event, you made a connection with the VP of HR for a small, local credit union. The VP was impressed with your knowledge and background and would like to hire you on to help revamp their performance evaluation procedures. Write a brief report in which you explain some of the major issues in setting performance criteria and discuss various pro and cons to the alternative ways of evaluating those performance criteria. Offer suggestions on what you think would be the best course of action.
Start a new page for each question clearly indicating which question you are addressing
Minimum Criteria for Success
You must ensure the following are included in your response:
Reference at least 2x peer-reviewed articles or other publications
May reference popular press (e.g., HBR) as well but does not count toward the 2x peer-reviewed
Written in first person voice as if you were in the role described
Must be free of grammatical errors
May use headers and subheadings to organize ideas