Developing Organizational Simulations: A Guide for Practitioners and Students

This book provides a concise source of information on effective and practical methods for constructing simulation exercises for the assessment of psychological characteristics relevant to effectiveness in work organizations. Simulation exercises present the examinee with descriptions of complex situations that stimulate aspects of real-world settings and problems. Examinees are required to demonstrate overt behavior in handling the problems presented. The process and/or products of this behavior are observed by trained assessors who observe behavior, classify behaviors into relevant dimensions, and evaluate effectiveness. Simulations can provide assessments of abilities, skills, and competencies not readily measured by other testing techniques.

Developing Organizational Simulations provides practical guidance for defining the attributes to be assessed, constructing the stimulus material, and designing methods for administration and scoring. Several different situational exercises are presented, including business games, leaderless group discussions, in-baskets, one-on-one interaction simulations, and case studies/presentations. Steps to ensure the reliability, validity, and legal defensibility of assessments from simulations are described. In addition, the book presents the use of simulation exercises for the purposes of personnel selection, training, development, and certification. Professional standards and guidelines relevant to the construction of simulation exercises are also covered.

Covering the simulations used for assessment, training, and research purposes, this volume offers guidance on each step of the development process. Its 15 chapters begin by explaining basic concepts and principles, then discuss specific simulation exercises and implementations. Appendices list attributes assessed by simulation exercises, offer expanded definitions of "planning and organizing" and "judgment", provide post-exercise forms, and present examples of the various research methods. Thornton teaches at Colorado State university. Mueller-Hanson is affiliated with Personnel Decisions Research Institutes. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR