Simulated Projects for Practical Applications in

Industrial/Organizational Psychology APPL 655
 

    The I/O projects described below are purely hypothetical. The information and data are not derived from actual organizations. The purpose of the simulated projects is to provide students with opportunities to demonstrate competencies they have acquired through course work in the MS in Applied Psychology Program in Division of Applied Behavioral Sciences at the University of Baltimore.

JA = Job Analysis

PA = Performance Appraisal 

SEL = Selection procedures 

OB = Org behavior (may involve job design, training, motivation, satisfaction, leadership)



Projects:

JA1 FCPS: School Teacher Job Analysis
JA2 FCPS: School Principal Job Analysis
JA3 Alum Aluminum Corporation: Midlevel Managers: Job Analysis
JA4 WCI: Engineers and technicians multilevel Job Analysis
JA5 SoftApps: Software engineer Job Analysis

 

PA1 FCPS : Teacher Performance Appraisal

PA2 FCPS : Elementary Principal Performance Appraisal
PA3 Alum Aluminum Corporation: Midlevel Managers: performance appraisal
PA4 WCI: Engineers and technicians multilevel performance appraisal
PA5 SoftApps:Software engineer performance appraisal

SEL1 FCPS Elementary School Teacher Selection program
SEL2  FCPS Elementary School Principal Selection program
SEL3 Alum Aluminum Corp. Cognitive ability and personality assessment for management applicants
SEL4 WCI: Personnel selection for engineers and technicians
SEL5 SoftApps: Selecting Software engineers

OB1 FCPS New Teacher discontent
OB2 FCPS: Elementary Principal Dissatisfaction
OB3 Alum Aluminum Corporation: Union vs non union job satisfaction
OB4 WCI: Organizational survey
OB5 SoftApps: Organizational Productivity

Project Descriptions

JA1   FCPS: School Teacher Job Analysis

Assignment: Conduct a valid Job Analysis for Elementary School Teachers
 

    Faultimore County Public School System (FCPS) has recently received an infusion of funds from the State of Maryland. The new Superintendent, Dr. Fred Fiedler, wants to spend it wisely. He has hired an extremely competent HR Director, Sandy Beach, who is moving quickly to improve things. Sandy knows that 200 additional elementary school teachers will be hired next year to accommodate the increase in student enrollments. Therefore, in order to develop and implement an effective performance appraisal system, it will necessary to identify the tasks, duties and and KSAOs needed for successful performance as a teacher. The job analysis results will also be used in the future to develop valid job criteria, a performance appraisal system, selection procedures for hiring new teachers, and to determine how much the job will pay (big increase for teachers). Having a thorough understanding of the job duties and SKAs will also help to defend against any EEOC charges, but most importantly, to really help improve the system.


    APC Inc. has signed a contract to develop and implement an effective performance appraisal system for elementary school teachers. This Project Team must update the job description and identify the frequency and importance of the essential job duties for Elementary School Teacher. Remember your assignment is not to develop a performance appraisal system or develop selection criteria (that's for other projects), but to conduct a thorough job analysis that can be used for several functions such as recruitment, performance management, training and development, selection, and job evaluation.  

Your assignment is to:

  1. Establish a goal, objectives, and a time line to complete the project
  2. Specify what job analysis method(s) you will use to define the tasks and worker requirements (SKAOs needed) (O*Net)
  3. Identify an adequate number of SMEs needed to obtain reliable judgments in determining the essential job tasks and duties
  4. Collect data to validate the importance and frequencies of the tasks/duties
  5. Identify the KSAOs necessary for successful performance of the job
  6. Provide sound justifications (based on I/O principles) for your decisions.
  7. Be sure that the Teachers’ Union position is considered.
  8. Provide a written report to management.

You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation

DOT code: 092.227-010 TEACHER, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (education) teacher, primary.
 
Teaches elementary school pupils academic, social, and manipulative skills in public or private educational system: Prepares teaching outline for course of study. Lectures, demonstrates, and uses audiovisual teaching aids to present subject matter to class. Prepares, administers, and corrects tests, and records results. Assigns lessons, corrects papers, and hears oral presentations. Maintains order in classroom and on playground. counsels pupils when adjustment and academic problems arise. Discusses pupils' academic and behavior problems with parents and suggests remedial action. Keeps attendance and grade records as required by school board. May teach combined grade classes in rural schools.

Also see updates (articles from Baltimore Sun) on plans to control teacher assignments 


JA2 FCPS:  School Principal Job Analysis

Assignment: Conduct a valid Job Analysis for Elementary School Principal
 
    Faultimore County Public School System (FCPS) has recently received an infusion of funds from the State of Maryland. The new Superintendent Dr. Fred Fiedler wants to spend it wisely. He has hired an extremely competent HR Director, Sandy Beach, who is moving quickly to improve things. Sandy knows that 13 additional elementary school principals will be hired next year to accommodate the increase in student enrollments. Therefore, in order to develop and implement an effective performance appraisal system, it will necessary to update job descriptions by conducting a thorough job analysis. The job analysis will be used for several future projects such as recruitment, selection, performance management, and job evaluation.  It will be used first to help develop valid criteria for personnel decisions and thus it must be sufficient to defend against any EEOC charges, but most importantly, to really help improve the system.
 
    Applied Psychology Consultants, Inc (APC) has signed a contract to conduct the job analysis for elementary school principals. The Project Team must update the job description by conducting a job analysis for Elementary School Principal. Remember your assignment is not to develop selection criteria (that's another project), but to determine the frequency and importance of the essential tasks and duties and the requisite KSAOs  needed to perform the job well. The job analysis findings will be used for both administrative and development purposes.
Your assignment is to:
  1. Establish a goal, objectives and a time line to complete the project
  2. Specify what job analysis method(s) you will use to define the tasks and worker requirements (SKAOs needed)
  3. Compare the FCPS Principal job to the DOT (O*Net) description for school principal
  4. Select appropriate SMEs to be used for identifying the tasks and duties, their importance and frequency, and verifying the KSAOs needed for successful performance.
  5. Ensure the job analysis findings are reliable
  6. Provide documentation to show that your decisions were based on sound I/O principles
  7. Be sure that the Teachers’ Union position is considered.
  8. Present a written report to management.

You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation
 
Dictionary of Occupational Title: 099.117-018 PRINCIPAL (education)
Directs and coordinates educational, administrative, and counseling activities of primary or secondary school: Evaluates educational program to insure conformance to state and school board standards. Confers with teaching personnel, pupils, and parents on matters pertaining to educational and behavioral problems in school. Establishes and maintains relationships with colleges community organizations and other schools to coordinate educational services. Requisitions and allocates supplies, equipment, and instructional material as needed. Supervises assignment of teachers and pupils to classes. May be designated PRINCIPAL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (education; PRINCIPAL, HIGH SCHOOL (education); PRINCIPAL, JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL (education); PRINCIPAL, PRIVATE SCHOOL (education).

JA3 Alum Aluminum Corporation (AAC) Managerial personnel Job Analysis

Assignment: Conduct job analyses for six classes of mid-level managers.

    Before a new performance management system can be developed for AAC, it will be necessary to conduct a job analyses for all job classes. It is very important that you involve managers to help develop the job descriptions. You will need to get their participation and buy-in in order to make sure the job analyses are valid. Because Geoff Nelson, the VP of HR will insist that the new performance management program will allow for comparisons across job classes and departments, the jobs must be defined in a way that such comparisons can be made when performance criteria are developed for the system.  The initial phase of the job analysis project will cover six of the job classes of managers at AAC. Once the job analyses are complete, the procedure will be replicated for all of the approximately 30 managerial job classes and levels. For positions counts and descriptions  See: Alum Alum Managerial Job descriptions

Alum Aluminum employs a total of 3200 employees of which 72% are nonexempt. Currently of the managerial positions, 10% are female, 21% African Americans (others white). Average age is 45.4 years and average time in managerial positions is 2.3 years.

Your assignment is to:

  1. Establish objectives and a time line to complete the project
  2. Conduct a thorough job analysis for each of six mid-level managers by identifying both the common and unique tasks and duties associated with each manager job
  3. Match the job descriptions as closely as possible to the DOT (O*Net) descriptions. 
  4. Specify what job analysis method(s) you will use to define the tasks and worker requirements (KSAOs needed)
  5. Provide statistical evidence for the importance and frequency of tasks and link the KSAOs to the duties
  6. Give sound reasons (based on I/O principles) for your decisions.
  7. Present a written report to management

You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, Power Point presentation


JA4 Wireless Communication Inc. (WCI): Engineers and technicians Job Analysis

 Assignment: Conduct job analyses for engineers and technicians at WCI. Before a new performance appraisal system can be developed for WCI, job analyses must be conducted, beginning with engineers and technical staff jobs (see WCI job descriptions). While the jobs may vary in some important respects, it will be important to identify both the common and unique tasks and duties associated with each. Not only do all workers have to demonstrate competency in the technical requirements of the job, each must also work closely with team members and project managers, relating to them effectively and being able to resolve differences in opinions on how to develop the products. Therefore in addition to capturing the worker’s competency in the technical requirements of the job, the job analysis must also focus on soft skills required (KSAOs). The jobs  must be defined in a way that will enable the APC Performance Appraisal team to develop a system that allows for comparisons across jobs and classes. The PA system will be used to set merit pay and for making promotional decisions.
 
Your assignment is to:
  1. Establish objectives and a time line to complete the project
  2. Specify what job analysis method(s) were used to define the tasks and worker requirements (SKAOs needed)
  3. Relate the new job descriptions with corresponding DOT (O*Net) descriptions
  4. Provide statistical evidence for the importance and frequency of tasks and link the KSAOs to the duties
  5. Provide sound reasoning (based on I/O principles) for your decisions
  6. Be sure that employees as well as management (SMEs) are used to help with the job analyses
  7. Document the findings in such a way that they can be used for the future performance appraisal and selection projects to be done at WCI
  8. Present a written report to management

You are asked to present your team's findings to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation

JA5 SoftApps: Software engineer Job  Analysis

Assignment: Conduct a job analysis for SoftApps software engineers.

   
HR manager, Wanda Wynn was informed by her astute HR generalist, Cindy File, (who studied I/O psych) that EEOC investigators were inquiring about the possibility that female software developers may be making less than male developers. This  prompted the discussion with Ashonnie Starr and Izzy Shorter about whether or not they needed a formal appraisal process to make sure any pay differentials, if they exist, are defensible. Cindy pointed out, of course, that legal issues notwithstanding, its good practice to do the performance appraisals properly especially if they are rewarded on merit and performance.

    They all decided it was a smart move to establish a formal performance appraisal system so Izzy decided to borrow an evaluation form from a friend who worked at MicroSoft Corp.. However, Cindy pointed out that they should not take an "off the shelf system" but instead should develop their own that fits the SoftApps purposes. Harry Finnish, who had completed a graduate course in personnel, insisted that a thorough job analyses must be conducted first, to ensure that the job descriptions really defined the jobs. None had ever been formally done. They all agreed to begin with software engineers (developers). Cindy called on APC for help. The APC team agreed to (1) conduct a formal job analysis, (2) develop a job description and (3) report the findings to Willie Gates who would then decide what to do about developing a formal appraisal system that would be fair to all. 

    Cindy pointed out that not only do the engineers have to demonstrate competency in the technical requirements of the job, each must also work closely with team members and project managers, relating to them effectively and being able to resolve differences in opinions on how to develop the products. Therefore, in addition to capturing the engineer's competency in the technical requirements of the job, the job analysis must also be identify soft skills. The prototype Job Analysis procedure would have to be designed for use with all jobs in the organization.

Mr. Willie Gates, Mgr. Product development will be working closely with APC. He has provided the consultants with the following numbers of employees available for the study.
            600Applications Software engineers
            25   Engineer Managers
            7 hardware specialists

Your assignment is to:
  1. Establish objectives and a time line to complete the project.
  2.  Identify the closest SoftApps job match one or more DOT (O*Net) descriptions.
  3. Specify what the worker requirements are needed (SKAOs), including soft skills.
  4. Provide sound reasons (based on I/O principles) for your decisions.
  5. Be sure that employees as well as managers are used as SMEs and have substantial input in developing the descriptions
  6. Present a written report to management.

You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation

PA1 FCPS: Teacher Performance Appraisal
 

Assignment: Develop a performance appraisal system for Elementary School Teachers
 

    The Board of for the Faultimore County Public School System (FCPS), with the recent infusion of funds from the State of Maryland the new Superintendent, has ordered Dr. Fred Fiedler, Superintendent, to spend it wisely. He very competent HR Director, Sandy Beach, is moving quickly to improve things. Sandy knows that 200 additional elementary school teachers will be hired next year to accommodate the increase in student enrollments. Therefore, in order to develop and implement an effective performance appraisal system, she has retained APC to conduct a job analysis which will be completed in time for another Project Team (yours) to develop valid job criteria for this job. The criteria may also be used in the future to develop selection procedures, determine how much the job will pay (big increase for teachers). Having valid criteria will also help to defend against any EEOC charges, but most importantly, to really help improve the system.
 

    APC Inc. has signed a contract to develop and implement an effective performance appraisal system for elementary school teachers. The Project Team must utilize findings from the Job Analysis for Teacher and develop JOB PERFORMANCE CRITERIA for Elementary School Teacher. Remember your assignment is not to develop selection predictors and criteria (that's another project), but to develop criteria to measure effective performance of the duties on the job. The system will be used for both administrative and development purposes.

Your assignment is to:

  1. Establish objectives and a time line
  2. Specify what job analysis method(s) was used to define the tasks and worker requirements (SKAOs needed) (O*Net)
  3. Make sure the conceptual and actual criteria match.
  4. Try to come up with both "hard" and "soft" criteria.
  5. Be sure they are appropriate, practical, reliable and valid.
  6. Be able to give sound reasons (based on I/O principles) for your decisions.
  7. Be sure that the Teachers’ Union position is considered.
  8. Provide a written report to management.
  9. Construct a Performance Appraisal (form) that can be used for administrative purposes and attach it as an addendum to the Report

You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation

DOT code: 092.227-010 TEACHER, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (education) teacher, primary.
 
    Teaches elementary school pupils academic, social, and manipulative skills in public or private educational system: Prepares teaching outline for course of study. Lectures, demonstrates, and uses audiovisual teaching aids to present subject matter to class. Prepares, administers, and corrects tests, and records results. Assigns lessons, corrects papers, and hears oral presentations. Maintains order in classroom and on playground. counsels pupils when adjustment and academic problems arise. Discusses pupils' academic and behavior problems with parents and suggests remedial action. Keeps attendance and grade records as required by school board. May teach combined grade classes in rural schools.

Also see updates (articles from Baltimore Sun) on plans to control teacher assignments 

Limiting Teacher Moves Decried
School May Expand Bonus Awards
Fault Co. Limits teacher transfers


PA2 FCPS: Elementary Principal Performance Appraisal
 
Assignment: Develop a performance appraisal system for Elementary School Principal
 
    Faultimore County Public School System (FCPS) has recently received an infusion of funds from the State of Maryland the new Superintendent Dr. Fred Fiedler wants to spend it wisely. He has hired an extremely competent HR Director, Sandy Beach, who is moving quickly to improve things. Sandy knows that 10 additional elementary school principals will be hired next year to accommodate the increase in student enrollments. Therefore, in order to develop and implement an effective performance appraisal system, it will necessary to update job descriptions and develop valid job criteria for this job. The criteria may also be used in the future to develop selection procedures, determine how much the job will pay (big increase for teachers). Having valid criteria will also help to defend against any EEOC charges, but most importantly, to really help improve the system.
 
    Applied Psychology Consultants, Inc (APC) has signed a contract to develop and implement an effective performance appraisal system for elementary school principals. The Project Team must update the job description and develop JOB PERFORMANCE CRITERIA for Elementary School Principal. Remember your assignment is not to develop selection criteria (that's another project), but to develop criteria to measure effective performance of the duties on the job. The system will be used for both administrative and development purposes.
Your assignment is to:
  1. Establish objectives and a time line for completion of the project.
  2. Specify what job analysis method(s) were used to define the tasks and worker requirements (SKAOs needed)
  3. Make sure the conceptual and actual criteria match
  4. Try to come up with both "hard" and "soft" criteria
  5. Be sure the criteria are appropriate, practical, reliable and valid.
  6. Provide sound reasons (based on I/O principles) for your decisions.
  7. Be sure that the Teachers’ Union position is considered.
  8. Present a written report to management.
  9. Construct a Performance Appraisal (form) that can be used for administrative purposes and attach it as an addendum to the Report

You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation
 
Dictionary of Occupational Title: 099.117-018 PRINCIPAL (education)
Directs and coordinates educational, administrative, and counseling activities of primary or secondary school: Evaluates educational program to insure conformance to state and school board standards. Confers with teaching personnel, pupils, and parents on matters pertaining to educational and behavioral problems in school. Establishes and maintains relationships with colleges community organizations and other schools to coordinate educational services. Requisitions and allocates supplies, equipment, and instructional material as needed. Supervises assignment of teachers and pupils to classes. May be designated PRINCIPAL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (education; PRINCIPAL, HIGH SCHOOL (education); PRINCIPAL, JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL (education); PRINCIPAL, PRIVATE SCHOOL (education).

    PA3 Alum Aluminum Corporation (AAC) Managerial performance appraisal
 
Assignment: Develop a performance appraisal system for a range of mid-level managers.

    A new performance management system will be developed to replace the current generic appraisal form that most managers do not take very seriously. You will need to get their participation and buy-in in order to make it work. Geoff Nelson, the VP of HR will insist that the appraisal system be designed in a manner that it will allow for comparisons across job classes and departments. The new system will be used, in part, to make pay and promotional decisions for the entire organization. The system may or may not need to include 3600 concepts. Appraisals will have to be conducted at least on a semi-annual basis and be input into an Access database file that can be converted into SPSS for more extensive data analysis. The initial phase of the project will cover six of the job classes of managers at AAC. Once the design is approved and tested, it will be extended to all of the approximately 30 managerial job classes and levels. For positions counts and descriptions  See: Alum Alum Managerial Job descriptions

Alum Aluminum employs a total of 3200 employees of which 72% are nonexempt. Currently of the managerial positions, 10% are female, 21% African Americans (others white). Average age is 45.4 years and average time in managerial positions is 2.3 years.

Your assignment is to:

  1. Establish objectives and a time line to complete the project
  2. Match the job descriptions as closely as possible to the DOT (O*Net) descriptions. 
  3. Specify the job analysis method(s) that were used to define the tasks and worker requirements (SKAOs needed)
  4. Design the performance appraisal system that requires collaboration between supervisors and subordinates
  5. Make sure the conceptual and actual criteria match.
  6. Try to come up with both "hard" and "soft" criteria
  7. Be sure  the criteria are appropriate, practical, reliable and valid.
  8. Provide sound reasoning (based on I/O principles) for your decisions.
  9. Present a written report to management
  10. Construct a Performance Appraisal (form) that can be used for administrative purposes and attach it as an addendum to the Report

You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, Power Point presentation


PA4 Wireless Communication Inc. (WCI): Engineers and technicians multilevel performance appraisal
 
    Assignment: Develop a performance appraisal system beginning with engineers and technical staff jobs (see WCI job descriptions). Not only do the workers have to demonstrate competency in the technical requirements of the job, each must also work closely with team members and project managers, relating to them effectively and being able to resolve differences in opinions on how to develop the products. Therefore in addition to capturing the worker’s competency in the technical requirements of the job, the PA must also be designed to assess soft skills. This PA must be able to provide comparisons across jobs and classes of jobs so that results can be used to set merit pay and used to help make promotional decisions.
 
Your assignment is to:
  1. Establish objectives and a time line to complete the project
  2. Specify what job analysis method(s) were used to define the tasks and worker requirements (SKAOs needed)
  3. Compare the new job descriptions with corresponding DOT (O*Net) descriptions
  4. Design the performance appraisal system to account for a least two subjective evaluations, making sure the conceptual and actual criteria match
  5. Try to come up with both "hard" and "soft" criteria
  6. Be sure the criteria are appropriate, practical, reliable and valid.
  7. Provide sound reasoning (based on I/O principles) for your decisions
  8. Be sure that employees as well as management have input on the development and implementation of it
  9. Present a written report to management
  10. Construct a Performance Appraisal (form) that can be used for administrative purposes and attach it as an addendum to the Report

You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation

PA5 SoftApps: Software engineer performance appraisal

    Assignment: Develop a new performance appraisal system for software engineers.

   
HR manager, Wanda Wynn was informed by her astute HR generalist, Cindy File, (who studied I/O psych) that EEOC investigators were inquiring about the possibility that female software developers may be making less than male developers. This  prompted the discussion with Carly Simon and Izzy Shorter about whether or not they needed a formal appraisal process to make sure any pay differentials, if they exist, are defensible. Cindy pointed out, of course, that legal issues notwithstanding, its good practice to do the performance appraisals properly especially if they are rewarded on merit and performance.

    They all decided it was a smart move to establish a formal performance appraisal system so Izzy decided to borrow an evaluation form from a friend who worked at MicroSoft Corp.. However, Cindy pointed out that they should not take an "off the shelf system" but instead should develop their own that fits the SoftApps purposes.. start with a job analysis since job descriptions had not ever been formally done. They all agreed to begin with software engineers (developers). Cindy called on APC for help. The APC team agreed to (1) conduct a formal job analysis, (2) develop a job description and (3) devise a performance appraisal form that meets the following requirements.

    Not only do the engineers have to demonstrate competency in the technical requirements of the job, each must also work closely with team members and project managers, relating to them effectively and being able to resolve differences in opinions on how to develop the products. Therefore, in addition to capturing the engineer's competency in the technical requirements of the job, the PA must also be designed to assess soft skills. This PA must be designed to fit into a total organization-wide performance appraisal system to be developed after this project is complete. Thus, comparisons will have to be made across jobs and classes of jobs so that results can be used to set merit pay and used to help make promotional decisions.

Mr. Willie Gates, Mgr. Product development will be working closely with APC. He has provided the consultants with the following numbers of employees available for the study.
            600 Applications Software engineers
            30   Engineer Managers
            7 hardware specialists

Your assignment is to:
  1. Establish objectives and a time line to complete the project.
  2.  Identify the closest SoftApps job match one or more DOT (O*Net) descriptions.
  3. Specify what the worker requirements are needed (SKAOs).
  4. Design the performance appraisal system to account for a least two subjective evaluations, making sure the conceptual and actual criteria match.
  5. Try to come up with both "hard" and "soft" criteria.
  6. Be sure they are appropriate, practical, reliable and valid.
  7. Be able to give sound reasons (based on I/O principles) for your decisions.
  8. Be sure that employees as well as management have input on the development and implementation of it.
  9. Present a written report to management.
  10. Construct a Performance Appraisal (form) that can be used for administrative purposes and attach it as an addendum to the Report
You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation

SEL1 FCPS Elementary School Teacher Selection program
 
    Assignment: Develop a teacher selection program for FCPS.

    Since APC did such an effective job of developing valid job criteria, Dr. Hairston has decided that an APC team should also be able to develop an appropriate selection procedure for the new teachers who will be hired. Sandy Beach has pointed out to you that for some of the new teachers this will be their first real teaching job. Their only experience will have been one year of student teaching before they graduated from college. Others will have had perhaps years of experience. Therefore, Sandy says you need to IDENTIFY EXISTING PREDICTORS that may be available or DEVELOP SOME FOR EACH GROUP (experienced and new teachers).

 
    Your PT must decide how to go about it, and what kinds of predictors (tests, interviews, biodata, etc. to use). It is imperative, of course, that they be reliable, valid and practical. Ms. Beach insists that you demonstrate how you will ensure they meet the standards, since she wants to be sure that the new teachers will succeed and be as good as the current cadre.
 
Your assignment is to:
  1. Develop objectives, action plan and timeline.
  2. Outline potential predictors and criteria and justify the choices you make.
  3. Make sure the predictors are reliable and valid and that they measure the conceptual criteria.
  4. Describe the VALIDATION PROCEDURES  (sequence, e.g. application screening, test, interview) and the selection procedure.
  5. Be able to give sound reasons (based on I/O principles) for your decisions.
  6. Conduct a concurrent criterion related validity study to assess the reliability and validity of the battery.
  7. You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short presentation.
  8. Provide a report to management.

You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation.

SEL2 FCPS Elementary School Principal Selection program
 
    Assignment: Develop a selection program for FCPS principals.

     Since APC did such an effective job of developing valid job criteria, Dr. Fiedler has decided that a APC team should also be able to develop an appropriate selection procedure for the new principals who will be hired. Sandy Beach has pointed out to you that for most of the new principals this will be their first principal job. All would have had at least two years of experience as an assistant principal. Others will have had perhaps, more experience as assistant principal. Therefore, Sandy says you need to develop a selection program that takes into consideration their experience as assistant principals.
 

    Your PT must decide how to go about it, and what kinds of predictors (tests, interviews, biodata, etc. to use). It is imperative, of course, that they be reliable, valid and practical. Ms. Beach insists that you demonstrate how you will ensure they meet the standards, since she wants to be sure that the new principals will succeed and be as good as the current cadre.
Your assignment is to:
1.Develop objectives, action plan and timeline
2. Outline potential predictors and criteria and justify the choices you make
3. Make sure the predictors are reliable and valid and that they measure the conceptual criteria
4.Describe the VALIDATION PROCEDURES (sequence, e.g. application screening, test, interview) and the selection procedure.
5.Be able to give sound reasons (based on I/O principles) for your decisions
6. Conduct a concurrent criterion related validation study to assess the reliability and validity of the battery.
7. You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short presentation.
8.Provide a report to management
You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation

SEL3 Alum Aluminum Corp (AAC): cognitive ability and personality assessment for management applicants
 
    Assignment: Develop a selection program for AAC managers.

     The VP of HR at AAC has contracted APC, Inc. to conduct a criterion-related validity study of the current content valid test batter used for helping to select managerial personnel. The battery includes two cognitive ability tests, (Wonderlic Personnel Test and the Watson Glaser Critical  Thinking Appraisal) and the California Personality Inventory (3rd edition). Over the years, there have been over 400 assessments conducted. It is estimated that there are at least 214 currently employed managers for whom criteria data could be collected. Once a performance appraisal system for managers is in place (see PA project), Paul Posner, the VP of HR has requested that APC conduct the study and report its findings to management. After results are examined and results are favorable, the testing program will be considered for implementation throughout other subsidiaries of AAC.

 
Your assignment is to:
1. Develop objectives, action plan and timeline
2. Obtain literature on the tests used in the current battery
3. Ensure that the job descriptions are adequate for the criteria to be used
4. Develop at least two criteria for measuring managerial effectiveness that will be used in the validation study.
5. Describe the VALIDATION PROCEDURES.
6. Be able to give sound reasons (based on I/O principles) for your decisions.
7. Conduct a concurrent criterion related validation study to assess the reliability and validity of the battery.
8. You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short presentation.
9. Provide a report to management
 
You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation
SEL4 WCI: Personnel selection for engineers and technicians
 
    Assignment: Develop an applicant selection program for engineers and technicians at WCI.

    WCI currently hires engineers and technicians using only interviews with the applicants as a selection procedure. The management has decided that they may be able to reduce turnover and also hire more qualified engineers and techs by developing a more extensive selection program that incorporates other types of applicant assessments. They are also interested in building in a RJP as well to help reduce the likelihood that new employees will leave early within the first year. The selection procedures will have to assess both technical competencies as well as interpersonal skills. The team can choose from a variety of techniques such as written tests, inventories, biodata, evaluations of training and experience qualifications, etc.

Your assignment is to:
 
1.Develop objectives, action plan and timeline.
2.Develop predictors and job criteria to assess validity and reliability of the selection procedure.
3.Develop at least two criteria; one for measuring technical competencies and the other for assessing interpersonal skills in working with teams.
4.Describe the validation strategy and provide literature to justify it.
5.Conduct a concurrent criterion related validation study to assess the reliability and validity of the battery.
6.You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short presentation.
7.Provide a report to management.
 
You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation

SEL5 SoftApps: Selecting Software engineers

Assignment: Develop a selection procedure for hiring software engineers at SoftApps.

    SAC has, in the past, relied only upon employee referrals, interviews and work sample tests to select software engineers. Now, Izzy Shorter, Wanda Wynn, and Steve Jobs have decided that applicant testing could reduce turnover (both voluntary and involuntary) and at the same time, reduce the time it takes to get the engineers up to speed on the job. They are particularly concerned that now, since they have decided to have engineers interface directly with clients, they will have to have especially effective customer relations skills. Each team project leader will have to manage client relations during the development and implementation phases of a project.  Thus, engineers who expect to progress to project management must be selected on a basis of their ability to acquire skills to manage the customer relations. Therefore, selection procedures will have to assess technical competencies as well as interpersonal skills, especially those that require customer relations. Your team can choose from a variety of techniques such as written tests, personality inventories, biodata, evaluations of training and experience qualifications, etc.

Your assignment is to:

  1. Develop objectives, action plan and timeline.
  2. Develop predictors and job criteria (which could be borrowed from the PA project) to assess validity and reliability of the selection procedure
  3. Develop at least two criteria; one for measuring technical competencies and the other for assessing interpersonal skills in working with customers.
  4. Describe the validation strategy and provide literature to justify it.
  5. Conduct a concurrent criterion related validation study to assess the reliability and validity of the battery.
  6. You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short presentation.
  7. Provide a report to management.
     
You are asked to present your team results to the APC consultants in a short, power point presentation

OB1 FCPS New Teacher discontent
 
    Assignment: Analyze teacher satisfaction at FCPS and recommend solutions to improve morale.

    In recent years, Faultimore County has been experiencing difficulty retaining new teachers. The turnover rate for the more experienced teachers, i.e. those having more than 10 years tenure has increased steadily over the past three years, from 10% in 1999 to over 23% in the past school year, 2001. The rate of turnover for these more seasoned teachers is considerably higher than the rate for recent hires that has been steady at about 12% a year.

 
    Dr. Stuart Hamm, Dr. Hairston’s predecessor, had established a policy of moving the seasoned teachers out of their preferred schools systems in the best performing schools to those not performing up to the county average on the MSPAP. Traditionally, as teachers gained more seniority, they opted to move to the more highly valued districts with fewer minorities and fewer disciplinary problems. Dr. Hamm had reasoned that poorly performing schools in high enrollment racial minority districts would improve if the seasoned teachers were moved there to mentor fellow teachers with little experience. The policy seems to have little or no effect on improving performance in the low performing districts, however.
 
    Now that the system has been in place for over three years, there is anecdotal evidence that many of the seasoned teachers are leaving the system or taking early retirement. If this turnover phenomenon continues, and the rated stays the same or increases, Faultimore County stands to lose a large proportion of its seasoned teachers. Should this happen, the excellent reputation of FCPS be jeopardized and new teachers may not find FCPS as attractive as they have in the past.
 
    Dr. Fiedler hypothesizes that the Dr. Hamm’s change of policy for assigning teachers may be the primary reason why the turnover for senior teachers has continued to increase. He has asked that consultants from APC look into the situation to find out what is causing the increase in turnover and recommend what to do about it.
Your assignment is to:
 
  1. Establish a goal, objectives a timeline for completing this project.
  2. Develop and implement a plan to assess the turnover problem using at least an organizational survey
  3. Make sure the sample includes teachers at all levels and from both high and low performing districts
  4. Make sure to include demographics that will address the Dr. Hairston’s hypothesis.
  5. Compare the attitudes and intentions of recently hired teachers to those with more seniority, with special emphasis on attitudes toward the policy for assigning teachers to schools.
  6. Provide results from the survey and any other assessments that address the issues of turnover.
  7. Prepare a report to Dr. Hairston with findings and recommendations.
     
 You will be asked to present your findings in a PowerPoint presentation to the APC group.


OB2 FCPS: Elementary Principal Dissatisfaction

Assignment: Assess the level of satisfaction among FCPS principals and offer recommendations for improving their morale.

    Based on anecdotal reports from the past, FCPS principals have typically been quite satisfied with their jobs, especially with the superintendent and area superintendents. However, recently, a number of vice principals have been grumbling to higher ups that their chances for promotion don't seem to be very good. This may have stemmed in part from the fact that a number of elementary schools in the area have been consolidated, thereby requiring fewer principals to staff the organization. Also, there has been a rumor recently that the principals seem to play favorites in recommending vice principals for promotion. And in some cases, it seems that some principals who fear they may lose their highly valued vice principals, are giving them ratings just low enough to keep them from being qualified for promotion. Another factor may also play a role in possible vice principal dissatisfaction. In the past two years, Dr. Hairston, in an effort to improve minority achievement, has established a policy to staff the lower socioeconomic districts with the best performing vice principals. He wonders if this may be another reason that some principals could be giving lower ratings to keep their high performing vice principals. Hairston wants to find out if the vice principals are tending to leave because of they may perceive better promotional opportunities elsewhere.

Your assignment is to:
  1. Establish a goal, objectives a timeline for completing this project.
  2. Develop and implement a plan to assess the satisfaction of vice principals and principals using at least an organizational survey
  3. Make sure the sample includes both principals and vice principals and from both high and low performing districts
  4. Make sure to include variables that will address Dr. Hairston’s questions about why excellent vice principals may be getting lower scores than they deserve.
  5. Compare the attitudes and intentions to stay for vice principals with special emphasis on their attitudes toward the policy for assigning teachers to schools.
  6. Prepare a report to Dr. Hairston with findings and recommendations.
     
 You will be asked to present your findings in a PowerPoint presentation to the APC group.

 OB3   Alum Aluminum Corporation: Union v. non-union job satisfaction
 
Assignment: Compare union and non-union employee attitudes at AAC and offer recommendations for organizational interventions if needed.

    Geoff Nelson, the VP of HR at AAC is concerned that the most recent attempt to organize the Monett Plant was almost successful. He wants to obtain information that would help convince workers in non-union plants that they are better off than fellow workers who are in plants that have been unionized. He would like to conduct a job satisfaction survey and compare workers in the unionized plants at Monett, Missouri and Kalamazoo, Michigan with those non-union in Moultrie, Georgia and Belton, South Carolina. There are approximately 3200 employees in all locations.

Your assignment is to:
 
  1. Develop a proposal with a goal, objectives and timeline to complete the project
  2. Develop and implement an organizational satisfaction survey to provide evidence for the VP of HR
  3. Make sure you can compare the union with non-union on relevant variables of interest to the company
  4. Make sure the project is conducted consistently using professional standards of I/O psychology
  5. Provide a report to management they can use to support their contention.
     
You will be asked to present your findings in a Power Point presentation to the APC group.

 OB4      WCI: Organizational survey
 
    Assignment: Assess morale among employees at WCI and recommend changes if needed.

    Management at WCI has been concerned that the managers and team members are not happy with the current performance appraisal system that requires 3-4 ratings of employees and takes an inordinate amount of time to conduct every spring. The VP or HR has asked APC to determine if the PA needs to be redesigned, and suggested that an organizational survey be conducted to find out what employees think about the current performance appraisal system. Some have alleged that it may not be reliable and accurate. They wonder about how much emphasis in placed on the ratings when merit raises and promotions are considered.

 
    Some employees, especially technicians, have also expressed concern about not having a company-sponsored development program for them to move into more higher-level positions.
Your assignment is to:
 
  1. Define the problem, develop a proposal with a goal, objectives and timeline to complete the project
  2. Develop a plan to assess employee attitudes towards management, the performance appraisal system and to determine the level of interest in an employee development program.
  3. Design and conduct a survey to accomplish the above.
  4. Make sure you can compare engineers with technicians on their attitudes
  5. Provide a report to management with the results and findings.
     
You will be asked to present your findings in a Power Point presentation to the APC group

OB5 SAC: SoftApps Organizational  Productivity
 

    Assignment: Assess employee morale at SoftApps and recommend changes if needed.

    Over the past six months, there has been a decrease in production, both in terms of quality and quantity at the Bozeman location.  This has been documented in a December 10 report  December, 2001 from COO Izzy Shorter who indicated that while sales were up, the development and completion of orders has suffered.  He reports that 25% of SAC's 153 customers have received orders on an average of 2.3 months after the promised delivery dates.  Several have complained about problems implementing the new SoftApps.
 

    Typically, SAC has virtually no difficulties with implementation.  However, debugging has gotten to be a nightmare.  The On-line help staff has been inundated.  Izzy informed me (Mitchell) in a meeting last November that he had heard several employees saying they are embarrassed about the problems they hear about from customers.  Several have threatened to quit if they continue to have to deal with such inexcusable problems with the software.
 
    Dawn Wright, here in Baltimore, has also mentioned to the CEO that some of her customers are going elsewhere.  The problem is apparently not with sales.  Sales reps say they are afraid to promise delivery to the customers for new software orders. Apparently it's happening in all regions except the mid-west. Since Izzy is pretty isolated from the actual day to day operations, he's not certain what's going on. Izzy did say that Steve Jobs told him that since Gates came on board in July last year, some of the programmers were complaining that they never knew what the end product looked like.  As everyone knows, Gates redesigned the development process for SAC.  Steve said that before Gates came they were able to let most of the programmers decide what projects they wanted to work on, and basically gave them free reign in how they would get it done.  However, since SAC has been growing so fast, Gates figured it was necessary to streamline the product development to get the work out faster. "Billy (Gates) had plenty of success working with the Redmond, Washington group doing it his way, and came to us with high recommendations', says Izzy. Izzy also mentioned "... Bill is a results-oriented, task-focused sort of leader who expects everyone to do it right and doesn't believe in a lot of pat-on-the back stuff."

     Izzy  has also heard that a rumor is being passed around that SoftApps may be sold to an investment group which holds a large number of both hardware and software production companies.  Obviously, those who believe this rumor are concerned that a new owner may come in and really shake things up.  This could be adding to some of the discontent.
 
       CEO Stanley Tall  (he doesn't like to be called "Stan"...no one can figure out why) tells me the word has gotten out that SAC is not going to be able to offer the nice fat across- the-board salary increases they have been offering for the past four years. "That's about all I know about the problems now", says Izzy.  "Stanley has instructed me to find out if there is a morale problem in Bozeman and, if so, to 'fix it!"
 
    The APC team has to move fast on this.  If sales start to fall in the second and third quarters of this year, and earnings drop, SAC may look good for pickings by some outside investment group. I have spoken to Izzy and he and I agreed that we need to determine what's causing the reduction in output, and to do something about it as soon as possible.  Is it a job design problem, a motivational, or just some discontented employees trying to stir up trouble?

the assignment for your team is:
    1. Define the problem, develop a proposal with a goal, objectives and timeline to complete the project.
    2. Conduct an analysis of some sort to figure out the problem and a strategy to analyze the problem.
    3. I can get survey data back in a hurry if you want to use something such as the JDS.
    4. Based on information and data, come up with some potential solutions and decide which one(s) may be feasible to implement, logistically cost-wise.
    5. Provide a report to management with the results and findings.
     
    You will be asked to present your findings in a Power Point presentation to the APC

Note: Since we haven't had a problem of this magnitude before at APC I am expecting that you will be able, using a team approach to problem solving, resolve this thing for us. In fact, you may want to explore the feasibility of redesigning SAC jobs in a teamwork fashion to solve this problem. There is a lot of existing literature on group processes and teamwork that can be found in libraries and on the Internet. I presume that all of you are somewhat familiar with assessing production problems, since at least some of you have had graduate course work in this area.