07JAN24 (1)
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Capella University *
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6710
Subject
Industrial Engineering
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
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12
Uploaded by SMH28706
Proposal
Stephanie Hollowell
Proposal
Capella University
Proposal
Abstract
Purposefulness, value, and desire are what humans want out of life. We frankly want to know
our reason in life is. This usually effects how we live our lives and what career opportunities we
select. This is what drew me into organizational and Industrial Psychology. I want to be a voice
for those who do not have one in the workforce, based on personal experience in which I was
bullied or belittled at work by associates. I understand firsthand how mental health at work can
cascade into someone’s personal life. In the first couple of days of working on my first class at
Capella, I knew for certain that this is the career path that is right for me due to the passion I
have behind the subject. Learning about achieving scientific rigor in Industrial and
Organizational psychology is a faucet of this subject that interests me the most. The fascination
of using the diagnostic funnel to get to the root cause of an organization’s issues contributes to
the success of achieving scientific rigor in Organizational and Industrial psychology. I believe
that in becoming a scholar-practitioner using tools such as the diagnostic funnel will help me
achieve success in my field.
Proposal
Introduction
In the field of Industrial and Organizational psychology, using psychometric data and standardized tests are helpful in foreshadowing a candidate’s or associate’s behavior. Research shows that utilizing various tests that relate to a specific job function helps put the right
candidate in place. Multiple organizations use these assessments in order to screen potential candidates. Career platforms such as Indeed and LinkedIn also have various assessments that users can take in order to show off their skills on their profiles. Top skills that employers are looking for are critical thinking, leadership, adaptability, and many more. The current job market is looking for certain skills in conjunction with education and years of experience. In this paper, I will be responding to the following scenario:” Company T is a large global organization consisting of 5,000 employees in multiple locations worldwide. Assume
you are responsible for creating a battery of tests to use in selection to hire a person for training and development. Some of the skills you want the candidate to have include critical thinking, active listening skills, good time management, problem solving, instruction skills, and cross-
cultural knowledge”
. The three skills that stood out from the rest for a training and development position are critical thinking, cross-cultural knowledge, and active listening. I will go into depth on the three skills sets I listed with research and psychometric data to support my paper. Test One: Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking and problem solving are two skills that are required for many job positions. Critical thinking is essentially making sound judgment(s) based on your interpretation of information. This information could be something you see, know, or gather from
factual data. Industrial and Organizational psychologists use tests on critical thinking in order to
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Proposal
gain insight into how a potential candidate will decide. For example, there are many ways to decide. Decisions can be made impulsively or thoroughly made in response to data interpretation, and/or considering the pros and cons of the choice. Industrial and Organizational psychologists implement a critical thinking test to assess how strongly a potential candidate holds this skill. One test that involves critical thinking is the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (HCTA). The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment is branded as one of the first critical thinking, analytical, and reasoning assessments. This particular test consists of 25 individual scenarios where the test taker is to recall different aspects and utilize critical thinking skills to make a decision based upon the real-world scenarios given. The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment was administered to 240 psychology and communications students in 2013 in the Netherlands. Out of the 240 students, 140 were female and 49 were male students that attended the University of Twente in the Netherlands. The
remaining number of the students’ results were not included due to lack of maturity for the test given. Two versions of the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment were administered amongst the
students in both German and Dutch. They were given the opportunity to answer the 25 open ended question assessment questions (S1) and another assessment that gave multiple choice questions (S2). Both versions contained questions that scored critical thinking on five separate categories, which are verbal reasoning; argument analysis; hypothesis testing; likelihood and uncertainty; and decision making and problem solving (Hannie de Bie, 2014)
. The psychometric data collected from the 240 students at Twente in the Netherlands concluded that although the test was administered in two languages, there was no contrast in how the students interpreted the questions. Another conclusion was that the mean or average on the HCTA was 108.23 with a standard deviation of 13.91 out of a 194, which is the maximum score
(Hannie de Bie, 2014)
.
Proposal
Two other scoring guides to calculate results, Cronbach’s alpha and Guttman’s lambda contrasted from the first in a few ways. The first scoring guide was calculated through a computer that I listed above, with a median of 108.23. Cronbach’s alpha could have inflated the results due to a large number in the range of values. Guttman’s Lambda resulted in a more reliable answer according to the authors. In conclusion, the hypothesis “
the factor analysis would
show two related, but separable latent factors for the constructed and forced choice formats, each including all five critical thinking categories”
(Hannie de Bie, 2014)
, was proved to be true, however, the test was not administered to other students or the public. One interesting fact is that the assessment was customized with adjusting the real word scenarios based on the culture in the Netherlands. This shows that this critical thinking assessment can be used universally. In summary, the five questions I chose were carefully selected from a combination of the scholarly articles and psychometric data collected throughout writing this paper. The reasoning behind each question is as follows: What steps do you take when addressing
a dilemma?
I am asking this because I am interested to know what the thought process of the potential candidate is. How do they organize and breakdown data to make a sound judgement in the best interests of the business. The second question is How do you develop a resolution for a problem you need to solve? Describe your thought process
. This question was chosen also to understand the thought process of the potential candidate, however, if the candidate uses the STAR (situation, task, action, and resolution), method for answering the question, then the interviewer will know how successfully the candidate executes decisions and results. The third question is, how do you usually approach a new project or task? What steps do you take to understand the problem and develop a plan? This question will tell the interviewer how the candidate interprets and gathers information and utilizes it. Fourth, how would you solve a
Proposal
conflict among team members on how to start a project?
This question relates to critical thinking in a way that shows what the candidates conflict language is, how ethical they are when it comes to making business decisions, and past experience they may had with associate conflict resolution. Lastly, describe an unexpected obstacle you had to solve on the job, this question relates to critical thinking by showing how fast the interviewee makes an informed decision with little to no information. Test Two: Cross-cultural Knowledge
Cross-cultural knowledge is defined as “
refers to your ability to understand people from different cultures and engage with them effectively”
(RASMUSSEN, 2021)
. Throughout the decades, society has evolved and the workforce along with it. Most companies are no longer dominated with Caucasian males who possess college degrees. Companies have developed into a
culturally diverse environments where belonging and well-being supersede its previous alignments. Multi-cultured environments have created an elaborate and dynamic workforce where people can blend their knowledge, experience, and culture to further a businesses longevity in the United States. For example, big box organizations such as Walmart hires women
and men in leadership positions with a wide variety of different cultures, world views, and backgrounds. In the article, Cross-Cultural Industrial Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior: A Hundred-Year Journey
, the authors state that in order to understand the effects of a multi-culture work environment, we must look at all aspects of global and cultural dynamics. A cross-cultural study written about in the article, Cross-Cultural Adjustment and Training on International Expatriates' Performance, examines cross-cultural adjustment and
subsequent work performance. The authors touch base on five characteristics that are key players
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in cross-cultural knowledge. They are collectively called the big five traits model that include extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience
(Nguyen, 2022)
. According to the article, these are widely used in various organizations today. Analyzing the study conducted, the first hypothesis was Personality traits influence cross-
cultural adjustment
. This was not the only hypothesis in the study; however, it is relevant to hiring a training and development coordinator which is why I chose to derive my data from this hypothesis specifically. Personality traits, such as the “Big Five” are important in the training and
development role because a company that consists of 5,000 people will have diverse backgrounds, experiences, and cultural views. The “Big Five” personality traits will support the training coordinator in being able to successfully train the associates with different beliefs and backgrounds. The results from the study yielded the results for the hypothesis Personality traits influence cross-cultural adjustment
to be true. It also proves true that cross-cultural adjustment has a progressive influence on future work performance. Cross-cultural adjustment includes general, interaction, and work adjustments. A survey was distributed to 150 people with 8 different nationalities. Some of them included are Vietnamese; Malaysia; Indonesia; and multiple
other countries. Males made up 76% of the survey and females 50.7% with careers in accounting
that were working in Tawain. All hypotheses were tested using SEM and Amos software. It was noted in the study that SEM software yields more accurate results due the software’s ability to allow for adjustments of error when using several measures of latent constructs
(Nguyen, 2022)
. Hypothesis (H1a), Cultural empathy has a positive influence on cross-culture adjustment
(Nguyen, 2022)
, resulted in the link connecting cultural empathy and cross-culture adjustment which was 0.144 with standard deviation SE =0.076. This estimate is statistically significant at P
Proposal
had a 95 % confidence, which proves that hypothesis H1a is true. Hypothesis (H1b), Open-
mindedness has a positive influence on cross-culture adjustment
(Nguyen, 2022)
also established that there is in fact a relationship between open-mindedness and cross-cultural adjustment with also a 95% confidence. Overall, this study provided the psychometric data needed in order to make an informed decision on the impact of cross-cultural knowledge within an organization. Test Three: Active Listening
Active Listening involves paying attention to what the other party is saying not only with their words but with their non-verbal cues as well. Tone, body language, and word choice are all ways active listening contributes to a conversation. In 1995 an article was published titled “T
esting the Effects of Active Listening”
. The author in this article explained active listening contributes to an overall positive experience in the workplace because the employees feel they are heard, taken seriously, and their thoughts and feelings are validated. The author even goes into detail on what he describes as type A and B active listening statements. Type A active listening statements are known as the speaker being neutral to the listener or has a different interpretation or idea that the speaker is trying to convey within the conversation
(Halvorson, 1995)
. Type B active listening is the listener has more of a grasp on what the speaker is stating during a conversation
(Halvorson, 1995)
. In the article, the author gives insight into how to respond to conversations in which active listening is done correctly. In 2020, Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the active-emphatic listening scale, was published on active listening in Japan. It goes into depth on researching and testing active empathetic listening in the workforce on three different criteria that include sensing, processing, and responding. According to the author active empathetic listening is defined as “
Empathy is an important ability needed to maintain a society that inhibits aggressive
Proposal
behavior and promotes the support and understanding of others” (Hanzawa, 2020). The study consisted of 785 college students from two separate schools residing in Japan. The three month study, from April to July, dwindled down to approximately 728 students due to outside factors. Male students made up for 268 of the participants, 458 females, and 2 individuals classified as “others”. The study was created with 11 individual criteria that were rated on a 7.5 Likert scale. On a Likert scale the answers range from 1 to 7, with 1 most likely not true and 7 representing most likely true. The results concluded that the Japanese Active Empathetic Listening survey was
comparable to the initial survey released by the “
first author
”, whom is not listed by name in this
article. Both surveys, with similar results, yielded that active empathetic listening has an overall positive impact on work cultures with Mean individual values were from 3.91 to 5.70, with standard deviations from 1.32 to 1.70.
Overall, the term active empathetic speaking applies to a training position with 5,000 employees for multiple reasons. One of them is there will no doubly be different personalities, learning styles, and cultural backgrounds. For example, what may be offensive to one associate may not be to another associate or you personally. Empathetic active listening will give you the tools to see things from another person’s perspective. Summarizing the articles I researched on active listening, it is an important part of communication to have an understanding
of why something matters to someone else, especially in a leadership role. Conclusion
In conclusion, with a company consisting of 5,000 employees, all of their individual learning styles are not going to be the same. As an Industrial and Organizational practitioner-scholar, one of my first orders of business would be to create an insights test on their
learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses. I then would schedule trainings in individual group
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Proposal
settings where learning styles are the same or similar. This will assist in getting more training done in these sessions where I can meet the associate in the middle with their training and comprehension of their respective job roles or the company initiatives. A position with the responsibility for training 5,000 associates, there is due to be conflict somewhere down the line. However, from researching critical thinking, cross cultural knowledge, and active listening, I believe these three are strong skills to navigate such obstacles. All three topics are relevant to training multiple associates because they can be applied at any location the company has. In Summary, I have learned more in depth about these three skills and will continue to stay current on research topics such as cross- cultural knowledge, critical thinking, and active listening in order to apply these to my future field. 15 Interview Questions
Critical Thinking
1. What steps do you take when addressing a dilemma?
2. How do you develop a resolution for a problem you need to solve? Describe your thought
process.
3. How do you usually approach a new project or task? What steps do you take to understand the problem and develop a plan?
4. How would you solve a conflict among team members on how to start a project?
5. Describe an unexpected obstacle you had to solve on the job.
Cross- Cultural Knowledge
Proposal
6. How did you approach empathy and validating each team member's cultural background and perceptions?
7. Can you give an example of a time when you come upon a cultural contrast within a team, and
how was the situation conducted?
8. How did you guarantee that the group was able to work together efficiently with differences in cultural backgrounds and perspectives?
9. How do you ensure that your work is culturally sensitive and inclusive?
10.
How do you handle situations where you encounter cultural misinterpretations or encounters in the workplace?
Active Listening
11. How do you focus on what a speaker or associate is saying?
12. What social cues let you know the associate is receiving your communication as intended?
13. Name a time when you used active listening in leadership. What was the outcome?
14. How does active listening relate to being a training coordinator?
15. Share a time where misunderstanding a message led to difficulties at work.
References
Halvorson, W. R. (1995). Testing the Effects of Active Listening. Sage Journals
, 1-24.
Hannie de Bie, P. W. (2014). The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment: Toward a Dutch appraisal of critical thinking. JSTOR
, 33-44.
Proposal
Michele J. Gelfand, M. E. (2017). Cross-Cultural Industrial Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior: A Hundred-Year Journey. American Psychological Association
, 514-529.
Nguyen, F.-Y. L. (2022). Cross-cultural adjustment and training on international expatriates' performance .
Elsevier
, 1-10.
RASMUSSEN, L. (2021, SEPT 15). Cross-Cultural Competence: Engage People from any Culture
. Retrieved from Global Cognition: https://www.globalcognition.org/cross-cultural-competence/
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