A utility analysis may be broadly defined as a family of techniques that entail a cost-benefit analysis designed to yield information relevant to a decision about the usefulness and/or practical value of a tool of assessment (Cohen, Swerdlik & Sturman, 2013, p.219). A management assessment center must consider certain elements for selecting the most appropriate assessment testing tool. There is a plethora of assessment tests to select from, but many tests present certain issues that could interfere with the test results. For example the ability or aptitude test may not be a fair measurement of ability or aptitude. This test measures the person’s learned experiences as well has what the person has the potential to learn. The Oasis-3 Aptitude Survey may prevent a person that comes from a poor background or a person that uses English as a second language to get a job or be promoted because these tests are culturally biased.

The occupational career (interest) test is used to measure a person’s interest and dislikes in the effort to determine what a person may be best at doing for an occupation. One problem with this test is that new careers are continually being introduced and the test are not being updated fast enough to keep up with the jobs. The Holland Code Career Test asks a variety of questions and the combine the scores to show your interest areas. This test tells you which careers are best for you based on you artistic, realistic and other areas. This information is combined to give an acronym, then that acronym is associated with careers. (If you are interest in taking the test click this link http://personality-testing.info/tests/RIASEC/).

The personality test is embedded into the other test as well as having its own test. The problem with personality test is that they are unreliable therefore making them invalid. A person changes over time and so does their personality, this act of nature makes personality test unstable. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) focuses on a person’s traits and was developed to identify people who were mentally ill and people who were normal. The questions are formatted with two meaning for every answer; mental or sane, there is nothing in-between. The problem with this is that a person experiencing a bad mood at the time of the test may answer based on mood, and the answer may coincide with the answer of being mentally ill. This sane person may now be considered mentally ill instead of just being in a bad mood.

Cohen, R. J., Swerdlik, M. E., & Sturman, E. D. (2013). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurement (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. ISBN: 9780078035302.

Bottom of Form