The predictive validity of individual psychological assessments in selecting UK public sector senior managers

Individual Psychological Assessment (IPA) is a very widely offered service in Organizational Psychology. It generally consists of a psychologist or HR practitioner using a combination of interview and psychometrics to arrive at a detailed assessment of an individual's capabilities in relation to a job they are being considered for. Although much used, this practice has limited supporting evidence of its validity—not least because of the methodological difficulties in conducting research on this subject—and has been criticized accordingly. The current study examines the use of IPAs with 115 middle and senior management level candidates in a civil service context. All candidates completed a set of psychometric measures and had an in‐depth interview with a psychologist as part of a standardized process. The ratings made by the assessors were correlated with a criterion measure of potential for promotion derived from multisource feedback ratings obtained on these candidates some months later. Analysis of the results indicated that three of the four attributes rated by assessors correlated significantly with the criterion measure. Further, assessors’ ratings were found to show incremental validity over that provided by psychometric test scores alone. These findings are discussed in terms of the use of IPAs in senior level assessment.     

Correlates of organizational commitment: Differences in the public and private sector

Private and public sector managers were compared regarding their job characteristics and organizational commitment. We hypothesized that job characteristics would be positively related to commitment and that sector would moderate that relationship. Moderated regression analyses revealed partial support for both hypotheses. The existence of clarity and challenge were positively related to commitment. Job characteristics demonstrated a stronger relationship with commitment among private sector managers. Explanations for these findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Contextual effects on escalation processes in public sector decision making

The present study examined escalation bias in the context of public sector decision making. Four factors were considered: responsibility (high or low), decision alternative (reserve fund or other sponsor), decision framing (positive or negative), and mood (positive or neutral). In contrast to previous research, it was demonstrated that following a setback, some decision alternatives elicited escalation among low-responsibility decision makers. Other decision alternatives elicited escalation among high-responsibility decision makers. This interaction between personal responsibility and decision alternative was also moderated by the manner in which decision feedback was framed. That is, when feedback was negatively framed, the effects of decision alternatives were negated—resulting in allocation patterns consistent with previous escalation research. The study also addressed the potential role of the individual's affective state on escalation. The importance of decision context, framing influences, and individual differences on escalation conflicts is discussed.     

Healthcare sector reform and its influence on public hospitals in mainland China

The government has launched the healthcare sector reform since the 1980s. From the beginning, the reform has been controversial. What is then the real purpose of the reform? Is it only to reduce the government's burden of health care or establish a just and effective healthcare system? Can healthcare be geared by the market or should the government play a guiding role in it?     

Client concealment and self-presentation in therapy: comment on Kelly (2000)

The authors disagree with A. E. Kelly's (2000) conclusions that clients conceal things from therapists primarily for self-presentational reasons and that client concealment is positively related to positive therapy process and outcome. They also disagree with A. E. Kelly regarding the implications of self-presentation theory for therapy. Their review of the research suggests that clients do not conceal much from therapists, that what they do conceal involves many different kinds of information hidden for many different reasons, that therapists have wide variability in being able to detect hidden client material, and that the relationship of client concealment and therapist awareness of client concealment with therapy process and outcome is not clear. Finally, the authors discuss their views about implications of client concealment and self-presentation for therapy.     

Family therapy in the home

There is good evidence in other areas of therapeutic endeavour that home-based therapy may have advantages over clinic-based work for some patients. There are some families who have real difficulties in attending clinics. Despite these facts little has been written on the topic. This brief article reviews some of the objections to home-based family work and suggests possible solutions for the interested therapist.     

Family therapy: the rest of the picture

The specialist literature on family therapy naturally tends to focus only on the special features of what is a much larger body of skills and knowledge. To redress the balance this paper outlines the rest of the picture in various ways. About 90 separable component parts of family therapy are described. Some implications of this analysis are identified.     

Recognition of workplace bullying: a qualitative study of women targets in the public sector

Workplace bullying is increasingly acknowledged as a major workplace stressor in the UK and Europe. However, identification and recognition of workplace bullying remain problematic, among targets and within organisations. This paper reports a qualitative study which explored experiences of bullying among ten British women targets, all public sector professionals. Data were collected using in‐depth interviews and analysed using grounded theory methods. Findings showed how these targets struggled to identify and cope with bullying. Major themes or processes identified from targets' accounts included: minimising interpersonal difficulties; preserving self; maintaining commitments to professional and organisational values and cultures; sickness explanations; and naming the problem. This research has implications for the development of coping strategies by targets and organisations, and raises questions about the type of support needed to facilitate recognition of workplace bullying. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.