Consortium to Study Developmental Assessment Centers
Developmental Assessment Centers (DACs) have become exceedingly popular in organizations. However, a paucity of large-scale longitudinal research has been conducted on the impact of assessment centers on managerial competencies. What competencies are truly developable? In what ways can assessment centers be structured such that they foster development? What forms of exercises are best suited for developmental applications? Can DACs promote long-term improvement? This session will introduce the Congress to the Laboratory for the Study of Developmental Assessment Centers (DACLab), a multinational and multidisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners that are seeking to answer questions such as these. Taking an approach similar to the ATT Manager Progress study of decades past, DACLab will be assessing, developing, and tracking managers in many organizations worldwide.
DACLab is currently developing partnerships with organizations interested in applying the most current assessment center techniques to their HR development strategies. By combining standardized experimental research with real, on-the-job development opportunities for industry managers and executives, DACLab is designed to advance our knowledge about DACs while providing cutting-edge developmental services to organizations. This presentation will serve as an introduction to the DAC Lab mission as well as an invitation to participate in this innovative program.
Speaker
Deborah Rupp, Ph.D.
University of Illinois
Deborah Rupp is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has a joint appointment with the Department of Psychology and the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Colorado State University.
Rupp conducts research on the use of developmental assessment centers, and is the director of the Laboratory for the Study of Developmental Assessment Centers (DACLab), a multinational and multidisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners conducting many projects in this area. Rupp also conducts research in the areas of organizational justice and workplace bias. Her work has appeared in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Vocational Behavior, and is supported by grants from the Center for Human Resource Management and the Disability Research Institute.
Rupp has consulted for organizations such as Sun Microsystems, Solutia (formerly Monsanto), Colorado Department of Human Services, and the Virginia Department of Corrections.
Speaker
Brian Hoffman
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Brian Hoffman is currently working toward his Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at The University of Tennessee. He is involved in several consulting and research projects, primarily in the areas of employee selection, assessment centers, and person-organization fit, and leadership. He has presented papers at various conferences, including the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. In addition, he has consulted for organizations including the State of Mississippi Personnel Board and Sears and Roebuck. He received his B.A. in Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Speaker
George Thornton III, Ph. D.
Professor of Psychology
Colorado State University
George C. Thornton III, Ph.D. Dr. Thornton is Professor of Psychology, Colorado State University. Dr. Thornton earned his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1966. He is a Diplomate in Industrial/ Organization Psychology awarded by the American Board of Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and a Fellow of the Society of Industrial and Organizational.
Dr. Thornton specializes in assessment centers, selection practices, test development and validation, and implications of employment discrimination law for personnel psychology. He has developed, validated, and implemented assessment centers and other situational exercises for selection and development for numerous jobs.
Dr. Thornton is the author of over 55 publications in refereed journals, 6 book chapters, and 3 books, namely Assessment Centers and Managerial Performance (with William Byham) and Assessment Centers in Human Resource Management, Developing Organizational Simulations: A Guide for Practitioners and Students (with Rose Mueller-Hanson). Dr. Thornton has made presentations on the assessment center method to professional conferences such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Congress on Assessment Center Methods, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and to professional audiences throughout the United States, and in Germany, Switzerland, England, Israel, South Africa, Indonesia, and China.
