Why should you use diagnostics?
Without the use of diagnostics, development and change programmes can lose focus and will not necessarily achieve the desired outcomes. Diagnostic measures provide the basis for a targeted, specific action plan for change, and ensure that existing strengths are reinforced.
Diagnostics measure:
• what is happening now,
• what needs to happen in order to achieve the organisation/individual’s
objectives, and provide a means of quantifying, monitoring and fine-tuning
the change process.
When should you use diagnostics?
• To assess the need for organisational, team or personal change.
• To provide a highly specific focus to change programmes and measure
the direction and rate of change.
• When undertaking cultural due diligence for mergers and acquisitions.
• When conducting a development needs analysis for leaders, managers
and staff
• When you need to provide a method of aligning and integrating
the organisation, teams and individuals.
What is a norm group?
A norm base is used to compare a set of results against other peoples’ results. A norm group is a particular sub-set of the overall comparison group (e.g. senior managers) so it is important when comparing results, that senior managers are compared to other senior managers and not team leaders.
If, for example, we were measuring how effective the manager was in setting strategic direction, a comparison against other UK senior managers would be a fair reflection of their overall effectiveness. If however, they were compared against a group of team leaders then their results would compare favourably and this would not be a true reflection of their effectiveness at their level.
What is a percentile and how is it calculated?
A percentile is a means of comparing a raw score with other raw scores held in its database and asks the question “What percentage of other raw scores are lower than this one?” This gives the percentile score, e.g. if the percentile score is 62, then the raw score is higher than 62% of all other raw scores for this dimension.
Can you explain Standard Deviation?
Standard Deviation (SD) provides an estimate of the variability that can be expected in the samples drawn from the underlying population (i.e. those who completed the questionnaire). It describes the extent to which scores are spread from the average or mean.
Example - One standard deviation represents how a third of the population scored around the mean. e.g. If the mean (or average) is say 3 and the standard deviation is 1, one third of the population will have scored between 2 and 4 i.e. 3+1.
What is Validity?
• Face Validity - does it appear to
measure what it purports to measure ?
• Internal Validity - does it actually
measure what it purports to measure ?
• External Criterion Validity - is there
a relationship between our results and business results ?
What does reliability mean?
How robust is the measurement instrument:
• Internal reliability - how robust
or consistent is each dimension, and the questions within each dimension
?
• Test re-test reliability – is
there a change in scores over time that cannot be explained by external
events ?
