This research attempts to ascertain the feasibility of quantitatively measuring business school undergraduates’general ability in analyzing business situations effectively. As a first step toward establishing an international test model that business schools worldwide can emulate, the researchers designed a new educational test instrument— Case Reasoning in Management (CRiM)—and administered it to 120 business under-graduates (evenly distributed across four levels of study). Results show that under-graduates at a higher level of study and those who have achieved better academic results in the business curriculum tend to perform better on CRiM. The researchers also measured undergraduates’tolerance for ambiguity, creative thinking, stress resilience, and the Big Five personality of intellect and found that these personal factors are positively related to the test scores. As expected, English language score, gender, age, family income, and high school results are not related to performance on the test. However, because a convenience sample with students from only one university and similar ethnic background was used, this research can at best be a pilot study. Future research should rigorously examine the generalizability and predictive validity of CRiM on a global basis.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Atkinson, J. W.
(1957).Motivational determinants of risk-taking behavior. Psychological Review, 64, 359-372.
2.
Barrick, M. R.
, & Mount, M. K. (1991).The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44, 1-26.
3.
Bieri, J.
, Atkins, A. L., Bruar, S., Leaman, R. L., Miller, H., & Tripodi, T. (1966). Clinical social judgment. New York: John Wiley.
4.
Brief, A. P.
, Schuler, R. S., & van Sell, M. (1981). Managing job stress. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.
5.
Bruce, M. M.
, & Learner, D. B. (1958).A supervisory practice test. Personnel Psychology, 11, 207-216.
6.
Chan, D.
, & Schmitt, N. (1997). Video-based versus paper-and-pencil method of assessment in situational judgment tests: Subgroup differences in test performance and face validity perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(1), 143-159.
7.
de Bono, E.
(1970). Lateral thinking: Creativity step by step. New York: Harper & Row.
8.
Ellen, A. S.
(1992). Review of the New Jersey Test of Reasoning Skills–Form B. In J. J. Kramer, J. C. Conoley, & L. L. Murphy (Eds.), The eleventh mental measurements yearbook. Lincoln, NB: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.
9.
Ellingson, J. E.
, Sackett, P. R., & Hough, L. M. (1999). Social desirability corrections in personality measurement: Issues of applicant comparison and construct validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(2), 155-166.
10.
Ennis, R. H.
, Millman, J., & Tomko, T. N. (1985). Cornell Critical Thinking Tests: Level X & Level Z manual (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publications.
11.
Erskine, J. A.
, Leenders, M. R., & Mauffette-Leenders, L. A. (1981). Teaching with cases. London, Western Ontario: School of Business Administration of the University of Western Ontario.
12.
File, Q. W.
, & Remmer, H. H. (1971). How supervise? manual. New York: Psychological Corporation.
13.
Frenkel-Brunswik, E.
(1949).Intolerance of ambiguity as an emotional and perceptual personality variable. Journal of Personality, 18, 108-143.
14.
Friedman, M.
, & Rosenman, R. H. (1974). Type A behavior and your heart. New York: Knopf.
15.
Glover, J. A.
, Ronning, R. R., & Reynolds, C. R. (1989). Handbook of creativity. New York: Plenum.
Goldberg, L. R.
(1992). The development of markers for the Big-Five factor structure. Psychological Assessment, 4(1), 26-42.
18.
Goman, C. K.
(1989). Creative thinking in business: A practical guide. Los Altos, CA: Crisp.
19.
Gragg, C. I.
(1954). Because wisdom can’t be told. In M. P. McNair (Ed.), The case method at the Harvard Business School. New York: McGraw-Hill.
20.
Hocevar, D.
, & Bachelor, P. (1989). A taxonomy and critique of measurements used in the study of creativity. In J. A. Glover, R. R. Ronning, & and C. R. Reynolds (Eds.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 53-75), New York: Plenum.
21.
Hughes, J. N.
(1992). Review of the Cornell Critical Thinking Tests. In J. J. Kramer, J. C. Conoley, & L. L. Murphy (Eds.), The eleventh mental measurements yearbook (pp. 241-243). Lincoln, NB: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.
22.
Jaffe, E. D.
, & Hilbert, S. (1983). Basic tips on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Woodbury, NY: Barron’s Educational Series.
23.
Jamal, M.
(1985).Type A behavior and job performance: Some suggestive findings. Journal of Human Stress, 11, 60-68.
24.
Judge, T. A.
, Thoresen, C. J., Pucik, V., & Welbourne, T. M. (1999).Managerial coping with organizational change: A dispositional perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 107-122.
25.
Kramer, J. J.
, Conoley, J. C., & Murphy, L. L. (1992). The eleventh mental measurements yearbook. Lincoln, NE: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.
26.
Levy, P.
, & Goldstein, H. (1984). Tests in education: A book of critical reviews. London, UK: Academic Press.
27.
Luthans, F.
(1995). Organizational behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill.
28.
McCrae, R. R.
, & Costa, P. T. (1987).Creativity, divergent thinking, and openness to experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1258-1265.
29.
Motowidlo, S. J.
, Dunnette, M. D., & Carter, G. W. (1990).An alternative selection procedure: The low-fidelity simulation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 640-647.
30.
Motowidlo, S. J.
, & Tippins, N. (1993).Further studies of the low-fidelity simulation in the form of a situational inventory. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 66, 337-344.
31.
Netemeyer, R. G.
, Boles, J. S., & McMurrian, R. (1996).Development and validation of work-family conflict and family-work conflict scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 400-410.
32.
Ones, D. S.
, & Viswesvaran, C. (1996).Bandwidth-fidelity dilemma in personality measurement for personnel selection. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 17, 609-626.
33.
Psychological Corporation
. (1995). Human resource assessment. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Brace.
34.
Psychological Corporation
(1995). Tests and related products for human resource assessment. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Brace & Company.
35.
Pulakos, E. D.
, & Schmitt, N. (1996).An evaluation of two strategies for reducing adverse impact and their effects on criterion-related validity. Human Performance, 9, 241-258.
36.
Rawlinson, J. G.
(1981). Creative thinking and brainstorming. Hants, UK: Gower.
37.
Robbins, S.
(1994). Management. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
38.
Schere, J. L.
(1982). Tolerance of ambiguity as a discriminating variable between entrepreneurs and managers. Academy of Management Proceedings404-408. New York: Academy of Management.
39.
Schuler, R. S.
(1980).Definition and conceptualization of stress in organizations. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 44, 189-189.
40.
Tenopyr, M. L.
(1969). The comparative validity of selected leadership skills relative to success in production management. Personnel Psychology, 22, 77-85.
41.
Thompson, J. D.
(1967). Organizations in action. New York: McGraw-Hill.
42.
Torrance, E. P.
(1974). Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Lexington, MA: Ginn/Xerox.
43.
Work stress is rampant
. (1992, May 5). Wall Street Journal, p. A1-A1.
44.
Watson, G.
, & Glaser, E. M. (1980). The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
