The Assessment Book: Applied Strategic Thinking and Performance Improvement Through Self-Assessments

Individuals, teams and organizations make decisions everyday intended to improve performance. But, too often, they rush into finding the solution before defining the problem. This book contains seven self-assessments designed to help you define the issue of what to accomplish before deciding how to accomplish it. With these seven assessments, you can collect, analyze and interpret the data necessary to confirm your suspicions before making recommendations. Do you feel there is neglect of the strategic planning process in your organization? Is it time to move into E-learning? Does your corporate culture require change? Avoid jumping to conclusions gather the facts first and be sure you are headed where you want to end up before selecting how to get there. In nine chapters, the authors present seven self-assessments: Strategic Thinking and Planning Needs Assessment and Your Organization Corporate Culture and Your Organization Evaluation and Your Organization Performance Improvement Competencies Performance Motivation to Change Organizational Readiness for E-learning Each instrument uses a unique dual response what is and what should be format with performance-related questions. The book includes instructions on how to complete the surveys, decide what the results mean and use the results. Also included is a glossary of terms used that focuses on results and payoffs instead of the process, activities and interventions applied.

Roger Kaufman is professor and director, Office for Needs Assessment and Planning at Florida State University where he received a Professorial Excellence award. He also has served as Research Professor of Engineering Management at the Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA and the faculty of engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of Central Florida. He is also Director of Roger Kaufman & Associates. Previously he has been professor of human behavior at the United States International University, professor of education at Chapman University, and taught courses in strategic planning, needs assessment, and evaluation at the University of Southern California and Pepperdine University. He was the 1983 Haydn Williams Fellow at the Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia. Roger serves as the Vice Chair of the Senior Research Advisory Committee for Florida Tax Watch. He earned his Ph.D. in communications from New York University, MA from Johns Hopkins University and BA from George Washington University. Before entering higher education Dr. Kaufman in senior advisory and training positions with Douglas Aircraft, US Industries, Bolt, Beranek & Newman, Martin Baltimore, and Boeing. He served two terms on the U.S. Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Board on Education and Training and continues to consult to a broad array of public and private clients around the globe. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, a Fellow of the American Academy of School Psychology, and a Diplomat of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He was awarded the Member for Life designation, the highest honor of the International Society for Performance Improvement and the Thomas F. Gilbert Professional Achievement Award by that same organization, and is the recipient of ASTD s Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance recognition Kaufman has published 36 books, including Mega Planning, Strategic Planning Plus, and Strategic Thinking Revised, and co-authored Practical Educational Evaluation, Useful Educational Results: Defining, Prioritizing, and Accomplishing. and Strategic Planning for Success: Aligning People, Performance, and Payoffs, as well as over 235 articles on strategic planning, performance improvement, quality management and continuous improvement, needs assessment, management, and evaluation.