Comparison and statistical correlations of "BOMAT advanced - short version" and management simulation "Next-Day Inc."
Background
Performance tests are also often used in assessment centers, which are intended to measure general intelligence or specific aspects of intelligence.
The “BOMAT advanced – short version” test is used to assess general intelligence and intelligence capacity in the high cognitive performance range. Intellectual performance is tested in a 45-minute non-verbal test using matrices. In particular, analytical, logical reasoning is examined. According to the authors of the test, a comparison of the “BOMAT advanced – short version” with the dimensions of an assessment center revealed significant correlations with the facets “presentation”, “analytical ability”, “reasoning” and “planning and organization”. (Hossiep, R., Turck, D., Hasalla, M., 2001, BOMAT advanced – short version, manual [page 38ff.], Göttingen, Hogrefe Verlag)
This correlation is to be examined more closely in the present study by analysing the results of the “BOMAT advanced – short version” and the results of the digital management simulation “Next-Day Inc.” by a group of people in a “head- to-head study”.
The management simulation “Next-Day Inc.” is a digital enhancement of a classic Inbox exercice. In a 50-minute digital simulation, the test gathers results in the three dimensions “analysis behavior”, “organizational behavior” and “decision-making behavior” in addition to the primary dimension “management competence” (= total value).
Method
For the study, the results of people who carried out both the “BOMAT advanced – short version, type A” and the management simulation in different companies in the period from January 2021 to June 2022 were compared. The tests were executed at various companies as part of an assessment or a development center. The data are available to the author of this study in an anonymous form.
Pearson correlations and p-values for statistical significance were determined using the t-test for dependent samples.
Sample
The sample consists of 96 employed specialists and managers between the ages of 25 and 53. The sample consists of 80 men and 16 women, the average age of the sample is 36.3 years (standard deviation 6.0 years).
Analysis
For the analysis of the data, the raw value was taken from the individual tests or the dimensions of the test. A correlation according to Pearson and the significance (one-sided p-value with t-test for dependent samples, significance level 0.05) were thus determined.
Discussion
The correlation of “BOMAT advanced – short version” and simulation/analysis is 0.56 and is statistically highly significant, which confirms the hypothesis that the dimension “analysis behavior” and the results of “BOMAT advanced – short version” show a strong correlation. It is also remarkable that the correlation between BOMAT and the total value of the simulation is even stronger (0.63) and is also highly statistically significant.
These values confirm the findings of the BOMAT authors that the BOMAT correlates highly significantly with assessment center results, in particular with the dimension “analysis behavior”. In the present comparison, the correlation with the overall result of the simulation is even more manifest.
The correlations between BOMAT and simulation/organization with a value of 0.30 and between BOMAT and simulation/decision with a value of 0.45 are significantly lower. This confirms the previous investigations of the simulation that the results of the individual dimensions are clearly independent of each other.
The results show that the “BOMAT advanced – short version” has a high and highly significant correlation with the results of the simulation/analysis behavior as well as with the results of the simulation/total value. What does this result mean in practice? Is one of the analysed tests more suitable for use in personnel selection or for your personnel development processes?
The BOMAT as a non-verbal test has more of an abstract characteristic which is focused on measuring general intelligence with a special emphasis on analytical, logical reasoning. Without the possible influence of language, it is therefore well suited to comparing the general intelligence of people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
The management simulation “Next-Day Inc.” attempts to simulate the operational activities of a manager and is currently available in German and English. In addition to the ability to analyse, it also measures the decision-making behavior and organizational behavior of the tested person. Due to the job-related proximity of the simulation, there is a high level of social acceptance for the simulation, which was confirmed by a survey among the participants (You can see the results of the survey here). The management simulation is therefore well suited to be used as a realistic work sample for executives or potential executives.
IT Consulting Tomasi, January 2023
