Assessment

Assessment instruments are designed to focus on specific patterns of human and/or organizational behavior in order to assist in better understanding the dynamics of interactions. The best assessments are those that will provide relevant data upon which training and development can be based. Every instrument provides very unique information and deciding the most appropriate assessment is a critical step in any process. One Ummah Consulting offers a wide range of assessments to assist individuals and organizations in their efforts of personal and professional development. Our team of consultants is highly skilled in administering and interpreting information to help clients maximize the information provided. Below are some of the most common tools our clients have come to make use of, though we will work with you to find the most appropriate tool to assist you in your process.

Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)

The IDI is a statistically reliable, cross-culturally valid measure of intercultural competence based on Dr. Milton Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS). The IDI can be used for a wide variety of purposes, including:

1. Individual assessment in coaching, counseling situations
2. Group analysis in teambuilding efforts
3. Organizational-wide needs assessment for training design
4. Program evaluation to assess effectiveness of various interventions
5. Research

The IDI is a 50-item, theory based paper and pencil instrument that assess the major stages of intercultural competence as conceptualized in the DMIS theory. The instrument is easy to complete, and it can generate a graphic profile of an individual’s or group’s predominant stage of intercultural development and textual interpretation of that stage and associated transition issues.

Other measures of “intercultural competence” are criterion-referenced, in that they measure how close the respondent matches a set of characteristics or behaviors thought to be associated with intercultural competence. It is difficult to establish reliability and validity for such tests. As a theory-based test, the IDI meets rigorous scientific criteria for a valid psychometric instrument. Further, the IDI measures cognitive structure rather than attitudes. Thus, the instrument is less susceptible to situational factors, it is more stable, and it is more generalizable than other tests commonly in use.

Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory (ICS)

The ability to recognize and appropriately respond to cultural differences in conflict style is critically important in effectively managing and resolving disputes. The ICS is the premier assessment and training tool for identifying fundamental approaches for resolving conflict across cultural and ethnic differences.

The ICS Inventory is a self-scoring, easy-to-use, statistically valid and reliable instrument that can be applied for individual, group, and organizational level assessments.

Accompanying the ICS Inventory is the ICS Interpretive Guide. This guide provides participants with in-depth information about their own approach for resolving conflict across cultures. In addition, participants learn about the four cross-cultural conflict styles assessed by the ICS Inventory, strengths and weaknesses of each intercultural conflict style, and how their own conflict style compares to the conflict style of their own and other cultural communities.

Achieving Styles Inventory (ASI)

The Achieving Styles Individual Leadership Inventory measures nine categories of leadership behaviors that individuals use to accomplish their goals. Taken together, the nine categories constitute an individual's Connective Leadership Profile.

The Achieving Styles Organizational Inventory (OASI) measures the leadership behaviors that an organization rewards. Used in conjunction with the ASI, the Organizational Inventory can determine the fit between an individual's leadership behavior and the leadership behavior valued and rewarded by a particular organization. The OASI also may be used as a measure of organizational culture by providing a picture of the degree to which the organization values the various behaviors that constitute Connective Leadership.

By using these instruments in various combinations, individuals can examine the fit between:

• Their own leadership profiles and the leadership expectations and reward structure of their organization;
• Their view of themselves and other people's perceptions of them;
• Their own leadership profile and those of their colleagues;
• The leadership demands of any given task, project, or situation and the leadership capabilities that they and others bring to the table.

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